The Nifty Needler

Dilbertina's Doily

2009-09-01T18:27:00.008-04:00

Hello! This is the daughter of the nifty needler. Here is my latest creation:

Isn't it beautiful!?

Pattern: Feather and Fan shawl from A Gathering of Lace. (a wonderful book for lace knitters or those who would like to)

I just knit the center flower in crochet cotton with size, I think, 00 to make a doily.

I started it on Friday evening and blocked it last night. It was lot of fun to make.....I don't recommend size 00 needles for general use though! :-)

Have a great Wednesday!

cotton/lycra fun

2008-01-05T16:38:00.000-05:00

recently i bought a bunch of cotton/lycra from fabric.com. i also got to visit kashi at metro textiles in the garment district--yay! i bought some c/lyrca from him, too. diana needed leggings, so i made them in many colors:

i used the ks pattern, which fits so well and sews up very quickly. plus, this type of project calls for my wonderful coverstitch machine. this machine is a gem! i am so grateful that i have it. it makes beautiful stitches and makes my projects look so professional. i think diana has enough leggings now :-).

i had leftovers, so i made some "unnerwear" for littlest one:

the white pair i made from a rescued gap tshirt. the flowers have rhinestones in the middle of them, which delights mk! these are also done from a ks pattern. gotta love ks!

i also did a simple little play outfit for mk, which she refuses to model:

field trip!

2008-01-05T16:23:00.000-05:00

we took a field trip to the long island museum/carriage museum yesterday. we went with our homeschooling friends. it was the perfect field trip: we were a small group and had the museum to ourselves.

there was a norman rockwell exhibit which had all of his saturday evening post covers on display. it was interesting to see the different authors (rose wilder lane and booth tarkington, for example) who wrote for that magazine.

it was sobering to see a cover about jfk's foreign policy w/a story by stewart alsop for april '63 and then to see the "in memoriam" cover for early dec '63. we know not when we'll be called. . .

mk models a straw hat:

you spend all that time and effort to give kids a cultural experience, and what are they interested in? digging pennies out of the frozen fountain!

djb straddles one of the lions that flank the entrance to the rockwell exhibit.

abbey's party

2008-01-01T11:25:00.000-05:00

on sunday, mk's good friend abbey had a party for her 3rd birthday. it was a very sweet party; all my kids enjoyed it. the best part was making cookies, as you see. (by coincidence, mk is wearing the dress i knitted her :-)

here's some bonus pics of 11yo dd and 9yo ds.

more completed projects

2007-12-26T20:31:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-26T20:15:00.001-05:00

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

2007-04-30T16:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-26T19:55:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

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

2007-02-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-14T17:34:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-13T21:04:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-01T14:26:00.000-05:00

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

2007-01-30T09:46:00.000-05:00

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

2007-01-29T10:43:00.000-05:00

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

2007-01-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

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. :-)

new dipes!!

2006-09-26T16:30:00.000-04:00

a few weeks ago, i was very excited about miss mk going to the potty all by her herself, with almost no prodding or encouragement. i fretted that she was growing up too fast and that i wouldn't be able to make size "l" chloes toes dipes. http://www.chloetoes.com/store/Default.asp well, it was nice while it lasted. she hasn't shown any interest since.

today i made a sample size "l" dipe to see if it would fit. i had a bunch of pul from diaper cuts that i bought in february, lots of foe, some fleece, everything i needed. it turned out beautiful. i just love this pattern! the directions are great; the design is fabulous and the sizing is perfect. yay catherine! these are without doubt the best dipes i've ever made. they never stain! i can't say enough good things about them, as you can tell. :-)

molly's flat pants with extra molly pics

2006-09-24T15:37:00.000-04:00

another mom from the nmsl list made these pants, directions are here: http://home.pacbell.net/kapleo/blog/domesticspherepatterns.html (bottom of page). i liked them so much i visited my stash and made some for mk. they were fast and fun, something i appreciate in a project right now. :-) the fabric was leftovers from various slings, so they were virtually free.

the model much preferred jumping off the coffee table to posing.

and, last but not least here are some nice recent molly shots::

(top) molly is doing her arithmetic, just like big sister and big brother. she is very proud of this. :-)

(above) molly models her "lee lee" (sling) with her twin babies.

a rucksack & mk's first sentence

2006-08-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

today i finished a nice rucksack from this pattern: http://www.bethanyreynolds.com/quiltersrucksack.html
i really like the pattern and have made the preschool size 3 times.

here are two i've made for ds and dd a few years ago: ds's is the red and blue one, with some 1940s novelty print on it. dd's has fairies, similar to the flower fairies by mary cicily baker (?). i just love novelty prints.

this is a great pattern: fast, with just enough details to keep it interesting.

and here is the one i completed today:

the close up shows the detail of the fabric, all wwII slogans, i presume. my favorite: "our boys need sox. knit your bit".

as an aside, yesterday mk uttered her first sentence: "ah got shoosh." (i got shoes.) right after that came "ah got baby." she is the first of my kids that absolutely loves dolls. she feeds them, hugs them, nurses them. it is too cute!

my perfect 10 year old

2006-08-22T22:04:00.000-04:00

diana turned 10 last friday. she had her party on saturday. isn't she the picture of young maidenhood?

she made her own birthday cake and planned her own party. we gave her roller blades. my sis and bil gave her: a zappo's gift cert. and an american girl gift cert.

guess who's 2 today?

2006-08-22T21:52:00.000-04:00

our molly kate turned 2 today. how fast the time goes!

big sis made some chocolate cupcakes that she decorated w/gummy bears. she made 9 of them and put a letter of mk's name on each of them.

at two, mk daily improving her speech. cute words include: "heyps" for derriere; "ishi" for drink.

i had to include the pic of her in a dirndl. i bought it for a buck at a yard sale. it's a real german one. what a find.

a surprise and another ufo bites the dust

2006-07-31T20:51:00.000-04:00

last week, while decluttering my sewing area, i came across 27 quilt blocks. i had started this quilt when diana (almost 10) was a toddler. it was one of my first forays into quilting. being a first time mom, i longed for something creative to do. i pieced them by hand, using templates from an old quilt book i found at the library.

the pattern is called "double x" and the book said it was simple enough for a child.

i decided to finish this quilt, so i made 3 more blocks, this time using a rotary cutter and machine piecing. i has so much fun making them, i decided to make another vertical and horizontal row. i haven't quite finished those, but am in the process. trying to decide if it will need a border or not.

it's finished!! it's on our bed as i write this. even though i don't think i'd ever make another scrappy quilt, this one just looks so friendly. :-)

here 'tis:

braggin' rights

2006-07-08T17:23:00.000-04:00

i decided to give dd9 some blue peachskin from the stash that doesn't speak to me anymore. a whole five yards, so she had plenty to play with. this is what she did with it:

i love the way she works. she measures a little, but doesn't fret over it:-) and then cuts, and wings it as she goes along. she doesn't like finishing seams, so she doesn't. i find her way liberating to think about, and i usually don't tell her how to do things unless she asks. (as rowena says, "it's only fabric. they'll make more.") www.rostitchery.com

btw, she has her own sewing machine, and a corner of my sewing area. she looks charming in her creation, don't you think? i'm proud of her.

happy birthday dh!

2006-07-08T17:11:00.000-04:00

these were made from the jalie pattern. http://www.jalie.com/catalog/casual.html#underwear i've made them before, and dh likes them a lot, as does my ds7. you should see how cute the little boy ones are.

the fit is really good and they go together very well. i got the professional-looking elastic from anne of needlenook fabrics. fabric is from the stash, so these were practically free to make! i found these work best in cotton lycra.

you can't see it well in the pic, but on the black pair i made a label and put his monogram on it with my trusty pfaff machine.

sorry to disappoint, but dh declined to model them for a pic. c'est domage:-(

another sweet dress . . .

2006-07-08T16:49:00.000-04:00

okay, okay, but at least it's not for my 22 month old! the pattern is from b & b blueprints, http://www.bbblueprints.com/shelley.htm but i changed it in child's play. dd wanted the waist lower than the pattern had it; also the pattern only went to size 6. easy-peasy changes.

the fabric is a lovely houndstooth, very nice to work with: perfectly straight grain, a pleasant weight, similar to working with linen. i love white collars on girls' dresses. there's something very elegant and pure about them, i think. here's a back view with a little help from younger sibs:

as an added bonus, here's a pic of the whole family, minus yours truly.

blue work, or a very old ufo

2006-07-08T16:22:00.000-04:00

i'm nearly finished with "the quilt". see here: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2171/2038/1600/DSCN0291.jpg as i was rejoicing in my long-awaited accomplishment, i happened to notice another quilt project i started in 2000: the blue work nursery rhyme quilt. i think the pattern is from betty alderman. flushed with the victory of finishing molly kate's quilt, i bravely examined it and noticed i only have to quilt the borders and put a binding on. unfortunately, it's so old i no longer have any of the sashing/border fabric around. oh dear, i'll have to buy some new fabric for the binding. ;-)

i was thinking of donating to a charity for a raffle, but it really has too much work in it just to casually give away. besides, it's really a nice quilt!

here 'tis:

here's a closeup of my favorite square, jack and jill:

when i started this quilt, i was just learning about quilting and found red work and blue work soothing, and very portable. now i have no idea what to do with this quilt, but i have a feeling that if i finish it, it will tell me where it wants to go. this is prolly more than you wanted to know about my quilting, but i really want to finish this off so i can KNIT again.

another dress!

2006-06-08T22:40:00.000-04:00

hello, my name is caroline and i am addicted to making cute dresses for my daughter. i promise to stop now . . .
i designed this one in child's play. (actually i just did the bodice in cp; the skirt is simply a rectangle, no pattern needed.)

i can't say enough good things about this software program. i used their size 2, cause it's just too hard to measure a toddler. i love being able to decide how high i want my sleeve cap, if i want a front or back closure, things like that. it's so kewl that the program tiles out the pattern on my humble printer. www.wildginger.com

the design is simple, but very fun to make. i put tucks in the skirt so the dress can grow with molly kate. i find that tucks also add weight and the appearance of greater fullness to the skirt.

it's fully lined, except for the sleeves. i bound the armhole seam. i really like the way a bound ah seam looks--very classy. this dress makes me think of a dirndel. doesn't molly look like a german maedchen in it?

the fabric is linen/rayon from jaf. it was leftovers from slings i've made, so it was sorta free! hard to tell in the pic, but the khaki linen has pink and white flowers embroidered on it. imo, linen is one of the most pleasant fabrics to work with.

The Quilt

2006-05-23T16:20:00.000-04:00

here's my quilt top that has taken me 2 years to complete! i bought the fabric when i was pregnant with molly kate. the pattern is from sweet dreams heirloom quilts for babies by gordon and young.
the instructions suggest hand piecing, and being me, that's what i did. i found that i got better control of curves and points by hand.

my friend linda
http://mamafitz.blogspot.com/
was kind enough to send me some scrumptious wool batt. it is so soft; i can feel the lanolin in it. do i need to add that it's a joy to quilt through? :-)

i took this quilt on vacation so i could hand quilt it--all those hours in the car! got a lot of it done, but still haven't finished.

i really love this quilt. when it is all quilted and bound, i think i'll (almost) have to have a little ceremony to release it so that mk can actually use it.

pretty in pink

2006-05-02T22:54:00.000-04:00

here's a little dress i made for molly kate (20 months) out of a 23" long, 50" wide remnant i got from jaf. it was even 75% off, so it cost $1.70. pretty good, huh? i paid more for the lining and (invisible) zipper than i did for the fabric.

i don't know how well you can see it in the pix, but it's a satiny polyester with sparkles melded on it. irl, it doesn't look quite as shiny/glossy as it does here. What you notice first is the sparkles catching the light and emitting rainbow colors. a girl can't do without that, can she? and the best part is you can sew right over the sparkles with no fear about your machine.

i used child's play to design the dress. i chose empire waist and a flair of 2". i did the "cross over" of the bodice on paper, cause i'm still a little intimidated by the pattern editor. i selected petal sleeves as i'd never used them before. you can see the close up of the bodice and sleeves above.

i'm having too much fun making little dresses for my sweet baby. on this one, i liked doing the invis. zip. i'm getting better at these and agree w/those who say they'd never use anything else. i also like the way the inside of this dress looks: it's fully lined, in pink "posh", also from jaf. i cut the bodice lining on the bias and also lined the petal sleeves. i used bias tape to cover the armhole seam, which i think looks better than serging. heck, i should have taken a picture of the inside, shouldn't i? next time. :-)

i'm not as pleased w/this style as i thought i'd be, but i learned a lot making it. all in all, this dress reminds me of a rather loose cheong sam, which was not exactly what i was going for. that's ok, though, cause my model would look stunning in a paper bag!

peaches' jammies

2006-04-27T16:12:00.000-04:00

here's another project i recently completed.

these are made from lovely soft cotton interlock. the neckline is bound in your basic white foe.

i got to use my pfaff 2046's fancy stitches a little, as you can see in the detail pix. boy, do those fancy stitches eat thread and take patience. worth it, though, i think. turns rather ordinary jammies into something special.

i designed them in child's play, using the no sideseam draft for the pants, and the classic blouse (i think) for the top. the top has fitted sleeves, but is very basic. a fast project, but dd9 is very happy with them. (peaches is her nickname.)

molly kate's new dress

2006-04-27T16:03:00.000-04:00

this dress was made from some scraps from a sling i made for a friend.

i used pink batiste for the lining. the pink batiste was formerly a nightgown of mine, that didn't quite work for me. i had made it for her birth (almost 2 years ago now, sniff), but didn't like how it fit me.

i designed the dress using wild ginger's child play pattern making software. www.wildginger.com
i used the baby & me option for the first time (tipping hat to rowena). i used their standard size 2t, because it's so hard to measure wiggley toddlers. i added the peter pan collar as an afterthought. all in all, it was a lot of fun to make this dress. i especcially enjoyed doing the tucks. and. . . isn't she just the sweetest li'l thing?

it was very hard to get these shots, as the subject is *most* uncooperative. i actually took these in our church's baby room.

why i treasure homeschooling

2006-04-27T15:55:00.000-04:00

after we'd finished our lessons for the day, the kids go outside to play in the beautiful spring sunshine. on this particular day, dd9 decided to take her silkies and make a canapy in our dogwood tree. doesn't she look charming up there? yes, i made the dress!

road trips are fun!

2006-02-04T22:40:00.000-05:00

in early january my family and i took a road trip. we went to lancaster, pa to visit my nmsl friend, michele. see pic at left of michele and me in a chic cafe in lititz, pa. in the background is a fountain of ever-flowing chocolate. we went there after fabric shopping, naturally. we had such a great time. can't wait to visit her again!

then on to harrisonburg, va to see jennie chancey of sense and sensiblitity patterns www.sensibility.com from harrisonburg, we drove to asheville, nc. what a lovely town it was. all kinds of artsy shops--my favorite.

next, we drove through the mountains to nashville.

top above, my friend desiree & I go shopping in downtown asheville, nc. desiree and her family have recently moved from long island to asheville. i miss her lots. in the pic, we are purusing a bead shop.

directly above, my friend rowena and i meet at her shop in nashville. we had a short meeting, but i think we're kindred spirits. it was such a thrill to finally see her in person after all these years.

january was pocket diaper month

2006-02-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

the above is a closeup of mk's new pocket dipes. below is all i've made last month.

i've spent most of january working on pocket diapers for molly kate. i just love making these: they're fast and i had everything i needed in my stash. who says my stash is outta control? :-) i can't say enough about how much i love catherine's chloe's toes pattern.

More Creations!

2006-01-09T20:13:00.000-05:00

I made this for Diana, age 9. I really like the brightly colored fabric. I used my Child's Play pattern making software from Wild Ginger. I tried to do a flouncy, ruffley collar. Didn't turn out quite perfect, but Diana still likes it. It has a very high "twirly" factor. I just love to sew for my kidlets.

Here's an apron I did from the Blooming Apron pattern. My Pfaff was in the shop, so I did this on my featherweight. I had never pieced flowers like those before. I also enjoyed using my bias tape maker for this project. I bought the main fabric in Columbus, Georgia at a fabric store that specializes in children's heirloom clothing. www.sweettreasures.com
naay, but they do mail order.
This is prolly more than you want to know about my sewing, but here ya go.

Hoodies are finished and a Diaper

2006-01-09T19:39:00.000-05:00

I finished the hoodies. They turned out okay, kind of a fun garment. Very comfy. Your basic hoodie. I now have my digi cam, so we took some pix. Of course, having a digi cam doesn't automatically make me a good photographer, as you can see. Even though it's sort of a dorky picture (that's dd9, me with my eyes closed, and Molly Kate who snuck into the pix).

Next, I'm moving on to a "diaper a day." I'm using Catherine Decker's pattern, Chloes Toes. I'm doing the pocket aio. I love this pattern! It takes all the guess-work out of making diapers. So far, I've made three, but taken a pix of only the first. I decided I definately like knit pul better than woven. I dyed the foe (fold over elastic) with Rit. I'm also proud that I only used stash fabric to make these. It turned out nice, don't you think? Molly Kate (16 months) had to be chased down to take these pix.

McSewing 2 Hoodies

2006-01-02T17:31:00.000-05:00

To the left, Molly Kate the most delicious toddler in the world, 15months, photo taken by her big sis.

I got up early today and did my "Flylady" chores for Monday. Therefore, I had guilt-free time to spend on sewing.

I logged in 3 1/2 hours in dribs and drabs. Yay! What took the most time was all the prep-work. This is the sky blue tie dye knit from www.fabric.com . I doesn't have great recovery and tends to stretch, but, hey, it was only $3 something a yard. Anyway, I spent a long time interfacing and serging the hems, as well as the kanga pocket edges. Imho, I think it's attention to detail such as this that make a garment look more professional.

I got all the way to applying the sleeves. In case you wonder what "McSewing" is, it's a term invented by the lovely and gracious Catherine Decker, a sewing pal over at the nmsl. (That's the nursing mother's sewing list, for all you unintiated:-) You make a bunch of the same garment at the same time, doing all the same tasks at once, i. e. interface everything that needs it at the same time; apply all the sleeves at the same time, and so on. She has made lovely McDiapers, McShoes, McJammies, and is presently working on McTshirts, amongst other things. I'm only making two of the hoodies at once, but McSewing forces you to think ahead and plan your project in the most efficient way.

I'm using the new Kwik Sew book for ladies' sewing for my hoodie. As I was working on it, I discovered that I had accidentally used a bateau neckline and that the shoulder seams are too skinny. {smacking forehead} Then I remembered that the nursing nightgown I made out of this pattern last year had this same issue. Oy vey. Can't do anything about it now, as I have no fabric left. It's intended to be a casual garment, so prolly it'll be okay. The good thing is that the hood itself still fit into the neckline properly.

Paean to my Wonderful Pfaff 2046

As I worked today, I was repeatedly struck by what a wonderful machine my Pfaff is. It truly is the Lambraghini (sp?) of my sewing machines. My wonderful dh got it for me last year. It was a b-day/Valentine's/anniversary gift. Pricey, yes. But worth it? Oh my, yes!

It does buttonholes without fuss. Had to do some for the aforementioned hoodies. It travels over lumps with no complaints. It hums along. I have recently learned how to use the alphabet function. Believe it or not, technology makes me nervous, and sometimes it takes me a long time to try something new, but on my Pfaff, it was easy.

I just looked up what "paean" means. Among the ancients, rejoicing in honor of Apollo. Has a certain kind of meter. Hmmm. Perhaps the above is not really one, but there it is. :-) Be forewarned, Gentle Reader, for I feel more paeans coming on soon. Subjects that come to mind are: my featherweight, my Palm Zire 31, my yarn stash, my treadle machine. And don't get me started on my dh or my spectactular kids! ;-)

My Family & DS's Jammies

2005-12-31T21:12:00.000-05:00

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In light of the terrible pix in my last post, I thought I'd share a family shot, one of the few we have.

This was taken last August when my dss graduated from basic. That's him between dh & me. In the front are ds6, dd9, and I'm holding ddtoddler.

Here is my ds wearing some jammies I made him, and another of him wearing a hoodie from the same fabric. The fabric is from fabric.com. We love tie dye in our family. The patterns are from KSSFC.

Soft Leather Baby Shoes

2005-12-31T20:14:00.000-05:00

Today I made not just one, but two pairs of soft leather baby shoes for Abbey, who turned one recently. They are so fun to make, it can turn into an obsession. Unfortunately, I have a limited supply of leather, much of which is in not-so-excitng colors. I got this pattern from the nmsl friends website. It's fairly simple. Here are a couple of pix, not that clear, but better than nothing.

The pair at left is from shiney black leather; the flower is lavender; the center is a deep purple.

My second pair (right hand corner) I did in a smaller size. They're medium blue with a red flower, white center. I think these are the better looking pair. Again, apologizes for the bad pix. Digi camera is coming soon!

My First Blog

2005-12-30T19:41:00.000-05:00

I've wanted to blog forever, mostly about projects I'm working on, so today here I am! I think this'll be my knitting and sewing project blog. As we speak, I'm working on dd16mos's baby quilt, which I hope to get done before she turns two. It's a stunning quilt, made from bali fabrics, all hand pieced w/lots of curves and points. A challenge for me, but I started when I was prg. with this sweet dd.

I also have outstanding knitting projets:

tights for me from the ez's _The Opinionated Knitter_. I'm making them from a lovely greyish tweed that Heidi bequeathed to me before she left for Florida.

merino socks from a lovely handdye by Cherry Tree Hill. These socks have been my travelling companion, but I haven't been out of the house much lately, kwim?

Sewing Projects:

There are many, but,

*Soft leather baby shoes for Abbey for her first bday. They're black and purple. Need to finish by Sunday.

* 2 hooded tshirts for dd9 and me. The fabric is a "way cool" sky blue tye dye from Fabric.com, one of my fave fabric haunts.

Big News: Caroline is getting a digi cam! Whoo Hoo! Dh bought it for me for Christmas. Got a good deal on a cute Nikon Coolpix S1 at Amazon.com. I also got a memory card and a Johnny Cash boxed set CD. Been craving a little Johnny Cash lately.