It’s in the bag!

I have a new knitting bag… and love it!

I used McCalls Pattern 5283 with a few minor modifications, namely getting rid of the zipper pocket. I didn’t have the right size zipper on hand nor enough fabric in my stash, so I went without! I purchased the wooden handles from Joann.com, as they are only available online, and BEWARE- there is only ONE handle per package! I didn’t realize that until I received a package with only one.

In my new knitting bag would be my Hourglass Sweater, waiting for sleeves. I made the length of the lower body about 2 inches longer than the pattern suggested due to my new, ahem, post-pregnancy measurements. I knit the body on size 6 Addis but don’t have a 12 inch size 6 Addis for the sleeves…. do you think that a Denise circular would work or would that mess up my gauge?

Also in the bag is Sweet Pea’s Cabled Coat. I’m about 6 1/2 inches on the back and have learned how to cable without a cable needle! Not having to worry about a cable needle definitely makes things move along a bit faster.

After a warm spell, the ski country finally got some snow. Saturday we will be off to hit the slopes while Sweet Pea and Mercy spend some time with their Grandma. And we’re still praying that Sweet Pea will take her bottles like a champ!!!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Shaken, not stirred, for the yorkie…

This is Mercy’s food bowl.

Ghetto, I know.

However, it was a last resort this summer when ants invaded our kitchen. For some reason, ants won’t climb up and under the lip on this plastic bowl to get to Mercy’s food. I was SO grossed out by the ants- simply horrified! I guess if you have one ant that finds your dogs food, unprotected, that little ant will tell his entire family tree. So all my dog loving friends, if ants find their way into your puppy’s bowl, try using a plastic container with a lip. it worked for us.

After switching to the plastic ghetto bowl, Mercy was unable to dig inside of her bowls before eating. Weird, I know, but it was part of her routine- dig, dig, dig, remove one piece of food, run to the living room, toss said piece of kibble on the floor and roll around on it before deeming it safe for consumption.

NOW, Mercy will paw at the sides of her bowl and cry. It took a while, but we finally figured out that if we shook her food around, she would start her dining routine.

Stirring her food doesn’t work. It must be shaken.

Are all yorkies this wierd?

Mercy’s midmorning nap interrupted…

So what have I been up to while waiting for labor?

I have started making some handmade Christmas gifts like this tissue holder. The Sew Mama Sew Blog has an entire month of handmade gift ideas… and sewing gifts is a wee bit faster than knitting them, no? They have links to free tutorials at various reader’s blogs. Check it out!

What I really like about the tissue holder idea is that you only need a 6 x 7 piece of fabric for the exterior- which totally lets you use up some of your scrap stash. Plus, what woman hasn’t been a position where she wished she had tissues in her bag?

I’ve also been working on my hourglass…

I have about 9 or 10 inches of the body done… I wish I could try it on to see how it would fit- but I will have to wait on that. Until then I am comparing it to some of my favorite sweaters that I own.

Maybe a baby post next time…. I hope…

Nesting Sewing

Does sewing count as nesting? I thought after finishing this “final” project I would go into labor for sure, and yet here I am two days later…

On Saturday I suddenly realized that the diaper bag we had was a little large for the hospital trip and that I wanted a fun bag as well. A few hours later and voila! Nappy Bag Part Tres.
Modifications:

Fabric/ Lining/ Interfacing-

The patterns calls for canvas to be used as an interfacing in between the light to midweight cotton lining and exterior. I happened to have these two matching home dec weight fabrics on hand so I nixed the canvas in between the lining and exterior.

I also nixed the interfacing on the pockets since I used a home dec weight fabric and they seem just fine. Horray for no interfacing- makes sewing go by much faster plus no broken needles!
Pockets-

I made 2 pockets on each side instead of 3, as I have found that I don’t use the mini-pockets in my other nappy bag.

I also made only 1 “bottle pocket” located on the opposite side of the cell pocket. I am not planning on bottle feeding my baby and even if I were to do so, I would throw a little fridge pack bag into the main compartment, not have milk in a bottle in the unlined/ uninsulated pocket. SO, I call the bottle pocket the “mommy H20 pocket.”

Key ring loop- I can never find my keys in any purse/ bag I own, so I added a key loop to hook them on.

Wait! There’s more:

I also made the matching changing pad and case to go along with the bag for the first time. I opted for flannel as the top instead of terry cloth simply because 1- it was what I had on hand and 2- I didn’t want to spend 5.99 a yard for terry cloth, especially considering this will most likely be, umm, soiled at some point.

I’m really happy with the way the whole project turned out, personalized to my tastes and needs. My husband is a little wary of the feminineness of the diaper bag. I think he’s afraid that he will be stuck carrying it… and to confirm his fears we ran into some friends at church who have a 7 month old daughter. Sure enough, the daddy was carrying the super cute brown and blue quilted diaper bag and mom had the baby. Not exactly what he wanted to see!

So now we are double and triple packed for the trip to the hospital that feels like it will never come. The new diaper bag has this cute little hat in it:

And the snacks that I have packed for Keith have had to be replenished at least 3 times. Because, hey, if you are hungry and there’s nothing in the pantry, there are plenty of snacks in the hospital bag.

So off I go to scrub my floors and baseboards, drink raspberry tea, do jumping jacks, and take Mercy on yet ANOTHER walk today until we both look like this:

… because you know my grandma told me all those old wives tales and this pregnant momma is desperate!

Run, don’t walk

All you seamstresses out there, RUN, don’t walk, to your local Joann’s! Simplicity and McCall’s Patterns are 99¢ each!

Clockwise from left:

- Sewing Room Essentials-McCall’s M5348 - I’m dreaming about my someday craftroom… I have to figure out a theme… vintage? Modern?

- Fashionista Aprons- Simplicity 3752- Might as well look sexy in the kitchen, right?

- Semi-Vintage Aprons- McCall’s 2947- I thought these were cute, maybe not as risky as the fashionista ones… but still fun.

- Knitting Bags- McCall’s M5283- Have I ever mentioned that I REALLY NEED a knitting bag? I like the vintage look of the wooden handled one.

- Poodle Skirts- Simplicity 5403- My husband and I love the 50’s look, so I figured next year for Halloween we could be the 50’s family.

- Animal Rag Quilt- Simplicity 4993- I’ve never made a rag quilt before, but these look fairly straightforward and will make great baby gifts for our expectant friends. Of course I’ll do a test one for our baby!

I scored these great patterns for my 2008 project lineup- because I will have so much time once the baby is born. You’ll notice the absence of garments (with the exception of the poodle skirts) as I am not too confident in my garment-sewing skills. I’d like to take a tailored garment class at Joann’s next year before jumping into that sort of sewing.

Now I get to shop for fabrics!

Mercy seems to always find her way into the laundry basket when I bring it up to fold clothes in the living room. Too bad we haven’t figured out how to train her to fold it! I’m working on another pet bed for the living room so maybe she won’t get into the laundry all the time.

Sew What? Skirts!

 

 

This skirt was a cinch to make. I used some fun cotton material from Joann’s and the only modification I made was to have the skirt openn in front and tie in the back. I just felt wierd about the opening being in the back. The ties make it easy to adjust for my 6 month pregnant belly and what will happen next month too!

I have really been enjoying the Sew What book and can’t wait until AFTER the baby is born when I can make something for a skinnier me

We’re off to my SIL’s wedding for the weekend so I’ll see ya’ll when we get back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Amy Butler

Bedside Organizer, gifted to my college bound cousin

From Amy Butler’s In Stitches

Fabrics: Main Fabric- Joann’s clearance $3 a yard!

Lining- polka dot cotton print from my stash

Deck- duck cloth

Modifications: I opted to NOT use two layers of duck cloth for the deck and used just one, as I was sure that my machine would break if it had to sew through 4 layers of that and several layers of home deck fabric.

I also used cotton for the lining instead of the home deck fabric (I ran out) and I like the way it turned out, plus it was easier to sew through.

This was seriously the never-ending project. For some reason it just took me forever! I did have issues with needle breakage and jamming of my machine due to the thickness of what I had to sew through. I have a newer Singer machine and I just don’t understand what I am doing wrong. I used size 16 needles!!! I suppose I should be using a denim needle for this kind of work? Regardless, it makes me nervous to attempt the Weekender Bag.

 

In baby news, my in-laws bought us our travel system (stroller, car seat, etc.) and baby carrier. We are so thrilled and thankful! Mercy didn’t seem to like the carrier much, but it’s not for her anyways.

We’re off to the woods for a camping getaway for the weekend- a nice relaxing weekend and some campfire knitting!

Amy Butler Fever

I’m all about the Amy Butler patterns. I would be all about her fabric, but it is SUPER expensive for my frugal taste!

Nappy Bag #2- a graduation gift for my brother’s girlfriend. She’ll be using it for college books, etc. My brother likes to tease her about her love for enormous bags, saying that she could hide an illegal immigrant in there. I think the bag will be perfect for school.

I learned while making this bag ALLLLL day yesterday that JUST because you have made the bag before doesn’t mean that it’ll go faster the second time around. I actually failed to read the directions properly and ended up putting the lining in backwards, requiring me to rip out seams and redo the right way. That mistake cost me about an hour at least!

Next bunch of grad gifts are for my cousin- the Bedside Organizer and Oversized Laundry Bag from Amy Butler’s In Stitches.

All the pieces were cut late last night and I’ll start putting them together today!

I love the clearance section in the fabric stores. You can find such great stuff at a bargain. I thought that the pink and orange were fun, dorm-ish colors and I know that any additional organizational items are always great to have while at school. The bedside organizer is definitely on my own list of house projects.

The cotton camisole from Last Minute Knitted Gifts is in full swing! I finished the lace section and now it is just straight stockinette for a while. You’ve got to love those Purl patterns, never any seams. The Jo Sharp Cotton is hands down the best cotton I have ever worked with. This project will be a quick one I think.

And last but not least, our little painting helper:

Note the paint on her fur. She wanted to help, I guess!

Test project

a test project:

Butterick B4527- a pattern for a few different maternity tops and a dress. After my chaotic maternity shopping experience I decided to try to make my own dress for my SIL’s wedding that we will be attending the first weekend in August. So the purple is my test project that follows virtually the same pattern as the dress, only shorter. This way I will be able to adjust the pattern to ensure a perfect fit for the dress, which I will be making out of a Tiffany blue linen.

All that was left to do was sew in the second half of the zipper, hem the bottom and attach the straps in front when my sewing machine decided to take a break. A long break. She needed to be retimed so I took her into the shop, devastated that I could not wear my new shirt! She finally came back to me yesterday and I will be finishing that project today. I hope I haven’t grown much since last weekend!!!

With my machine in the shop, I was able to focus on my Paton’s sleeves, which I calculate I am 35-ish rows away from casting off. Now all I’ll need is a model to try on the sweater since it clearly won’t fit me now!

Some FO’s and a project round-up

Viola- the Nappy bag!

A cell phone pocket and ample pockets inside- I am liking this bag as a knitting bag but do see it’s true purpose as a diaper bag. Plus the fabric is cute and I’ll probably be toting around a diaper bag more often than a knitting bag in a few months- although there is room enough for a small project in addition to oodles of baby apparatus.

I only broke 3 needles on this project and ended up going up to size 16 to finish the strap edging.

I also busted out my Sew-What Skirts book and made my first a-line drawstring waist skirt.

Everybody has a bummer first project, right? Thank heavens that fabric was super cheap. The book teaches you how to draft a pattern and I ummm… drafted a little too much flair on the skirt so now it just looks plain weird. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again!

The baby sweater is finished!

Pattern: Child’s Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Size: 0 - 6 months

Yarn: 1 skein Lorna’s Lace Shepherd Sport in the beautiful “Bittersweet” colorway

Thoughts: I loved this little sweater project and loved watching the colors change. There is some interesting pooling on the bottom half of the sweater, where it was knit in the round, but I don’t mind. Because it was knit in the round, no seams to sew!

As we are preparing our home for a baby, we have been in major cleanup/ organization mode. Our office is now in the basement as is our guest bed, though disassembled! Through this I have been attempting to organize my craft stash, particularly the yarn corner in the living room. Lord knows that will have to move once our baby is mobile! In going through my yarn, I made a list of all the projects that I have in queue:

Paton’s V- Neck Sweater- yes it’s 100% wool and I have been working on it just to get it done and out of queue! Strangely though, the 90 degree weather makes it feel as though it is felting in my hands so this project has become an air-conditioning only project.

Hourglass Sweater - cast on, cast off, for now this baby is just skeins of yarn waiting to be cast on again. I’m thinking September would be a good time to pick this back up, especially because the color is so similar to the Paton’s V-Neck.

Wild- legwarmer/socks- I need to make one last little sock footie.

Sabres hat for the husband- needs to be done before the start of the NHL regular season. Anybody know when that is? Tomorrow? Yikes!

Baby Matinee Coat- ha- this photo is deceiving. It’s all ripped back to the wee beginning due to, ahem, gauge issues and cotton yarn. It’s for 6-12 months so I’ve got some time.

Last Minute Knitted Gifts Camisole- I’ve got most of the yarn and have decided to make this a post- partum project, serving as a knitting project and motivation to shed the baby weight so I can actually wear it.

Alpaca Scarf- for my dear husband who thinks he is allergic to wool. I have about 4 rows done! I’m hoping to have this one done before the chilly weather sets in.

Dublin Bay socks- Knit with Lorna’s Laces Bittersweet of course! I;;m telling you, these people that can crank out socks are just ubelievable. This is taking a while. Part of me wants to finish them in the next month before we go to San Diego since I bought the yarn there and my in-laws could see the finished product live and in glorious color, but part of me wants to frog it and start over.

One… two… eight knitting projects (I haven’t counted up the sewing ones).

Do I have room to make this lovely bag?