Every Sunday for three weeks I took a course on Low Impact Basket Weaving at the University of Victoria. The course was part of the continuing education branch.

The course was fun and relaxing and the instructor was great at explaining the techniques. Over the three Sundays we made three baskets from non-native and invasive species.

The first basket was made with the long needle pine (which can be found in manicured gardens but are not native to BC)

The second basket was made out of English Ivy which has taken over some gardens and some of the forests and parks. It is not recommended to cut them out of parks as it is an aggressive plant and parks have a way of managing them.

And the final basket was made from a water reed that is not native to BC.

The first item I made for my wardrobe it an oversized sweater (just in time for the warmer weather). I first made one in white and then one in a dark charcoal.  I still have the dark charcoal colored one, but the white one I gave to my mother after she made a fuss about it.

I have attached a link to the pattern below.  The pattern for the sweater was easy to follow and with my slow knitting I was able to finish one in a month. The most difficult part of the pattern was the sleeves and getting the correct length and number of stitches before starting the pattern that starts from the elbow.

As promised, I have added a link to the pattern.

Please note, I do not make any money from recommending this pattern.

This week was a bit draining. There was an announcement at my 9-5 job that was a bit of a shocker (nothing too serious, just unexpected), and then there was life in general. I hope you are all doing well and taking the breaks you deserve.

Anyway, back to the wardrobe project.

Looking at the images I posted last week, I made a Wardrobe Checklist as a rough guide for what my wardrobe will need to pull off the intended look. I then went through my closest and got rid of things that didn’t fit the brief or me. When I say “got rid of”, I mean put in a pile for charity or to be reworked (up-cycled) into my wardrobe.

Wardrobe Checklist PDF below

Welcome back! It’s good to see you again.

Last time you were here I mentioned that I was going to make my own wardrobe.

Well, I thought it might be a good idea to collect some images of the style I want to try and achieve before I started. So I created a Pinterest page. Please take a look and tell me what you think.

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Hello, and welcome to my blog. I’m glad you stopped by. Please make yourself comfortable.

Sorry? What was that? What is this blog about? That is a good question.

Back in December 2020, I decided to start making my own wardrobe. So, this blog about that journey. I might add some other things…but for now, it is about having a closet with only clothes I made by hand.

Did I design the clothes? Oh! No. I’m not that talented…yet. I’m using other people’s patterns. If possible, I use independent pattern designers.

What style of clothing ? Again another good question. I can’t really make up my mind, so I’m making two different styles. 1) the French classic style; and 2) a retro 1930 – 1950 style. You can join me if you want. I’ll post links to the patterns I use so if there is something you like you can make one for yourself.

How often will I post? Hmm, that is a more difficult question. Ideally, I would like to post once a week…but I am not a very fast knitter/sewer/maker of things.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope to see you again.

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This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.