Little bits

This morning I had a request from a small boy for jeans, I suspect because his big brother was wearing some. I had an old pair that I started mending a couple of months ago, when he decided they would be terrible, so I pulled them out again and finished the patches. He remembered that I'd promised elephants, so I had to dig out the elephant fabric but I also found some red with spots and tools (left over from his sun hat - he was a bit worried that I'd cut his hat up when he saw it!)

A photo posted by Sonya (@stringherder) on Jan 17, 2016 at 3:27pm PST

I was pleasantly surprised by a box arriving on my doorstep this afternoon, all the way from Switzerland! A delicious, delicious box full of yarn and chocolate, thanks to Robynn! I have only had a little look through, but I feel thoroughly spoilt. I will spread it all out and have a good look/play/sample tomorrow during preschool, as it's not something I really want Help with. I already have ideas for some of the yarn, and if it works I may have to hunt down more of at least some of it!

I have finally started on the border of my shawl, so in 18 more rows it will be done. I am about to start on ridiculous quantities of beading (something like 350 beads just in the edging - compared to 80ish in the rest of the shawl).

In a sneaky naptime moment

Somehow I have managed to get two small children asleep at the same time, so I am trying to do too many things at once to make the most of it. (It's not actually entirely surprising, apparently having a ride in the pram after walking a mile, playing for a couple of hours, and visiting the library is somewhat sleep-inducing. Thankfully!).

I have started work on typing up my next shawl design. I have knit one prototype, but it is for the ravelry shawl exchange and I haven't sent it yet, so no photos. I want to change a few things to make it a bit closer to my original vision, so I will be knitting another one soon, in a completely different yarn. And then maybe another one in a heavier yarn...

I have also been participating in sock madness, and am nearly halfway through the second sock of the pair for this round. Unfortunately my hand is starting to complain a bit about too much sock knitting in too short a timeframe, so these may be my last socks for a while.

On the sewing front, I have just cut out a long sleeved shirt for the monkey, cut down from an old one. This is my first attempt at upcycling in this way - I have preserved the button bands and sleeve plackets, shortened the cuffs, and will work out how to use the collar mostly as-is when I get that far. I think with the effort I have put into doing all those things it would actually have been easier to do them all from scratch, but never mind. I have also just made some size 3 overalls, from a self drafted pattern. The basic block was roughly copied from a Burda pyjamas pattern, and tweaked a fair bit. There are a few changes I need to make, but I'm pretty happy for a first attempt, and there will be more in the future.

We bought a marble run in the weekend, and some junior meccano (bigger, with plastic screws). They have been a great hit so far, apart from the rule about having to pack up one before the other can come out!

Photos of everything to come. Eventually. Well, maybe not the toys...

What am I working on today?

Sock madness has started over on ravelry, so for the next week and a half I will be trying to finish a pair of socks. I cast on Monday night, and am not too far from starting the heel flap, so with any luck I will manage. This is the third year I have participated, in the past two years I didn't get past the first round. 

Yarn is hand dyed sock yarn from Creative Yarns in Tauranga, bought on holiday about 3 years ago.

I have also cut out two pairs of winter pyjamas for The Monkey, they've been added to my pile of stuff to sew as and when I get to them.

Seagull square

In making this square I learnt that sewing while tired is not a clever idea. I think I managed to invent a whole collection of new mistakes. As well sewing pieces with the wrong side out, and messing up placement so the patch didn't fully cover the area it needed to, I also managed to use the wrong colour a few times despite having the pattern clearly marked.

I gave up for that day after sewing a piece on the wrong way for the third time (wrong side up, out by 90°, any wrong way you can think of). I came back to it the next day to discover that actually I had it right after all!

Now I need to print out the some more birds and trace them, to see what I'm in for next. (I'm tracing the patterns onto lunch paper, because it is a bit thinner to sew through, and I didn't want to be worrying about printer ink on my iron).

More sewing (and a bit of knitting)

I have been sewing some more over the last week, and actually come out with something wearable. I redrafted the top front piece of the Lekala top pattern, and ended up with this:


The fit is much better (and the fabric is also nicer). There is still room for improvement, in that the shape of the seam at between the top and bottom front pieces is a little off, and the pleats need to move towards the sides a little more, but overall I'm pretty happy with it.

I also experimented with another bra, from a heavy woven linen. The end result isn't really wearable, but it has highlighted issues I had with the fit (which were also present in the first one, but somewhat hidden by the nature of the knit fabrics). Overall I think I need the front to be wider, but with a smaller band size. My next plan is to use the same pattern for the cup, use the next sister size up (up a band size, down a cup size so the cup fits in) for the cradle, and then tweak the back band so that it fits as the next band size down would. I have no idea what fabrics I will use, I will see what I have on hand that seems appropriate and keep stealing hardware off old bras.

I have also been knitting away on my shawl for the Ravelry Worldwide Shawl Exchange, and am now about 2/3rds done. I have just finished the second chart, just the last section to go (around 40 long, long, rows). I have now reached the stage where I am oscillating between being excited to see how it will turn out, and being bored with the long rows - pretty normal for me when it comes to triangular shawls!

Swift

The swift is done!


(The colours are much more accurate in this photo than in the last block)

I think this went together more smoothly than last time, although it is a little wonky on one edge. I'm happy to fudge that if/when required in piecing the birds together, whatever I end up doing with them. I didn't bother starching, and still had less trouble with the fabrics not being particularly firm, so I'm assuming that having some idea about that going in made a bit of a difference. I definitely got better at judging where to put the pieces of fabric to get them to cover their allocated area properly. And I only sewed one piece in wrong-side out!

I did end up with a couple of places where I misjudged and ended up with a little bit of selvedge showing, but I'm not too worried about it, and am willing to call it a learning experience. (Or, I didn't have the heart to undo more seams...)

I ran out of bobbin thread on the second to last seam, so I just grabbed a darker blue that I had handy, which seems to have worked out okay. I need to do some other sewing before I start on the next block, but I'm not sure what will be up next. At least I have an empty bobbin if I choose something I don't already have thread wound for.

One thing I'm not quite sure about with this paper piecing is when I should be removing the paper. I haven't taken any out, and I'm thinking it will probably be okay to leave in until the whatever-it-is is assembled. I think with the twill fabrics having the paper in for stability for as long as possible is probably a good plan. Does anyone out there have any advice for me on that?

Experimenting with knits

A few months ago I was introduced to Lekala patterns.  I like the concept of made-to-measure patterns, so thought I'd see what they were actually like to use.  For a trial run I looked through their free patterns and picked out a knit top (8004) to see how it would work for me.

I did ignore some of the assembly instructions, mainly regarding finishing the neckline.  I was a little unclear on what they actually meant in a couple of places too, but had enough sewing experience to make it up as I went along.  The fabric I used was some cheap stretch mystery fabric I got from Kutwells some number of years ago.  It wouldn't be my first choice now, but perfectly adequate for a pattern test!

I couldn't find my clear elastic this morning so I stabilised the neckline with bias binding.  I suspect there are many better options, but this was easy and I had it on hand. I still need to finish trimming the neck hem.

The pattern could fit a little better - there isn't really enough room vertically through the bust, so the underbust seam rides up, or if I tug it down the neckline is quite low.  The front pleats are also not placed right for me (but I accept that I may have done something weird there).  I have just read some reviews that indicate that this is a known issue, although I may have guessed wrong on some of the optional adjustment measurements. I don't feel particularly inclined to get a new version of the pattern to test that theory though, I will just think about altering what I have. I don't know if I will make it again, although I am thinking it may adapt nicely into a light summer dress. I also have a bunch of merino knit that I got ridiculously cheap from Fabric Vision last year...

Cat hat

The monkey has a cat hat that has gone astray at preschool a couple of times (but has been found each time so far), but after the last time he commented that I should make a cat hat for the changeling too.  Conveniently (or inconveniently, depending on your viewpoint) I have recently lost the helicopter hat that he had been wearing.  It never quite fitted right, so I redrafted the pattern.  I only had enough of the cat fabric for 3 panels, so I alternated it with a light brown cotton, which I also used for the lining. 

The shape is still not quite right, and he is nearly ready to move up to the next size anyway, but this was a nice quick project to whip up and feel like I'd made something useful!
I still need to attach elastic, and a button on the top, but it is at least wearable in the back yard at the moment. I guess I will try to get it properly finished in time for him to wear it to playcentre on Thursday.

First patchwork

Well, I have learnt a few things about paper piecing, and probably patchwork in general! I have now successfully constructed my first block, although I did have to unpick the occasional seam because I failed to position my piece of fabric correctly (or up the right way a couple of times...). I'm happy with the end result for a first attempt.



My fabric choice wasn't the best for novice paper piecing, the background is a sateen and the foreground is a fine wool blend houndstooth. I think using a tabby weave for both would have made things easier. I will continue with another block with the same fabrics, but I may try giving them a liberal dose of starch first.

New project required? Really?

Ever since I first came across her work, I have loved Juliet's patterns for paper pieced quilt blocks. I have never done any paper piecing, or even really any patchwork, but I have finally given in and decided to jump in with both feet on her latest project - the In Flight Quilt-Along. I have admired her native birds from afar, but something about the birds in flight was just too tempting.

Before deciding to go for it I did at least check my fabric pile, and decided that I have plenty of options of fabric that I'm willing to use in the stash. The background is going to be a dark blue sateen that I originally bought with the idea of eventually using it for an unpieced quilt. I'm not sure yet whether the birds will all be one colour (either a white/grey wool blend, or an old pale blue sheet), or a mix of colours. At the moment I'm leaning towards starting with the wool.

I would have given in to the temptation to start already, but I need to get some more ink for the printer first. Also, I really should finish the two shirts that are currently sitting next to the machine partially done...

New year, new place

And so we are back in the land of summer. A bit of a change, but I think two days in Singapore definitely helped with the transition. Sleep is now pretty much normal, enough so that we put the bunks up in the weekend and Mr. 3 slept in the top bunk last night, which went surprisingly smoothly.

I have picked up where I left off with cataloguing our book collection, which is much easier now that the changeling will play independently while I work on it, at least for one or two boxes at a time. I think there are only 10 boxes left to go, plus finding any new kids books that have been missed.

I am taking part in the Ravelry Worldwide Shawl Exchange again, I think it has been over two years since the last one I did. Partners have just been assigned, now comes the fun of deciding on what to make. My partner doesn't like blue, and prefers not to have pure wool, which rules out most of my stash! (I didn't realise how much blue wool I had - I think I tend to pick greens more, but then I will also knit the greens first).

I have also decided this is the year of sewing, or at least some of it. My wardrobe has been getting pretty sad, I took pretty much everything I had that fitted and wasn't falling apart to Prague, and a lot of that is now dying. I brought it back, but only because otherwise I really would have nothing to wear! I have a few garments I want to recreate, or at least be inspired by. The first sewing of the year is a bra which is mostly finished now, just some finishing details left. I will write another post about that when it is done, including a few pattern notes. I have also started making two new summer shirts for the monkey (size 2, he is a skinny boy). Next in line is a new skirt for me, and after that I haven't decided. If I can get rid of all the clothing I have that is in terrible condition because it has been replaced with something better I will be incredibly happy.

Kids Clothes Week Overview

Well, I managed about half a week...

The first four days or so I managed to squeeze in an hour of sewing a day, and finished off a shirt (just needed buttonholes and buttons):

Pattern is Burda 9792, size 2. I added about 5cm extra length to the body, although it was probably unnecessary - the sleeves will be too short before he really needs the extra length! This is the first long sleeve shirt I've ever made, I'm pretty happy with the result. I think I'll mostly be doing short sleeve shirts in the future though, more growing room.

And a pair of pyjamas, sans elastic. I put the elastic somewhere safe, and I need to either find it or get more. The new stuff I got a while ago is too wide for the channel I made, which was measured off the elastic I had planned to use - so clearly it is somewhere! (These were mostly done, just needed buttonholes, and hand finishing).


Pattern is Burda 9747, size 3.
I originally meant to cut the top with extra length, but forgot as I was cutting, hence the blue fabric that I added to the bottom. To make it look a bit more deliberate I also did a blue pocket, and blue inside the sleeve and pants cuffs that will show when they're turned up.
The other thing I disappointed myself with was failing to look closely enough at the monkey print. I looked at it and saw that the monkeys hung both up and down, so didn't worry about the cutting direction. It was only when I was sewing it together that I saw that all the faces are up the same way. I managed to cut everything upside down except the back of the pants! Oh well, they're monkeys, and monkeys like being upside down, right?

I also managed to get two short sleeve shirts half finished - one green and one with penguins (also Burda 9792). It's really not that easy to get uninterrupted sewing time with two small boys - one who doesn't want mama to abandon him, and one who has to help whenever I'm sewing. Despite not meeting the hour-a-day goal for the entire week I'm still happy to have made some sewing progress!

Kid's Clothes Week Challenge

I have seen this happening every now and then over the past few years, and finally actually managed to remember about it at the right time to jump on the bandwagon. I have a set of clothes that I am trying to get made for the monkey, and this seems like a good way to try and get a bunch of it done.

On my to-do list is:
Finish a long sleeve shirt (size 2) - just needs buttons and buttonholes
Finish pyjamas (size 3) - needs hemming, buttons, buttonholes
Two short sleeve shirts (size 2) - cut, partly sewn
Four short sleeve shirts (size 3) - fabric bought
More underpants, in size 2 and 3 - not sure how many I want to make, I suspect there will never be enough!

My actual goal for this week is to meet the challenge of spending at least one hour a day working on sewn clothing. Yesterday I did the hand finishing and thread trimming on the pyjama top, and trimmed the threads on the bottoms. I still need to hem the legs, put elastic in, and do the buttonholes and buttons.

Sewing time is somewhat rare around here - either the boys are awake and wanting to help, or I am trying to get other stuff done that I can't do when they're up. (Or I'm too tired to do anything).

I think the short sleeve shirts need pressing before I can do any more sewing, so I think that might be my goal for tonight (and maybe some buttonholes, the ones on the pyjamas are marked. I probably should mark the long sleeve shirt ones too, it would be nice to get that finished soon!)

Fabric Acquisition

Yesterday I took advantage of the current Fabric Vision sale to sort out my sewing to-do list.


There is some cotton knit for making more underpants for Mr 2 (and to stockpile), a new skirt for me, 4 shirts and new togs for Mr 2.

I think that pretty much fills the necessary sewing gaps for the next little while, at least until I think of something else I've forgotten about!

Today I cut out a dress to try the pattern for (got a few tweaks to make to it), and made the togs. They're rather terrifyingly green, and there isn't much room to grow in them, but that's okay.


The pattern is Boys underpants, from Little Olly in size 2, I put wider leg bands on. I think I will do the next size up as well, for when he grows a bit.

Spring is here!

Which means I now have a 2 year-old. We took him out for a picnic and miniature train ride for his birthday, the best bit of the ride was the ticket...

We are going to a wedding in a month (SIL), so I have been busy making stuff. So far I have one pair of small trousers done apart from the hem, and tiny overalls that just have hand finishing to do. The shirts are both half done, I am taking advantage of my mother's overlocker on those. The overalls and small shirt are actually ones I failed to finish for the wedding we attended 18 months ago.
I am also making a tiny cardigan, just have one sleeve to finish, and I hope to block it tomorrow. There should be photos soon.

Yesterday I cleared a patch of garden to try planting things in for Eric,and in the process found a toadstool ornament which I think I will try to clean up and repaint for him. I have no idea what he'll make of a garden, but I'm sure he will have fun watering it at least. And if he manages to not destroy the plants I intend to put in then he will definitely enjoy eating the cherry tomatoes...

Long post, lots of photos

First up - embroidery. The stocking is currently making good progress, which is nice. I'm sure it will slow down again when I get back to some of the more bitsy bits, but I'm enjoying seeing actual progress while it lasts.

(For some reason it will happily go every way except upright. A sideways picture will do, I can't be bothered arguing with it)

I've also been knitting a bunch of Small Things, although I think the only new items are a pair of mittens (so quick to make!), and a Very Small Singlet.

Mitten pattern is The Stay Put Mini Mitts, wool is John Q Heather DK from my stash. I used half of a 50g ball, so I may do a second pair the same, but will more likely use a different colour for the emergency backup mittens.

Singlet is shown with the 18 month size one, and it really is ridiculously tiny. (I have compared it to other clothing of an appropriate size, and it appears to be correct...). The larger singlet used 83g of wool, this one used only 34g of Vintage Purls Sock - which is lucky, as I only had 35g of it!
Next singlet-related job will be writing up the pattern, and seeing if it makes sense to anyone. This is my first attempt at making a knitting pattern to fit multiple sizes, and as far as I can tell from my two samples it looks at least somewhat plausible that it is correct.

On the sewing front I have finished my first ever Proper Trousers. Peter hates trying to find decent trousers, so I finally convinced him to let me try making a pair. The pattern is taken from a pair he had made when we passed through Bangkok on the way to Europe a few years ago, so it should fit fairly well.

The fabric was from the $8 table at Fabric Vision (when they had their last 25% off sale), and is a heavy cotton broken twill. It got a wee bit creased when I prewashed, but for a pair of prototype pants it'll do. There are a few things where I could have done things in a slightly different order, but I've never done a trouser fly before and I was making it up as I go along. I think at very least they have worked to prove that I can make something that fits from the pattern, and that trousers aren't really that horrendous to put together. Next pair will be trying out some moleskin from the same sale.
I have also reached the decision that I really need to do something about my wardrobe. I haven't really added anything to it for a while now, and it's getting pretty dire. First new item is (theoretically) going to be a top from a blue striped knit fabric.

Not sure what it is, but it has a nice drape. I may test some to try to work it out, but I'm not sure I actually care enough. It will be a bit of an adventure, since the styles of clothing I like best are nicely fitted woven fabrics, but that's not really practical with constantly changing size/shape and needing access for feeding Small People. One day I can go back to that, but in the meantime I will have to venture into the world of knits.

And lastly, spinning! I have just acquired a second-hand Majacraft Suzie.

I suspect it's quite old, given some of the features, like the metal knob on the front that is now being made from wood, and the straight plates on the crank assembly. Also, it has hooks on the flyer, rather than the sliding hooks that are the norm on all the other ones I've seen.

I've started spinning some merino on it, and it spins nicely. When I've finished the first half I will go through and do some maintenance/tweaking, and spin the second half. It definitely feels more enticing to sit down and spin with it than with my old wheel (an Ashford Traveller - nothing wrong with it, the Suzie just feels a lot more Engineered).
I also finished off the purple corriedale that had been sitting half spun for far too long.

I couldn't quite ply it all onto one bobbin, so there is a smaller second skein with the purple, and I found a bobbin with a bit of brown corriedale to finish off the uneven end with. So I not only finished up some long delayed spinning, I also cleared an extra bobbin.

Whew, that was long.