KCWC more pants

A few more pairs of pants that have been sitting waiting, have been finished, it's been great to clear a few things from the sewing room.  Although only one pair fit Corrin as he has grown fast, or they have sat waiting for their waistbands too long, hehe :) 

I will have to sew a few of pants that do fit next, I have plans for some cute stripey cotton knit footed ones next.

I started a light linen dress for summer for Tessa using the corner of some vintage napkins for pockets.  Which I hope to finish as soon as I get onto cleaning the iron. A sticky iron and linen don't really mix well.
I hope everyone that took part enjoyed this round of KCWC. I'm looking forward to joining again in April and I hope to be more organized and have everything pre cut out and ready to go.  It's a great way of getting some sewing done for our kids without too much pressure.

KCWC Quick change pants

For Kids Clothing Week Challenge, you are meant to sew for an hour per day, it's a fun way of getting into a little sewing for your children.  I have really enjoyed it so far, although this is all I have finished there are still a few unfinished items, that need attention.

I used the Quick Change Pants pattern from Handmade Beginnings by the talented Anna Maria Horner.  It's a lovely book, which I highly recommend, she explains things quite well and if you look on the Flicka group you will see that the Quick Change pants are very popular.
The pattern is sized from 0-3mth to 18 - 24mth and is perfect for using special scraps of fabric that you just can't give up and really want to showcase.  The really cool thing is that the pants are reversible and if you need to change a top you can just reverse the pants for a co ordinating outfit when you are out and about. My only mod was to use some fold over elastic as I love how easy it is to use.

 

I had little fun with this pair, one side is a country theme with blue tartan and cute farm animal fabric and the other side is a suave city side, a little bit of a laugh but very cute.  The only thing is that our wee man with only fit this size for five minutes, so I will be sewing another pair very soon.  Which I don't really mind as it is quite fun choosing fabrics.  You should give it a try

Amy for Kate

In august our much anticipated niece arrived, the very sweet Kate.  Who we are very excited to be meeting at Christmas time.  Her parents aren't big fan's of the traditional pastel baby colours such as pink.  Which I really have to agree with, so I was delighted to find this perfect red in my stash to knit this wee cardi.  I used my special skein of Vintage Purls Max sock yarn which I had been saving.  Vintage Purls Max is wonderful to knit with, and I can't wait to knit something else with it.

I tested the prem size for this gorgeous Tiny Amy Cardi for the very talented Sarah of Sezza Knits. The pattern is very well written has cool techniques, like cabling without a cable needle which I am so very happy to learn as it saves so much time.  It was perfect for the Tobias Cardi which I knitted next.  I love the V neck on this design, which is so practical for babies short wee necks and looks great on older children too.  The big sister design the Amy Cardi is sized from NB to 12yrs so it's a great value pattern. I can't wait for the adult pattern which I hope to test.

Woodland Tee

Introducing the Woodland Tee
My first knitting design, was published last month by Petite Purls

I was inspired by the tall trees of Eastwoodhill Arboretum, New Zealand, to design a practical textured tee and wee owl for endless entertainment hidden in the front pocket. Perfect for distracting your wee one while you lounge around in the shade of a dappled tree on long summer days.

The Woodland tee is a raglan tee worked from the top down in the round with seed stitch and waffle stitch details. The pattern also includes a waffle stitch pocket sewn on with whipstitch or your preferred method, and contains a hand sewn owl softie made from wool felt scraps.

The Woodland tee would knit up nicely in a light dk 8ply or heavy sport weight 5ply wool or wool blend yarn for extra warmth in the cooler seasons.
A few suggested yarns include

Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton (which the sample was knit from) in the colour Basil

Bendigo Wool Cotton

Bella Baby Layette a bamboo wool blend dk

Cascade Ultra Pima  cotton dk
Jodulbug Creations DK 8ply a hand dyed nz yarn
Mosaic Moon Gaia Organic Merino Spot  a hand dyed yarn from the US
Red Riding Hood Yarns "Belle" 8ply Superwash  a hand dyed nz yarn

These are just a few of the many suitable yarns the Woodland Tee, I can't wait to see some more knitted projects.
I'm so excited about this Design, the first of many to come.  I already have another swatched and couple of others in the planning stages.  

It's Blogtober again!!

 It's October again and it's time for a month of daily blog posts, with the annual blogging festival called Blogtober which is hosted by the lovely Kat of the I saw you dancing blog.
So go on, have a look at what everyone is up to, and join in if you feel like it. There are over 230 blogs participating this year, wow so much talent in one place.

And finally here is my finished Griffin test knit by the very talented Tikki of Tikki Knits.
I am just about to cast on for the dress version called Gwendolyn, but I'm still deciding on the perfect yarn :)

Tobias

Here's Corrin in one of my latest test knits, Tobias.  A very sweet cabled cardi for our wee leprechaun by the very talented Georgie of Tikki Knits. 

I used some gorgeous 'Bark Fairy' 8ply superwash, dyed by the very talented indie dyer Jo of Jodulbug.

Tessa decided she needed to get on the photo action. I'm so glad she did, they look very cute together, these are some my favourite photos of them together.

 Another test knit for Georgie in progress, a Griffin sleeveless hoodie.  I have been knitting this with Mosaic Moon 'Bean Sidhe' and 'Moonlight' semi on BFL Aran, a stunning yarn from Morwenna.  I can't wait to finish this, it's a very clever pattern.

Summer dresses

Last weekend I was lucky enough to get some time in the sewing room uninterrupted, and these are what I created.
 

Some cute size one Summer dresses, which seems bizarre as we have just had the wettest July in over 20yrs. The above dress is my favourite, which is yours?

A Dancing Skirt

Last month I finished knitting Tessa's 'Dancing skirt' as she named it.  The pattern is from the very talented and prolific Elena called the Coral Skirt and is part of ebook  consisting of five skirts inspired by the sea called Itty Bitty Pool.
The photo above I just love, Tessa is so happy and the lighting is great. The skirt still has the under layer to be knitted on.

Now to talk about the yarn, which is from the very talented NZ indie dyer Hannah of Red Riding Hood Yarns, she has just celebrated two years in business and has done so a wonderful job.

I used one of Hannah's Petite sets which has 5 x 55gm 8ply Superwash wool in coordinating colours called 'Enchanted Garden'.

Wee knitted things

Corrin is wearing his Beyond puerperium cardi that I knitted for him in the 0-3mth size with gorgeous and soft hand dyed Red riding-hood yarns 4ply merino.  I used an I cord bind off around the edge in Malabrigo Sock in the scrummy 'Chocolate Amargo' colour which has really finished it nicely with the matching buttons. This has been my favourite knit for him so far and it has lasted him quite a while considering he has grown like a mushroom. I'm quite sad that he is finally growing out of it at nearly 5mths.

Tessa is very happy with her cosy Paige babydoll that I knitted for her with a scrappy set in Wooltopia worsted 3ply 100purewool.  This is a super soft merino yarn which many yarn dyers use for a base, perfect for baby knits and super soft projects, perfecting for felting which tells you that it is a hand wash only yarn. 

 Our sweet Corrin has settled into the family really well and Tessa just adores him.

Autumn in pictures

Our new addition

Introducing Corrin Tom who arrived on the 1st February. The proud bid sister has been loving 'helping' look after her wee brother.

His first day.

And doing what he does best sleep :)

My creative space: Darwinia again :)

So I did knit another Darwinia dress again like I promised, this time in some lovely bendigo woolen mills cotton in a discontinued colour called Damask Rose I bought from a destash on ravelry. It was my first go knitting in cotton and I must say I'm hooked


It's going to a lovely wee dress that Tess will get lots of use in summer and layered in the cooler months. As you can see she is quite chuffed with it and loves her sunnies too.
Sorry November I didn't mean to neglect the wee blog again but I have been busy creating, more photos to come :)

For more creative spaces look here

Blogtober: Creative space

I finished another wee baby knit last night. This one was for a new wee girl next door. I used another wonderful pattern by Tikki called Darwinia which has two different bodice types and two different skirt variations. A pattern I have been meaning to knit for awhile and now I can't wait to knit it in a Tessa sized version in cotton. I'm just waiting on some special yarn to arrive so I can get into it, I'm trying to start thinking ahead for christmas. I can't believe it's only weeks away really.


I'm quite pleased with how this wee dress turned out, it certainly isn't a colour I would normally go for, but I'm definitely warming to it.

For more creative spaces look here.

Blogtober: KCWC, Eden

Last week I finished Tessa's little vest, perfect for spring weather. I used the simple but well written called Eden's Adam by Tikki. A very popular pattern if you have a look on ravelry.


I used the last of the Family Roots, Wisteria that I bought from a Coop and contrasted it with Woolganics Krishna. I love this colour combination.


And lastly another big sister little sibling set of pants. These were made from my lovely Mum's fabric stash. My sister and I always loved this fabric and always had fights over, hehe.

Blogtober: KCWC, another Charlie Tunic

Well this rather rumpled looking top (she had just been for a 30min ride in the carseat) is my second Charlie Tunic. This time I used a heavier weight quilting cotton for the main and some gingham from my lovely MILs stash. I used a size 2 this time and didn't do french seams so it should last all summer. It was definitely out of my comfort zone for colours and clashing potential but I do think it kind of works. Again I added length and spiced it up with cute shirred gathered pockets from the Made website. Which are much easier to sew than they look. In fact I'm really becoming a convert to sewing with shirring elastic, great for quick projects.

We went to our local Spring show and this is Tessa having her very first ride on the Merry-Go-Round. You can't tell from the photo but she is rapt and having a great time.

Blogtober: KCWC, Creative Space

So the other day I finished my first attempt of sewing the Charlie Tunic from the MadebyRae Blog. It's great unisex pattern that goes from size 12months to 5years, great value for money.


I was quite pleased with how it turned out. I used some lovely blue chambray cotton for the contrast facings etc. For the main fabric I pulled a couple of pillowcases in a sweet floral print out of my vintage stash and I had quite a bit left over from the second pillowcase.


Although there are quite a few steps to the pattern, there are great photo instructions to help you along the way. I enjoyed this pattern so much I have already finished the second version.

This version was a size 12-18months with french seam as I had black thread on the overlocker. I really should have have changed it to white as this cute top won't fit the whole summer most likely. The only thing I really recommend changing when using this pattern would be to lengthen it by about 5cm or 2inchs. Otherwise I can't wait to sew my third version, maybe dress length with cap sleeves.
For more Creative Spaces visit here.

Blogtober: KCWC, a few stripy things

Sorry to be a little late in posting for the Kids Clothing Week Challenge, but I have been participating and keeping up with an average of an hour of sewing per day. I have been on a roll, which is satisfying even if my photography is lacking, quite embarrassing not helped by the grey days and my simple point and click digital camera (gift genies if you are reading a lovely Digital SLR camera would be a wonderful christmas present, hehe).

Anyway this first finished project is a wee dress I refashioned from a skivvy using the Playdate Dress tutorial from the wonderful blog called Craftiness is not optional. I discovered this blog on the Kids clothing week challenge central Elsiemarley blog where you can get inspiration from lots of talented people from around the world.

Another refashion from a long sleeved top to cute and comfy PJ or lounge pants. I especially like the fold over waist band, great for the changing tummy sizes of toddlers.



And a cute big sister, little sibling matching pants. Again a refashion from a long sleeve top, a great way of getting more interesting fabrics than available in local fabric shops. I used another favourite waistband technique of mine, fold over elastic. So easy to use and cancels out the fiddly step of pushing elastic through a fabric casing. But make sure you stretch the elastic as you sew and use a stretch straight stitch if you have it or a zigzag stitch if you don't.
More sewing finished projects tomorrow, happy creating!