Purl and Seam

3 years

May 6, 2012

3 years ago today we met Button for the first time.

At 1.30pm we finally found out that she would be our baby.

At 1.45pm we learned that Dad was making his final journey from this world.

A bittersweet day.

3 years on it’s all a bit easier to bear. But we still miss Pa every. single. day.

Tonight Ma, Ma and Pa SIL, The Husband and I shared a lovely dinner and raised a glass to our beautiful daughter and my amazing father.

Pa wasn’t perfect…but he was a perfect dad. And the thought that I return to over and over again is just how very thrilled he would be with his grandchildren.

He would have loved them beyond words.

And they would have loved him back in equal measure.

(I know he was immeasureably proud of Niece Stitches and her family.)

One of the things I think the kids will miss the most is the sense of adventure my Pa had. I had such fun as a child spending holidays with him in his truck travelling across Europe. I have a store of tales of our travels.

My babies will never have that time with him, and I know they would have loved it.

As would Pa.

But recently The Husband and Pa SIL took the kids for an outing to the local transport museum.

They had a blast.

And I learned something about my babies…

…it seems that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!!!

I have a mental picture of Pa in Heaven with Charlie dog, his best friends, and a large glass of Jack Daniels, smiling approval on these small people whom he never met, but who know him as Granddad Angel and love him nevertheless.

As do we.

We miss you Pa. xxx

PS to Ma.

I know these pics will bring a tear to your eye. But I also know you’ll understand why I saved them till today.

Love you xxx

Husband…thy name is eejit!

May 2, 2012

The Husband is a clever man.

He’s also handy at DIY. He’s built stud walls and decks, he’s rewired the house and done plumbing. This is all OK because he’s a qualified electrical engineer.

So how come he’s sporting this today?

It turns out that when you work on a washing machine that needs a repair it’s very useful to isolate BOTH fuses, not just the one!

Because if you don’t isolate both fuses, you run the risk of electrocuting yourself and slicing the back of your hand open on the raw metal inside the machine.

And if you do that you spend the evening in A&E, have to have your heart checked and your hand glued back together again.

You also get the mickey taken out of you mercilessly by your father and your work colleagues.

You have been warned.

Made by Ma! – Sammy hoodie

April 28, 2012

It seems so long since I posted a finished object here…and this one isn’t even one of mine!

Ma has made Button this gorgeous and very practical hoodie:

It will keep your ears warm on the chilly spring days we’re having at the moment:

The cute ribbed sleeves make it sporty:

Pattern: Sirdar Play Days Book 4 – version: Sammy

Yarn: Sublime Soya Cotton DK – Shade 080

The weather here is wet and wild at the moment. We snuck out in a rare sunny spell before dance rehearsals this morning to take the pictures. The rain is closing in again and the wind is getting up…but Button doesn’t care because she’s snug and warm.

And I have a dress finished that I will photo asap and share with you. Promise.

Keep warm and dry this weekend.

In which we cheer loudly!

April 23, 2012

We have been on tenterhooks for months waiting for the school allocations to be announced, as Button starts primary school in September.

We are lucky enough to have 3 primary schools near to us, and one of them is one of the best schools in the county with excellent OFSTED reports.

I fell in love with this school when I visited during their open evening last year. It seems really creative, with an emphasis on all sorts activities, not just academic results.

I’ve been driving all my friends and family crazy with my wittering on about how we really, really want her to go to this school.

Today the announcements were made.

We got the school we wanted.

We are all very, very happy.

And we cheered very, very loudly!

Ella – FO 12/2012

April 9, 2012

The pattern is Ella from Kim Hargreaves.

I knitted it in Wollmeise laceweight.

I’ve got to get better at saving ball bands ‘cos I have not other idea than that!

All I know is that this is the perfect sweater for lounging around the house in.

Cosy but not bulky.

Great with leggings and flats.

A fabulous colour.

This sweater makes me happy.

I may just make this sweater again…with just a normal cast on edge…and enough yarn for full length sleeves.

I had just enough yarn…but I’m also now in love with knitting laceweight.

Little Lemon Lady – upcycled t-shirt and Made By Ma! sweater – FOs 10 & 11/2012

April 2, 2012

Button has two new additions to her wardrobe…both in lovely shades of lemon.

First up is a t-shirt I upcycled from one of Ma SIL’s t-shirts.

I cut the body and sleeves of this t-shirt utilising the existing hems. I reattached the neck band to the neckline using a fancy stitch on my normal machine. I constructed the t-shirt with a zig-zag stitch so although I have an overlocker and a coverstitch machine, I only used my ordinary machine to make this, which makes it accessible to everyone.

The pattern was drafted by me using one of Button’s existing RTW t-shirts.

It’s a simple but effective make and I have another 4 or 5 of these ready to go.

I’d be happy to do a tutorial on this if anyone is interested. It would be easy to use the same technique to upcycle a man’s t-shirt for a woman as well.

To go with this new t-shirt, Button also has a lovely new cable sweater knitted by Ma.

The yarn is a cotton slub 4 ply that my lovely friend Liz gave us.

The pattern is from MillaMia’s book ‘The Close Knit Gang’.

Image courtesy of http://www.millamia.com/home.php

It’s the first pattern we’ve knit from this book and I don’t think it will be the last. I’m keen to knit the cover jacket and there are several other garments that I’d love for both of the kids. They are classic and wearable, not remotely twee and with an urban sophistication that I love. They are the kind of things you’d pay an arm and a leg for in an upscale London boutique (if you’ve nothing better to do with your money and no crafty skills, that is!).

I this this colour looks fabulous on Button and this is a perfect duo for playdates when the weather is a bit unpredictable…as it has a tendancy to be in this part of the world.

Thankfully, she really adores both garments. Phew!

Top and cardi – Newlook 6838/Simplicity 2560/Newlook 6922 – FOs 8 & 9/2012

April 1, 2012

Happy Sunday!

I hope you’ve had a lovely day. The sun has been shining here and I managed a little bit of time in the sewing loft today. My main objective to be to carry out a few tweaks to the top and cardigan I made from the silk/viscose jersey I bought in London just before Christmas.

I wore the outfit yesterday with the almost-perfect-trousers and noticed a few things that needed addressing:

First up the sleeves are too long. Annoyingly so. I spent the day shoving them up my arms.

Secondly, I stabilised the hems, neck and armholes with Steam-a-Seam. Unfortunatly this fabric is so lightweight it’s made them go crispy and really affects the way the garments hang.

Today I redid the sleeve and bottom hem on the cardigan, and the hem on the top and they look much better. I have no makeup on and Sunday hair so I’m not having photos done…you’ll just have to take my word that they are immensly better.

I know that the S-A-S is affecting the way the neck lies too, but if I redo the neck the shoulders will be all hinky, and I can live with the drape.

So, these are the patterns I used.

Newlook 6838..I used the sleeveless version for this top.

I used the front, back and sleeves from the long sleeved cardigan version.

I replaced the origan collar with a front band inspired by this cardigan.

Overall I think this works but I don’t think this will be my go-to, most favorite top combo. This is mainly down to the fabric.

I knew when I bought it that it wasn’t my first choice. I really wanted something more stable and with a bit more weight…more forgiving on the old lumps and bumps, you see. But I couldn’t find anything in a colour to go with the almost-perfect trousers. So this was really the only option I had.

I have to tell you that it will be a very.very.VERY.long.time.indeed before I sew again with silk/viscose jersey!

It slips and slides and is generally a bear to work with. But on the plus side it’s soft and warm for cooler spring days. The Husband commented on how nice the colour looks on me, and Ma and Ma SIL were suprised that I’d made it, not bought it.

So I will wear it. Especially now the hems hang better. 😉 And I’m keen to try the t-shirt pattern again in a more stable knit. I think with a few more tweaks this could be a good go-to pattern to make up a pile of t-shirts that are sadly missing from the wardrobe.

And the big plus from this project is that I finally mastered the Coverstitch machine…it’s my new favorite toy! Happy days!

Made by Ma and Little Sweet Peas cardigan – F/O 7/2012

February 26, 2012

Crikey it’s been busy here this weekend.

I’m getting the urge to completely redecorate the house. Which is a crazy idea because a) I don’t have the time and b) I don’t have the pennies!

To compensate for this I coerced The Husband into helping me clear out all the crap which had been thrown into the eaves in the sewing loft and was giving me hives because I knew it was there.

We filled the boot of my car with rubbish!

And sent a full knitting machine ensemble over to Ma. She knows how to use it and will put it to use until the happy day we can rip the loft out and re-fit it properly, with room for all knitterly and sewerly gadgets.

Today I cleaned.

And ironed.

And The Husband food shopped.

And the kids played fishing games at Nana and Grandad’s. And between us Pa SIL and I got us up to date with photos…so here we go!

First up is Button in her new stripy dress

: I’m so cute…is anyone watching?

: Who you calling minxy?

Beau then got in the act with his new Made by Ma sweater

: “Hey! I thought this was my photoshoot! What’s he doing in it?” ” Looking cool, little lady, looking cooooool!”

I have no idea what the yarn is for his sweater. It’s chunky and it’s black and that’s about the limit of my knowledge. It was gifted by a friend at my knitting group who was de-stashing (thank you) and it’s too cute on him. The pattern is a vintage Patons pattern number 4611.

I keep expecting him to pull out a beret and start playing jazz!

And if that’s not enough cuteness for you I’ve also got pictures of Button’s latest cardigan.

: I feel like dancing, ooh, dancing, ooh, dance the night away!

I’m being really rubbish here ‘cos again I couldn’t tell you for the life of me what that yarn is. Its an acrylic/wool mix and super cheap and you can throw it in the washing machine!

The pattern is from the Sirdar Little Sweet Peas book and is design B.

It has some cute frilling at the hip.

I love this. It’s a good basic cardigan and a quick knit. I think I’ll make it again soon in some nice yarn. And add some length because that girl is growing!

We’ve been out playing with friends today and these outfits have been much admired. I need to make more of those dresses!

And finally… just because I’m a proud mummy and I can…here’s a couple of gratuitous shots of my adorable babies.

Heidi and Finn cowl neck jumper dress – F/O 6/2012

February 21, 2012

I’ve got to tell you its a miracle anything is getting done here at the moment, but although I could do with more time and more sleep it’s nice knowing that this is a temporary thing as the end of my first module creeps nearer.

Last week was half-term holidays which I spent with the kids and The Husband and abandoned my study schedule. It was lovely if rather foolish as it means that this week I have one session of English and two sessions of French to catch up. As this is approximately 36 hours of study and I don’t have 36 hours to spend on it, the word that springs to mind is “eeeep”!

I have to say that without hesitation I’ll make the same choice the next nursery holiday…it’s so worth it.

Little ice-creamy faces are a joy to behold.

Then, I spent 5 hours waiting to be towed home from Manchester on Saturday when I should have been at a tutorial for my French module. Fingers crossed his car will be mended soon. But how lucky are we to have one car, let alone two?

So, to maintain some semblance of sanity, I’ve been sneaking the odd half hour here and there to do a bit of sewing and in the evenings I sit and knit. The laceweight Ella is knitted and blocked and currently being sewn up (which is tedious so only a bit is getting done every now and again when I’m feeling a bit perky).

I’ve also finished a cardigan for Button. I photographed it at the weekend but every picture was overexposed so I’ll do them again soon.

And today I’ve just finished the cowl neck jumper dress from Heidi and Finn, also for Button.

I cannot tell you how adorable this little dress is. Button has a temperature today and is currently snoozing so I’ll get modelled pictures soon, but really wanted to share it with you.

I’ve used a Heidi and Finn pattern before for the refashioned jacket I made for Button and again I found the pattern well drafted and the instructions extremely comprehensive. Even if you’re a complete beginner you could sew this dress. I sewed it on my normal machine as I didn’t have 4 spools of thread for the overlocker. Simples!

The fabric was gifted to me by the lovely, lovely Himmelbjerget during her recent destash and is a beautifully soft and cosy velour. You can see the fabric better in this close up shot:

Adorable.

This is such an amazing pattern. I want to make it again and again. In fact I think I very probably will do! In this incarnation it’s perfect for play dates or for church, but you can make it more or less dressy dependent on your choice of fabric.

So thank you to Himmelbjerget for the fabric and thank you to Heidi and Finn for another splendid pattern.

If you have small ladies who like a dress I highly recommend you make this one for them. At least once.