FO: Daisy May

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3!
Yes I have been back at the test knitting game after a while away and once again I have really enjoyed it.  This time around I was pre-testing the Daisy May cardigan for a friend and fab designer, Christine Jeffery.
This is a sweet wee short sleeved cardy in sizes from nb to 6y.  Here I have knitted up the 12m size for Miss M in Cascade Quattro in a fab aqua colour, this may be my fav colour for this season.

 I love all the wee details in this pattern, the lovely scalloped edgings on the bottom, sleeve and neck edges, and the delicate detailing within the stitch pattern of the body.  I also adore the puffed sleeves, this is very girly without being over the top.
I decided for the first time ever to order custom buttons for this piece and ordered these gorgeous daisy buttons from Buttons by Benji.

And just because I can here are some action shots.

Thanks Christine for another fabulous design.  There is also a baby doll version in testing that I will have to knit up for Miss M once the pattern is released :-)

Kitty Cuddles

Our house is ruled by two rather rascally and gorgeous fur babies.  We have had Moley and Maya for about 5.5y now and they were both rescue kittens that we fostered for Cat Protection League and decided to adopt.  Although they are not siblings they are best of friends.  I snapped these pics of their kitty cuddles the other day.

FO: Victoria Cardy

I have been on a bit of a roll of finishing things that have been sitting dormant in the last week or so and it feels so good that I should really do it more often.
One of the first things I tackled was a Victoria Cardy that I started a long time ago for Miss M.  This is a fabulous pattern by the talented NZ designer Justine Turner and I knew that I would HAVE to knit it if I ever had a girl.  I actually purchased the pattern some time ago and knitted the 8ply version as a new baby gift for a friend.

This time around I opted for the 4ply version and did a 6m size for Miss M.  I used some fabulous hand dyed yarn from Knitsch in the Gwyneth colourway and I am so delighted with how this has knitted up, it will be a firm fav this winter I can tell.  The photos weren't taken in the best light so they really don't do the colour justice.

Everything about this design scream feminine and little girly without being over the top.  I LOVE IT!!!

It still fits!

I have a real thing for vintage baby knitting patterns.  I have been collecting them for years now and so when I found out we were expecting last year I was determined to knit something 'special' and vintagey for the baby.  Before Mr A was born I had knitted a shawl but as we were also given a couple I didn't really want to knit another.  I the end I decided on a 3ply vintage carrying coat and hat set.  Although my pattern collection is rather large I didn't have anything that went under about 6m size that I liked but a lovely lady from my knitting group came to my rescue with a smaller sized pattern. The pattern is from a paragon book and I knitted this in 3ply luxury from Bendigo Woolen Mills.  I knitted both the bonnet and helmet as we didn't know if we were expecting a wee girl or boy :-)

This was packed in my hospital bag and Miss M wore it home from hospital when she was less than 24h old, and yes it was a bit big but never mind.

Miss M wore this a few times in her first couple of months or so but then with the onset of summer it was packed away.  As I was sorting out her drawers recently I came across it and to my surprise and excitement it still fits her!  I was hoping to knit her another one for winter (and still might) but she will be wearing this at every opportunity.  She wore it today (at just over 8m) and I snapped some pics (a lot of them rather rubbish).

Look what I found....

I popped into the local hospice shop to look for sewing patterns but look what I found instead.

That would be a huge 500g hank of gorgeous red 4ply in a wool/silk blend.  Would anyone like to hazard a guess at the yarn as it's unlabeled and I would love to have some idea of the yardage of it (other than lots!).  Also any tips on skeining up or winding such a massive hank would be greatly appreciated :-)  

Hmm now to dream about what I will ever knit out of it.  I'm thinking maybe a top/cardy for me?  Time to trawl through the patterns me thinks :-)

FO: A Purple Pinny

With it coming into winter and having a wee girl to craft for I have found that my latest obsession is pinafore dresses, particularly corduroy ones!  I mean what is cuter than a wee girl in a pinafore, long sleeved top, hand knitted cardy and tights?  So here we go with the first of what will probably be many (don't say I didn't warn you about that!)
The pattern is once again from ottobre magazine, this time winter 6/2007, baby cross-over pinafore dress.  I found the purple needle cord at a local fabric warehouse for $10 a metre and this wee dress took just under half a metre, the floral lining is some that I stole from the depths of Mum's fabric stash ages ago.  In fact the velvet ribbon and thread cost more than the fabric.
The dress...

And some of the details.

I think the most surprising thing about this project for me was that I actually got to sit down and make it pretty much all in one go.  Usually I have to grab 10 mins sewing time whenever I can so it was nice to see this go together quickly.  I also love sewing with corduroy, it sits so nicely when you are sewing it.

And of course some pics on the girl herself, quite a few because she's so cute!

And my favs of her at the glass door...

Inspiration Please

After a crazy few weeks I am thinking about sewing again and I need some inspiration. I would love to make a couple of pinafore style dresses for Miss M for winter and I have some fab wool fabric and printed cord that would be just perfect. So I am asking a favour of all you readers. Hit me with your fav links to either pinafore style patterns (can be bought patterns etc, and I dont want the sort that cross over at the back smocket style) or to pictures of such dresses for me to get some ideas and inspiration. I know a lot of you spend time reading crafty blogs or even looking at kids clothes online and I would love some help on this one :-)

FO: Trousers for Miss M

These wee trousers/leggings have been in the making for so long that I can't actually remember when I started them.  It has been one of those projects that would get a wee bit done and then sit aside for ages before the next wee bit got tackled.  That said they actually went together really well and I love the result.

The pattern I used was once again from an Ottobre mag, this time from issue 1/2011 pattern number 9.  There was something about this pattern that jumped out at me when I was looking for leggings to go with the Fiona's Top I knitted for Miss M at the end of last year.  I had some fabric in stash in the perfect colour to match so it was just a matter of getting them made.  I love the wee gathers at the bottom of the legs on these and I picked up the perfect vintage buttons for the finishing touch from Holland Road Yarn Company a few weeks ago :-)

So here they are...

The legs are the same length they are just sitting funny in the photo

I made a 68cm size and Miss M was approx 68cm at last measuring which was some time ago now.  The rise is good on her over a cloth bum and there is plenty of length in the leg still for her, if anything they are a bit long at the moment.

Hi there

Look what I've got

I'm off

Cheesy!

FO: Winter Explorer

During all the mayhem that was April and birthday time I decided in my ultimate wisdom that it would be nice to make something for Mr A for his birthday.  Yes call me crazy but in my defence this was before things started going pear shaped and turning truly chaotic.
Anyway I had some gorgeous 100purewool worsted weight yarn tucked away and earmarked for a new vest for him as he had well and truly outgrown his old one and so that's what I decided on.  OK so it didn't quite get finished in time for his birthday but  nearly got there and it was done before the end of April :-)

The pattern I used was the Explorer Vest, which is a fabulous top-down seamless vest pattern and the fit is fantastic, I will certainly be knitting more of these in years to come.  I did the 3T size for Mr A and although I usually have to add length in the body for him I didn't bother this time round and the fit is perfect.  The yarn as mentioned in 100purewool 3ply worsted in colourway Winter Joy, with grey trim.  This used about 1.5 skeins of the min colour and 0.5 skeins of the trim.

Please excuse the desperate need for a haircut.

I am really pleased with this wee vest and Mr A loves it so you can't ask for more than that.