Monday 31 August 2015

Favourite Baby Knits

I was looking back through some of my photos and found some pictures of some of the sweaters I've made for my kids and other kids.  I like worsted weight or chunky weight yarn. No fingering weight baby sweaters for me. 

Baby Bootah -  okay so this sweater is a Sport weight yarn.  And I love the sweater but after knitting this I resolved to knit baby sweaters out of heavier yarn.  The pattern is really cute.  It is fairly easy to put on a baby and stays on really well with the 2 sets of ties.  I bought a kit from Fleece Artist that had the yarn and the pattern.

Sweater pattern invented on the fly by me! I had this rainbow yarn with a homespun look (but a soft, acrylic feel) that someone gave me years ago.  I loved it and held onto it for years until was pregnant with my daughter.  I knew there wasn't enough on it's own to make a sweater so I did stripes on the body and the cuffs, adding in an acrylic white yarn to compensate for the yardage. 


 Baby Sophisticate Sweater - Free   this is a really cute pattern.  I'm looking at this wondering why I haven't knit this one more often.  My cousin and his wife are expecting their first child in November and I think I just figured out what pattern I will be using.

I have no idea what this pattern is.  There probably isn't one.  My knitting mentor made it for my son when he was born.  It was the perfect size and fit him from  6 months to 15 months.  She made it out of a cotton/wool blend, something I have yet to knit with.

Latte Baby Coat -Another great pattern.  Top down raglan.  There is a really wide button band which can be fun for playing with a textured stitch.   The pattern calls for a basket weave stitch.  I did seed stitch on this version for my son.

Monday 24 August 2015

Sunshine and clouds outfit

The yellow skirt fabric just looked so summery and fun to me in May that I just had to get it.  I quickly self-drafted a pattern using a RTW Maxi skirt I bought when I was pregnant.  I used the pockets from the Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt pattern to add pockets.

 I started making the grey top the same weekend and I just finished it this past weekend in August.  Oops.  It just wasn't doing anything for me when I finished it. The pattern is a free pattern from Spitups and Stilettos, the Harper Blouse.  It's supposed to be tunic length and it's not.  It just didn't look flattering.

So I left in a my UFO basket for awhile.  I couldn't get out of my head this grey sleevelss blouse with this skirt. So I dug it back out.  Ripped out the side seams.  Did an SBA (small-bust adjustment) to the pattern and modified the side shaping on the pattern to be more similiar to the Sewaholic Granville pattern.  (Do you see a trend here?  I like Sewaholic patterns . .. the only one that I struggled with was the Thurlow trousers, I have an un-blogged pair) I re-sewed the darts and side seams and followed the directions for the armhole edging from the Made-by-Rae Josephine Top pattern. For a free pattern the Harper blouse is good.  I like the half collar look.  It took some fitting and pattern changing but now I've got a nice sleeveless top pattern that looks quite great!


Patterns:

Now I have a great outfit for when school starts again in two weeks!! AHHH  Bring on the Kindergarten kids!



Sunday 9 August 2015

OAL2015 - Vianne and Cambie Dress

Last year I watched the Outfit Along, hosted by Andi of Untangling Threads and Lladybird but I didn't participate because I didn't see myself wearing the dress they had picked.  Then I discovered the Sewalolic dress patterns that have pockets in them.  So this year when the Outfit Along came up I knew I wanted to make the Cambie dress.  I had just enough of this purple fabric in my stash to make the dress.  The purple fabric is a polyester, thin fabric and it is lined with a gray cotton/rayon blend.

The fit on the dress is amazing!!  I think I will only ever make this dress in different fabrics.  It has pockets, the neckline is very modest for me and doesn't gape when I lean forward!  I had to adjust the bust darts slightly but that was easy to do when I sewed the lining.

The official knitting pattern was the Vianne cardigan, designed by Andi.  I thought it would look good with the dress so I decided to knit it in a yarn I had from Tanis Fiber Arts, the DK weight. 


The lace panel at the front is is simple and pretty.

The mesh panel at the back is neat but I felt it was too much on the whole thing.  I just stopped knitting it when I joined at the armhole.

Very nice pattern.  Andi has s different style of writing patterns but I do like the end results.  This is the third sweater I've knit from her patterns.


 The whole outfit!!  Most of the time I will wear this with flats.  It will be the perfect transitional outfit for the fall!  And now in the heat of the summer the dress is wonderful on it's own.

Friday 7 August 2015

Jenny Dress # 2

Pattern:  Jenny Dress by Sisboom
Fabric: cotton

This is the second version of this dress I made.  The first one I made to wear to my cousin's wedding last year, with a fancier fabric.

This one I made out of a cotton for wearing to work and on hot days in the summer.

I also added pockets to this by using the pattern pieces of have for the Hollyburn skirt.  Adding pockets took this dress from good to fantastic!

Since I made this at the end of May and it was an unusually cool spring in Southern Ontario I made a navy Julia Cardigann. (This is #5 of the Natalie pattern I've made).

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Lots of knitting and sewing, no blogging

It's been a long time since I've published here.  I'm on summer holidays and yet for some reason I just haven't taken the time to sit down and write anything.  I used to write blog posts when my kids were playing happily.  5 minutes here and there.  Now when I open up my laptop they both think they should get screen time and ask for the tablet or tv.  So no screen time for them means no screen time for me! 

I've been spending lots of time outside . . . sometimes knitting.


I've been doing a lot of sewing.



I've been casting on way too many shawls.

And dying yarn!

And most important of all!  Having fun with these two!


 Happy Summer! 

P.S. Also preparing a few more blog posts right now so more forthcoming!