Cowl Knit Along

 

I only started sewing about five years ago but before that I used to knit.  When I say knit, I don’t mean fancy sweaters or anything.  Mostly scarves and a couple of hats.  I think I even have a blanket 3/4 of the way done in my stash somewhere.  Well it has been a while and I have been meaning to get back to knitting.

 

Shannon over at Luv in the Mommyhood gave me the perfect opportunity.  This month, she is hosting a cowl knit along.  (See that cute little button in my right side bar?  Just click on it for the details.)  Here is the cowl that I made.  I was able to sport it this past weekend while my kiddos played in the snow!  Hello, it’s only October people!

Anyway, I really love it.  It is the Breckenridge Cowl if any of you want to give it a try.  The pattern is on Ravelry which I only just discovered last year.  They have about a bazillion knitting and crochet patterns and many of them are free!

 

See all of the lovely cables?  This was my first time attempting cables.  I am so proud of myself. 

As I mentioned before, it has been a while since I have knit and I even needed a refresher on how to do a knit stitch vs. a purl stitch.  Fortunately, there are several sites with how to videos.  The two that I found the most helpful are Knit Witch and Knitting Help .  Go check them out.

Guess what, I even whipped up a second one!  Hmmmm….. whom to give it to?

 

Happy Knitting and thanks Shannon for hosting the knit along!

Kindergarten Backpacks

O.K. so I’m a little late with this post but better late than never right?  My girls started Kindergarten this fall and I wanted to make up a couple of backpacks for them. 

The fabric is Hoos In the Forest by Doohikey Designs for Riley Blake Designs.

I used a combination of Made by Rae’s Toddler Backpack pattern and the Oliver & S backpack pattern found in the book Little Things to Sew. ( Have I mentioned that I am so loving that book?!  Check my previous post about the Little Red Riding Hood pattern from Little Things to Sew.)

The Made by Rae pattern includes instructions for making the bag a bit larger for older children and that is what I did.  I think the size is perfect.  My girls are 6 but big for their age and the bags fit nicely.  Their school also uses folders for home school communications and these fit well in the backpack.
I liked the piping detail in the Made by Rae pattern so I used that for the exterior.



I wanted the interior to be lined so I followed the instructions in Little Things to Sew.  I am so happy that I added a lining to the bag it just makes it look more finished.  (FYI, the last step in sewing the lining calls for hand stitching near the zipper and I am not a big fan of hand stitching so I just pinned and topstitched near the zipper and it worked out fine.)

I also added an exterior pocket,

an interior pocket,

and a pocket with a vinyl window to put their name, address and phone number.

I also wanted to be able to tell them apart so I added a little initial keychain.

I love the finished bags and highly recommend both of these patterns.  I think that they are probably best suited for an advanced beginner or intermediate sewist.  The instructions are easy to follow but I wouldn’t attempt this as a first sewing project.

Happy Sewing!

Little Red Riding Hood

I really love these Little Red Riding Hoods!  The pattern comes from Oliver & S Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson.  Have any of you purchased this book?  I highly recommend it.  I first checked it out from the library to make sure that it had enough items in it that I would like to make to warrant purchasing the book.  It soooo does!  Lots of really cute things for your little ones.  I have made a few so far and will be sharing them in the next couple of weeks.


Now back to the Red Riding Hoods.  They are super easy to make.and the end result is so cute.  My girls love them and get tons of compliments.


I chose to make the size large.  My girls are 6 years old and big for their age and these were the perfect fit.  For the exterior I was dreaming of some lovely red wool fabric I spotted.  However, I needed 4 yds. to make both hoods and the wool was $25 a yard.  Ummm…. time for plan B.  How about some cozy fleece instead?  Great! 

For the interior, I used a turquoise quilters cotton.  I just love red and turquoise together.


I wanted it to be reversible so I added buttons and button loops to both sides.


As I said before, this pattern was easy to follow and I feel that a beginning sewer could tackle this project.  Now as far as keeping little brothers out of your photo shoot, that takes advanced skills which apparently I do not possess. 

If you would like to see more examples of this hood and other Oliver & S patterns be sure to check out the Oliver & S Flickr Group.

Happy Sewing!

Girls’ Night Halloween Goodies

I hosted book club at my house this week so of course I had to search blog land for some yummy treats to serve.  The most helpful sites were Twin Dragonfly Designs and I Heart Nap Time.  Be sure to check out these sites for even more ideas.  O.K. so here is what I made.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Chips.  For the salsa, I cut up some apples, strawberries and kiwis.  I also added fresh blueberries and a bag of frozen mixed berries drained.  Lastly, I added about a Tbs. of fresh lemon juice, a Tbs. of white sugar and a Tbs. of brown sugar.  For the chips, I followed the directions on Twin Dragonfly Designs for cutting and baking tortillas and sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar.  I did have to bake mine for closer to ten minutes though to get them crispy.

Ghost Pretzel Sticks.  My girls had fun making these.

This last recipe is also from Twin Dragonfly Designs.  No Bake Oreo Cheesecake!  I like this recipe because it can be given as a party favor.  Just make it the night before and put it in some small jelly jars.


I put some cute Halloween fabric on top.  I planned to cover the metal ring with some Halloween ribbon but I ran out of time.  Oh well.


Witch Hat Cookies.  I didn’t serve these to the ladies but my girls made these later in the week for a treat.  They are super easy. Take a  Keebler Fudge Striped cookie and turn it upside down.  Add a dollop of Wilton colored frosting in the tube.  Then place a Hershey’s kiss on top.  Easy peasy!


Bat Decorations!  I saw this cute idea on Made last year and I knew I wanted to do it.  Super easy!  Just cut out some bat shapes and tape them to the wall.  They have been up for a couple of weeks and so far only a few have fallen down and we just stick them back up.

My boys really like these!

Check out my post from last year HERE to find out about Spider Snacks and Mummy Dogs!

I just had to share this picture because I thought that it was funny.  On the rare occasion we let the kids eat dinner in front of the t.v. and they love it.  Yummm hot dogs and Mac-n-Cheese what’s better than that.  Yes, my  boys are wearing costumes.

Showoff Bag Pattern Review

I was very excited when Rae from Made by Rae contacted me to pattern test her latest bag pattern.  It is called the Showoff Bag because it is nice and big and does a lovely job of showing off your favorite fabric.

I really love how these bags turned out.  They sew up really quickly.  I didn’t find that they were any more difficult to sew than a basic tote but the final look is so much “snazzier”!

Another one of my favorite features is that it opens up nice and wide.  I have sewn up a couple of other large bags but I have found that they don’t open up big enough to actually see everything.

The pattern gives instructions for adding an interior fabric.  I made mine 8”x6”.

I also added a zippered pocket to the other side.  Instructions for this pocket are not in the pattern but could probably be easily found on the internet.  I used the zippered pocket instructions from the Runaround Bag.

 

This little beauty with the Amy Butler fabric is for me.  I know greedy right?  I just can’t part with this lovely fabric.  The pattern calls for using a décor or canvas type fabric for the main outer fabric and a heavier fabric for the top.  I think quilting cotton works fine as long as you interface it with a mid-weight fusible interfacing.  I used a heavy weight interfacing and it was a bit too stiff.

This bag will be for my mom for Christmas.  Shhh…, don’t tell.  She doesn’t even own a computer so no fear of her reading this.  For this bag I used a décor weight fabric for the main part of the bag and a quilters cotton lined with light weight interfacing for the interior.  I found that this version sewed up very easily.

I even added a label and some snazzy stitching because you know moms appreciate that kind of thing.

Don’t forget to check out Made by Rae for the pattern coming soon!

Happy Sewing!