Here is what I am working on today:
1. I just need to add the neckline, sew up and sew on buttons on this one.
2. I am just finishing off the exact same cardigan in white.
3. And yes…more gnomes for the Winterfair at Luke’s school.
Category: Sewing
FO: Bunnies
You’ll be seeing a lot of items I’ve made for milliemanu over the next few days. And I even did some sewing for her last year. She sent me a sample and I made two bunnies for her. I won’t talk about these much, but will just let the pictures do the talking.
Weekend Bits
FO: A Crown for a Little King
Right folks, let’s try and get some FO pictures up here. In February/March when I was still teaching my craft group we made crowns. I decided to make one for my friends son who had a birthday coming up.
I decided to go with a simple red piece of felt and add some pre-cut animals onto it. And then I was able to find some nice buttons to add on the top of the crown. And Luke was friendly (or not) enough to model it for me.
Blogtoberfest #24 First Craft Group
I taught my first craft group class today. I didn’t think that anyone would show up, but in fact two people came along. I do think there will be more people, especially as they only announced that the group was starting last week Friday. The ladies that did come had a lovely time and we managed to sew up a few pumpkins. So without further ado here are some pictures from the crafting.
Parcel from Australia
Look what arrived all the way from Australia:
It’s the parcel from the lovely Roberta at Rowantree Design. You may remember I knitted the little blue waistcoat for her gorgeous grandson Rowan. We did a swap for one of her overalls, here’s a little sneak peek:
The romper came in this brilliant bag (it might be something I have to steal from Roberta, it’s such a fantastic idea!). And here is the romper in all its glory, I promise to take some pictures of Luke wearing it tomorrow, although it’s probably a little too cold for it at the moment and I think it might be a tad too big at the moment. But it’ll be perfect in the summer!
And have a look at what Roberta also included for Luke, the best T-Shirt ever! Thank you so much Roberta, we’re going to cherish both!
Questions & Answers (by United Knitdom)
My good friend and fellow blogger Georgina Chahed (United Knitdom) has included me in a Q&A exercise, and here are my answers to her questions:
- How old were you when you first started knitting/crocheting?
I first knitted and crochet when I was about 7 or 8 and I remember my second project was a pair of socks, thanks to my aunt Iris. - What is the best thing you’ve ever made?
I don’t think I can name just one thing…the thing I’ve loved most are the waistcoat for Luke, a dress for my niece Clara and the flouncy dress I made late last year for friends in Australia. - Choose: Cats or dogs?
Neither I’m afraid…not a big pet person…if I really could choose it would be a monkey. - What’s your dream holiday destination and why?
Australia and Italy: Australia because of the sunshine, the sea and the general relaxed attitudes of the country and Italy because of the sunshine, the food, the language and the culture. - What’s your #1 tip for beginner bloggers?
Read and comment on blogs you like, you make blogging friends that way, and post regularly (doesn’t have to be every day if you’re not up to it in the beginning)! - In life, who is your biggest inspiration?
My mother, she raised me and my brother (twins) by herself, whilst holding down several jobs at times and I thank her for it every day! - Are you going to any music festivals this year, if so which ones?
No, none. - What inspires you most when knitting or crocheting?
Thinking about the person I’m knitting for and how good they’ll look in the item. - Choose: City or country?
A little bit of both! - Choose: Shoes or handbags?
I would have said shoes…but now with a little one, shoes have to be practical! - What’s your favourite dessert?
I don’t just have one, but up there are: ice cream, banoffee pie and anything with chocolate! - What’s your best tried and tested recipe?
Chicken with a creamy leek sauce and roasted potatoes.
Next the challenge calls for me to ask 12 questions of another set of 12 bloggers. Here are my 12.
I have to dream up 12 questions to ask a further 12 other bloggers. The bloggers I’ve chosen are:
- Kara from knitting lemonade
- Melissa from Knitting Sandwich
- Claire from Knitting Sandwich
- Kate from Confessions of a Graveyard Gypsy
- Roberta from Rowantree Design
- Jo from sewmuchchoice
- Shannon from A Life Flexible
- Anna from Peacerebel
- Michele from Posh Knits
- Ann-Marie from youngblondesandblackrappas
- Ros from Snoopydogknits
- Cathy from tinniegirl
My questions are:
- How to you pick your crafting projects?
- What’s your favourite craft?
- Choose: Spring or summer?
- How did you decide what your blog should focused on?
- What is your greatest craft accomplishment?
- How do you treat yourself?
- What are your hopes for life?
- What are your dreams?
- Is there anything you would change in your life?
- What makes you happy?
- What’s your favourite food?
- Any crafting tips for anyone starting out?
FO: Flowery Quilt
I just found these pictures of a flower baby quilt that I made probably over 5 years ago. In fact it was so long ago that I can’t even remember who I made it for. What I do remember is that I had these really cute squares of different flowery fabric, and each square had a different pattern on it.
I can’t remember many more details of this particular quilt, but I remember it being really easy to make, I just used squares and sewed them together. I had a back piece, put wadding in the middle and then added a pink border.
FO: Sleeping Bag
Here’s a sewing FO, I used to do a lot of sewing mainly for myself, but haven’t really done a lot since Luke was born. This is probably because it’s not as convenient as knitting. It means getting out the sewing maching from the cupboard, putting it out on the table and actually sitting there to sew. Knitting I can just do in front of the television, or when Luke is playing. Nonetheless, here’s a sleeping bag I made for Luke before he arrived.
It’s from a Burda pattern (9640), difficulty: easy, which I have used twice before to make sleeping bags for my niece Clara (I blogged about it here). It’s a really nice project that is whipped up in a couple of hours and like I said in the previous post linked above it calls for two materials without wadding, but I used cotton wadding inside.
You can see that the choice of fabric is probably just a tiny bit feminine, that’s because we were originally told by four sonographers that we were having a boy, and when we went for a private scan we were told that we were definitely having a boy. I don’t think it really matters, you can’t really go wrong with flowers, right?
For the lining I chose a really soft cotton jersey, which feels really good. Shame that Luke didn’t really start sleeping in sleeping bags until he was about 7 months old and then this was already too small, but I’ve kept it for number two (as and when we decide to have number two :-)).
I think it’s a really good sleeping bag pattern and I think I’d probably make a bigger one again if I had more time, but alas, Luke is keeping me very busy!
I finished it off with a nice cream coloured binding, which worked perfectly.
Fancypants
I had the pattern for these trousers cut out and waiting to be sewn up for months, and when I realised that it was meant to be the size for 0-3 months I panicked a little bit as Luke was growing really fast at that point, I think he must have been 4 months old. So I decided that they had to be finished pronto.
I’m really pleased with how they turned out as they are the perfect pair of summer trousers. They’re perfect in humid, sunny weather as they’re made from extremely lightweight cotton, but they still cover my little man’s legs from the harsh sun. We’ve had a couple of really hot days here in London, ever since the 1st of August actually, which is quite fitting as that should really be our proper summer now. But today’s been a real washout with pretty bad rain for most of the day. However, Luke’s at least got some wear out of these trousers in the meantime.
The pattern is out of a German Burda Style magazine, but to be honest I can’t remember exactly which one, as I’d cut out the pattern ages ago. It’s a really nice and straight forward piece. It actually turned out quite a lot bigger than I imagined, and I needn’t have panicked that it wouldn’t fit. I’m especially pleased with my choice of fabric and I really like the green, but I absolutely LOVE the dotted fabric.
I’ve got a fair bit of the dotted fabric left and I’m trying to think about what I might be able to use it for. Maybe a playsuit for next summer?
I finished off the trousers with some bright green bias binding, which works very well I think, it really brings out the colours of the green and the dotted fabric. And I think my little man is especially pleased with the end result, what do you think?
