Thursday, July 31, 2014

Little Leggings

I find myself making more and more of Rosa's clothing, especially as I grow confident with knits. It sounds so grand to say that I'm "confident with knits," though really it's nothing special when you consider how forgiving a fabric it is! *wink* At any rate, leggings have been coming off the assembly line lately, since I find them perfect to pair with tunics and dresses that are now a little too short. Also, I can usually fit a pair on the leftover fabric from one of my tops, so the fabric is generally free.

I usually keep it simple -- a two-piece pattern with a hem at the bottom (sometimes pre-provided if I'm using an existing shirt) and a casing with elastic at the top. It's almost shamefully easy. The middle pair below has my favorite waistband, namely, a waistband casing that stitches right-side-together to the leggings and is topstitched down. It just looks so tidy!




The pair on the right was made from an incredibly soft Old Navy top I thrifted for $1 -- it was hopeless for me, but perfect for leggings. And I was even able to salvage the adorable double-layered, bobble-trimmed cap sleeves to use as ruffles.   




Simple and gratifying. Now that's the kind of sewing I like!



Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Blueberry Bush

How long have we lived in this house? Four, going on five years? Surely by now we'd know our house and grounds pretty well, right? Well, we were in for a surprise this summer when one of the nondescript bushes in our yard started producing blueberries!





I vaguely recall suspecting such a thing last summer, but the berries were so tiny and decidedly not blue that I decided I must be mistaken. If I'm correct, blueberries require two bushes of different varieties in order to produce. We must have an anomaly, then, because we just have one bush. One enormous, overgrown, formerly-unidentified bush. Seriously, it's about eight feet tall. 




The Littles have been loving our new find, and Little Man is on a constant hunt for "dark ones." That snapshot of berries in Rosa's hand above? I had about a second to capture that before they all went in her mouth. They're tiny little berries, and not particularly sweet -- but that hasn't stopped us from munching up every berry we can find, as soon as they're ripe. I'm rather surprised it's bearing so late, as I believe late June is more typical for our area.




 It's been such a treat to enjoy some homegrown food -- especially since it cost no effort on our part! After some of the "discoveries" this house has dished up, it's nice to have a surprise of the pleasant variety. Now just to save up enough berries at one time to make some muffins...


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Little Toms

An invitation to a baby shower for a little fellow in our church finally offered me an excuse to try Leisha's free pattern and tutorial for mini "TOMS." They're just too precious not to try, don't you think?



I use a thick navy linen with a homespun texture, with a pale khaki twill for the lining and soles. The elastic was actually salvaged from the "shelf bra" of a camisole (seriously, when will clothing manufacturers realize that an extra layer of fabric with a band of elastic does NOT constitute a substitute for a proper supportive undergarment?). It's thick and slightly fuzzy, and worked perfectly.




I made two significant alterations to the infant pattern, besides omitting the tags and adding a little bit of length to the sole, since the aforementioned baby is two months old. One was the construction of the "V" shape -- mine is lined, in a sense, which should eliminate the possibility of raveling at the corners of the "V's" (which I could see was inevitable had I followed the instructions as written). The other alteration was to make the sole lining conceal all raw edges by waiting to stitch it on until the end. Next time I make a pair I may take a few pictures of these steps, as they're hard to describe but are worth trying.




Hopefully these fit the little chap they were intended for -- otherwise, I'll get busy stitching up a slightly larger pair! My babies had such tiny feet that I can never get a good sense for how big baby shoes should be. I have a feeling I'll be buying the pattern downloads so that I have access to all of the sizes that Leisha has designed. I love the style, and think they're perfect for little ones!


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Finery and Progress

I've developed a fascination with linen sheets of late, ever since I discovered their existence -- sadly, that's an expensive fascination, though apparently a good sheet will last many years.

And then, I remembered. In a box under our bed, we had a carefully folded top sheet and set of matching pillowcases, given to me at my bridal shower by a dear family friend. And not just any top sheet -- a snowy, antique French sheet with beautiful embroidery. My recent research made me suspect it might be linen, and my suspicions were quickly confirmed when I pulled it out.

Look at all of that incredible hand stitching!

I'd never used the sheet, considering it too precious and special to be subjected to wear and tear. In fact, it still had the tag from the fancy antique linen shop it had been purchased from. My reasoning, of course, was ridiculous. It was given to us to put on our bed, not under it. And why own something "too nice" to use? I delayed a day or two, then finally washed it and put it on our bed. The verdict? Not only is it beautiful, it's incredibly luxurious. It has a lovely weight and drape, and the way it breathes helps regulate temperature. I'd no idea sheets could be so lovely! I now need a bottom sheet, which I'm considering sewing myself. For now, it's a luxury to have some finery for every-day.

In other news, here's the current project on my needles:




It's a Harriet cardigan, in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash Worsted. The color is Fjord Heather, and is rather lighter than it shows up in the photo. This little sweater is destined for Rosa once the cooler months arrive -- though it currently seems as though cooler weather will never come! The pattern jumps from 24 months to 4T, so I'm trying to size it in between. So far, so good -- though my ribbing looks untidy, a problem which will hopefully resolve when I block it. But there are a number of rows between now and then...

Sunday, July 13, 2014

A Meret for Rosa

I technically finished this project some time ago, but am just now getting around to posting it. Which, considering that it will be many months before it's cold enough for Rosa to wear it, doesn't seem all that late. 




The (free) pattern is the Meret (Mystery Beret) by Woolly Wormhead. It was really quite easy -- though, in typical beginner fashion, I did have a fair number of rows to pull out and re-do. I learned a few new things along the way, and got a taste of basic lace knitting. 




The yarn is Knitpicks' Gloss DK in Velveteen. It's 70% Merino and 30% silk -- doesn't that just sound delicious? It's got such a lovely hand! Perhaps my favorite thing about knitting is that you can see everything coming together gradually. I'm sure over time I'll gain a sense of what different stitch combinations will produce, but for now it's almost like magic. Increase, then decrease, then yarn over? Then BAM, you see the pattern emerge. 




I used a DK yarn instead of the recommended Aran, since I was making this for a toddler -- however, I used the medium size, since I didn't want it to come out too small. I think it will work just right. It fits now, but will fit better in a few months.

This, of course, was the best picture I managed of Rosa wearing her new beret -- trying to get a picture of a hat without also photographing the face of a very active toddler is no laughing matter!




Here's a better view of the lace pattern:




I've done one or two other projects which I'll have to post soon, but I've actually had a bit of a hiatus from knitting after attempting a pattern (several times) that was ultimately too difficult. But I have a new pattern lined up, and hopefully Rosa will soon have a wee cardigan for the winter months.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

The Dove Dynasty Tee

This started out (in my mind) as a bird print sort-of-colorblocked top (does it count as colorblocking if one of the blocks is a print? Hmm). However, it quickly received a new spin when, on its first "airing" at a church function, one of our male friends mistook it for a Duck Dynasty print. When I told my husband about it, he said it looked more like a Dove Dynasty print than a Duck Dynasty print. He can't help being clever, you know. The name has stuck, and now that's how I think of it!





I used my basic self-drafted cap sleeve tee pattern for this top, changing it up by adding a curved yoke. I really though an all-over bird print might be a little much, and I'm glad I went with my gut. Both fabrics are from Girl Charlee.




The tee seemed a little baggy when I was done, but I didn't want to risk too much shaping in the side seam because the grey jersy isn't super stretchy. So instead, I opted to cinch in the waist in the back with a piece of wide elastic, zig-zagged to the shirt. I think it worked out rather well, and it provides just enough shape.




I think I reapplied the neck band three times -- once after that initial airing I mentioned. I just couldn't seem to hit the sweet spot, so the neckline was annoyingly floppy. Fortunately it's perfect now. My one regret? The first row of birds under the yoke is upside down, and it would have been better to have that very visible row upright. But I did make sure the rows lined up at the side seams, so that consoles me a little.

The only question is -- are my fowls actually doves or not? We'll just say they are, okay?

Monday, July 07, 2014

My First Me-Made Swimsuit

After so many years of "stretchy fabric phobia," it's hard to believe that I've actually made my own swimsuit! My previous swim "outfit" was made up of a leotard, tankini top, and active-wear capris. It was fine, and did its job well. However, lately I've found myself wanting something a little different -- after all, it has been six years! And now that I'm comfortable with knits, I thought it might be time to try swimwear fabric.

Inspiration struck when I saw this post by Jacqueline and her daughter -- which is a tad ironic, since my swim ensemble mentioned above is included as one of their sources of inspiration! 

I went for a browse on Girl Charlee (always dangerous!) and fell in love with their Teal Cherry Blossom swimwear print. It's fun and a bit more exotic than my usual taste -- perfect for a swimwear. Of course, I decided to take it a step further by choosing orange milliskin for the bottom half, to blend with the orange in the cherry print! And this time I opted for combined leggings and skirt for the lower half.




I was able to get away with just one yard of each fabric, since the orange fabric was super wide (72"!). I have absolutely no scraps of the orange fabric left over, and very little of the cherry blossom print. 

One of my favorite details of the top (for which I used my faithful self-drafted cap sleeve tee pattern) is the ruched shoulder seam. I cut narrow strips of the orange fabric and gave me them some hefty tugs to make them "curl," and then fed them through the top-stitched casings and sewed them into the neckline seam.

As you can see, I hemmed the armholes but left the fabric edge raw. No raveling, no problem.

The swim top has no built in "support," but I'm used to providing my own undergarments for that purpose. I also added ruching to the side seams, though that took several tries to get just right -- I had to trim off quite a bit to get it to lay right!




I drafted my skirt and leggings combo by tracing my Running Skirt from Kosher Casual. At the time I bought it, I was not yet sewing with knits -- though quite honestly, it was well worth the $42, as it's very well made and has allowed me to come up with my own pattern for future skirts. Here's a view of the leggings underneath the skirt:


The milliskin is super silky, but is also lightweight -- I'm glad I have two layers!

And here, dear readers, is the closest you will ever come to seeing my unmentionables on the Interwebs. I knew I wanted *something* under those leggings, and cotton undies just sound clammy and unpleasant. So I traced a pair from my closet and came up with this:




They're absolutely perfect! I still have no idea how I managed to eke them out of the tiny scraps of fabric I had leftover. I even designed them with a facing/casing at the leg holes, but it turned out that I didn't need any elastic inserted. There is a casing at the waist with a bit of elastic. I self-lined the crotch, and had some fun with finishing details.




It wasn't long until I got to put my new swim outfit to the test! We put together a little sprinkler apparatus for the kiddos, and took advantage of a particularly steamy day to cool off in the driveway. I found Rosa's rash guard at a local second-hand shop, but I made her leggings-with-attached-circle-skirt using fabric given to me by my mother-in-law.


I had to take the waistband elastic in after that day, as poor Rosa's leggings
kept slipping down over her diaper!


Here's the sprinkler, made with inexpensive PVC parts and one 10' section of PVC pipe from Lowe's:


We drilled four holes in each length of PVC pipe, setting them at odd angles
so they would squirt out in different directions.

And here's my only action shot so far! Excuse my odd expression; those little water streams are... well, wet!


Little Man is very fond of his "prinkler," and asks to use it almost every day.


Final analysis? I haven't actually been swimming yet, but I think this will work very well, indeed. I may shorten the skirt a tad just to facilitate movement, as it tends to bind to the legs a bit when wet, but overall I'm quite pleased. And at less than $20 for a modest and customized swimsuit, it was quite economical!

Now I'm more determined than ever to get out with the littles and enjoy the water this summer. I hope you're all having pleasant summers of your own!