more completed projects

mk sports a new "unnershirt" that i made from an old tshirt. the tshirt was a nice quality cotton/lycra, so i couldn't resist it.

my friend diane is modelling a dirndl i made using a burda costume pattern. i think she gives the st. pauli girl a run for her money. yay, diane!

11yo dlb looks very happy in her xmas dress, made entirely from jaf fabrics. she made the sash herself. i designed this in child's play. it has some issues, but i'm still happy with it. the skirt is a full circle, and man, does it twirl! reminds me of a ginger rogers dress.

the lame blogger

I'm back! here are some pics of recent finished objects. i finally completed this knitted dress for 11yo dd, thanks to a free pattern from Peggy at chasing bunny. www.noodleknit.wordpress.com

the flicka, ricka, dicka dress

molly's favorite books these days are the flicka, ricka, dicka series. in one of the books, frd's mom makes them new dotted dresses. having red polka dot fabric in my stash, how could i resist?

i used child's play for the dress. i chose circle skirt and puffed sleeves with a classic bodice, improvising the collar from another pattern. the dress is fully lined in jaf "weavers fabric." i have never done a circle skirt before. both molly and i love this dress, and as you can see, it has great "twirlability."

a few bags finished

here are some bags i've done recently. the dick and jane one is the amy butler "ultimate craft bag" pattern. not sure if i like it yet, but it's going to be my knitting bag! it was hard to cut up the fabric, i felt guilty when i had to break up their trio or cover their faces. :-) not sure if this was the best fabric choice either, but it was a fun project to make anyhow. one thing i changed was that i lined all the pockets. i find i really like lined pockets. they are so much more classy than the standard press down the seam allowance and sew on type, imo.

the three little ones are made from molly kate's first sling. the fabric was so gorgeous that i saved it, even though it was worn out. i found this free pattern on the web: http://www.studiokatdesigns.com/freepatterns.htm . i've always wanted a little pocket bag for passports and tickets when travelling. i liked the pattern so much i made three of them. don't ask me why.

finally, as a bonus, here is a pic of the dks after a badly needed haircut last week. thanks, lisa!

2 dresses for mk

this dress is from a fiber trends pattern, a warm winter dress. since i completed it rather late in the season, i made it extra long so mk can wear it next year. the design is seamless, but you do pick up stitches. also the color work is done by slipped stitches; i think it's called mosaic knitting. it was fun. i used brown sheep company's nature spun. p.s. after i took these pics, i figgured out that by *really* steaming the hem, it WILL lie flat. :-)




the design for the sage green dress is by little turtle knits, smocked frock. i used brown sheep company's cotton fleece--a cotton/merino blend. this is the first time i've ever attempted any texture work, and i have to say it was enjoyable, but i did have to climb a learning curve (rip, rip).

i haven't blocked it yet, but i couldn't resist sharing how cute it is. of course, we all know the model would look cute in a burlap sack. ;-)

the dorothy bag

this is amy butler's dorothy bag that i made recently. after i finished it, i thought, what was i thinking? i never use handbags that i have to hold. duh!?!

it is cute, though. i got the fabric last year in the outer banks from cute li'l fabric shop. i wish i had more of it so I could make the clutch from the same pattern. i love the flip flop fabric and, as many of you know, i'm crazy about polka dots.

the bag was fairly easy to make up. sewing the lining into the outer bag was the hardest thing. i found it challenging to get nice corners. i like the handles. they have upholstery cord in them. i think that's innovative.

i used fusible batt on the main bag pieces, which the pattern didn't call for. i'd use it for the next bag, only cut off 2 and a half inches from the top. the extra batt made making the channel for the handle more difficult than it needed to be. i put snaps on the tabs instead of velcro. don't like velcro.

if i made this bag again, i'd add a zippered (small) pocket in the lining. it's a rather simple, unpocketed bag, unlike the other ab bags i've done.

having said all that, i do like the bag, and i think this style is versatile and would be good for fast (and appreciated:-) gifts.

valentine's day

here is a pic of our valentine's day breakfast. if you look closely, you can see the heart-shaped biscuits that 10yo dd made. 8yo ds bought me a heart-shaped box of lindt truffles. yum! dh gave me the lovely bouquet that graces the table.

look out the window. that's our ice storm. not a day to venture forth! ah, but homeschoolers never get the day off, much to their chagrin. :-)

may i say a word in praise of my babylock coverstitch only machine? yes, i may, 'cause it's my blog. i love that machine! it's so easy to use, adds a professional touch to my work. i am so glad i took debbie cook's ( http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com/ ) advice and bought the c/s only machine. thanks, debbie!

cross over shirt

it's a goofy picture, i know. 10yodd took it. this was made from ks3307. the pattern is actually a dress and designed for wovens, but i wanted to try it in a knit. i used a size smaller than i'd normally use and did a muslin out of an old tshirt before cutting one out of this fabric. i only had to do a couple of small alterations to the muslin, and off i went! it's a good feeling to be cutting out your pattern knowing that it will basically fit when you're done. :-)

i got the fabric when visiting my friend michele. it's very soft and stretchy and of unknown fibers. i enjoyed putting the foe on the neckline. it's a little low; i may have to add a piece there, but mostly i'm happy with it. i really like paisley.

now all i have to do is hem the shirt and sleeves.

first socks of the year

these are for my friend d, who is going hiking next month in the west.

they were done on sz 7 needles and went very fast. i love self-striping yarns. this one is called "big mexico" by staller and stahl. it's a superwash. very fun to make.

a needle roll

this is something i've wanted to make for ever so long. my dpns--short 5" for socks--have never had a nice home. they've spend their lives in a vase which was too tall for them. as a result, i always have to fumble for sock needles.

someone had shared this link http://www.kissyourshadow.com/images/crafts/needle_case_pattern.jpg . i made some adjustments to the pattern, most notably using a layer of cotton batting inside. although i wanted to take a trip to the lqs to get some "really kewl" novelty print, i decided to buckle down and use some stash. surprisingly, it was hard to find enough stash fabric that looked good together. i finally settled on the grapes. i am absolutely thrilled with this needle case. don't my dpns look happy in it, all snuggled down in their pockets?

nautical rb skirt and the first pie

i liked mk's ruffle back skirt so much, i went back into the stash and made one for diana. the khaki and navy blue struck me as being nautical, so diana chose a sailboat applique, which i put on the pocket.








as a bonus, here are a couple of pics of diana's first pie. it's apple. :-) she did it all by herself, using freshly ground whole wheat *and* seven grain flour. the recipe for the crust came from a booklet published by keepers at home. we loved it!

a ruffle back skirt

sheila from nmsl sent me this pattern to test. it is too cute. i used fabrics from the stash and came up with this. miss m really likes it, too! as a side benefit, i learned how to gather on my cs machine. this works very well, esp. when you have to gather lots of ruffles.

new projects

even though i've been a lame blogger lately, i've still been sewing.

here are some dresses i made for my dd's. the pink ones were inspired by rowena http://rowena.typepad.com/rostitchery/2006/12/almost_christma.html . after i made the dresses for dd1 and dd2, dd1 went and made one for her american girl doll, kirstin, and also one for the mini-kirstin that dd2 is holding.

the green dress was designed on cp. diana really likes the puffy sleeves. i love this about cp: you can do what *you* want.

the fabric is a nice cotton/lycra with great recovery. this dress is supposed to be like the one land's end sells. it's a casual play dress.

i think i put too much fabric in the skirt, but diana likes the twirl factor. peeking out from behind her is our toddler, wearing longies that i knitted, as well as a tshirt i made her (from kssft). it's so gratifying to see one's creations on one's loved ones. :-)