Aprons

I love aprons. I have a lot of apron patterns and am starting to feel like an apron pattern tester. Maybe I’ll make that a goal for myself this year – test all the apron patterns I own. That’ll be a big  job.

Anyway, here are my 2 favorites so far:

This was an apron made for me by someone else. I was part of a swap and this is one I got and love so very much. The fabric is cotton poly blend, but it works great.  It’s called the “Afternoon Tea Apron” by Indygo Junction.

 

This one is one I made and kept because I love it. This pattern is McCalls 5903. Easy to sew and had great coverage.

 

Here are a few others that I made but the fit wasn’t quite right for me. I have found that many patterns are made for thin women.

“Church Ladies Apron” by Mary’s Productions. I wanted to like this pattern and I think if I make the bigger size and alter it a little, it’ll work for me. I’ve not given up on this pattern. The person I gifted it to, liked it.

Another one that I made in a swap.  McCalls 5997. I think I didn’t choose the best fabric for this one. The fit was a little small on me – I need a little more fabric to go around me.

I really want to try “My Neighbor’s Apron” pattern. I’ll have to put it on my list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to blogging

Hi all.

I’ve neglected this blog – just busy adjusting to life changes and I was blogging on another site.  I’m hoping to put a bunch of my craft stuff up here. I’ve had requests from some of my friends who aren’t on any of my sewing boards to post my pattern reviews and how-to’s all in one location. So, I’ll give it a try!

Knit Scrap Yarn Blanket

My scraps of sock yarn were building up and I wanted to make something… really anything, but wasn’t sure what to do. It had to be simple and not too much thinking. I wanted a mindless project.

Looking through some old knitting and crochet books from my husband’s grandma, I found some basic square instructions and just ran with it.

I didn’t invent this stitch – It’s probably as old as knitting with a circular needle began. Almost anyone who knits and sees this blanket asks me how I did it. So, here are my directions.

I started with 5 dpns and when it got too big for that, I switched to a long circular. Eventually it was so big, I used 2 circulars. Part of the beauty of this project is that you can make it as big or little as you wish. You can use any yarn you like and any size needle.

This example is done with various sock yarns (all superwash, so I could wash it). I’d recommend making sure they are all like yarns, but it could be interesting if you used different weights. I used a size 6 needle for my project.

CO 12 and divide onto 4 dpns (just for the beginning and then I switched to a circ).

Join ends (done in the round)
1: Knit all
2: K1, yo, pm, k1, yo, k1 repeat to start of round
3: knit all
4: K to marker, yo, sm, k1, yo, k to end of needle repeat
– then I just repeated 3 & 4 it was big enough. Then cast off.

edging: you could just leave it at this point but I wanted a little more. I did 1 round single crochet, 1 row of a loose loop (I think I did chain 4, skipping 1 sc).
Eventually, it’ll be too big for dpns and it was just easier to do on a circ. Once in the rhythm of the pattern, you’ll not need to know when the end of te needle is but you may want to use a different marker for the beg. of a row.

I just kept going with a color until I ran out and then switched. I liked the randomness of just going until I ran out but it would be cool to do it planned and organized too.

When the size you want, just bind off. I picked up a few extra rows on 2 sides to make this more rectangular, but really it probably is better just square (read as, I don’t recommend this). I blocked mine when done and I liked the result. If I had made it from acrylic, I’m not sure if I’d block or not.

Happy knitting.

I don’t keep up this- I think I’m just so busy lately – it’s hard to keep up my family blog and this one and work and be the mama all the time.

Recent stuff

Grocery bags (just a few that I recently made)

A wrap skirt I made from a 70s pattern. I may make some more of these for my store

A quilt for my friend’s new baby girl

Apron things

I’ve been in love with aprons lately. I enjoy wearing one – the look and the feel. Even more, I enjoy that I’m keeping my clothes cleaner when cooking and eating dinner (yes, I’m one of those who spill on their shirt often). I only had the one apron – a gift from a sewing friend.  So, I’ve been making more.

These two are for my etsy shop but I do love them. I hope to make a few more this week.

A very full retro-style skirt half apron –

 

A patchy cafe style apron with a towel loop

Summer days are flying by

It amazes me how fast the 6 weeks of summer vacation are flying by! Only 2 more weeks until my big kids go back to school. Amazing.

The past few weeks I’ve been working on skirts and gifts and a few custom orders for my store.

Something new – I worked on this wrap skirt – I think it turned out pretty well too. A soft stretch poplin (I may make some summer capris for my older girl out of what I have left).  This one is for sale at on of the stores at Hyenacart.com that I sell at: http://hyenacart.com/prod_details.php?id=97431&vid=210

 

 

 

Wash cloths – There is something comforting about making these. My husband does the dishes more than me and he’s not a fan, so I use these for washing my face. It’s amazing how soft they wash up. These are for sale at my store hyenacart.com too (congo group Sewingmamas):  www.bugzNbean.com

4th of July Happiness

I love celebrating the 4th of July with our family and friends from church. The kids had a wonderful time playing with friends and we enjoyed talking with old friends too.

Of course the girls had matching dresses. My boy wasn’t interested but he did match his daddy. My older girl wanted her dress more snug (being she’s so thin, most everything is baggy on her), so I added a ribbon to the back of her dress.

 

HAPPY 4th of July from my family to your family.

A little something for Mama

I’ve been wanting to do more shirts for myself. Of course, sewing for everyone else often seems to come first.

I like how this one turned out. The color is a soft kind of 30′s retro green with very small dots (flowers, I guess) on it. Kwik Sew 3062 with a few modifications. I did a much narrower bias tape (self fabric) and the pattern didn’t have it quite long enough so there are a few very small tucks in the back and I squared the neck a little (the gaping here is probably due to my lack of fullness in the front)
(do you know how hard it is to get a picture of me around here!?)

 

 

I tried first to have my children take the pictures but the angle was so far from flattering (even in the ones where you could see my head and my shirt lol), that I went for the mirror option.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and for my girl…..

 

I did do a little sewing for my older girl. She saw a shirred dress at the store. A simple little white dress. Being a sewing mama, I had to do it myself.  The dress does look a little mu-mu ish to me but she loves it. It hangs a little low in the front here, but we figured out that if we cross the ties in the back, it stays up better  on her super thin frame. She wore it for 2 days in a row, so I guess she likes it Actually, she insisted I make a few more for her.

For the love of fairies

Today I took my girls to the local fairy festival. They had a blast running through the flowers and just being girls. Tulle skirts, wings, and flowers in your hair! All those little girl joys.

My little fairies

   

  

I took a lot of pictures — I put them in my flickr photos instead of putting them all here

Sewing-wise, I have been getting a few things done.

one custom nightgown (actually 2 but I forgot to take a picture of the other one) … only 3 more to get done this week and then I’ll be all caught up with my custom orders.

This is a little dress I made for my older girl. She really loves this pocket. Now I just have to make one for my younger girl too.

I’ve been in the sewing mood lately and got some things done. A few more to go for today but this is my “animal” sewing for listings at Eclectic Earth tomorrow. I’m tempted to keep the green tank dress for Faith, but I’m going to try not to

I love this dress! It’s the Celina dress. I only did a few modifications which I’m not sure are due to me not paying attention or something not being printed right in the size I needed… but in the end it turned out OK. It’s a touch too small for my littlest one (can get it on fine but I would like it looser). She’s already getting into size 3T and I keep forgetting this fact when sewing for her. BOTH girls want me to make them one of these dresses now. They love the pocket in the front. (it goes the full front of the dress)

Next is a pair of sea world gauchos – dd had a pair of these and loved them. Once again, I need to make some size 6 for her now.

Green tank dress set. I got this fabric from HSMom24 while at expo. Just enough for a toddler dress I dyed it but the color just won’t photograph well. It’s a bright pale green – kind of a lime color. I’ll try for some better pictures in a bit (once the drizzle stops again).

Next up will be a reversible black and white dress for my etsy shop and a tank for me I love when I get in these moods, but unfortunately I’m still in my “lounge clothes” (I’d call them PJ’s but I really do where them much more than that) and I’ve not brushed my hair today either. I guess I should do that and take out some chicken for dinner before I get wrapped up in another project.