Sweet

This is a little dress I whipped up for Lainey just before Christmas. Now that I have made a few of these dresses, I am getting really good at them! And I think they look really cute on. The pattern is by Leila and Ben. Fabric by Wal mart. He he he.

a second batch of Christmas baubles

I made some more baubles using this tutorial. The first batch was for my brothers and sister in England, but I fell in love with them, so I made another set just for us! They are going to look so great on our tree.

If you like to crochet, I highly recommend that you get right over to Attic24 and start making your very own set of baubles. But be warned- they're addictive!

Flippy floppy

A few weeks before Millie was born, the nesting bug set in and I went a little crazy making hats and other things for her. My sewing machine was broken at that time but I still found plenty to keep me busy! Around that time I found a new-to-me blog called Aesthetic Nest, written by a very talented lady called Anneliese, who sews, knits, crochets, paints, and throws the most AMAZING  parties for her three girls.

One of Anneliese's crochet patterns was for this adorable hat, which has a choice of a 'flippy floppy' on top, or a ruffled rose on the side. I made the flippy floppy for Millie but I've also done a ruffled rose version for my niece and it is lovely.

The blue and brown one below was for a little boy soon to be born to my friend Tiff. I adapted the pattern slightly by doing two rows of single crochet for the contrast edging, and making the ties a little shorter.

You can find the original pattern here.

In case you're interested, I also knit the cardi that Millie is wearing in that top picture. I can't seem to find the pattern anymore so no link, sorry. It was a really easy knit, and all in one piece.

bauble decorations

Looking for something lightweight to send to my brothers and sisters in England, I came across this amazing tutorial, which I had saved in my favourites folder. Lucy at Attic24 is not only amazingly talented, but also very generous with her time in creating wonderful, detailed tutorials.

These little Christmas decorations were so fun, quick and easy to make and just look so pretty! I hope my family in England like them as much as I do. I have started work on several for our tree. It will be nice to have something to hang on the bottom branches that I know can't hurt the children, and they can't ruin!

A hat (not quite) fit for a husband

About the end of September, I decided that each member of my little family should receive something knitted by me for Christmas. Cardigans for the girls and hats for the boys. The girls' cardi's were finished by mid- October, but I've been having problems with the hats, for some reason. Luke's came together quite fast but ended up looking kind of silly (I'll show you in another post) Trev's was very quick and easy but I accidentally selected a green yarn (It looked grey on my computer...) However, I do love this pattern. I adore the ribbing, as it makes for a really nice, stretchy hat. I will be using the same pattern for my next attempt. This green one is going into our winter gear basket, and I'll probably end up wearing it myself. It really is comfy.

cutie in wool

What could be more delicious than a squishy baby in wool?

I really enjoyed knitting this little sweater. I used this pattern, from Lion Brand. It came together very easily and is just so cute on her. Here's to many more adorable little baby sweaters :-)

Coming back

After a long long time away (almost a year and a half- oh my) I have decided to start using this space again. Turns out I enjoy the process of finalising a project by documenting it. So, in the near future, look for new posts about what I've been up to. Obviously I'm not going to write about everything I've done, but there will be an 'update' of some sort :-)

McCalls 5791

View B, again. I seem to get stuck in ruts when it comes to patterns. I don't know whether that's a bad thing or not, but it definitely helps me learn. Plus I feel much more confident when I've tried a pattern out and know it's okay. Kind of boring though, huh? However, I do LOVE this dress...

Trev's brother was getting married so I made this little dress to coordinate with the wedding colours. I love love love the fact that this dress is fully lined. It makes a much more special, professional finish and is probably more comfy, too.

All my fabrics were from Joanns, except the lining which was from a thrifted white bed sheet.

blanketty blank

This is very simple picnic blanket that I put together. It is backed with denim and tied instead of quilted (I need to add some more ties before I wash it) It's not the cutest blanket ever but it looks quite nice and does its job. I'd like to make a few more of these to have around- in the car, for camping, even for when we have guests sleeping on our living room floor...

sweetie

Yet anther sweet little dress/top, except this time, I varied it! Woohoo! According to the pattern, you're supposed to put elastic in the sleeves, but I didn't. Partly out of experimentation, and partly out of lack of time. It's actually quite cute, don't you think? The fabric is very lightweight gingham, which I suspect won't hold up all that well, but it should last for the rest of the summer. I do love the colour!

In case you're interested (and you should be- this pattern is great) visit Leila and Ben on Etsy for the pattern. Also, one of my favourite blogs, Brown Paper Packages, recently did a pattern makeover month using this pattern. There are all kinds of variations you can try, to come up with cute and unique clothes for little girls.

finished at last

I've been working on lots of things lately but haven't been posting stuff. I keep making the classic mistake of sending off gifts without remembering to photograph them first.

Today I finished up this little jacket that I knitted before Christmas. All it needed was a zip, and yet it sat there waiting for me to sew it in for over 6 months. Lame! I think it's because I don't really like it. It didn't turn out quite how I hoped, so I didn't have the heart to finish it. But at least now it's not taking up space on my desk. And you know- Lainey might wear it once or twice. For camping, or something.

I'm really still a 'beginner' when it comes to knitting, so the two-colour pattern took forever! I did enjoy doing it though.

Lainey does this really cute thing when she's trying on a new piece of clothing. She sort of shrugs her shoulders a few times and then strokes her belly. Adorable!

mending

I've been inspired by the ladies over at Making more with Less. They are having a mending week (actually it's over now) It's been  a good excuse to get out my 'boring' sewing projects and clear some room in my sewing basket!

This week I have mended two pairs of Lainey's pants, hemmed a couple of trousers for Trev, and fixed the binding on one of Luke's fleecy blankets. Thanks girls for lighting a fire under my butt!

Spring dress

Even though Easter fell on the Sunday of General conference (meaning no church) I still wanted to make her an 'Easter dress.' It's lucky there was no church because the dress wasn't finished until 5 days after Easter. So, I'm calling it her 'spring dress'.

I have to say...I love this dress. And I really like the pattern (McCalls 5791) I made view B. This was an easy dress to make. I wouldn't say it's a beginner project, but I think anyone could give it a go and end up with something cute. The dress is fully lined, with a zipper in the back.

On a lot of sewing blogs, I see beautiful dresses and tops made without a pattern! I really envy the women who have the talent to do that. I'm still stuck in the land of patterns. Maybe one day I'll become a little braver...

addiction

Here's another Sweet Little Dress. I think I might be addicted to this pattern. It looks so cute on- the little sleeves are feiminine but not frilly. Also- it's wicked easy to make and comes together quick. As in...you can be just sitting there thinking maybe you'll make another sweet little dress, and two hours later you're looking at the finished product. Not too shabby eh!

I do make a couple of modifications each time.

I've come to claim...

I made a 'zippered pouch'! It's something I've been meaning to do for a while, and my brother's birthday gave me the perfect excuse. I used this tutorial. And just like Dana, I filled mine with edible goodies- specifically Reeses products which are not available in England. I hope Lee likes it.

You might be wondering about the lettering I have on there. It's freezer-paper stenciled. This was another thing I had been meaning to try for a while. I used these tips. Of course, you can always trust me to complicate things by choosing a difficult design. so it did take a while to cut out all those little letters, but I think it's worth it.

'What's Rightfully Mine' is based on something that Lee used to say when we were kids. He's five years older than me (the next child after him) so he was somewhat of an idol for the rest of us. He would sometimes let us have things from his bedroom- toys, books all kinds of stuff. Before you admire his generosity, though, I must point out that every now and then he would come hunting for the things he had given away, with the famous line 'I've come to claim what's rightfully mine'.

So, there you have it, a little story from my childhood.

birthday skirt

Here's the skirt that Lainey wore on her birthday. It was inspired by this skirt over at Pink Picket Fence. (Dana has recently made the style popular with her Can-Can Skirt, but I saw the Pink Picket Fence version a while ago and tulle seemed easier)

It was so easy! I simply cut strips of tulle and sewed down the middle with a long stitch. Then I gathered them and attached them to some pink fabric. Added some elastic and....job done!

blankies

For Lainey-

Simple blankies...to snuggle dollies in, for peekaboo, to have on hand for unexpected messes, for 'picnic' blankets, to become attached to- whatever she chooses to use them for I'll be happy.

These are backed with soft flannel. They measure approx. 21in x 24in.

Luke's quilt

hot stuff

This was supposed to be for Trev's grandma. Her favourite colour is green, so I pulled out an array of greens from my stash and began piecing. I was really pleased with the pieced front part, but when I stitched the layers together, things went pear-shaped.

It's at times like this that I wish I was truly talented. I get so many ideas for things I want to make, but the execution of those ideas always falls short. Still, all I can do is keep trying, so that's what I'll do.

I was afraid that my gift would be late if I tried to make another potholder, so she got these covered button magnets instead.

At least they're green. And as a grandma and great-grandma, she has an abundance of pictures on her fridge, so cute magnets are a must!

p-p-p-p-p-p-p-pick up a...

Here is what I made for my little brother for his birthday. I haven't sent it to him yet but I'm pretty sure he doesn't read this blog (or know it exists).

A few years ago, when I still lived with my mum in England, I bought this penguin fabric. I think I bought it from Ebay, but anyway, when it arrived, Guy saw it and told me that he really liked it. He wanted me to make him a tie out of it, but there was not enough for a tie. Somehow the fabric came with me when I moved over here, and now it is going back to England as this drawstring bag. Hope he likes it!


We bought Guy a couple of games to go inside. Rook is one of our favourites...

The bag is lined with pale yellow. It was the most coordinating thing I had on hand.

And as you can see from the photos, we've finally had some sunshine! It is so lovely.