Keeping busy...

and getting not much done. Do you ever have those days? I often have great resolutions to spend a day getting lots of things done.  yesterday was one of those days, and as usual, I got to the end of the day wondring just how DID i spend my time??
The kitchen bench was a little bit cleaner, as was the table; there were just a few less weeds in the garden. Maybe if I didn't chop and change activities every two minutes I would have more to show for my efforts. LOL!

What I did manage to achieve yesterday morning was making up this little dress. It is for a friend to give to her niece for Christmas (and will help with my Show entries in a couple of weeks too!). it is reversible, and has a cute cross over back:

It just needs buttons and it is all done. Only, it is supposed to be for a nine month old, by my reckoning, but it seems much bigger than that to me.   It has been a while since I held a baby in my arms so who knows.
One thing before i go, and this is why I have not much idea of the size: i understand that babies and children come in all shapes and sizes but as parents we generally know what size our kids will fit in to. Can we stop pattern manufacturers from just putting measurements on patterns. Yes, it can be helpful but only if you have the child in front of you to measure.  We have this problem in the wool shop with knitting patterns, and we usually have to go and find a pattern that has measurements AND sizes on it so we can compare.  Can't they make our lives just a bit easier and include both?
And the next pattern that suggests cutting elastic for legs etc to be a couple of centimetres longer than the child requires; how would I know what the child needs as the leg elastic as she is in SA and I have no hope of getting measurements. So it looks like the matching panties will have to wait.

(Off my soapbox now!!)

New toys!!!!!!

Who doesn't love getting something new?  I bought this set of circular knitting needles last week. They are an Addi circular lace set, with eight pairs of needles and three different length cords.  Equivalent to 24 pairs of needles. 
I do like the Addi circulars. I have a couple of their standard circular needles and i love the way the wool slides across the needles with no fuss.  I can't wait to use these. But I do have a couple of things on the go so I will have to wait I think.  until then I will just look at them and plan....

(nice aren't they?)

Ravelry

I have to say I love, love, love the Ravelry website.  it is such a fantastic resource for knitters to find patterns, ask advice, anything really.  I have spent countless hours just cruising through the patterns on this site. A friend told me it was wasted time if I was looking but not 'doing'.  i heartily disagree.  I have had such wonderful times looking, dreaming and even planning projects.
this is the latest that I have made from this site. it is a free pattern, in a newborn size, but she does have a pattern you can but with bigger sizes and a choice of four or eight ply. (This one is done in eight.)  I am planning on buying her expanded pattern when I get a chance to sit and have a look.

Anyway, here it is:

It is knitted from the neck down, all in one.  it was quite easy and is so sweet. I can just see a newborn in this.  The pattern has tapered sleeves or straight; I chose the straight sleeves but am wondering if next time maybe i will do the tapered ones.  These look a little like they might flare outward but they don't.
The sleeves are done on double pointed needles after the body of the cardigan is done.  I love the knitted in one piece idea. No seams to sew up, but also no seams to make it bulky.

I have nobody to give this to but I am having fun knitting baby things and they can all go away for when my grandchildren start coming along (not yet though!!!).

So adorable

We got some new patterns in the shop on Monday afternoon of some vintage type aprons, so after my boss chose some suitably appropriate vintage type material, I whipped this up yesterday.
I love it, it is so cute.  And without the ric-rac it would be perfct for a boy as well. We have some great Cat-In-The-Hat laminated fabric at work so i think I might have to make some out of that too. 

The pattern come from this:

The pattern asks for snaps on the sides, but I used ribbon instead (it was much cuter with ribbon than snaps).  And instead of using binding or ric-rac, I chose to use both.  I think I prefer the binding on the armhole edge, and it covered the ends of the ric-rac nicely.

I also sat and sewed an apron for me, well for me to enter into the show. I have done pretty embroidered ones in the past and i do use them (and get them very grubby) but this one has pretty lace on it, and I am not sure if I can bear to make it dirty.  It just needs ribbon for the neck and it is done but I will wait until it is finished to post a photo.

back again

I am still not sure where tthe time goes. It seems to fly by faster each year, which is a frightening thought! 
I have been busy doing the usual; running kids around from here to there, working, being a wife and mother.  It is all fun, but it all seems to conspire to keep me away from the keyboard.
So, while I am sitting here I will show you a couple of things I have done.  I have been knitting madly away; working in a fabulous wool shop, amongst such nice wool and patterns, how could I not be knitting?  But, it is also Show season, with all the agricultural shows coming up, so i am trying to get some sewing done for those.

Firstly  though is a pair of bootees I made for a friend of my son's who is pregnant. I had an epiphany while making these; as I don't know the sex of the baby I decided to put ribbons in for either boy or girl.  Such a simple idea, and I am sure I am not the first person to do this, but what an easy way to cover for either.

These turned out really well and I hope she liked them.

Another thing I have just finished is this smocked dress. it was so nice to do some smocking after not doing it for a little while. I bought this fabric before Christmas and had this idea floating around in my head for the past six months. Bargello was one smocking technique I hadn't tried before and I am happy with the end result. It is actually really nice for the dress to turn out exactly as it had been in my head.  It does seem to need a hook and eye, or two, between the buttons where the smocking is. Although I might try to reblock it first to see if it sits a bit better.  The smocking has much more give in it than I thought it would.

Besides these, I am in the middle of a knitted wrap, with a shawl planned after that. I have done some other bits and pieces of knitting too.

And I started a smocked dress yesterday. There is a local church group holding a quilt/craft exhibition as a fundraiser and I have been asked to put some smocking in.  Things I am happy to sell. So i am busy with that, I do have a few things they can have, but I am trying to sqeeze out a couple more dresses to include.  They want a christening gown. I have two here, one I am not prepared to sell and the one I made earlier in the year, which I do not really want to see but if i put a high enough proce on it and it sells than I guess I can just make another one.  

So it is all busy busy busy here in my house.