Moss Stitch Jacket

Jacket for Baby Samantha

This gorgeous Moss Stitch Jacket design by Debbie Bliss was found in the October 2012 Love Knitting magazine.  Easily knitted in simple moss stitch with eyelet for ribbon it was made with Moda Vera Cupcake yarn and required 3 x 50g skeins.  I was hoping for left over to make a matching pair of booties and/or a beanie however when I purchased the yarn last year with no idea in mind of what to knit with it, I only bought 3.  I am very pleased with the outcome of this jacket and have plans to make another one!

The Giggles Teddy

The Lincraft Giggles Teddy Bear

Here is a photo of the pink bear made and referenced to in earlier post.

So much fun to make and a joy to have my junior child help with the stuffing!

Amy Butler Birdie Sling

The Sling

I have long wanted to try and make a bag and bought the Amy Butler Birdie Sling pattern about 3 years ago at the Craft Fair.  This year I managed to get the recommended fabric from Fabric.com and a few days over January saw the start of it.  Only in the last few days have I finished it and I am really happy with the outcome.  The pattern was very user friendly.

The only thing I wouldn't do again is use the same wadding for the lining.  I think the one I chose was a bit too thick resulting in a more quilted finish that I would normally like.  Next time I intend to use something less bulky.

I bought enough fabric to make 4 bags with different patterns so I look forward to finishing the rest and gifting them.

Shorted Out

Girls pyjama shorts

I wanted a quick and easy pattern to make a pair of pj shorts for my eldest and came across the following website: PJ Shorts tutorial http://lieslmade.wordpress. com/2010/10/06/pj-shorts-tutorial-with-pattern/ by Lieslmade.

The printout pattern was very easy to cut out and put together. There were instructions for french seams, however I wanted a quick sewing experience and just overlocked and hemmed. Not having had much experience with elastic I searched the internet again to find some solid instructions and to find the right amount to cut and feel it has gathered nicely.

Boys shorts

The junior boy required new shorts and I found Burda Start2 9793 and made pattern C. I had old material sitting the cupboard intending for a business shirt, but it was cut into for this project.

As far as patterns go I enjoyed this one, it wasn't challenging at all and the stitching turned out better than I thought given that I hadn't sewn in quite a while. (I made these before the pjs to get some confidence back!)

The only problem arose when it was time for the elastic (a bit of a mental barrier for me) and I only had some old elastic in the cupboard. It seems to be too rigid for this pair of shorts and after finishing them, I realised I needed to buy new non-roll elastic and replace it. However, I tried them on the junior boy first and they were a bit tight and unforgiving so he will not wear them at all - not even with nice new elastic in them.

The photo

Blanket for Baby Silas

So this is the much anticipated photo for the earlier blanket I finished. It is folded here, but as you can see it is edged with the blue and alternates with green, blue and orange squares. It was extremely soft and I hope there are many many years of love for this one. It was hard to give away as my 10 year old was convinced it was going to be a throw rug for him. I guess I will just have to start another project (after the rest are finished!)

As for teddy, he was completed last night at about midnight. All arms, legs and head sewn on. I decided to not add a button nose and go with the natural shaping of the face. I think for a first time he turned out well enough. As for a photo, I am struggling to get the teddy of the 2 year old! The bear still needs a ribbon around the neck for completion and a photo taken so again, it will be posted shortly. Once I can sneak it off the bub while he's sleeping. This one was meant to be a gift as well, so it looks like I will be needing to start another one. I have to say, now that I have made one, the rest will be very quick and easy to complete. A great pattern to follow and once you are used to knitting with Giggles, it comes together nicely. Sewing together, I chose to use standard needle and thread as it is near impossible to sew with the Giggles yarn as there are so many loops it can get caught on, using a thinner, smoother thread was much easier.

Finished!!

Blanket for baby Amity

So it may have started over a year ago, but the Snowball blanket has been finished. The hold up was in finding a neat way to cast off, and I found last weekend the way to do it. The tension must have been right as I don't recall doing anything different than an ordinary cast off and it finished off beautifully.

I think this type of wool will be too hot to put over a baby as a true blanket, however the thickness of it and soft cushioning will be a perfect rug for a baby to lie on the floor with or for a pram. I made a tag as seen in the picture with Made for Amity on the front, and the washing instructions on the back and tied it to the blanket with some ribbon, which can be easily removed after. I thought it added a nice finishing touch to the gift. A quick card and it's in the post to Perth. I hope it is as much loved in using it as I had in making it. I must say I was very proud of the final product!

Busy times

It's been a while since last posting and I have been very busy with the usual parenting antics AND finishing the blanket for a friends baby. Yep a project is finished!! The picture isn't uploaded yet but will post soon, hopefully along with the Lincraft Giggles Teddy. I bought the nose yesterday to sew on and just have to find the perfect eyes to match and it's complete. The family are enjoying playing with the legs, arms and body in separate pieces and littlest Zac has had a great time stuffing the bear, so hopefully the finished product will be here soon. There maybe some contest as to who it goes to, so luckily I have enough wool to make another!

Now for the pattern. I must say having never knitted a toy before I didn't know what to expect. It has been a lot simpler than I first thought it would be. It helps that the Giggles wool is "fluffy" you could say, so that there are no defined stitches to match up, but it has been a good starter project. The trick I think is in the shaping when you add the stuffing as that is what defines the shape and character of the bear. I am finding the stuffing and shaping of the head something I intend to take some time on to get it looking right, otherwise I think the rest of the effort will be wasted if the face doesn't reflect a perfect finish. The next couple of weeks will tell. I need to explore for the right eye buttons. I can't believe out of all my button containers I don't have ones for the eyes. Oh well, I will enjoy the search and maybe find extras along the way.

So the blanket. It was meant to have 5 strips but in my late night efforts found that the picking up of stitches along the edge didn't work as well on two of the strips, it seemed to pull to tightly. So I sewed up the 3 finished strips and it worked well at that size so I left it at that. The edging on the pattern called for a larger border, however I felt having it the same size as the blue edging in the centre of the blanket gave it a better balance. Being a soft polyester, the squares do appear to be different sizes but the same number of stitches were used. I think not sitting and knitting in a shorter time frame has led to different tensions at the end. It is only really noticeable on one square, I am happy with the rest of the blanket. The people receiving the gift were happy, so I am happy and can't wait to do another blanket (after the remainder of outstanding projects are completed!)