More, more, more hats!

I've had this post written for days but I've only just managed to take photos of all the hats, so without further ado I can pick up where my last post left off...

Thanks to my sis for being an almost willing model!

 Just as I was about to cast of yet another baby hat Stu started complaining that I never knit him anything, so I put all my plans aside and cast on for a hat for him instead.  I had to have a dig around my stash to find something masculine enough for him and came up with a skein of Briggs and Little Regal that my mum brought me back as a gift when she went to Canada.  Frankly I don't know what possessed her, it is totally not up my street at all but I guess it all worked out, especially as it come in a massive skein so I have enough left for a second go!  This is important because this hat did not work out at all.  I used the Armando Hat pattern, it's a good pattern but despite thinking it looked a little small I decided not to keep knitting and now I have a great manly hat that fits me perfectly but is no use for Stu.  I'll knit him another one soon but not just yet, this yarn is far too dull for me.

 Now something like this is far more up my alley!  Lots of colours and some really bright pink.  This is a very simple slouchy hat that I made up as I went along using some of my handspun.  I'd spun the yarn very thick and thin, so ascertaining it weight and a gauge was rather difficult, hence the extreme slouchiness of the final product.  It's kind of knobbly and wobbly, but I love it nonetheless.

And finally my favourite, a Brownie hat for Cassie.  Again I used my own handspun, a lovely merino silk blend 3 ply.  I used nearly every scrap of it, which is why the hat doesn't have earflaps like the pattern, but I don't think it needs them.  I really enjoyed this pattern and the finished product is really smooth and warm, just perfect for a little delicate baby head.  I think she looks pretty stinking cute in it and I've had loads of comments on it while I've been out and about so I guess I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Hats and more hats

I've been going through a bit of a hat phase recently, this is mostly because they are a quick project, partly because it has been pretty cold and slightly because I just love hats.  Between the Christmas period and the end of January I made around 5 hats, with varying degrees of success.

This hat is definitely a winner, made as a practice hat for a baby hat swap I couldn't more pleased with it.  I'd been having trouble finding an ideal yarn for the swap and decided I'd dye some myself.  Before I went ahead with the dyeing I thought I'd better do a swatch with some of the same yarn I had previously dyed.  I didn't quite get gauge so of course I thought the sensible thing to do would be to make an entire practice hat just to see whether it would do.  Well it came out great, but as soon as I finished it I found the perfect yarn online so the whole thing was a bit of a waste of time!

This hat is the actual hat swap hat, shortly after the photo was taken it winged it's way up to a lovely little boy in the North of England.  His mum has posted a few pictures of him on Facebook wearing his hat while they are out and about which makes me really happy.  The pattern I used for both hats is the Regan Aviator Hat pattern and the swap hat was knitted with Manos Del Uruguay Maxima which is just soooo soft.

In return Cassie recieved this awesome hat from Canada.  I absolutely love it.  She doesn't have much hair yet and this hat makes her look like she has little pig tails.

 More hats next time, this post is getting quite long!

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!