More creativity

Now Isabel's got a birthday dress too ... This one took a little longer but I like it so much!

On second thought I think Sofia's dress became too big so I may have to draft a smaller size and make another for her ... maybe this weekend.

I also whipped up something I've been thinking about for a while.



I took some scraps, cut them randomly with my pinking shears then sewed them to a Moleskine with a wide zigzag.



To protect the stitching on the inside I glued on some pretty paper.

My Creative Space May 28th

I've wanted to join in on Kootoyoo's My Creative Space for a while now, but everytime I see it I'm at work and when I get home at night I never get around to actually take pictures of what ever it is I'm doing.

But today I'm working from home and I think I can take time out to do this.

Tonight I'll be making a dress for my big girl and I took out some fabrics to chose from.

The pattern is from an Ottobre magazine and I already tried the pattern here.

I hope this is a turning point for me. I sewed the dress last night and I felt so calm and content doing it. I forgot how much I like sewing.

Birthday dress

Every little girl needs a new dress for her birthday. And if it's home made the better.

Sofia's 2nd birthday is next Friday and this morning I decided she needed a birthday dress.



So tonight after dinner I sneaked away into the sewing room and started drafting the pattern. It's from Ottobre Design's latest issue. I used model 18 which is basically a pillowcase dress.

There were 3 variations and I chose the sleeveless one in size 104. I think it will be a bit too big for her this summer but come fall I'm sure it will fit nicely.

I used some Robert Kaufmann fabric (Kleo and Bangle Dot in Sage) that I bought last year from an Etsy store to use for this very thing.

The dress came together really fast. I started copying the pattern at 7pm and the dress was finished at 9:45 pm.



I need a different drawstring because the colour on the satin ribbon isn't quite right, but I can't decide if I should make my own drawstring from the Bangle Dot fabric or if I should buy something.
I'm leaning towards the first option, but I'm planning on making a second dress for Isabel using the same fabric combination so I'll have to wait to make sure I have enough.

I'll try it on Sofia tomorrow and I hope she'll like it.

Caring and thoughtful

My daughter is almost 5 years old (less than 2 months left of the fours) and sometimes I and my husband find little presents under our pillows when we go to bed at night.



The latest present (I was typing last, but I hope it wasn't the last one) was this little faerie. She had coloured it and cut it out herself with her rounded left-handed scissors.
Daddy's was coloured pink and mine was a funkier black faerie.

I keep the drawings there as long as possible. They do tend to wear out. But I hope more will turn up by themselves.

And come to think of it. I do sleep better these days.

Consolidation

I've moved around some posts from my old blogs so that all are in this one.

I realised the biggest reason I wasn't posting was because I wasn't sure which blog to post to.

So I consolidated - problem solved.

We have a long weekend ahead due to Ascension Day. I hope to get some knitting done and maybe I'll plan for a new quilt.

I have a want-to-do-list a mile long. Best get started.



And just to be sure to have a picture - rhubarb and elderflower cordial. Homemade of course!

Absence

Since writing last I haven't been very crafty.

I started a new job in October and that's kept me fairly busy during the days and at night there are so many other things I have to do and crafting has to step back.

Now that we're moving into summer (we've had the most glorious weather the past weeks) and we have more light once again I might get started.

I need to clean up my sewing room. It's cluttered and messy and doesn't really invite to work in it.

I have a ton of projects on my list that I want to make. I think I have to prioritize so first up are our new kitchen curtains.

Isabel got new curtains last Sunday in celebration of her first lost tooth.



She accidentally swallowed it while stuffing her face with candy. But the Tooth Fairy accepted the little note that we put under the pillow and left a shiny golden coin on Isabel's window sill.

New dress

Three weeks ago I saw a knitted little dress at the LYS and fell for it immediately. I was a little reluctant about sizing though. I have a not-quite 2-year-old who is taller and heavier than many 3-year-olds I know, and the sizes on the pattern went only to 18 months.

But I did some swatching and some calculating and finally decided on knitting the largest size on 3.5 mm needles instead of the 3s the pattern called for. That gave me enough girth around waist and chest to fit her comfortably.

Normally I lose interest halfway up the back piece, but this time I finished the back in less than a week and when time came for me to go on a business trip I brought it along and knitted in the car (No, I wasn't driving) for the 2,5 hours it took to get there.
I also had plenty of time to do some knitting in the evenings. Both at the bar and in my room.

I quickly decided not to put sleeves on the dress (there were really cute puffed sleeves on the pattern) because I prefer the look above with a sleeveless dress with a little shirt underneath.

I sewed the sides together last evening and weaved in ends until 10:30 pm. This morning I dug through my (tiny) button supply and found a button that will work for now - I might buy a new one later - and Sofia got to wear the dress for daycare today.

She kept stroking it and twirling it so I think she liked it.

Pattern notes
Needles: 3.5 mm
Yarn: Kasper from Marks & Kattens, 4 skeins variegated and 1 skein solid
Size: 18 months (sized up to 2 years using lager needles)
Alterations: I lengthened the armholes and rather than struggling with adjusting the sleeves I opted on knitting the same lace pattern used for the neckline around the arm holes.
I knit the lace edging before sewing the sides together.