I Found Tinkerbell and A Cardigan is Complete

Friday afternoon, I found Tinkerbell flying through my front yard!

In crafty news, my Cardigan for Caleb is complete! I finished seaming it up yesterday afternoon after the big first birthday party. It still needs to be blocked, but I could not wait to show it to you. I used the pattern from Annypurls called A Cardigan for Merry. The yarn is Knit Picks  Comfy Sport, and I used about 3.25 balls of each colorway in Cypress and Bison.

Little Tink Costume

I have really missed blogging the last week!  It's not for lack of desire, but for lack of time and energy to get anything sewn to show you. I have been knitting like crazy, but I do not have anything picture worthy. There is about 2 inches left on Caleb's birthday cardigan and then I can finish it and take some pics for you. I'm hoping to have it done by his birthday party on Saturday so I can wrap it up in this super cute choo choo train paper I found at Walmart today.
All of the sewing I have done this week has been Halloween related. Little Miss Katie was going to be Little Bo Peep and Caleb was going to be the sheep. Well, I got the fleece hoodie with ears made for his costume (pics soon to come), but before I could make Bo Peep Katie decided after a visit to Target that she wants to be Tinkerbell or "Tickle Tail" as she calls her. Therefore, I went shopping for some supplies, reached into my pattern collection and came up with this:

For the top I used cheap green satin (a pain to work with) and The Scientific Seamstress' pattern called Simply Sweet Tops and Dresses. The tutu is made with nine yards of tulle and I used the "Green Fairy" instructions from You Can Make This Fancy Filled Sewn Tutu. I originally filled it with spangles, but didn't like the look so I took it out. We have green wings that my mom found at Dollar Tree to finish the look.

I Actually Knit a Gauge Swatch... Two, Really

What's this?

Gasp... it's two gauge swatches for this Sally Melville vest from her book Warm Knits Cool Gifts

 

 Sally wore the vest version of the green colorway during the class I took a couple of weeks ago and I just knew I had to knit one. These pics from the book do not do it justice. It is so cute and made to be very flattering to the female form. I decided to go with a vest because I am very hot natured and with Memphis having a relatively short winter season, I figured I would get more wear out of a vest. This is my first fitted garment attempt for myself in years. I have done a cardigan and a vest and they both were miserable failures. However, after taking Sally's class, I have a new found confidence that I can make a garment that fits and is flattering to my feminine shape.

A Very Knitty Weekend

Spent my weekend with my booty parked on the sofa knitting and listening to the Agatha Christie Radio Mysteries. I worked on Caleb's sweater and it is chugging right along. I should have it done in time for his birthday next Thursday. I only have one sleeve and the hood left. Here is a pic of the front.

Upside down, but you get the idea.

 

 

I also worked on a hat that I was commissioned to do for my friend Elissa. Her baby girl, Lydia, is the cutest little chubby thing and Elissa needed a red and cream stripe stocking hat for Lydia's Christmas pictures that are being made this week. When she asked if I would knit it for her, I jumped at the chance. I love doing cute little baby hats! I used Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Serrano and Cream. The pattern is Peppermint from Susan Anderson's book Itty Bitty Hats. Susan Anderson designs some of the cutest knits for babies and little kids. Her blog, Spud and Chloe, is adorable and has some great free patterns.

Mommy Made Friday on Saturday

What mommy made thing is Katie wearing today? Her peasant top I whipped up on Thursday afternoon of course.

Keeping Ahead of the Blahs

Not feeling too great today. It's probably due to the not-so-wonderful air quality we are experiencing here in the Memphis area. However, I did get off the couch and do a little sewing something to prevent the blahs from coming my way. I have been knitting a ton and should have Caleb's birthday cardigan to show you soon. Knitting, though it is my passion, unfortunately is not as quickly gratifying as sewing. So, when I feel a case of the blahs coming on, the best medicine is the whip something up. This little peasant top is made from a plaid shirt I found at the thrift store. I used a couple of different patterns as a guide, but really it was all me. I made the sleeves at a 3/4 length for both fall and spring and the length is more of a tunic length which I think is super cute with little bootcut jeans.

A World Captivated

An amazing day that captivated a billion people across the globe...

Photos slurped from Herald Sun website.

My Hands are Occupied

If you're like me, and you love to read but feel that you can't because you're hands are occupied with crafty projects, these links are great for free audiobooks.
Right now, as I currently work on Caleb's A Cardigan for Merry, I am listening to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on Craft Lit. (Perfect for Halloween time) Craft Lit is a podcast done by Heather, and English teacher, who has a very nice relaxing voice and a lot of knowledge about the work she is reading. She is a knitter and started doing her podcasting with knitters in mind. However, she is great to listen to when working on many different craft projects.
Another favourite site of mine is Librivox, which is a project geared toward publishing all of the books in the public domain in free audio format. Librivox is amazing! It has every genre including, but not limited to, literature, poetry, non-fiction, government documents, and religious texts. Most recordings are done in a group format, but there are several that have been done by individuals with incredibly expressive and clear reading voices.
I also enjoy Learn Out Loud, which publishes both free and not so free podcasts over many different genres from literature to history to politics. Right now, for the month of October, they are offering Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, for free download. I am planning this one next because, it too, is perfect for Halloween time.
If you are a fan of mysteries and old-time radio shows, I recommend Old Time Radio's recording of Agatha Christie's mysteries. I listened to all of the podcasts over the weekend, and they are wonderful!

Christmas Socks #2

I just finished Christmas socks #2! Only a couple more pairs to go and I'll be done with my sock gifts. That will only leave a couple of smaller things like scarves, hats, arm warmers, and mittens. These socks are knit in Knit Picks Stroll Firecracker Heather. The pattern is called Rosebud Socks from Wendy Johnson's book Toe Up Socks for Everybody.

I attended the Sally Melville workshop this afternoon for the pattern drafting class and it was awesome! Sally is such a great instructor. I got to sit front and center with some of my knitting friends from the local guild and soak it all in. We had a great time. She is such a sweet lady and she loved the pumpkin bread I made for snack time. I know I'm a major dork, but I was totally star-struck!

Me posing with my signed copy of Warm Knits Cool Gifts

Upcycled Dresses plus a Tutorial

Caleb took a long nap this morning, so I spent some time doing a couple of upcycled dresses for Katie. I have been having such a good time looking at all the pics for Celebrate Yellow on Made, that it seems the inspiration has leaked into my own creations. The dress below is my own design. Scroll down for a tutorial.

This plaid one was made using one of my husband's old shirts and I followed the tutorial on Made By Lex for the Shirt Jumper Dress. The shirt I used already had two pockets, so I removed them with a seam ripper and sewed them onto the skirt. Katie loves having a "pockee" like Daddy's.

Little Maxi Dress Tutorial

I know there are a million tutorials in the blogosphere on how to make these little dresses out of a tank top, but I thought I would show you my way.

For this dress, I used one of Katie's old tank tops from this past summer and a vintage pillowcase I found at the Salvation Army.

  

Measure how long you want the skirt of your dress from the open end of the pillowcase. I went with about 16 inches because I wanted a little longer dress that she can wear for a while.

Take your raw edge and set your sewing machine to the longest stitch and loosest tension for gathering. This is what it looks like on my machine.

Start about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the seam on the pillowcase and sew a straight stitch all the way around until you are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the seam. 

Measure how long you want the top of your dress and cut off the bottom.

Find the mid point on the back of the shirt by fold it in half. Mark the mid point.

Gently pull the thread on the top of the skirt to gather.

Turn the top inside out and place skirt inside with right sides facing.

 Line up midpoint mark with pillowcase seam.

Pin really well all the way around, making sure gathers are even and edges are lined up evenly. 

Sew together about 1/4 inch or less below the gathering stitch. Since I am not yet in possession of a serger, I like to go back over the edge with a zig-zag stitch to keep the fabric from unravelling in the washing machine. 

This is what you now have. Kinda cute, but needs a little something. I decided to add a little sash  to this. I'm all about a big bow on the back of a dress. Well, for the seven and under crowd anyway.

Take the remainder of your pillowcase and cut off the original pillowcase seam. Now, cut two 4 inch wide strips horizontally. Cut one strip in half width-wise. The easiest way for me to do this is to fold in half to find the mid-point, mark and cut. You now have one long strip and two short strips. Sew one short strip to each end of the long strip with right sides facing each other. This will allow for the sash to be long enough to tie a bow without having a seam right on the front of the dress.

Fold the long strip in half length-wise with right sides facing. Press with iron. Sew the long sides together. Turn right side out.

Turn the open ends in and press. Top stitch closed.

Pin sash to dress and top stitch evenly with the seam of the shirt to hold it in place on both sides.

Here is what you get! 

It ended up being a little long on her, so I'm calling it the Little Maxi Dress. I'm planning to layer it this fall with a white long sleeved t-shirt.