Fingerless mittens

I've been trying out a bunch of different patterns for fingerless mittens and I've come across one pattern that I love. It's knit from the top down to the wrist, making it useful for anyone using up stash sock yarn because you can make the wrist cuff as long or short as you need to. The pattern also has a great thumb gusset.

Here's my first attempt, which I'm quite happy with. The yarn is Mirasol Chirapa from Peru, a hand dyed 100% merino wool, colorway Spearmint candy. My daughter Savannah picked it out for socks, it's not exactly my color, but it does remind me of the colors in Monet's garden.

This pattern is offered for free for anyone who wishes to attempt a pair with leftover sock yarn. Props to Jeanne for sharing the pattern with us.

Car seat strap wrap

My little guy likes to fall asleep in the car from time to time and I always cringe when I see his soft little baby neck marred with the red line of his car seat strap. That can't be comfy! Using the quilt as you go method, I made a velcro wrap to cushion his head and neck from the straps of his car seat.

It's all made from bits of fabric scraps from Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope and some from Anna Maria Horner.  There are two layers of cotton batting quilted in the middle to make it cushy.

So far, so good, the little guy wakes up happy and mark-free from his car naps and appears more comfortable when napping now.

Market skirt

One skirt is never enough. There is a certain instant gratification that comes from sewing a skirt because it goes together so quickly and makes such a big colorful impact. It's hard to believe that a few strips of fabric like this:

Can so quickly turn into this:

I've been sitting on this Denyse Schmidt fabric for a long time. It's Katie Jump Rope from the Free Spirit line. When I found Dana's Market Skirt tutorial, I thought of this fabric right away. I love the greenness of it and the large pocket makes it perfect for wearing to the Farmer's Market or, in our case, to the chicken coop to collect eggs. It's hard to see, but I did some decorative stitching on the pocket in a green thread that matches the fabric. I also sewed across the 1" waist band in the front and back vertically. Even though I use the non-roll elastic for waist bands, I find it occasionally does roll, which is really annoying to the person wearing the garment and hard for the mama to fix. By stitching across the back, or back and front, of the waist band in a matching thread color, the elastic never rolls, bends in half or moves around, and it's still just as stretchy.

Here's my little sweetheart, happily modeling her new market skirt in spring green. I wish she could have modeled outdoors but we had rain for the first time in three weeks today! From now on, I must add pockets to more clothing. This afternoon she brought back two chicken eggs in her pocket and discovered it was even big enough to hold her stuffed snake, Somo. Pockets, gotta love em.

Pirate princess

When I saw Michael Miller's Goth Baby fabric, I knew I had to grab some of it for my pirate-loving daughter. Sweet ballet pink and skull and crossbones? The combination pretty much sums up my sensitive and kind but tough as nails and somewhat sassy little girl.

I used Dana's tutorial at MADE for a market skirt but lengthened it 3" for my almost six-year-old. (Hop over to her website if you're looking for some great patterns and tutorials.) For my version of the skirt, I added some ric rac, which I rarely use, but I couldn't resist the sweet simplicity of pairing pink ric rac with the black and white skull and crossbones. I really like that the shape and design of this skirt look so classic but the fabric is so subtly sassy and modern.

I embellished the T-shirt with a little skull and crossbones, framed in pink ric rac. She can wear the T-shirt with her black capri leggings or as a pajama top as well. And lucky me, I still have enough fabric left over to make some pajama pants or shorts and a bandanna for my little pirate princess.
 

Reading nook

With the great spring weather, I've been spending most of my spare time outdoors. The garden and grounds have needed lots of work around here and we've been planting raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries like crazy. Fortunately, the spring also brought a new surge of energy for me. There was a corner of my house that has been filled with stacked boxes and picture frames since we moved in. It was a little-used area but also an eyesore where dust bunnies liked to hang out. Finally I transformed it into a peaceful and useful nook, with a little help in the babysitting department from my mother who is visiting.

This is the landing at the top of our stairs facing north northeast. I painted the wall in an accent color, and ended up custom mixing my paint to make it the right shade. Two coats later, it seemed just right. The farmhouse bench I built using plans from Knock-off Wood except mine is a smaller size to fit the landing or hallway. The curtain valance and pillow I created from a yard of this rich tapestry-like fabric that I had custom-ordered last year from Joann's for the downstairs bathroom. When I decided on a different fabric altogether for the downstairs bathroom, it left this lovely fabric folded and unloved in a plastic bag until now. Fortunately, it brings out the golds and reds in my oriental rug and gives the accent wall a golden rather than brown look. The fabric is so thick it didn't need to be lined and the valance is a simple rod pocket curtain without a ruffled header.

I finally got a pile of picture frames off the floor and on the wall. Some of them needed a pretty good dusting... A few are new frames all mixed and matched in white and gold awaiting pictures of future family events. The rug is a wool Chobi from Pakistan, meaning "like wood" in Farsi because of the dark earthen and woodsy colors typical of the style. Chobi rugs are among my favorite of the new oriental rug styles. They've only been imported into the US for about 15 years.

Here's the before picture, except beside those boxes jammed in the corner under the window, you have to also imagine a pile of framed pictures and artwork all stacked up and covered in dust. From cold chaos to warm calm. Ahhh. Next I tackle the office.

Summer dress

Lately my pirate-obsessed, karate loving, tree-climbing daughter has had a dress fetish. She decided to design a dress she liked based on this one hour sundress pattern. She helped select the fabric, the length of the dress, and where she wanted the ruffles.

I was surprised she wanted a dress so long but it's quite cute on her. She wore it today to play at the park with some capri leggings underneath and it held up without hindering her on the swings, slide or climbing wall. I will have to take in the shoulder straps though by about an inch on either side.

I guess the flowers on her dress aren't enough so she had to wear her flower lei as well. From an igloo also has this dress pattern that I hope to make for her sometime this year but without the buttons going down the back. I love the versatility of jumpers. I might make this jumper in corduroy so it can be a fall or winter dress with a turtle neck.

Hammock pillow

I recently purchased and installed a hammock. Really, what took me so long? This is a simple but important addition to our outdoor landscape and we'll enjoy many hours relaxing together in the hammock this spring and summer. I thought our hammock was missing something though, so I decided to make a pillow for it. The least expensive found online was about $40 but I could purchase a yard of all weather fabric for $13. When sewing for outdoor furniture, it's really important to choose one of the weather resistant fabrics. The fabric I chose is from Waverly's outdoor collection and many users before me had rated it very highly, saying that the fabric had withstood 1-2 years of being left outdoors without fading or mildewing. This was important to me because I'm not the type of person to run outdoors because it's about to rain to grab the hammock pillow...

The pillow is 16 x 32 and filled with polyester fiberfill, which I had lots of help stuffing into the pillow from the two rascals above! I made a small velcro strap for the back of the pillow to keep it on the hammock when there's wind.

My quality control department (see above) approved the pillow before it was put into use. With the small amount of leftover fabric, I made a lined bag that velcros onto the side of the hammock. We quickly discovered this can be useful to hold the contents of your pocket, sunglasses, a pacifier, or your empty popsicle stick...

Kai Sweater for William

My neighbor gave me a copy of Louisa Harding's book Natural Knits for Babies and Moms and I fell in love with this sweet cabled baby sweater. I didn't have time to make it during the winter for my little guy so I'm knitting him a spring/summer weight sweater instead in Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran yarn. I chose this color because it is an exact match to his sweet baby blue eyes.

The sweater turned out well, even if it did take me more than a month to seam the pieces together!
 But don't take my word for it, the little guy is in love with his new sweater too. The second I finished it he crawled over and snatched it up and wouldn't let go for pictures.

He wore his sweater this morning until the sun came out and made the day too warm for a sweater.

See how it perfectly matches his eyes? How sweet. I'm glad I knit it a little looser because the neck fits over his head very easily.

This will be my last knitted project for a while. It's time for me to get back to my sewing machine, which must be feeling left out at this point! Unless of course, I make Savannah a summer bolero to wear over her dresses and tank tops...

Red white and blue quilt

I finished my first Army Baby Quilt. I think it turned out well and I'm really looking forward to submitting it so it can find a good home.

The center blocks are a traditional log cabin style. I had cut the fabric strips last year to make these into a square log cabin table topper for my sister-in-law's 40th birthday, but my husband insisted she wouldn't like or use it. I was glad to finally get the blocks together and add borders and sashing until I met the 40" by 40" requested size for the Army Baby Quilts project.

I was undecided about the binding and after cutting a different binding on the bias and sewing the long strip together, I changed my mind and opted for the red and polka dots. Mmmm... I love polka dot bindings!

I wasn't sure how to sign it. That's one of the things I waiver on with charity quilts, but I still think signing my work is important. I want the baby to know it was made for them with love. Sometimes the kindness of a stranger can carry you a long way. At least, in my life I've found that to be true.

Of course, no quilt goes untested in this house! I put the finished work down so the kids could see it and William crawled right on and started touching the textured quilting and stars. Savannah joined with a love for her brother and the book she couldn't put down. Then again, who could put Charlotte's Web down?

Army Baby Quilts

Just in case you're looking for a quick quilting project and a way to give back to some of America's families who are most in need of support, Roberta Cerniglia from NY state is collecting quilts to distribute to moms who have babies while their husbands are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Quilts should be about 40" by 40" and in red, white and blue colors. More information can be found at Army Baby Quilts. 

I'm looking forward to contributing to this project. I like that the quilts are small for the babies, hence easy to make, and I love the idea of showing support for moms of our troops who have to go through one of the most important moments of their lives without their partner. I think this project is a great way to use quilting talents to support families who are most affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you have the time this year, please join me.