treats and treasures

Last Thursday my Mom brought along a few treats for me. As usual there was chocolate for me, bananas for S, raisins for M but in addition were some vintage doll clothes and accessories.



A WW2 women's work factory uniform



winter coat



and a broom




She brought me the sweet lilac apron with ric rac the previous week.

They work pretty good on Jenny and Mandy (from the Fisher Price line from the 1970's). I bought these dolls when
S was a few months old. They can go through the washing machine which is certainly nice since they were old dolls she was going to play with.

Lately, she has really attached herself to her dolls and wants to hold them while we read books and give them kisses.
I know, I know.... I can hardly stand how cute that is. It makes me all warm and fuzzy. Of course, she is still pushing along her brother's fire truck and toy cars making vroom'ing sounds too.

Oh, and every once in a blue moon M will nurse one of S's dolls which I find pretty amusing and also very sweet.

my folklore smock

A new Bend-The-Rules Smock for S from My Folklore again. Yes, the same fabric I used in this dress.
Last summer Ms S was 3-6 months size and I used the pattern at 150%. She is now wearing 12-18 months
and 175% worked out well for her.

I made some red bloomers out of the red in the pocket fabric a while ago that will work nicely with this in summer.
Speaking of bloomers, I have been making a lot of them lately working out a pattern of my own. I have one but, now want to make another version. I would love to learn pattern making so I could more easily bring my ideas into fruition.

smocked dress with bloomers

Smocked dress with bloomers.
I didn't use a pattern for this just went about it with
the knowledge of some measurements.

The top is one piece cinched with elastic thread and 2 straps.
If you want one with more flair I think using 2 pieces sewn at side seams would work.

I may shorten this to a short dress or top once I see how it looks on her.

Update: I will be shortening this. It was almost down to her ankles!

london badges

I am working on my Spring update for Mackey Blue.
These London badges will be a part of it.
I've sold a few of them there before and they sold fairly quickly.
They are made from Liberty of London scraps. I have yet to cut into the few Liberty prints I have. I'm a bit chicken about doing this because of the waiting for the perfect project scenario.

skirts

I rarely wear jeans but I do like my jean skirts.
So, it was only natural that my daughter should have one too.

No pattern- just two rectangles sewn together with an elastic waist and a hand-sewn wide hem that can be taken down so it can be worn longer.



Another skirt made from the free Oliver & S pattern.

Oh, and yes that would be an arrowroot cookie that is on her mouth in the first photo.

max and ruby...ruby and max...

Max and Ruby is M's favorite show. It's actually a pretty cute kids show. We are Max fans.

At our house nowadays this is is the incentive to get us through dinner. Dinner typically lasts about an hour long which gets a little tiresome for me after a full day. M is so distracted at this time and eating I guess is boring if it's not ice cream. I digress.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to sew up this bunny costume for him. Now M gets his own Max(ish) costume and maybe part of the day Easter outfit and a few years from now Ms. S will have a Halloween costume. Perfect.

The pattern is from the Purl Bee.

spring bird brooches

Spring is on it's way and I added 2 new bird brooches to the shop.
The birds are a very cute accessory for spring and also look great perched just about anywhere.

I have one on a curtain in my room and another one sitting on my dresser.
Unfortunately, I can't wear them right now as they are so tempting for little hands to grab.

There are quite a few of them over there in my shop. Perhaps one will strike your fancy.

And, I'll offer 20% off your purchase of one by March 24th. That's next Tuesday so for one week only. I will reimburse you through Paypal.

Happy Spring!

girl in a bubble

Here Ms. S is modeling her latest outfit. This time a hand knit one-piece sunsuit. This will be great for beach days this summer. We took a trip down recently and went for a walk and played in the sand a bit. The kids were so excited to be there.

This was a relaxing and fast pattern to knit. It is called boy in a bubble but I think it looks cute on a girl too. You can find it through Vicki Howell. I love how the organic cotton and milk fiber felt moving through my hands. It was my first time working with milk fiber and I am intrigued. I have found soy & cotton also to be nice combination for summer knitting.

Ms. S has been learning all sorts of new tricks the past few days and is very pleased with herself. She is not walking but, I'm in no hurry. She is such a joy and so funny. It is amazing the changes that have happened in just one months time.

stitching birds

I have been busy stitching birds this week from a pattern. I plan to give these as gifts (okay one set is for Ms. S) but, I am not yet quite done with my project for them.

I have been really enjoying the process of making these and am going to go ahead and try to make my own bird pattern as I'd like to make them to sell.

Mine will be smaller and a bit different in stature.

These birdies are pretty sweet and will look quite nice 'flying' around. And, there is your hint about what I'm going to be doing with them.

Have a great weekend.

swingset tunic + skirt

I finished up the Oliver + S swingset tunic
+ skirt on Sunday evening. I started it last Tuesday. Sewing lately is a little here and there but, I'll take what I can get.

I have to say that this one was a tiny bit difficult for me and it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. There is a small issue with the bodice in the bottom of the back placket and in the way the lining matched up to the bodice in front. The skirt came out a tiny bit big in the waist but, I am not too troubled by that. It is still wearable and I do like it despite the imperfections. For Spring she will be wearing this with cream tights and a cream crocheted sweater by my Nana.

little miss ladybug

Yes, I am still dreaming of spring and warm sunshine and therefore I am sewing some Spring/Summer clothes for my daughter.

Here is my little miss ladybug dress.

The dress pattern is this one from Oliver + S. I really love Leisl's patterns and the styles she creates. I am already working on another which I hope to have done soon.

Here are some photos of Ms. S modeling the dress.






I made the less bubbly version...still it has a wonderful pouf factor. I used muslin to line it. This will fit her perfectly when the warm weather arrives. I can't wait to see her blowing bubbles wearing this.

cherry blossom beret

I put a petal in my pocket
to remind myself of Spring
so that even when it's over
in my mind it will remain
a wondrous thing

-Cynthia Hopkins - Ballad of the Cherry Blossoms - Devotionals (Songs for Shunkin)


It is freezing and I am dreaming of Spring and those pink cherry blossoms I love so much.

The beret is for Ms. S and the pattern is from the same Debbie Bliss book as the previous post. It is called Pompon Beret

fall raspberries

I finished up a new sweater for Scarlet yesterday. It took me a week to knit it with some other projects being worked on as well.

The color is this beautiful berry stain that I could see so well with prints and cream and chocolate brown. And, it will bring out the pink in her cheeks

My intention was for this to be a spring sweater however, the good/bad news is that is turned out too big which of course, is much better then too small. It should work for next Fall/Winter. I feel like I learned a lot about finishing and seaming - I ripped out and redid a few times which certainly tested my patience but, made me happier in the end with the finished product.

I will admit I didn't do a gauge swatch (the wool gauge was the same as the DB yarn called for so I figured I was okay) but, here is what I think happened.

1) After much reading I found many people find that DB patterns turn out huge. So, I know I am not alone.

2) Ms. S is not a big baby.

3) My gauge may have been a bit off. I'm starting to think I knit bigger with circulars. Anyone else have that issue?

Details:

Pattern:
Baby Shrug - Debbie Bliss Simply Baby
Size 12-18 months (but came out bigger)
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Merino Superwash Raspberry 029


In the end, I got a sweater for her to grow into which is fine really when you think about it. I love this sweater even if I hated the seaming at the end. The sleeves were a major pain for me.