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I’m getting the Word Out today about Ottobre Design magazine. If you love to sew children’s or women’s clothing, this is the magazine for you.
Ottobre Design comes out 4 times a year and the Womens issues come out twice a year. Each issue is full of fun Euro patterns. The patterns are located in the center of the magazine. All you have to do is unfold and trace, the Euro pattern way. Each item comes in several sizes, too.
The patterns are all current and modern. If you love all of those Euro styles that you see in boutiques, Ottobre can help you create them. Each item also lists the brand of fabric and notions used. There isn’t any guess work. There is also a chart to show how the Euro size translates to the American size. The chart is complete with measurements of every part of the child so that you can be sure to make the appropriate size.
The styles are from infant to teen. They encompass boys and girls. No more wondering where to find cute boys’ patterns…they are in Ottobre!
If you’ve thought about branching into Euro designs or just love kids clothes, this is the way to go. I highly recommend this magazine.
The current children’s issue just came out. You can purchase Ottobre Design at:
You can purchase back issues at Banberry Place and the current issue. Or, if you would like a subscription you can go to The Wooly Thread. I’ve had a subscription for the past year from them. I love this magazine. It has so many inspiring designs.
There are also free patterns available at Ottobre’s website. They are cute and so much fun.
So go now, and check out the free patterns.
Word Out Wednesday Participants
| 1. Cindy Swanson | 2. Tracie |
Learn more about Word Out Wednesday here.
Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.
Herrschner’s is having a Customer appreciation sale. Click here for their sale items. The sale ends on May 6th, so hurry on over.
Fabric.com is offering an additional 25% off if you use the coupon code Clearance 25at checkout. It includes the everythings $1.25 a yard items.
Disney Shopping.comis offering an extra 20% off of their swim shop items. Use the code: SWIM20 at checkout. They also have a code for $5.00 shipping on orders of $50.00 or more…use the code: SHIPFOR5.
Denver Fabrics is having a sale on their entire stock.
Let’s talk about yarn today. It has been frustrating recently to find exactly what I’m looking for. Long ago, I used to be able to walk into Wal-Mart and find what I needed. Wal-Mart has done away with their yarn section in most locations. Wal-Mart carried a large selection of Red Heart yarn. That was good then, but now I like to try to use natural fibers. I’m not totally against using acrylic, but I like to try to keep it natural when there is an alternative out there.
I live in a place that has a small Jo-Ann craft. It is better to shop there for fabric which I do quite often. They have a really small yarn section. It is limited to mostly specialty yarns. They also have a few huge skeins of baby yarn like the Pound of Love. So, I rarely buy yarn at Jo-Ann.
Michael’s has a better selection than Jo-Ann. I can usually find what I’m looking for here. They carry several brands. There is a selection of natural fibers. It isn’t as large as I would like, but cottons, wools, and like one or two skeins of bamboo are available. Michael’s was my only alternative until a couple of months ago.
Then, A.C. Moore opened. I’ve put off going in because I just figured it would hold the same crafts that Michael’s does. Yesterday, I decided to journey into the unknown for the first time. They have a huge yarn selection. There were all types of natural yarns. Bamboo and hemp blends. All types of wool. I was in yarn heaven. It has been a long time since I saw so much yarn in one place. There were all sorts of beautiful colors and styles. It was mind boggling. They didn’t have everything that I needed, but it sure was close. I spend 30 minutes in there and still didn’t see and touch everything. I see another trip in my future.
I’ve also just located a specialty yarn shop in our downtown area. I think in the next week I’ll make a trip there to see what they have. I’m trying to locate some good sock yarn in a fun print. I would rather buy it in town than have to pay for shipping. I’m actually going to try to knit some socks…we’ll see if that happens or not 
I haven’t really purchased much yarn from the Internet. The only place I’ve really ordered on-line is Herrschner’s. If you have a favorite on-line yarn shop, I would love to hear what it is…leave me a comment and let me know.
Also, as far as the shops above that I’ve talked about, I can only tell you my experience in my town. I know there are larger, better Jo-Ann stores elsewhere. It just isn’t here. A.C. Moore may be the stinky yarn shop in your town. You’ll have to do your own investigating. I just hope my research helps you decide where to visit first.
I’m feeling so much better today. My husband let me rest all weekend. My son is feeling a lot better. My daughter was feeling better on Saturday, but started running a fever again yesterday. Hopefully, she will be feeling better soon. She is the only one of us taking an antibiotic.
The best news of all is that I’ll have crafts to share this week. Yay!!!
I used cotton ease to make this project. Cotton ease is 50% cotton, 50% acrylic. It was what I had lying around in the right color
Here’s the first one. Surprisingly, it is a knit and crochet combination project. I knit a rectangle using stockinette stitch. I think I used size 10 needles. Then, when my rectangle was the size that I wanted I cast off. I added a decorative fan border with crochet. It was {sc, skip a st, three dc in next st, skip a st} across. Then, I added a holder to the top of the rectangle. I alternated dc and decrease dc for a about 4 rows. Then, I just decreased until I had about six stitches left in the center of the cloth. I continued to dc for about 4 rows. Then, I switched to sc. I kontinued the sc until the hanger was the length that I wanted. I then, added a button hole row. I sc, skip st, sl st, sc,sc, skp st,sl st, sc. Then, I continued to sc across for a couple of more rows. Then, I added a decorative row of sc, chain three across.
For the buttons, I used a scrap of a fat quarter that I had sitting around. I covered a couple of buttons and placed them on the front of the towel. I thought using two buttons would add a little twist on this old favorite of the crochet top towel. I really like that funky fabric,too, I think it adds a fun element and really makes the towel.
I would probably use 100% cotton the next time that I do this project. I think it would be a little more sturdy. I’m not a fan of acrylic yarn, anyway. I would also not do any dc on the hanger and stick to using just sc. I might even do the entire top in sc. The towel has too much stretch. The stockinette is very stretchy, so when hanging the towel has a very long look. It also doesn’t help that I caught my son pulling as hard as he could on the towel before I snapped the shot.
Check back tomorrow for another craft project. I promise this week will be full. I also promise that by Friday I’ll have some Bell Bottoms crafts to share. And, probably another sewn project. My sewing machine is lonely and is calling my name.
I have a lot of energy after that weekend of rest. I can’t wait to work my little fingers.
I’m still sick on the couch. I just thought I would drop in and keep you all updated. Hopefully, tomorrow, I’ll have some crafting news to share. I’ve pulled out and touched my shipment of Bell Bottoms several times. I’m going to use some of those pink fabrics in my daughter’s room. I’m currently searching for her a big girl bed. I think I’ve narrowed that down to the one that I want. Her toddler bed is just too small. She is a mover and keeps falling out at night. I think it is time she has more room to roll around.
I also just received an email with my Sassy Apron Swap partner for the summer swap. I’m excited about this swap. It went really well the last go ’round. I have some ideas spinning around in my head that I’d like to try.
I have a new crochet pattern coming soon. The Kidney Bean is helping test the pattern. I’ve got to fix an issue with it. It should be ready in the next couple of weeks.
The good news is that my kids are feeling better, and my husband is home. He has been doing a really good job of keeping them occupied while mommy lies around sick. It is nice to have so much wonderful help. I’ll be so glad when all of this sickness is behind us. I want to have summer fun. The weather has turned warm again and the sun is out. I really want to play outside with the kids and sew my Bell Bottoms fabric. I also have some Mother’s Day gifts to finish.
My dad had a great time playing with the kids and the kids with him. I really hate that they were sick while he visited. We did manage a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. We are going to visit him in a couple of weeks, so the kids will have another opportunity to play with Papa. Papa made it home safely and we are glad that he came to visit.
The best part of being sick, if there is one, is sitting watching my daughter pretend that she is sleeping beauty. She came into the living room wearing her pettiskirt. Then, she fell to the floor, eyes shut waiting for the kiss to wake her up. It was the cutest thing ever! It is so much fun to finally have a girl to play princesses with.
