Flower Fairy

I just made one costume this year for Halloween. My crafting time and budget has been slashed. Little Miss I has decided she is done with napping, and I don't really have the financial backing to make whatever I like. So this costume was made entirely from my stash. I even already had the pattern. It's the McCalls Flower Fairy Friends Pattern. It was supposed to have a waistcoat/vest with it, but I didn't have any contrasting fabric on hand that I cared to use. I found this tutorial on making fabric flowers. I made two, one bigger than the other and joined them together, then sewed them onto some elastic to make a hair band. She already had the wand and wings. My son said she looked a lot like the Little Princess from the Tony Ross books that we are loving right now, and I have to agree.

What do you think? Hope your Halloween is all treats and no tricks.

Lavender lap quilt and pillow case.

 Little Miss I. knew that as soon as I finished Miss C's quilt it was her turn. I have been collecting fabric for this one almost as long as for Miss C's. I had a very clear idea of the colours I wanted, and it wasn't available at Joann's. I did find two fat quarters there actually. I got two more at PurlSoho when I was there last December. The rest came form a quilt show I went to in March in Lancaster, PA. There, I really hit the jackpot. They had a great bunch of vendors along with lot's of inspirational quilts. Oh, the quilt pattern is one I've used twice before. It's from the book Bend the rules of sewing by Amy Carol.

Now that my oldest is back to school and my middle one is in school in the afternoons, I managed to find the time to finish this quilt and also whip up a matching pillow case that saw on pinterest that I highly recommend.

Little Miss I. is pleased as punch. Now I just need to get on with painting the toddler bed white, so I can get her out of her cot/crib. Little Mr M. is next in line for a new quilt and has just today approved my fabric choices. So you all have that to look forward to, I guess!

Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi

 A little while back my library knitting group had a yarn swap. The members were eager to do some stash busting. I didn't really have a stash to bust. I did bring along a book I managed to have two of, and came home with a wonderfully large bag of free yarn. I decided it was time to buy some patterns, since I didn't have to pay for the yarn, why not!?! I love this little cardi pattern. The yarn is called Katia Arc En Ciel. It's discontinued, so if you want some I don't know how you would find any, sorry. Because I only had the two skeins of yarn I had to make the sleeves shorter than the pattern called for. I don't mind though. I think my Little Miss I. looks so cute in it. I got  the buttons for the grand total of 6 cents. I know, I'm a big spender. I found them at a local thrift shop that has a little room dedicated to craft supplies. I'm always inspired by my friend over at Enjoy The Simple Things. She's been know to pick up a bargain at that same spot.

Little Miss I., just before Church on Sunday in her new cardi.

Tiny Grrlfriend Market Bag

 I already made one of these market bags for my mother. This one is for my mother-in-law. The pattern is available for free here. This time I used 2nd Time Cotton by Knit One Crochet Too. I also went with smaller needles, US size 6. Here is a tutorial on YouTube for the beginning that I found helpful.

I love it in it's tiny form. I'm sure I will be using this pattern many more times. Is there a pattern that you go back to again and again?

Eternal Summer Quilt

 A few years ago my other half had me make him a quilt. It was made of old U2 t-shirts and brushed cotton/flannel. It was a pain in the butt to make. The whole time I was doing it my son was begging me to make him one too, then little miss M wanted one as well. The kids ones were small and therefore much easier and funner to make. I swore off quilts after that though. That is until my sister, Miss C, said she wanted one. I laughed at the time and told her that even if I was going to make a quilt for her it would have to be a wedding or a 30th birthday present!. She told me it was her 30th in three years and smiled. So that thought stuck in the back of my mind until I saw this quilt over at the Purl Bee Blog. I thought of Miss C at once. It became my inspiration and I started to buy a quarter of a yard of fabric here and there. I ended up with 11 different fabrics. I then saw this quilt at the Retro Mummy Blog. I loved the look of this one too. I kind of combined the idea of both of them and came up with this design.

This is a picture of the quilt top, spread out on my bed. I didn't want to machine quilt it and I didn't really want to make binding, so I found this tutorial on the Cicada Daydream Blog. I went ahead and tied it with embroidery thread. Then folded the backing over to make a simple binding.

 Here it is drying out after I gave it a wash.

 And here it is on Miss C's bed looking very summery.

I had various problems a long the way making this quilt. I learnt that you get more fabric when you buy a quarter of a yard of fabric than you do if you buy a fat quarter. I ended up having to sew scraps of fabric together to make some of my squares. When my sewing machine stopped functioning properly, I discovered that you can put you needle in the wrong way! Ha, I felt pretty dumb when I found that out. The last thing I realized is even when you buy new safety pins to hold the quilt layers together, they can still leave rust marks on your fabric. So it didn't turn out to be perfect, but then if it did it wouldn't have been a true handmade gift! Happy 30th Miss C!

Knock yer socks off!

 Here is my second attempt at making socks. You'll remember the 'manly socks' I made for my other half for valentines. I wasn't totally happy with them. They were a little too slouchy, so I knew the pattern would never work for me. This pattern is from Susan B. Anderson's tutorial of how she makes socks. I bought a bunch of yarn from Knit Picks last month. This was the only skein I bought that was not on sale. I couldn't resist. I just fell in love with the colours. It's stroll hand painted sock yarn in 'Retro'. The only change I made to the pattern was to knit the cuff for seven inches instead of six. I love the pattern. I'm really happy with how well they fit, feel and look on my feet. I can't wait to knit another pair.

It's a Boy! It's a Girl!

The other week I was invited to a double baby shower for two ladies from my church who are due soon. One is having a boy and the other a girl. The great think about this baby shower was that they asked for recycled gifts. I got to get rid of a few baby item that are collecting dust around my house. I took the opportunity to make a couple of baby bibs for each of them also. I knit a baby bib for my sister last year, but I went with a different pattern this time. I came across this pattern for the Easy Stay-On Bib and I knew it was what I would make. I'm hoping they will work out for size and won't shrink too much when they are washed.