One year, three dresses

So, in less than a week she'll be one year old. Hard to believe. Even harder to believe how little sewing and knitting I've done in the last year. I miss it. Terribly. I took the occasion of her first birthday to MAKE the time to sew her a dress. Of course, I couldn't make just one, so I made three. Now to decide which one is the winner. Friends have suggested a dress change halfway through the big day. That may be the answer. All of these were created using an Old Navy tank top, cutting it and sewing the skirt to it. I put elastic on the inside so that it would still have some give to it, which is a good thing because when I tried on dress number one she needed that give to get it on her. Once it was on (it wasn't all that hard to get it on) it looked super cute and fit her great. I'll have to test out the other two tonight and decide on the order for the party. I also haven't decided if I should make some hair accessories. She's not all that into hair accessories, but maybe for photo ops? I sure hope I can do more blogging in the future. I'm working on a couple of knitting projects and of course have so many pinned and in my head for the future. It's okay, though. I love being a mom and if it means not having as much time for other loves, I'm okay with that.

Monkey Hat

I finished this hat for a friend about a month ago. I had forgotten to blog it, until she sent me a photo of her new baby boy wearing the hat. He looked super cute. The hat was really fun to make. I had hoped to make a bunny version for Alice for Easter but never got around to it. Maybe an owl for her birthday.

I found the pattern on Ravelry HERE. I used Lion Brand CottonEase yarn.

Easter Dress

I was amazingly able to squeeze in a short sewing session to make Alice an Easter dress. I used a couple of vintage pillow cases that my mother in law gave to me. The fabric was so springy, I couldn't resist.

To make the dress I took one of Alice's dresses, folded it in half length wise, laid it down on the fold of the fabric, traced around it and then cut out the pieces. I fully lined the dress, so I did the same thing with white fabric for the lining. I used snaps to connect the straps because I didn't have a pair of cute buttons that I liked, and I didn't really have the time to sew button holes. Overall I'm super happy with how it turned out, I just hope it fits her. I haven't tried it on her yet, but when I held it up to her it seemed like it might be a little snug around the chest. Here's hoping it will at least fit for the one day.

Booties for Babies

I LOVE the Saartje's Bootees pattern on Ravelry. It's a quick knit and is a great use of stash yarn. Here are couple of recent pairs of booties that will be making their way to a couple of baby girls. I made a pair of these for Alice and loved them. They stayed on really well, although they didn't fit her for long. She got her mom's big ass feet :)

Where's Waldo Hat

I intended to send this hat to one of the holiday babies, but never got around to it. Maybe someone will have a baby around the holidays next year and I can send it. It's too small for Alice, now. It was supposed to be a holiday hat with the red and white, but once I finished it looked more like a "Where's Waldo" hat to me.

For the babies

When I have been knitting lately it has all been for babies. I know so many pregnant women right now it is kind of ridiculous. I love baby knits though, because they are quick and thus more instantly gratifying than say a sweater for me would be. Although, I would like to knit something for myself again one of these days.

Here are a couple of hats I knit for my cousin who had her baby in December. At the time I made these they did not know if they were having a boy or a girl, so the green colors seemed like they would work for either. They had a boy, and I think that they actually are a bit more boyish colors, but Alice tried them on for me while I was making them and she looked pretty cute in these colors, too.


I knit these based on a basic adult hat pattern. I just fiddled around with it for a bit to figure out how many stitches would work for a baby. I think it ended up being 70 something and I was using maybe US 5 needles. I can't really remember, which is kind of a bummer because it means I'll have to do the trial and error process again the next time. Maybe it will come back to me if I decide to make more of these.

I also made a blanket for the babe. I used two flannel fabrics and sewed them together, then I crocheted a decorative edge all the way around. I must say this ended up being more time consuming than I originally anticipated. I did a blanket stitch by hand all the way around to give me something to crochet into. I found ways to do this with a machine online, but I couldn't find the right needle and just decided to go totally hand made. It turned out really cute and I'd love to make one again sometime, but I may look into a quicker option for establishing that base stitch row.




I got an email recently from the mom saying that the hats fit great and stay on his head and that the blanket gets lots of use for tummy time. So, sounds like these were successful gifts :)

I'm working on a whole bunch of other gifts that I hope to post about soon. Booties and hats and maybe another blanket, we'll see. I just hope I can find the time to get them all done before the babies are all a year old :)

Mommyhood has taken over

Well, here it is over 5 months after she arrived and I'm just now getting back to the blog. Sorry for the long absence. Mommyhood has taken over. She arrived on August 27th in the morning. 8 lb. 4 oz. 21.5" long. Healthy and perfect. We named her Alice and she's the sweetest little girl.

I have been able to finish a few projects since she was born and will post about them soon, but I thought that I should post some pics of the babe first. So, here she is!

All dressed up to come home. CLICK HERE for the post about her outfit.


Sporting the only hat I made that fit her. (3 weeks)


Feather & Fan in action. (1 month)


Rockin' out her purple booties. (1 month)


Modeling one of my LillyJean applique peasant tops. (8 weeks)


And here is a recent photo. Not modeling anything, just looking cute.(5 months)


Love her!

Coming Home Outfit

I finally finished the diaper cover/bloomers to go under the dress. Can't wait to dress her up for her debut :)

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Finished Nursery & Baby Stuff

Well, it's almost time. The nursery is basically finished. We just need to hang a wall lamp and maybe a mobile. Here are pics of the finished room:









Can't wait to put all the fun stuff to use :)

I also completed a few more knitted items for the babe. Remember THESE pants? I added a crocheted flower to them to girly them up a bit and have paired them with a hot pink onesie and these super cute shoes that my mom got:


I can't wait to get her in this outfit!

I loved these pants the first time I made them, so I decided to make another pair. This time in a more girly color (pink!). These will look cute with a whole bunch of the onesies I received as gifts. I also made a matching pair of mitts. Super easy to knit up and soooooo cute. Another one I can't wait to dress her up in:



It won't be much longer! I can't wait to meet her and hold her. Of course, she'll be taking up a whole lot of my time pretty soon so I may be away from the blog for a while. I have plenty of other things I want to make for her though, so hopefully I'll be back soon!

The Nursery

I've been researching items for the nursery for a month or more now. The overall idea is a forest theme, so the patterns and accessories revolve around that. We didn't want to go too girly or too kiddy, so we're hoping the room is fun and hip.

We plan to get our furniture from IKEA. The dresser we've picked out is this one:


It will also double as a changing table. The red color is what inspired the accents. Here is what we've purchased so far and what we plan to do with it:

Urban Outfitters Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chair (for rocking the babe, of course)



Cloud 9 Proteas Fabric from Cedar House Fabrics (Curtains)



Retrowhale art prints (Wall art)



Sleepyking stuffed forest animals (Decoration and toys)




Wee Woodland Fabric from Sanourra on Etsy (Crib sheet)



I am planning to make the curtains, a couple of accent pillows and some crib sheets. I've been getting my sewing area ready for lots of cutting and sewing. I hope I can get it all done :) I will definitely post pictures once everything is in place. We are having the room painted next week and carpeted the week after. I can't wait to see it all come together!

Baby hats

I'm loving these little hats. I can't seem to stop making them. Good thing I'm due a few months before winter rather than a few after :)

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Fisherman's Baby Sweater & Matching Booties

Our friends welcomed a baby boy this spring out in Seattle. I thought one of THESE sweaters in an oatmeal type colorway would be cute because it would be reminiscent of a fisherman's sweater. It took me longer that I had planned to finish the set, but it was worth the extra time. It arrived safe and sound this week, so I can finally share some pictures.

I also made a pair of matching booties. I found the pattern HERE. I modified it a little to make it more boyish and added the buttons. They turned out super cute. These could be a go-to gift for me from now on.

Sweater Front


Sweater Back


Sweater Button Close-Up


Booties




Ahoy!

Feather and Fan Sweater & Matching Booties

I've finished the Feather and Fan sweater that I mentioned in THIS post. It turned out soooooo cute! I can hardly wait to get it on the babe. I still have some fabric to make a matching dress, hopefully soon.

I also made a pair of matching booties because I had a good deal of yarn leftover. I may make another pair still, because this first pair is really tiny and I think by the time she'll fit into the sweater these booties may be too small. I got the pattern from Ravelry HERE. They were really easy and fast to knit. If I still have enough of the yarn left after the second pair of booties, I may make a headband too. I just love the yarn! I used the Berroco Sox Yarn in the "Bonham" colorway. It's a really great yarn. I'm thinking I should find some more projects to use this yarn on. Soft, easy to knit and the colors are so fantastic!

Sweater Front


Button Detail


Feather and Fan Lace Detail


Sweater Back


Booties


Finished Set

First Crochet Baby Hat

I've been wanting to try crocheting a baby hat for awhile. For some reason, I've done other crochet projects but never a hat. I found this sweet pattern on Ravelry from McKinley's Closet (click here for pattern link). It was so easy and so fast, I finished it tonight while watching the last half of "Deadliest Catch."

I added one of my fabric flower hair bows to see how it would look. Looks pretty cute, I think. And, because it is a hair clip it is easy to take it off or swap it out for a different one. I may have to make a handful of these little (it is so tiny!) hats.

Leafy Shrug

I've finished the first part of Baby M's coming home outfit. It is the Leafy Shrug. Made from the pattern by StitchMama on Ravelry.

It was a super quick and really fun knit. I may make a couple more in larger sizes (the pattern includes instructions for 12 sizes!).

I used cotton yarn because I'm due in August and didn't want anything too hot. It worked up very nice.

Next step is the dress. Can't wait to get started on that!

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Catching Up

Despite my lack of posts, I have been busy creating gifts, clothes and things for the baby. Here are a couple of recent projects.

Scarf & Clutch
I made my SIL a scarf and matching clutch for her birthday. I found the tutorials for both online. They were both pretty easy and turned really cute.

Scarf
Find the tutorial HERE.


Clutch
Find the tutorial HERE.





Tank Top Summer Dress
Since Summer is on it's way and my growing belly is much more comfortable in dresses than pants or skirts, I thought I'd try making a dress from an old tank top and some fabric I had in my stash. I've found a few tutorials online that detail how to create a dress like this one. I don't remember which I used to get me started, but here are a couple good ones:

30 minute tank dress
Elastic Band Empire Waist Dress

I used the scraps from cutting the tank to embellish the front, as well as some lace ribbon I had in my stash. I also used elastic thread in the bobbin of my machine to sew the fabric to the tank, instead of using wide elastic (I didn't have any). It created a bit more stretch to the dress, but not as much as I was hoping for. It still turned out super cute, and as long as I can keep getting it on over my bump I'll be wearing this all summer. I hope to make a couple more, maybe utilizing the elastic waistband technique in the tutorials above.

Tank Dress





I'm still working on a couple of baby gifts for friends. I'm also busy, busy with baby stuff for our babe. I'll post pics soon!