Sweatshirt aka taming the cover seamer

Way back in June I attended a sewing workshop with the express hope of getting my coverseamer working.  Unfortunately we were unsuccessful on the day but I have since taken it in for a service and been assured that it is working perfectly.  That being the case I finally got brave enough to tackle actually sewing something on it to try and get over my fear of the thing.
I chose to make a sweatshirt for Mr A using a vintage pattern I had here (actually I strugle to call it vintage since I was at school when it was first released) and some fabric I picked up at the Sallies for $4, can't go too wrong really.  Of course I couldn't find any ribbing to match so had to go for a contrast but since this was only ever going to be for round home who really cares.
So here is the pattern I chose and I decided to make him a size 4 which was the smallest in the version of the pattern I had.  I knew this was a bit of a risk as he is pretty skinny but in actual fact it turned out ok.  Overall I was surprised at how well this did actually fit, the only point I would make is the hood is huge and really just for decoration.

As for the coverseamer well lets just say it is partially domesticated but not quite tamed.  I did manage to get it going which is a massive improvement on all my earlier attempts but I did find that it still skipped stitches a bit.  This may have been something to do with material thickness and I think it was skipping stitches more as I stopped and started along a seam.  I tried it on some scrap woven fabric and it went like a dream but what is the point of a coverseamer that doesn't like knit fabric?
So without further ado here is the sweatshirt.

And a close up of some of the coverstitching.

And finally on the boy.  What is it about 5 year old boys that they can't stand sensibly for a photo?

So overall a semi-success.  Main thing is Mr A likes it and says it is really warm.

FO: Mini Manu

This wee cardi for Miss M really all started with the buttons.  I popped into HRYC when I heard they had a new shipment of Buttons by Benji in some time ago, especially excited because I had heard rumours of penguin buttons.  I soon found these rumours were in fact based on truth and nabbed myself a set of gorgeous buttons for my "pengin" mad wee girl.  Next job was to find the perfect yarn and what do you know it was sitting right there in my stash staring at me.  Who would have thought that possible?  Out came the Red Riding Hood Yarns 8ply in 'Alice' and the match was done. 
The final hurdle was finding the pattern and after much searching of ravelry I decided on Mini Manu by Kate Davies.  This is where things began to come unstuck a bit.  Firstly the pattern is written for a light DK and the 'fabric' my yarn knitted up into was a lot denser than that really needed for the pattern.  Of course I forged on though assuring myself it would be fine.  Also it appears I am unable to read, which is bound to cause problems.  I realised when I had basically finished the cardigan that what I had read as body measurements were actually the finished measurements of the cardigan, bummer!  This meant that after a lot of hard work, and for a small cardy this one is a lot of work, I ended up with something that fits Miss M - JUST!  It is perfect just now and I am willing her not to grow until spring, hehehe.
So here is Miss M's Mini Manu.

Here are the penguin buttons.

There are a couple of really nice features on this cardy, the pleats at the neckline and the fact that the entire border is finished with an applies icord, it is a bit of work (and a pain keeping all the stitches live as you go) but really worth it for the lovely finish it gives.

The only major alteration I made to the pattern was that the pattern called for all the pleats aroudn the neck to go in one direction but I decided to reverse them from half way so they were mirrored on the front.  If I knit this again in a year or two (when I've forgotten how fiddly it was) I would reverse the pleats so they point towards the centre front.  I will also do the short rows using a different method because even after blocking they are still pretty obvious and that irritates me.

And last but not least a pic on the girl herself.

Little Miss Cheeky trying to tell me what to do while taking her photo.

So on the whole I love this but have learnt a couple of important lessons, choose your yarn carefully to match the pattern (don't be blinded by the image you have in your head of the FO) and learn to read a pattern properly when choosing sizes!

Blouse for Miss M

Months ago, in fact back at the end of April when I had some time off work as Mr A was starting school, I started sewing a wee set for Miss M.  I cut out the blouse and the jeans and so far I have still only finished the blouse.  In my defence I did actually finish the sewing of this about 6 weeks ago and then it took me another 3 weeks or so to get around to putting the snaps on.  That was mainly due to procrastination and the fact that I was going to be brave and do actual buttons and buttonholes but chickened out.
The pattern is from Ottobre 4/2008, design 5, Tilly blouse and I made a size 80.  I love the vintagey style of this wee shirt and really hope I get the jeans and maybe even jacket done to go with it at some point.  I made this out of cream viyella which I actually bought to make baby gowns way back before Mr A was born, see how bad I am at not getting around to things?  At least the gorgeous, soft fabric didn't go to waste though.
So here it is.

And a close up of the yoke detailing.

And now some pics on the girl herself.

The only problem I had putting this together was that I found the collar was too small or probably more likely the neck too big.  So I put a wee box pleat at the back of the neck before sewing the collar on.

Overall I am really pleased with this, my main problem is going to be getting around to ironing it so she can actually wear it.

Watching the World Go By

Mr A and Miss M were playing outside at the weekend and next thing we know they had set themselves up like this :-)

And what's wrong with spending a sunny afternoon just watching the world go by?

Little Ballet Girl

Earlier in the year when Mum came over she brought with her my very first tutu for Miss M to use as a dress up and play in.  Mum made this for me when I was 4 and I wore it for at least a couple of years.  Miss M hasn't shown much interest in it until the last week or so when she spied it in the bedroom and said "Dancing dress Mummy".  So of course she had to put it on and dance to 'Mia', because every little ballet girl starts off by dancing round the lounge to Mama Mia right?

Pasta Making

For a while now we have been thinking about getting a pasta machine and during the school holidays when Mr A and Daddy were in town they spied one on special and took the plunge.  This lead to a boring grey saturday being turned into a fun day making our first lot of pasta.  Everyone joined in and we had lots of fun playing with our new toy.

Pretty pleased with the results

Miss M's turn with the dough

Drying

And then of course the best bit of all, the tasting :-)

Seems to have been a huge success all round really and I can see us getting a lot of use out of our new toy.

FO: Kaipara Shawlette

Lately I have been knitting like crazy but not blogging much about it because I have been either making gifts that haven't been gifted yet or doing super secret squirrel test knits.  Now the time has come that I can finally post pics of one of those tests and this time it is actually something for me!
I had spent many hours trawling through patterns on Ravelry looking for another scarfy/shawly thing to knit to keep me warm on the cold walks to school in the mornings.  During the process and after asking for pattern ideas on the ravelry forum I got a message from Gabes of Sweetp Designs to ask if I would be interested in testing her latest shawl pattern.  As soon as I saw this pics I jumped at the opportunity and I love the results. 
The Kaipara Shawlette is a novel construction with raglan shaping across the back and then fast increases along the ends to give a lovely shaped shawlette that sits really nicely around the neck/shoulders.  It is made up of a lovely squishy garter stitch centre and open simple lace edging which can be either ruffled or not. 
The yarn I chose for this test knit is a fabulous subtle variegated colourway from Old Maiden Aunt called Ae Fond Kiss which is very subtle pinks and lilacs.  This was one of the first skeins I ever bought from Old Maiden Aunt and it was part of her "Homecoming collection" some years ago.  

A relatively quick knit this design is simple yet very effective and I love the fact that the pattern is written in such a way that you weigh the yarn at certain points, this means you can use any sized skein of yarn and get the most out of it instead of having to play a guessing game and yardage chicken :-)