Cuties and Cables

Well I actually only have a picture of one of my cuties though I really should have taken my son's picture today too.  It would be a good reminder for me to not try to cut his bangs again.  I thought because I am crafty and use scissors a lot that I could do a good job cutting his bangs.  They are so short and uneven that my husband is going to take him to Supercuts tonight to cut the rest of his hair really short so that it will look normal.  Though I think he is really pretty cute the way he is right now. 

The hat and scarf are actually mine but Stella is oh so much cuter than I am which is why she is my model..  I have been wanting to learn how to do cables for a very long time.  I was so excited when I saw my LYS had a cable hat class taught by the designer of the hat(Dawn Catanzaro).  The horizontal cable hat is a wonderful pattern and Dawn is a great teacher. I really love the yarn I chose.  It is Berroco vintage chunky which is a wool blend (wool/acrylic).  It feels great, was great to knit with, and is washable.  It is also a little more affordable than other yarns.  I may have chosen a different yarn for the hat but because I am now allergic to alpaca yarn I chose the Vintage Chunky.  And I am so glad I did.  While I was making it (back in December) I thought it would make a great scarf too.  I bought more skeins of the yarn( and actually used two)  and made a scarf.  I finished it Friday night just as I was starting to get sick.   

And since I was sick I didn't have the energy for much sewing this weekend but did manage to make a good start on Luke's sweater vest.  More details here

 

I was feeling better today and it felt so good to be able to give my children and home some attention.  Now my home and kids are clean and happy.  I also enjoyed making  Chicken Mulligatny Soup in the crockpot.  It was so good.  I'd share a link or the recipe but you have to subscribe to the website to get it.  Most of the recipes I make these days are from Cooks Country/Cooks Illustrated.  I use those recipes because I have paid for them by subscribing and because I know they will be delicious.  I think I have gotten my money's worth by now.  And I think I have turned into a picky eater/cook in terms of only wanting to make something if I am going to love it. 

Happy Making! 

I Made A Coat

I have always loved toggle coats.  So when I decided I wanted to make Stella a winter coat it was very easy to find the perfect pattern.  And I had actually bought the Oliver and S School Days pattern at the Maine Quilt Show this summer.  I have a list I carry on me of out of print Oliver and S patterns in case I come across one.  I don't know why I avoid digital patterns but I do.

I used a wool blend that I think I found at fabric.com but it doesn't look like they have it anymore (unless I bought it somewhere else).  The lining is quilting cotton from Joanns.  I was really nervous about making the coat which is one reason why I chose a wool blend instead of wool.  And even though it came out, I am still happy with the wool blend (wool and polyester) I picked.  It looks like wool and feels like wool.  The seams were a little tough to press but not bad.  

I made a size 3 knowing it would be large and wanting her to be able to wear it next year too.  When I was first making it the coat seemed so huge I thought she would be wearing it to Kindergarten.  But once I put the lining in it fit better.  I guess I should have known that would happen.

The pattern was much easier for me than I thought it would be.  I didn't topstitch where it said optional and I probably should have.  The hood lining slides out a teeny tiny bit but I love the lining so it is not a big deal.  I was a little afraid that it would be difficult to topstitch because of the bulky seams but when I had to topstitch in later steps it wasn't really hard.  I became stuck at sewing the sleeve lining to the sleeve because I was trying to figure out to do it by machine and with a little help I realized that I couldn't and just hand stitched.  Since this is the first coat like this I have made, I wanted to keep it simple and not insulate it.  Next time I will.  I live in Maine and I think your coats can't be too warm here. 

Stella loves the toggles.  But purple is her favorite color and she has two purple coats so I think I am going to have to bribe her to wear this one instead.  Hopefully when I make Bitty Baby's matching coat she will be more agreeable to wearing it.

Two + Two

My plan to make this outfit started over a year ago.  I was reading the so-cal sewing mom blog and saw this blouse.    I ordered the fabric from her right away for the blouse and then I ordered the Oliver and S 2+2 pattern.   I found some denim from Joanns.  I think I cut the outfit out in March or April.  I made the skirt and loved it.  Then I was working on other things.  I can't even remember what.  When it became short sleeve weather I lost interest in making the blouse and it sat for a while.  I finally got around to working on it again at the end of November and finished it the beginning of December.  And now that I am back to blogging (and I am so happy to be too), I thought I would share it.

I used some milky pink flowery buttons from Joanns on the back.

I don't have much to say to say about the pattern other than I love how the outfit come out.  I don't remember much sewing them.  But  I have found every Oliver and S pattern I have made to be wonderful, detailed, and adorable. 

Speaking of adorable.........

Happy New Year Sweater

Happy New Year!!!!!!!  I'm going to try blogging again and see how it goes.  I love Instagtram but I do love rambling a bit too and I kind of need my blog for that. 

I finished Stella's Happy New Year Sweater the other day.  It is so cute on her.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  It is a squishy warm sweater with a big collar.  The pattern is "Leaves or Not" by Karen Borel.  The details are on my ravelry page.  I opted not to do the leaves because I really wanted a Liberty fabric button and I thought the leaves would be take away from the button.  I want to put Liberty fabric buttons on everything now. 

So some year's I am into New Year Resolutions and some years I am not.  But this year in the past few days I have been thinking of a few things I would to try.  Here they are:

1. Of course there is the lose weight/healthy goal.  I won't go to into that because I don't want to bore you but I'll be 40 in 10 months.  It would be nice to be close to my old size before I became a mom.

2. Try to go back to my home not being a wreck.  It isn't really wreck but when I had one baby I did the suggested lower my cleaning standards thing.  And then I had an eighteen month old and newborn and lowered a little more.  Now they are 2 1/2 and 4.  I think I can try to have things look a little nicer around here.  So far so good.

3.  Make some doll clothes for my daughter.  I wanted to do this all last year and didn't.  I already ordered a pattern (I'll show next post).  And I really want to try to do some matching outfits. 

4.  Start no new quilts until I quilt the quilt top that  I already made Stella.  That quilt top I love.  The other ones I am so-so about so I am giving myself permission to not finish them. 

5. Finish Stella's Christmas stocking. 

Well,  I am going to try to do a little sewing while my kids are entertaining themselves.  I'll be back!