Sewing – Just another WordPress site

Something Different

March 14, 2016 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

I promise I haven’t forgotten about you, dear blog. I’ve been thinking about you a lot, while I sit and knit these last few weeks. It’s just that, well, after moving and the holidays and birthdays and being in my 3rd trimester, I just needed some space for me. I’m sure you understand.

I’ve not been still. I’ve been working hard on things for Lollypop. There’s also the quilt top that I’ve been working on quilting this last week. I’ve had some other projects on my mind, too, but I want to show you something I’m really happy with today.

I’m 34 weeks pregnant, now. Toward the end of Jellybean’s pregnancy, I had two pairs of pants and a handful of shirts that were comfortable for me to wear. I’m pretty much back in the same position – with the same clothes, too! (I really hate to shop.) I don’t want to buy more maternity clothes, they’re expensive and I only have a couple of months left. It feels like money that could be better spent elsewhere.

Early on, I did buy a skirt in a pretty blue with white designs. I just never found a shirt I could wear with it. White’s not a normal color for me to wear. (I spill things easily and I have a toddler.) Most of my wardrobe is beer tshirts, blue jeans and solid colors. However, the last time I went home to visit my parents, my mom gave me a stack of shirts and one of them is white!

Before. I've got plans for those jeans that don't fit right now, too. — Before. I’ve got plans for those jeans that don’t fit right now, too.

I wanted to give this shirt an empire waistline with elastic. I measured the elastic around myself plus about an inch, then sewed it down around the shirt right under the button detail on the front.

It’s better, but I was really way too conservative with the elastic measurement and it’s not as tight as I wanted under the bust. One of my original ideas for this shirt was to just take in a pleat at the back, so I did that, too, just to bring it in more.

I really like the end result! I have room for my bigger belly and I can wear my new skirt this spring!

When I was sewing the elastic down, I accidentally caught a bit of the bottom part of the shirt under the needle… twice! As a result, my seam isn’t perfect all the way around, and when I was undoing my mistake the second time, I accidentally made a small hole in the shirt. Oops. I’m not going to worry about it, though, since I only have a few weeks left to wear it.

I’ve been nesting and getting things together for the new babe. Preparing all my cloth diapers, making sure we have a place for Lollypop to sleep and getting clothes ready, too. I forgot how small those clothes are. It’s hard to imagine that Jellybean fit in any of those things! It’s fun to get everything ready, but it also makes me realize how close we are to the end! I’ve made lots of little wool diaper covers that I’ll show you next time and I may even have a quilt finished!

Have a great week, friends!

P.S.
I have no idea what’s up with my facial expressions in this post. That’s what I get for trying to take the photos myself!

Oh No!

September 22, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c Leave a comment

I totally missed a post yesterday!

I’ve had a bad case of disorganization this week. I do most of my knitting while Jellybean is asleep. My little knitting nest is downstairs on the opposite side of the house, so I don’t make a lot of noise to wake him up. I also knit in the evenings while Hubby and I watch TV. Neither of us likes me to be up and moving around while we’re trying to watch something, so I can’t dig around in my yarn bins in the evening. During the MDO time, I’m usually busy doing housework or other stuff that I can’t do when Jellybean is home.

So I’ve managed to find myself with a project to start, but all the yarn for it put away twice this week. I’ve sat and watched tv – without knitting – twice. That’s unheard of.

I also haven’t had much progress on my spinning. I’m finding it not as much fun as I thought I would when I started the challenge. It’s fine to spin, but I enjoy knitting so much more, and with my limited time available, I choose to knit more often.

That being said, I have made a little bit of progress on my spinning. This was week two of the challenge. I spun half of the fiber and then wound it off onto the toilet paper roll to wait for plying.

Week 3, I spun about 20 grams, which is less than an ounce. Still, it’s more than nothing, so I’m still eligible for prizes in the challenge. 🙂

I’ve made progress on the lion costume, too. The body is done and the hood is going well, so far.

I was so dreading sewing with that furry fabric. I expected it to be thick and messy and hard to deal with. I did take the cut pieces outside to shake out all the fur, but sewing with it has been a breeze. I’m excited for Jellybean to be a lion at Halloween.

The knitting I have been able to do has been stockings. My sweet friend Ashley recently had another baby boy so I am making his stocking to coordinate with the other three I made.

The new baby’s stocking will have two snowflakes on it to be similar to Fenner’s but just slightly different.

I started the new stocking on Saturday, but I’m fairly certain I picked the wrong white. I started the stocking with white, but my notes say I actually used a cream color instead. I will finish the white stocking anyway and put it in the Etsy shop when it’s done.

And that’s pretty much it for this week. It doesn’t seem like much, but I sure am tired!

Have a great week!

What a Busy Week!

September 14, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c 4 Comments

I feel like we’ve been run ragged this week and it’s not over yet. Jellybean is back in his Mother’s Day Out program, he started on Thursday, and he’s doing well so far.

We’ve had an unusually social weekend, but the weather was awesome for it. I can feel fall in the air and I love it. I got to take my sweater out for a test run in the cool weather. It’s so soft and cozy and it never got itchy unless I was standing directly in the sun. I can’t tell you how much I love it, there just aren’t words.

I’m still on the knitting hangover from making such a large project, but I’ve got some good things on the horizon. I decided to redo Jellybean’s stocking, so I’ve been working on that. I made him a snowman originally, then I designed the train stocking. He does like snowman, but trains are a bigger deal, so how could I not?

It took me a while to get back in the groove of doing colorwork. I think I ripped out and started over at least three times. But I hit my stride on the fourth try and I’m almost done.

I’m planning two more sweaters before the end of the year. One is Jellybean’s annual winter sweater. He didn’t much like wearing the one I made last year (boo hoo) and I think it’s because it was 100% wool. this year, I went for a wool and acrylic blend that feels so soft on the ball, maybe he’ll be more willing to wear this one.

The second is a sweater for my hubby. I picked out several patterns that a) I thought he’d like and b) I wouldn’t mind knitting. Out of that list, he chose the 2900 Pullover by Jennifer Owens. I’ve got the yarn ordered for it, and I’m really excited to make that one.

RAVELRY_Homestead_2900_medium — 2900 Pullover

Lastly in knitting news, I’ve got a few commission stockings on the list, if you’re interested in one, please let me know soon!

I do want to show you another hobby I’ve been working on. I’ve joined a spinning challenge so I’ve been spending a few minutes each day making some yarn.

I’ve had the fiber for years, but I recently rejoined a group on ravelry that’s hosting the challenge. I even bought a new spindle for the challenge. I’m enjoying it, so far.

My plan is to spin all of this into two singles that use half the fiber, then ply them together for a two-ply yarn that I’m expecting to be worsted weight or so. I think the final product should look neat.

And because I don’t have enough going on, I am making Jellybean’s Halloween costume. He said he wanted to be a lion, so we picked out a pattern and I bought all the fabric and supplies together. Now he says he wants an alligator costume, but he’s ok with a lion. If this turns out to be as easy as I think it might, I’ll see about making an alligator, too.

That’s about it in my little world. We’re all busy, but well and I hope you are, too.

New In the Shop!

June 1, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c Leave a comment

I have just listed some new items in my Etsy shop! I have finished several of the Crochet Hook Roll-ups that I mentioned back in January.

These are really great for storing your crochet hooks or double pointed knitting needles.

I currently have five styles to choose from.

There are two available of the sheep and blue stripes, but only one available of each of the others. These are fabrics from my… um… rather large quilting fabric stash. Since I haven’t quilted in several years, many (if not all) of these fabrics are no longer available. That makes these items unique, for sure.

The possibilities are endless, though. If you like the idea, but not the colors I currently have available, let me know and I can put together something just for you.

Quickly, a day late

April 14, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c 3 Comments

I realized this morning I’m late on my weekly blog post. I knew yesterday was Monday, and I kept feeling like I was missing something all day, but just couldn’t put my finger on it. Well, now I know what it was.

I’m sure you’re all wondering how the new experience of Mother’s Day Out went for Jellybean. Well, it went great last week. He was so excited to play with new kids. The first day, we were outside with a bunch of other families waiting for the door to open. He was holding my hand and he had this smile on his face watching the other kids play. He kept leaning forward, as if he was going to run off and play, too, but then he’d sway back and lean against me. When the door opened, he was ready to go.

I got him to his room, talked to his teacher for a little while and went to kiss him goodbye. I said, “I’m going to leave, but I’ll be back this afternoon to pick you up, like we talked about, ok? I love you.” His response? “Ok, bye.” He did really well, had a great day and even napped!

So last week was fun, but today.. oh today. When I walked out of the room, he ran toward me and wanted another hug, so I hugged him and picked him up. He said, “Swing, slide!” (He wanted to go to the playground) and I had to tell him that no, he needed to stay in the room and I would be back later to pick him up. Then he cried. It was a big, ugly cry, too. All I could do is turn around and walk out of his sight. His teacher took his hand and lead him to the art project for the day and when I peeked around the corner again, he was ok. But oh, the heartbreak!

There was another mom standing nearby who’s kid is in Jellybean’s class. She said her son just could not stop talking about mine last week. He says that Jellybean is his best friend. It’s so sweet and made me feel good that he has a little friend to look out for him.

So, what did I do with my extra time last week? Well, first, I took a shower. I didn’t have to worry about a toddler having free reign on the house (although he usually hangs out in the bathroom with me when he’s here.) I didn’t have to hurry because someone else needed the shower. I didn’t feel guilty for using as much hot water as I wanted. It was glorious. Thursday I mowed the yard and got to take ANOTHER shower!

My main intention was to use the time to work on commissions, but I haven’t done that yet. I did manage to get the knitting done on my current commission project last night so all that needs is a bath and a block.

I did do something fun today. I took an old worn-out quilt and cut pieces out for smaller quilts. I cut one piece to be a small quilt for Jellybean. I repaired some of the holes where the pieces were coming apart and sewed some binding on the front. I just have to sew the binding down on the back and he’ll have a new little blanket. I cut another piece to make a blanket for the dog’s bed. I just zig-zagged around the edge of that one and it’s done. It’s been nice to sit at the sewing machine today.

That’s all I have for this week. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Baby’s New Houseshoes, Take Two

January 26, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c 3 Comments

Bolstered by the success of the slippers I gave to my Mom & Dad for Christmas, I decided to give Jellybean’s slippers another try. The knitting happens with a double strand of worsted-weight wool and size 13 needles, so it goes pretty quick. It’s the felting that is so tedious.

You take your very large wool item (that you spent no small amount of time on, mind you) throw it in the washing machine with a pair of heavy jeans, hot water, and a little soap and let it agitate. If you’ve ever accidentally shrunken a wool sweater, you know what happens next. The fun part is that if you pay attention, you can carefully control the felting process and stop it when the item is the size you want.

Now, if you remember, I had a felting mishap on the last pair. (Anyone want them? They should fit a size 5 toddler foot, $15. Let me know.) But this time, I was very careful and it paid off.

I made the next larger size for this pair and I think I felted them down as far as they would go. At the end of the process, I checked the washing machine every two minutes. They didn’t shrink at all the last two times I checked. They are a little big, Jellybean wears a size 8 right now and these are about a size 9. But they work now, and they’ll fit for a while, and he has discovered how much fun they are on the linoleum!

And now we all have a pair and I’m so proud. It’s my job to keep my loved ones warm, you know.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been working on some sewing for things for the shop. One idea is a hanging circular knitting needle organizer. My first go at that one works, but it doesn’t really fit what I was aiming for, so it’s back on the drawing board.

The other idea is a storage roll for crochet hooks.

This is actually the second go ’round for this idea. The first one fit exactly what I was aiming for, until I accidentally flipped it upside down and out tumbled all my hooks. That’s when I decided I needed a flap at the top to keep everything contained.

There are 10 pockets in the roll, enough to hold 10 different sizes of crochet hooks, and the pockets are all about an inch wide, so there’s plenty of room for hooks of all types.

I love this. I made it because I desperately needed to organize my crocheting supplies (there are more hooks hanging about in this house, I just know it.) but I really love the simplicity of it. Are you an on-the-go hooker? Toss the roll into the bag and you’ve got whatever size you need. This would work well for sets of small-diameter double-pointed knitting needles, too. It’s the only one of its kind right now, but there are plans for more to be made for the etsy shop.

This has been a productive week and I have even more good stuff to show you, but all in good time, my dears. Have a great week!

Busy week, but not much I can show you…

January 19, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c Leave a comment

Well, I don’t have anything to show you this week because I haven’t actually finished any projects. I’ve started on several, worked on a few more and almost finished others. For whatever reason, I’ve been in house-cleaning mode this week and since Jellybean has napped well, I’ve had the chance to get some of that done. I’ve been using naptime as sewing/cleaning time and bedtime as knitting/crocheting time so there’s been less knitting and crocheting this week.

I did a bit of sewing. I’m working on some ideas for the shop and I’ve been sewing up my initial designs. One worked pretty well and only needs a minor tweak, the other needs some more thought.

Part of my cleaning was to clear off enough space to block a large-ish lace shawl. This one is very special, I worked on it last year when my Grandmother was sick. It should be dry tonight and I will be able post about it soon.

I’ve finished knitting Jellybean’s new slippers, they just need to be felted. I have another pair that need to be felted, also. That may be today’s naptime activity, actually. (This assumes that I get a naptime!)

I’ve also started working on a couple of toddler-sized hats to go in the shop. Remember the dino hat I made for Jellybean? I had a few people ask if I would make others (the answer to that question will almost always be yes.) and so I am. I’m doing a few ahead for the shop, even though it makes me a little nervous to make something without knowing that someone already wants it. I think they’re really cute, so I think other people will, too.

I’ll have photos to show you next week, until then, have a good one!