Somewhere between a WIP and a FO

It's Thursday. I was going to post some pictures of all my Works In Progress yesterday, and then all my Finished Objects tomorrow but since yesterday didn't happen (like so any of the blog posts I've been writing in my head lately) I thought I would pop in today.

We've been busy gearing up for Christmas, for more cold weather, and for time with friends and family over the next month. I think it's the cold weather most of all that has infected me with knitting bug. There's nothing like knitting needles clicking away with a pile of wool yarn on your lap to keep you warm during the cold. So here are a few of my recent projects - knitting and otherwise.

First, my first pair of socks! not as hard as I expected thank goodness. The yarn is a beautiful handpainted merino fingerling yarn spun up by a friend of mine. These will probably be in Q's stocking.

speaking of stockings. I had planned on knitting everyone a pair of socks for Christmas and having one of those be their stockings but that didn't happen.... So then I thought that I would buy us each a pair of nice wool socks and those would be our stockings.... but then that didn't happen either. So in the end I just got frustrated with my knitting one night, set it aside and whipped these up with some fabric scraps I had

another Christmas knit for the little boy is this wizard hat

doesn't look like much now but it's a HUGE hat that will then be felted down and some decoration added and it will be a wizard hat! trust me ;)

And one more felted knit project and another first for me - mittens!

the one that's finished I have felted some already and tried it on Q, for some reason the thumb is freakishly long so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet, this one is sort of hibernating while I figure that out

and last but very much not least on my knitting needles this week is my first sweater! Sweaters have always daunted me but no more! super easy!! This was also #20 on my list.

This photo was actually taken a few days ago and the sweater is much more completed now, just waiting for one last sleeve to be sewn on and I can show you some pictures of it all finished up! Unfortunately I think I'll have to make some adjustments once it's done because it seems a little bit short for Q.

I also finished this pumpkin hat a few weeks ago, it was a super quick and easy knit and something I've been wanting to make for a while now. I made it a bit longer than called for so that it could roll down over Q's ears but I still wish I'd added another inch to it because it's so damn cold outside. I can't wait to use this pattern again in the spring to make a strawberry hat :)

That's most of the knitting I've been doing lately, and it's all for Q! I did find time to make myself one little thing, very practical but very handy as well (pun intended!)

Fleece-y fingerless gloves!

Can you tell how incredibly easy these are to make? yup, it's just a tube of fleece with a slit on the side for my thumb. Fleece is so easy to work with since it doesn't unravel at all, I love no hemming! I need to do more decoration to these but I've been using them a lot as is - especially when I get in the car first thing in the morning and the steering wheel is so cold.... fleecy mitts to the rescue!

I actually have a few more finished things to show but I need to find them and snap some pictures of them, between the cold weather, the crud going around and a toddler it may be a while though :)

Snack Bags

I'm finally going to post some of my recent projects. First and one of the simplest - snack bags! I loosely followed this tutorial

and I think they were a hit. Qais can't decide if he would rather carry them around to look at the 'ment mem' aka cement mixer, or if he wants the 'gookies' aka - cookies (which is any snack) that are inside.

A Seriously WIP-y Wednesday

I've been meaning to get my sewing machine out for a couple of weeks but every time I start to I get overwhelmed with all the half done projects that are waiting for me. This week I finally got around to pulling them all out though and now they are waiting for me on the kitchen table, not to be ignored!


Hopefully I'll be able to show off some finished projects over the weekend, when I get more time to work on them. There are a couple play crowns that need elastic, some snack bags waiting for buttons or elastic to be sewn on, some pants to be patched, baby wipes to be finished and a couple shirts to be mended and decorated.

#19

Remember the quilt I was working on a few weeks ago? Well I finished it!

I actually finished it a while ago and it's been getting lots of love and cuddles these last few weeks.

I love watching my house fill up with handmade items, and watching my son love them - it makes my heart all warm and fuzzy :)

Easy Peasy Homemade Hooded Towels

Q is getting to be a wild man these days and his curiosity and endless energy means a lot more baths, hence the need for more towels. I found a towel at the thrift store a while back that had a washcloth sewn coming off the side in the center, it was sewn down to create a pocket and it got me thinking about how I could make one that would work for Q. I came up with 2 variations and so far we're liking them both. These are super easy to sew hooded towels

I got some cheap-o bath towels and coordinating hand towels at wal-mart, they actually had a bunch of colors on clearance when I went, score!

so first I folded and cut the hand towels in half vertically. Then I found the center of the bath towel and pinned and sewed them together.

I chose to sew them on top of each other instead of a turned seam because these were both finished edges and I didn't want the turned seam edge against Q's neck.

For version 1 (which is sort of like what I found at the thrift store) I folded the hand dowel down and sewed 2 seams at a diagnal, closing the hood but also creating 'ears' on either side of the hood that would not only be cute, but keep the hood snug on his head.

I love the way this one came out, I want to make another one in more puppy dog colors for my little dog lover

For version 2 I sewed the top section of the hand towel together width wise

which created a classic hood

Beanbag Alphabet... a start

Inspired by Ashley over at Lil Blue Boo I started to make a beanbag alphabet for Q, or Patrick, or Sophia or Mateo... maybe one set for each. I started with Qais's name to see how the paint I have would work - it definitely bled. hrrm. not sure what to do about that. I might just keep these for Q and make a full alphabet on a fabric that needs less coats of the paint so it will be less likely to bleed.

I started filling them with northern beans, then ran out and moved onto pinto beans, then ran out and filled the last one with black beans. So in addition to being a good learning tool, when you're done with them you can make a nice soup!

Weekend

This has been my weekend so far. Working on lots of sewing projects I'll show very soon with a baby on a quilt next to me and usually a dog under foot.

I'm loving the weather and all the doors and windows have been open for days.

The Enemy Called Pants

The littlest one has been unbelievably cute lately. The kind of cute where I would do anything in the world to get a smile out of him or make him laugh or just get him to look at me really, he melts my heart. Do all parents love their kids this much? I hope so because it is an amazing privilege to love this little dude.

I've also been trying to reconnect with my routines and my craftiness. I've spent much of the past week just trying to get dinner on the table every night, the baby in his crib for a nap, and keep B and I healthy and rested. In other words - I've been busy being a mom.

I finally tried my hand at making a pair of pants for Q and they came out really well. I used a few different tutorials online as a guide for them but ultimately I just cut the pattern out based on a pair of pants I already have and then added a few inches everywhere to increase the size so they fit more like a 12-18 months size. I was very pleased with how they came out and very impressed that I made something that feels so accomplished - pants! I had been on a big washcloth kick before these and I was worried that everyone in my family was going to get washcloths for christmas. Albeit they are very nice washcloths - super soft flannel on one side in an adorable print and then a complimenting color of terry on the other - who wouldn't like that?

For the next pair I'd like to create a higher rise and a better fit for cloth diapers. I'm going to use these great guidelines for making alterations to my next pair. I chose to go with a woven fabric for the first pair so I wouldn't have to think about the stretchiness of a knit while sewing, but I think I'm ready to make a pair of knit pants next. I think the knit will fit and feel better than this first pair and I have a box of old tshirts that I'd love to turn into baby pants. All in all though, I was very pleased with myself!

What should I make next?

Beginning Sewing Projects

I've been working on a few beginners sewing projects and some have been winner and some have been big fat losers.

I made some of those cute burpcloths I mentioned a while back and they came out pretty sucky - I'm not good at sewing curves so far. Or at cutting things straight or symmetrical. That was my very first project though and that's okay with me. I've ended up putting them to good use in my house despite their imperfect seams - they live in a basket next to the high chair and are used for the all necessary wipedown of the boys face and hands after dinner.

I made two 'boy' ones and two 'girl' ones

I also made some cloth baby wipes. These actually came out very nice, terry on one side and a cotton flannel on the other. Unfortunately I learned a valuable lesson about seam allowances with these and had some unraveling to deal with in the wash. I ended up taking them apart and re-sewing them with a bigger seam allowance and they're just fine now. Cute too.

My first sewing lesson

a self learned lesson really and something that is probably obvious to 99% of the people on the planet. I am not one of those people though.

My lesson is this - In sewing it's a good idea to pin, measure, iron, and generally plan ahead. I just wanted to cut things out and sew them together and in my head that seemed perfectly fine but WOW - it did not come out like it did in my head.

My mom had to come over last night and give me a lesson. After she left I actually sewed a 1/4inch hem around a piece of flannel and got it STRAIGHT! it wasn't hard but it was a little disappointing. Over half my time was spent doing stuff besides sewing - that stinks! I just wanted to sit down at my sewing machine and have amazing stuff come out. Oh well. I almost have an embellished receiving blanket and burp cloth to show you.

I have been busy with other things lately too - my almost crawling son that has become a serious kid in the past couple weeks and is full of energy and pizazz and thinks he's too good to take a nap. And I've fallen in love with this.

my new woven wrap and I'm always in love with this

A start

When I got home from my trip there were lots of packages waiting at the door for me. That's the fun of birthdays (and amazon). Among the packages was my new sewing machine! and all the various supplies I had gotten as well. Life has been crazy this weekend and I haven't gotten a chance to play with everything yet but I did at least unpack it all and set it up in preparation for what I hope will be lots of crafty fun.

Here is my new setup:



my mom told me to get pins with big heads for grabbing and I just think these are so pretty. Of course, I mostly think they're pretty because they're all in their pack so neat and colorful


Now I actually have to figure out how to sew....

New Project

Last night I wondered aimlessly around Jo-Ann's looking at fabric and trying to find something to make that would be easy. I decided to go with the swaddle sheet and matching burp cloth. Here's the fabrics I chose.


They can be gifts if necessary or just good beginning projects, depending on how badly they come out of course. I'll let you know how it goes.

My sewing machine should be here tomorrow. Me on the other hand? I'll be in our nations capitol this week. I'm hoping on a train this morning with baby Q in a sling. I'm nervous, but so excited to see my girlfriends on the other end and for them to finally meet baby Q!

Sewing

I have a birthday coming up next week and my family was lovely enough to get me a sewing machine this year! I'm SO excited to re-learn to sew. I see so many projects that I would love to do and I see many possibilities for future crafting.

Now that the sewing machine is on it's way (from amazon) I need to figure out what kind of projects I want to do when it gets here. If you've been around me recently you've probably heard me talk about the felt playmat I want to make for Mateo. I'm still planning it out in my head, but that will definitely be one of my first projects.

I also wanted to share a few others that I'm thinking of doing and invite suggestions for other projects. Do you want me to make you something? I have a pile of things to be hemmed already and my niece has a birthday coming up that I'm sure I could make something for.

a tie outfit for Q

an embellished swaddle blanket and matching burp cloth (this would be a gift)

embellish my diapers

some shoes for Q

or an outfit like this