Pendlestitches, Author at Purl and Seam

kcwc – day 3

October 11, 2012

Bought more fabric…lilac needlecord for the skinny jeans. Actually, Ma bought it…thanks Ma. Button is thrilled.

But not as thrilled as she is with the new hightops that Ma and I bought her to go with this outfit.

They are from Next and Button nearly exploded when she saw them! I may have to get her the pink ones too…and make her a pink outfit to match.

However some progress was made. I taped together the jeans pattern and cut out the fabric. But it was so dark in sewing loft last night I couldn’t get a decent picture for love nor money.

Today, however, I’m actually sewing. The Oh Suzanna smock is coming together nicely. It’s a delightfully simple sew.

And we found out today The Boy isn’t having surgery tomorrow so we all feel a little lighter…for now.

Back to the loft. Pictures soon I promise.

kcwc – day 2 – not much to report

October 9, 2012

I started the day with the best intentions. I knew I had some things that needed doing that weren’t remotely related to sewing lovely clothes for the kids, but hadn’t banked on the afternoon being lost too.

It was in a good cause…having the windows measured for eventual replacement.

But it means I’ve still got nothing to show for day 2 of kcwc.

That said…I’ve taped together the Oh Suzanna Smock pattern and cut it out from the fabric I bought on Monday.

It’s the most delicious cotton lawn.

I’ve also purchased and downloaded Peek-a-Boo’s skinny jeans pattern.

What’s not to love. Skinny jeans for boys or girls. A bajillion sizes. I’m really looking forward to using this pattern as both my kids look adorable in skinnies and I have at least 4 pairs of adults trousers in the sewing loft ready for re-purposing for them.

I see quite a few iterations of this pattern in my future.

And whilst I was on the Peek-a-Boo site I also downloaded this pattern which is available free of charge.

So flipping cute.

This won’t be made during kcwc, but I’m envisaging this in the lovely “fauxbury” plaid I recently bought, trimmed with black, possibly velvet.

So no completed garments yet, but definite progress. And I’ve allocated more than the requisite hour to sewing related activities both yesterday and today…which is more that I’ve done for quite some time.

Hopefully the top will be sewn tomorrow.

My new baby

October 9, 2012

I know lots of lovely bloggy ladies are expecting at the moment…but don’t get your hopes up. I’d be thrilled but have more chance of winning the lottery! Without a ticket! 😉

And no…we haven’t got another fur baby either. Alice-who-is-a-cat is getting increasingly ancient so we are letting her see out her days in peace without being tormented by a larger fur-ball than she.

No…for some time now I’ve been dreaming of having a second regular sewing machine. A lovely older one, with a super straight stitch. Obviously when I renovate the sewing loft (which will probably be in about 10 years!) I’ll get the Jones treadle machine up and running for quilting.

But until then I’ve just been dreaming. I’m mean, I already have 6 sewing machines. For goodness sake, I’m turning into Peter! 😉

On Sunday we had planned to go to a local vintage fair as the kids were away with the grandparents and we had the day to ourselves.

But neither of us felt like it.

So we ended up at a bric-a-brac sale at one of our local charity venues.

It seems the Sewing Gods had other plans for me on Sunday.

There is hardly a mark on her. She sews like a dream.

Look at that stitch…it’s just perfect.

So The Husband, being the absolute ~~enabler~~ sweetie that he is offered to buy it for me as a treat for getting through the exams.

He’s the best.

And no fool when it comes to an absolute bargain.

I’m a very happy, very lucky lady!

kcwc 1 – Kitty – FO 24/2012

October 8, 2012

Ok…so strictly speaking this has been finished for a week or so, but I’ve not had the opportunity to share it with you yet.

And it’s a really cute way to kick off my first ever kcwc.

Pattern: Kitty from Donna Higgins at Heirloom Stitches

Yarn: Araucania Sock Yarn -it’s a mystery which one!

I love this pattern and I love this yarn.

The colours are even more saturated in real life, but because of the variegation of the yarn, it’s not too bold.

Unlike my daughter, who, quite frankly, is ‘bold’ personified!

New knits for small people – Made by Ma!

October 1, 2012

Ma has been mighty busy with her needles.

Lovely new knits for the small peeps in our household have been turning up with delightful regularity.

I, on the other hand, have been a very lax blogger and all round bad parent by not photographing these lovelies in a timely fashion so I can share them with you.

So, in the time honoured fashion of buses, here they all are at once.

Pattern: Sirdar 2358

Yarn: Sirdar Aran

I love cables. You might have noticed that cables pop up on this blog a lot.

I love our children in cables.

Add a red hood and Miss Cutie Button and it’s a perfect storm of knitterly delight.

And you can rock “Minxy” just as well as “Cute”!

Pah! Says The Boy.

I can do “cool dude” just as well as you do “Cute”!

Pattern: Sirdar Jolly Beachcomber Knits pattern number 2335

Yarn: Mystery yarn donated by my friend Liz.

Me…I think he looks like he should have a smallholding, with sheep and rare breed pigs.

Sigh…isn’t that perfect?

And this shot is just to remind myself that they’re not always beating the c**p out of each other!

More cabled loveliness for The Boy!

Pattern: Baby Bamboo Too Pattern G

Yarn: Patons Tropicana Cotton DK

He looks far too preppy and grown up in this one. And it also evidences the recent growth spurt between the front and back being knitted and checked against him and the sleeves being knitted! Thankfully it’s not too short, but we’ll be making future knits just a bit longer.

Big thanks go out to Ma for such sterling work with the needles.

Edited:

Especially as she’s going to add some length to the navy sweater.

She’s the best!

And I’ve still a couple more knits to share with you, one by Ma and one that I’ve done. I’ll share these this week and then we’ll be up to date with all our recent makes just in time for KCWC!

automne – FO 23/2012

September 28, 2012

So I have preparation for my final exam to do.

And the kids have brought home back-to-school-lurgy so I’ve been feeling quite a bit under par this week.

So, of course, I’ve been making a dress for Button.

And not just any old dress…no! A forest themed dress for FSC Friday!

When school told us that today the children could go dressed in green instead of uniform, or in something forest themed, I first planned to do a quick dress out of cord to represent the tree with a few felt leaves tacked to it!

These leaves are all properly appliquéd onto the dress…by hand! Thanks to the lovely Liz for letting me raid her felt stash!

I must be mad. I swear I need to learn to leave well alone. But this has gone from being a one off costume to a little dress she can wear all winter. And a self drafted one to boot.

Because you know that the leaves go round to the back of the dress too.

Yep…I did…I’m crazy! Even more so when you consider that that is a hand picked zip.

It was so worth it though to see her face light up as she saw it coming together, for the ecstatic thank yous, and the bear hug and face full of kisses she bestowed.

I know she won’t always want Mummy’s handmades, so for now I’m happy to pull crazy sewing out of the hat now and again. Even if I should be studying. 😉

Edit…

I forget the credit for the squirrel appliqué ..I do apologise.

I sourced this from Wee Folk Art and you can download it here.

Brockholes – FO 22/2012

September 24, 2012

This sweater has been knitted forever and has been languishing in a drawer waiting for colder weather…which has arrived with a vengeance in the last couple of weeks. Sunday was the first opportunity I had to get a photo of it. And they are not glamorous in any way shape or form, but at least you can see it earning it’s keep.

You’ll remember the yarn from the ill-fated Fairhope cardigan I made at the end of last year and promptly ~~unravelled~~ got Ma to unravel.

The pattern is Placed Cable Aran from Interweave Knits:

You don’t need to be particularly eagle eyed to notice that my version is slightly different from the original pattern.

Yep…instead of cabling both front and back to create the circular cable, I just cabled front to achieve this effect.

And whilst this isn’t the most stylish sweater in the world, nor has the yarn taken kindly to being frogged and re-knitted…this is a spectacularly comfortable and cosy sweater that is perfect for a Sunday afternoon walk around your local nature reserve.

Button wore a fabulously inappropriate outfit, having spent the previous couple of hours on a barge at a friend’s party. She just threw on her wellies and off she went!

The Boy was more suitably attired for scrambling about:

Yep…a giant carved acorn with a happy small boy.

Brockholes is a fantastic afternoon out with small people. It’s a great walk:

There are woods in which to hunt Gruffalo:

How can one so small be so fearless?

And there’s a play area that could entertain for hours:

Bumblebee wellies!

Dinosaur wellies!

I can’t wait to take this sweater back to Brockholes for another visit. The kids are keen to go too!

Puerperium cardigan and a hat – FO 20 &21/2012

September 11, 2012

Before you get overly excited I have to tell you that I’m not knitting for another little Stitch! I wish! No, it’s for Alice-who-isn’t-a-cat! She’s having a baby! In February. It’s going to be either a boy or a girl. Who knew? 😉

Obviously I have to knit for Squishy and where better place to start than with the lovely Puerperium Cardigan by Kelly Brooker which is available as a free download on Ravelry. Thank you Kelly for this adorable pattern.

Such a simple little cardigan to construct. It’s knitted all in one piece from the top down with the sleeves knitted on dpns, so no sewing up. Hurrah!

The asymmetrical closing adds a touch of flair to an otherwise simple style, and I’m thinking, having never done the newborn bit, that this will be easy to get on and off Squishy in those precious early days.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss ecobaby in colour 14020, a lovely soft gender neutral pale sage green. It’s a little splitty to knit with but so soft you forgive it. It will be gentle on newborn skin so I can suck up a little bit of temperament in the knitting. I used two balls bought from Knitting Heaven in Leyland and I got the cardigan and hat from two balls and a smidge to spare.

The hat is the Simple Baby Hat by Alison Williams, which again is a free download from Ravelry. I knitted this in an evening. I sang Alison’s praises. And this little hat has several sizes so I may make one each for my two. They won’t take very long.

I suspect there will be more knitting for Squishy over the coming months. Ma is working on a blanket too. I’ll share, of course.

The skinny jeans and Bowland top – FO 19/2012

September 9, 2012

Finally I’ve finished the jeans and I wore them out today with a new top. Both of these garments still need some tweaking.

Let’s start with the jeans. I wore these all day today and they are just so comfortable its ridiculous. I’m not used to comfortable jeans so this was a revelation.

I’ve also never had a pair of jeans before that I could wear without a belt. I didn’t wear a belt with these. They stayed put. This is also pretty flipping amazing.

Most amazingly is that I made these jeans. They are not perfect but they are wearable and I know what I need to do for the next time:

I need to add some length to the legs. These are wearable but I’d like a bit more length for sure.
I need to bring the pockets in more towards the middle. They aren’t necessarily placed in the most flattering position at the moment, but some of that is down to the fact that I needed to size them down after I’d top-stitched the pockets so I couldn’t move them.
I also need to take a bit more out under the butt. This is because I’ve lost weight from the original alterations. I’m not complaining!
The next pair will be slightly less skinny. This is just a matter of evolving taste. I’ve always worn skinny jeans but I think I’d like them a bit less so. More like classic Gap jeans.
I need to redraft the pattern because the grain line sure ain’t straight on these. I have twisty side seams. But then Levi do that and call it a design feature. So that’s what I’m calling it!
I need to use heavier denim. These are too lightweight for my taste and have too much stretch.

But… I. Made. Jeans.

And even with all these flaws they are still more comfortable and better fitting than any pair of jeans I’ve ever bought. I was freaking about the creasing in the legs until I realised that every pair of skinny jeans I saw had the same creases. Nature of the beast, I suppose.

Now to the top. This is made from Vogue 9771

V9771

Again, there are flaws.

I know there are drag lines across the bust…I did do an FBA on this pattern, I just need to make it a larger one. And, when I tried the toile there weren’t these lines, but the toile fabric was heavier.

And I know the bust darts are waaaaaaaaay too high…goodness knows how this happened because they surely weren’t doing that on the toile.

And the neckline is higher in real life than on the illustration…but in every version of this I’ve seen made up by someone else, this has been commented on. And for me it works. It keeps the top modest when I’m picking up children or bending down to them. Which is essential for me and something I struggle with in RTW.

But, despite these flaws…this top is really comfortable and I have had several compliments on it today. Which just goes to show that us seamstresses are overly critical of our work.

This doesn’t mean that I won’t be making the necessary alterations to both these patterns before I make them again, but is just a little reminder to us all to be a little kinder to ourselves and our abilities.

Scarecrow festival

September 9, 2012

Every September one our local villages, Charnock Richard, holds a scarecrow festival. Every year that the children have been home it has been bucketing down with rain for the festival weekend. This weekend the weather has been glorious, so we finally got the opportunity to take the children to see the scarecrows.