Wallaby #5

I'm not sure when I started this one, but I ordered the yarn back in November.  It definitely took awhile. I've been feeling the pressure this last month or so because I'm really worried it won't fit him in the fall and it's already so warm here.  Just in time for St Patrick's Day, but the weather is in the mid-70s or higher.  I love this yarn.  Not so much the color, but that was Tim's pick. I'm glad for younger siblings that this can be handed down to after he's worn it only twice before he out grows.  Maybe this summer he won't grow very much?

 

 

New hats

It's fall and she needed hats. I've knit hats, but thought I'd try to sew some. These were super, super easy and she loves them, as you can see. She is a little over two months old and the fleece fits great (nice and snug); the knit one turned out a little big and falls down over her eyes sometimes. I used this tutorial.  Just make sure you cut the hat in the right direction (so it can stretch to fit baby's head). Also, I don't have a serger, just used a regular sewing machine for the knit fabric.  Speaking of sewing machines, I just bought a new machine.  I have had three machines in my life and all three were hand-me-downs.  I almost cried opening up a brand new machine.  It is a Brother CS-6001 and, for the record, the pink fleece hat was the first project ever sewn on the machine.

stroller remake

This stroller had seen too much outdoors and big kid riders and was in desperate need of a redo. Notice the big hole ripped in the seat? I did this for Joe, my two year old. When he saw the new cover, his comment was, "Cute!" For days, he pushed it everywhere.  I used the old cover as a template and reused the old straps.  Not perfect, but super cute.


 

New skirt

First, pay no attention to the half-naked 2-year old. I'm sure our neighbors are convinced we are complete rednecks. If the shoe fits...


Carolina wanted a skirt that she could twirl around in. She picked both fabrics and insisted on a lace trim. It went together very quickly and she is super happy with it.

Baby Quilt

Here's a quick quilt for a friend. Not entirely happy with the actual quilting aspect of it. My machine was having issues or there would be more quilting in the sashing. Ran out of time before our move. No pattern, just threw it together.

Doily pillow

Fun and easy project. I've picked up doilies for 25 cents at yard sales. Just baffles me that something that tooks hours and hours of hand crocheting can be sold so inexpensively. Maybe some people would be aghast that I have now machine stitched it to a recently made pillow cover. I'm totally happy with the result. I'm sure I copied this from something I've seen online. It seems I'm not very original these days. In case my grandmother reads this, this doily is not the one crocheted by my great-grandmother. She can tell anyway, I'm sure. I have other, safer, plans for that one.

Her Thanksgiving Dress

I call this her Thanksgiving dress, but I couldn't wait until the holiday to let Carolina wear it. Started it Friday and finished last night. I used McCalls 6062. I really recommend the pattern. Super easy (necessary for me) and no zipper. I used fabric on my hand (borrowed from my mom's stash) and I bought the pattern on sale for $1 a few weeks ago. I can also call it my $3 dress ($2 for elastic). She loves it and that's what counts. Someday when we're not paying for two houses or maybe when I get my fabric stash out of storage I'll be able to do more.

Fall pillow cover

Really I shouldn't be sewing when life is so crazy with moving, etc. Anyway, here's my pillow. I really need to come up with my own ideas one day soon, but here's where I found this. Hers is cuter. Next thing you know, I'll be copying my friend's skirts. Seriously, check them out:

Recovering chairs

This was my project late Saturday night. I've recovered six total and five of them needed new plywood cut for the base (thanks, Ben!). I didn't have enough fabric in my stash for all six to match, so it's a mixture of colors. Seriously a very easy project. They have some helpful videos on youtube, but really it's not rocket science. Just a staple gun, fabric, and green foam. The chairs still need some clean up. My kids are pretty hard on them.

Here's a before shot. I didn't think to take one before it was too late. So this was the best picture I could come up with.

table runner

Finally created something! I got the itch the other day and made this. It didn't take long at all and Amy Smart's tutorial was super easy to follow. I saw her fall runner and knew I had to make one too.

Baby gifts

For a sweet little boy in Indiana. I made this quilt. Really just too easy. Very similar to this quilt. I'll do something more complicated for my next quilt. Also, by request I knit some baby blessing booties. Really fun!



Not completely satisfied with the shrinking issues, but I do love the little strip on the back that I added. I've seen those pop up everywhere on blogs and thought I would spruce up the back just a little.

I think the pattern came from here.

Princess Dress

Not exactly my idea. The fabric was free from Mee-Mee and Carolina begged and begged for a dress from it. I figured it would be good practice for nicer fabric later. I'll make the next one a lot longer. Size 4, Simplicity 5118. Pretty easy pattern and more plans to make variations of this.

Another wallaby

Here's my third wonderful wallaby knit for my nephew Will, 2 years old. He totally loves it. I thought his mom would maybe appreciate it and then he would discard it for a toy, but he wanted it on right away and walked around just as you see him here. (For those that know my siblings, this is Jim's oldest).

You'll see pictures of a purple wallaby soon when I finish Carolina's. I think I'll take a break from wallabys for awhile, but I might just make Tim a new one. This is the only item that I've knit more than once.

Lina's little smock

Easy project. I decided I wanted to remake a too-small smock for Carolina. I call it a smock -- if anyone has a better name, let me know. I took the size 2T original (a hand-me-down from Ben's cousin --thanks, Snow!) and just traced it a little bigger on to the new fabric. It is two-sided and each side has three pieces. The whole thing lays flat when unbuttoned, so it was easy to remake.

the original below - picture taken Jan 2009

Newest quilt

A couple weeks back I went to the Sewing and Quilt Expo in Chantilly, VA. I met up with my mom and grandma and it was terrific. I was in a class all morning on free-motion quilting. That afternoon I enjoyed all the booths. So much fabric! I didn't buy much, but I did get a small stack of 100 2 1/4" squares. I really wasn't sure what to do with it when I got home, so I decided to keep it simple. I think this will end up hanging on a wall. I'm definitely still learning the whole free-motion quilting, but I'm told it takes lots of practice.

Little booties

I made these sweet little booties for a little girl soon to be born in our ward. Really very easy. It is the same pattern I used for these. Sometimes I find a pattern that works and stick with it. I've started my third wallaby sweater and have the yarn for a fourth. These are both great basic patterns for the more experienced beginning knitter.