Did I Say Once a Month

Okay, maybe I'll blog every other month. Seriously though, I don't have a whole lot to say.

I've been working on a few projects...

These are called Monkey Socks and I got the free pattern on Knitty. I've always wanted to make these, unfortunately they're a little big on me. I'm about 8 rows from finishing them at this point, obviously I haven't taken a new picture. 

Nick's parents came for a visit and brought us this awesome Royal Wedding commemorative mug. I can't tell you how excited I am about this mug, for realz. I really want to knit the royal wedding party, must get this book.

We had some good friends visit as well & while they were here, Nick celebrated his birthday. I made him a marble cake with chocolate frosting. We weren't sad when we had some left over.

I also made these for a party recently. The marshmallow filling was a little too soft. I think humidity might have a bit to do with that. I made some marshmallows a couple weeks ago and they just weren't right, it rained a lot that day too. Lesson learned.

And Miss Amelia has now passed her 6 month birthday. Time is just flying by!

That's what's new in my neck of the woods, how about you?

November Update

Whoops! I forgot I had a blog, I guess it's time for an update, haha.

Well, things are pretty good around here. Amelia will be 7 weeks old tomorrow! Wow, time flies.

She's about 9 pounds now & learning new things every day. Tomorrow she'll meet her Auntie Veronica and 3 of her cousins for the first time, we can't wait.

I haven't had much time to sew or knit, but I did start an afghan a few weeks ago (thanks to Trisha). Here's how it's looking...

I'm actually a bit farther along than this, but I don't have a new picture. It's practically dark here right now so there's no point trying now. (There's snow on the ground too!) The free pattern for the afghan is here. I decided to go crazy and try a different color scheme, I think I like it so far. And here's Trisha's version, so pretty. I try to knit a row every night or so. At this rate I could finish by the time Amelia starts school.

Though I haven't been sewing much, I did make it out to a quilt show this weekend (thanks to a very proud daddy who pushed the stroller and chatted with all the nice ladies at the show who wanted to know all about the baby). I picked up a few treasures.

These toasters will make a great coupon organizer some day.

And what about these retro prints? I bought them with coupon organizers in mind, but I may have to keep a little for myself. :)

Miss Amelia will enjoy this alphabet panel & matching print. The panel is narrow so I can either make it a wall hanging as is, or add to the sides and make a quilt. Maybe I'll decide by the time I get to this project.

And here's a little something for me. You can't tell from the pattern but these fabrics will make an adorable snowman wall hanging. They had a sample made up at the show and I was hooked by the red & aqua. It'll be great in my dining room some day.

I guess that's my update. Hopefully as Amelia grows, I'll find more time to blog and sew. Have a great Thanksgiving in the mean time!

Handmade for Baby

My baby shower was a couple weeks ago and I wanted to share some of the beautiful gifts we received for little BooBoo. It was a small gathering but I'm happy to say that most of the gifts were handmade!

Trisha made this sweet quilt. I'm so honored that she gave it to me, she actually worked on it at my house! haha I really love it. I want the baby to enjoy it, but I'm also thinking about hanging it on the wall in her room for a while so we can see it. Thanks Trisha, I really love it!

And from Trisha's daughter, these gorgeous baby bracelets. Remember the stitch markers she made for me? These are even more special because they're made from beads & crystals I used to make my wedding jewelry. They'll be a wonderful keepsake for the baby.

My friend Alejandra knitted this adorable hat and blanket. I love the color of that blanket and the hat is just too cute (and, I'm told, it will even stay on).

 

My cousin's girlfriend Sanya came all the way across the country to be with us that day and the gifts she made are to die for. Look at this adorable hat and booties. Just beautiful!

Sanya also made this lovely gown and hat. These are just amazing and I'm so touched that she spent so much time for my little baby. If I didn't have to take the baby home in a car seat, she'd be wearing this home for sure.

Christina couldn't make it to the shower but she sent along this cute bunny to hang in baby's room (I've reserved a special place). His body is cross stitched and his little tail is beaded. Isn't he sweet?!?!

Christina also sent me some birthday pressies (my birthday was this past Saturday)...she really knows what I like.

I can't wait to make these cookies! Thanks so much Christina...you're so thoughtful. :)

I'm so lucky to know so many crafty people! I've been chipping away at my craft list lately too, here's the latest...

A very soft knitted blanket, just riddled with mistakes. I suppose no one will notice as long as I don't lay it out flat.

And just finished today:

A reversible hoodie made from an old Butterick pattern I had laying around. It only took me the afternoon to put this together.

I finished this little scotty dog a while ago, just didn't get a chance to share it. He's so cute, isn't he? (If you want to see both sides, click here.)

And (just for Trisha) because I refuse to dress up a newborn for Halloween...

In one evening I knit up this sweet little pumpkin hat. She can get her picture taken in it but I'm not taking her trick-or-treating. ha!

There's more where this came from but I'm a bit behind in the photo department.

Is it too much?

Wow, I didn't mean to be missing that long, sorry about the extended and impromptu blog break. Must be all that nesting going on around here. It seems like all I post anymore is WIP's, but that's what I'm doing. What can I say?

Here's another round...(with a few finished projects thrown in to prove I do actually finish things every now & then, ahem)...

**Warning** This is a long post, but not too wordy.

 Let's start with a few sewing projects in the works for my little bump.

 I've spent a lot of time cutting out patterns lately, totally not my favorite thing to do (and my back likes it even less. Don't get me started on back pain right now).

How about a nice little corduroy jumper/dress with polka dot bias trim? I can't remember where I got this cool corduroy, but I know it was in England and it's super soft & cute! I'm making the little sleeveless version.

Both of these fabrics are from JoAnn and are a nice medium weight twill. I'm making the hoodie out of the polka dots and the jumper out of the kitties.

Two projects from this pattern. On the left, a coat out of the birds, lined with the stripes. Then I'll make the little dress in polka dots with stripey bloomers.

 It's cool enough around here to wear winter clothes for about 9 months of the year, so we're going to need some outerwear. This will be a reversible hooded jacket that will still work if the next baby's a boy.

Call me old-fashioned, because I am. I'm making a long sleeved dress from this adorable floral and yes, I'll probably make the eyelet pinny too. (This pattern had been around a while, my niece got a pretty little dress from it when she was a baby ~ she'll be 14 this month.)

Make it a double old-fashioned. The red will be the little short sleeved top with the blue as the bias trim & ties. No idea where the floral fabric came from but I have a bunch and I think it's perfect for this 1950's reproduction pattern, don't you?

I might as well show you my pinning system. I like to pin a little scrap of fabric to the pattern envelope to keep track of my plans and to remember what I've made from a pattern. It seems to work out pretty well for me and is very helpful if your memory has been sucked away by a growing human in your growing tummy.

This one shouldn't take too long and it's going to be made from fabrics from my stash! Check out Jenny B.'s blog for the free downloadable pattern for this cute scotty dog. p.s. I'm making the flat version.

 Maybe I'll make something for myself, maybe I won't get to it, haha. More stash fabric. Did you know there are about 3 maternity patterns out there these days? So unfair. Luckily I live in Frump City all the time.

On to the knitting...

One extremely soft pink blanket that will likely have cocoa brown trim. This is version 2, by the way. I already pulled apart about a foot of knitting I didn't like. I'm happy with this one. Got the free pattern here.

How about a little cotton cardigan? The yarn is a little paler in real life. If I don't add the organza ribbon trim, I think it could be gender neutral if needed. I'm sensible that way, you know?

This little jumper will be great for any time of year, also in cotton.

No, I haven't started on this one yet. Don't you think I probably have enough things going right now? This will be a warm wooly pullover hoody, and gender neutral again too. I promise to leave this project until I have at least one knitted sweater finished.

 Last night we went to Stitch & Pitch night at the Seattle Mariners game. I got this gorgeous yarn there. It's called "Sublime" and let me tell you, it is! It's ohhh so soft and will be made into this cardigan. (I'll be honest with you, this project will likely get started right away. Because it's crocheted, I know I can finish it about 50 times faster than anything I knit.)

Time to prove prove projects are also being completed!

 

Digging into my stash again, I made this super simple flannel blanket.

I couldn't resist this kitten fabric, so I paired it with a plushy white stripe & some rick rack I had laying around for another easy blanket.

I finished the baby shower invitations and mailed them, woohoo!

They do actually sell some cute stretch knits at JoAnn! This was easy to make, I used my serger and I know it'll be a handy addition to the baby wardrobe. It's got a drawstring at the bottom so you can reach the tootsies.

 Yep, cloth baby wipes. (I'll be making cloth diapers too). I've made 24 wipes and the only thing I bought was the cute animal print you see on top. Nice.

And last but not least, the Union Jack that's hanging by the door in the baby's room. (I hung it there so we could enjoy it from the hallway.) It's not actually quilted because I was too lazy to get into that, but you get the picture. :)

So, let's take a vote now:

___ You're nuts, that's way too many projects.

___ It must be nice to be able to make so many things yourself. 

___ What about the crib bedding? Geez, get off the couch already!

Anyway, I'm having the time of my life. :) 10 weeks to go.

p.s. I finished the granny square blanket too. And I'm still making new handbags & coupon organizers for the shop.

Works in Progress

This post is just to prove that I haven't been sitting around eating bon bons while not blogging, ahem.

Month 2 of Sock Club at Yarn Stash in Burien. I couldn't actually go to the meeting this month because it was on Nick's birthday, but Trisha and I got together and started our socks. They knit up pretty quickly though I still probably won't ever make the second one. I'm the poster child for second sock syndrome.

I pulled some fabric off the dusty old shelf and put this quilt top together. This is one I've had bagged & planned for about 3 years - no foolin'.

You see how I'm trying to make something other than coupon organizers? I got the adorable bumble bee fabric you see here and didn't know what to do with it. I think it'll make a very sweet little zipper pouch. Maybe a long skinny one? More stash busting too. My 30's prints were meant for sewing!

Last but not least, more Hope Valley added to my collection. If you sell fabric crafts, you know that Denyse Schmidt not only designs great fabric (quilts, patterns, etc., etc.), but she sells too (I hope I don't sound shallow saying that, but it's true. A girl's gotta run a business)! You can't go wrong with these fabrics. I admit, I get a lot more pleasure from putting them together than I do sewing them together.

So now you know, I may be quiet, but I'm still working away.

My First Cables

You know I've been getting into knitting lately, right? Well this weekend I finally tried my first cables! Trisha and I went to a pattern release party at Yarn Stash in Burien and started making these great fingerless gloves. 

 

The pattern is by Jennifer Hagen of Figheadh Yarnworks. Jennifer was there to help us through the pattern and to show us the new patterns she's releasing. I must say, her knitted samples were gorgeous! The Off Kilter Mitts pattern is available as a free download here.

 

This is the yarn I chose to make my mitts. It's a wool from Cascade Yarns called Quattro, the color is Fiji. I like a solid with a little something going on, so this one's perfect for me (and affordable).

I got enough done at the shop to get a little help with the cables. It wasn't too hard and the pattern is really well written & easy to follow. All you have to do is pay attention!

Unbelievably, I finished my first mitt that night!! (I'm sure Trisha will be amazed.) What's great about these is that you just knit two of the same mitt. No left and right. Pretty cool, eh?

I think I did pretty well for my first time cabling. Some of the stitches are a little loose at the edges of the cables, but I don't mind. I used DPN's, and I think that was the wrong choice. I definitely learned a lot from this project and I look forward to making the other mitt.