Try, try and try again...

So I’m feeling like it might be time to have another go at reviving this blog.  It’s been difficult to find time to do it the last few months, Cassie is very interested in all things electronic and it is a bit of a nightmare trying to use my laptop when she is around.  She is getting a bit better at playing on her own now so I thinks it’s worth giving it a go.  Also I’m back at work now which gives me a bit of time to gather my thoughts and think about what to write.  I’ve actually been really productive recently so I’ll probably do a few themed catch up posts (maybe, hats, handspun, sewing and everything else).  But first, my favourite topic, Cassie!

Believe it or not it is very nearly her birthday and all I can think is eek, how did that happen?  I feel like I daren’t blink sometimes in case I miss something, especially as she seems to be in such a hurry to do everything.  At the grand old age of 8 ½ months she decided that it was high time she stopped standing around and took her first steps.  I was pretty gobsmacked, as up until that moment I hadn’t even seen her stand unaided for longer than a minute. She’s a very determined little lady. 

 My most pressing project at the moment is getting everything together for her first ever birthday party.  I’m determined to make her a really super cake, so watch this space…

Actual knitting FOs

I've been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, beavering away on several projects and actually finishing things.  I've finished sewing projects and spinning projects but today I'll just focus on the knitting.

First up is a cute little hooded cardi from a Debbie Bliss book my sister in law gave me last Christmas.

 I like it a lot, but there is no way I'll be knitting it again.  It's knit in loads of pieces and it's no secret that I hate sewing up.  Even the hood is made by casting off a load of stiches in the middle of a row, casting on a load more in the next row and then sewing it all up at the end.  Madness!

Next up, I just finished this:

And when I saw just finished I literally mean about 30 minutes ago.  I love it so much I could not wait to share.  The pattern is the Kittie Hat by kerli (pattern here) and is super super easy and so cute.  Also, it has magic powers, 5 minutes after putting it on Cassie finally cracked crawling.  With her magic cat hat on she put the wind up the actual cat who is not at all happy with this new found mobility.

Dresses

I started making Cassie another dress from Making Baby's Clothes last night. It's a really cute dungaree dress which I have lived since the first moment I saw it. I've just finished cutting out the pieces...all 26 of them. Yep, this really wants to be as cute as the picture when it's done!

Here's Cassie in the first dress I made from the book. It's quite big for her now but she doesn't mind and it'll last her for a while.

Reasons to love my postman 1

Lots of lovely stuff has been dropping through my door recently, mainly for sewing which seems to be my craft of choice for the moment.  A few days ago I opened an envelope to find this lovely package all wrapped up like a present.

 Inside...

A dress kit I ordered from Clothkits.  I was so looking forward to this arriving, I remember wearing their clothes as a child so the nostalgia factor is high.  The presentation when it all arrived was a total bonus though.  Even though I knew what was inside it was exciting to open it.  Another little parcel inside reminded me of pass the parcel and contained some super cute ribbon with deer on and some liberty print bias binding which I'll be saving for a special project.

I'm itching to sew up this dress, but it is age 1-2 and there are things in Cassie's current size that I want to make first.  Maybe the thought of getting to work on this will spur me on to get the other projects done quicker!

Wow, It's been a long time....

...but here I am.  Not that it came as a great surprise but looking after a baby is pretty time consuming!  However, now that Cassie is nearly 6 months old (how did that happen?) she is becoming more independent and I'm getting the odd minute to myself.  In the last week I've managed to get 4 sewing projects finished, so not only do I have the time to blog, I actually have made things to blog about.

So here's the little lady herself modelling some little corduroy trousers I made on Friday and one of a big pile of bibs I made from t-shirts a while back.  Hasn't she grown?

 The pattern for the trousers came from Rob Merrett's book Making Baby's Clothes, there are lots of lovely ideas in the book.  I've already made a pretty little dress and plan to make another very soon.

My next project a bit of a work in progress, I loosely followed this tutorial to make a highchair cover.  Made from skull and crossbones fabric ( because I bought far too much about 4 years ago) the highchair looks totally badass, but the bit that holds it on the back is too small so it keeps slipping off.

My plan is to add and extra bit at the back with a pocket for wipes which should weigh the whole thing down and hold it in place.

Finally I made this little taggy thingy to send away for a RAK.  Inside there is a layer of cellophane which makes that lovely crinkly sound that babies seem to love.  Cassie has two of them and spends ages scrunching them up and chewing the little ribbons, I hope the recipient loves hers as much.

I'll end with gratuitous baby pic, just because I think she's the cutest little person!

FO: Wrap Cardi

Just before Cassie was born I finished her little blue wrap cardi but hadn't blogged about it because I needed to sew some poppers on it.  I still haven't sewn any poppers on, but it was the only thing I could find at short notice to dress her in yesterday so I stuck some stick on velcro on instead.  I'll still need to get some poppers but the velcro was fine for the short term.  Obviously I'm biased but she looks so cute in it! 

The pattern is the Baby Wrap Crossover Cardigan by Jigsawknits and the yarn is James C. Brett Kool Kotton.

Look what I made!

I've been a little busy recently and now I finally have time to catch my breath I can show off my latest FO.  I've been working on it for a while, but I finished it off in a 4 1/2 hour intensive session on 14th March, when it looked like this:

Yes, I am a mummy!  This is little Cassie Violet, who entered the world a couple of weeks early and in a major hurry.  I went to bed at midnight on the night in question, feeling perfectly fine and woke up 2 hours later in full blown labour.  After a trip in an ambulance I arrived at the Midwife Led Unit and was allowed to push and Cassie was born within an hour.  She is just wonderful!  She is very sweet tempered, sleeps well and has just enchanted everybody.  Here is a selection of my favourite pics of her so far.