Summerlins

Pattern: Summerlin by Alice Schnebly, dress option
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease
Needles: US 6
Size: 12 months
Fabric: unknown (a cotton lawn from my mum's stash)
Raveled


My gauge was a bit off but I decided to see what would happen. Finished band measurement was 17 inches. My guess is that this one would suit most 6-month-old babies, although it might work for 9-month-olds, too. The knitting went so quickly. As I eased the gathered skirt in place, I noticed there was some play in the knit top. I was easily able to encourage the top to be a bit bigger than the relaxed measurement. Upshot: It fit the recipient (a smallish 13-month-old at the time) perfectly.

Pattern: Summerlin by Alice Schnebly, top option
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Cotton Rich, color 3417 (orange)
Needles: US 7
Size: 2 years
Fabric: Cotton print from Freshcut line by Heather Bailey
Raveled


This is a heavier yarn than I used for my first Summerlin--probably too heavy for a warm-weather garment. After washing the bodice, I concluded that I should’ve gone up yet another needle size to get the fabric I was after. Maybe I should have tried the Cotton Rich DK instead?

Bagmania

Offspring the Younger, inspired by a pattern and fabrics we found at the Pine Needle, commissioned me to put together two reversible sling bags and a little zipped pouch.

Here's the reverse side of the polka dot bag.



And here's the second bag and the little pouch.



I love this pattern. Can't you imagine all sorts of great possibilities?

Documenting the year

Well, I haven't been so good at keeping up this here blog in 2008. Perhaps there's still time to address that shortcoming...

This is the first of my long-done projects just now seeing light on the internet:

Emma's patchwork-y pillow




A birthday gift from one of the offspring to a cherished friend. Did you know you can find quite cheap pillow inserts at IKEA?

Keep those birthday party invitations coming

HPIM1794, originally uploaded by scribblearts.

I love having opportunities to try out new projects. Here's my first attempt at Pink Penguin's patchwork fabric basket, made for one of Offspring the Younger's friends. Great tutorial, and one I highly recommend. Plus, the results are just so dang cute!

We popped in a few small containers of fun bath products, and this:

a reversible headband. You can find a tutorial for this project at The Long Thread. With practice, maybe I can make my edges at neat as Ellen's...but I'm still very happy with my results. And can I just say, free tutorials rock! Thanks so much, generous crafters!

Look, a helicopter

My life is full of distractions. I try to make the most of them.

This is a birthday gift for the August sibling, based on the great 1-hour bag tutorial by Jodie at Ric Rac. Took me perhaps five times as long as it took her, but that's--oh, look, a helicopter.

So, what have you done for me lately?

Owls. Many, many owls.

It is the season of birthdays at our house, and in a moment of weakness I agreed to do slumber parties for each of the offspring. Compounding the damage, I also suggested we make these little dudes as party favors.

My prototype:


Members of the parliament:


(Sorry about the dark photos.)

I've made 16 so far. That was enough for the parties, but not enough to satisfy the unexpected demand from adults. These are fun, but a bit fiddly. Hardest part? Finding buttons that work well as eyes.

Another Friday, another birthday party

It's Offspring the Younger's turn to be off to a slumber party. We made the entire gift this time. It consists of a totebag:


This is made from two florals from Erin McMorris' Urban Garden line for Free Spirit and a tonal paisley from the Tiddley Winks line by Arrin Turnmire for Moda. Offspring the Younger chose these from the offerings at Bolt. All three were great fabrics to work with and this was a fun project. I intend to try it again with some modifications.

We also made this fun little guy:


He's based on the wonderfully clear free pattern at BitterSweet. We will be making many more of these, I'm sure!

Relief

...is spelled I-G-O-T-I-T-A-L-L-D-O-N-E-I-N-T-I-M-E.


This banner came together the night before the baby shower. I used wool felt, a cotton velvet ribbon, and Heather Bailey scraps from the quilt my mum made for the baby. The mother-of-pearl buttons are antiques my gram (who will be 90 this year) inherited from her mother and grandmother.


Mum's quilt:


My cousin looks like he's examining the finer points of the stitching, doesn't he? I've seen him look at x-rays of my teeth this way. Actually, he's reading the cool label my mother sewed into the corner of the quilt. She does this for all of her pieces.

Here is my bigger FO, the little cardigan I designed for Adeline. Those of you who wander the blogosphere will understand that I owe a big debt to Nona for inspiring this one:




I think they liked it.

Fresh start

I just got word that the newest baby in the family, a girl anticipated to make her appearance in May, has colors: peach/apricot and moss green. I love this combination. Little Ms. A (she's been named already--makes me feel old, all this naming-in-utero business) is gonna need some handknits from her third cousin, once removed (that would be me...I think).

Ms. A's mother is a very talented (and very urban) young graphic designer. Hmm. An interesting challenge.

I started off by hunting down prints at my favorite hip fabric shop. I wanted to see what other colors were being combined with the peach and moss. As I suspected, there was chocolate brown. The print I liked best also featured orange, light blue, pink, olive, spring green, and ecru.



This is from the Freshcut line, designed by Heather Bailey for FreeSpirit. It's softer and prettier in person.

Then I went browsing through yarn. There is a gorgeous, glowing moss green in Karabella's Aurora 8 line. This is a yarn I've always meant to try out, given the number of people who rave about it. It is soft and machine-washable--perfect for a baby! The pallet is huge, which means I might be able to find a peach, a pink, a chocolate, and an ecru I like with the moss.

I'm ruling out a blanket. My mother and the baby-to-be's grandmother are both avid quilters, so there will be plenty o' covers, I've no doubt. Maybe a cardigan...

Since the beginning of the year, I've been checking in on Nona's project. When I saw the string-of-pearls swatch, I really sat up and took notice. And when I saw this little gem today, a design started to click into place.

Stay tuned!