Sheldon

Look, I knit something!!! No kidding! It's Sheldon, from the Knitty 2008 pattern. I made him for baby T who was born in June. I had grand ambitions to make him a quilt, but I somehow the summer sped away and I realized I had to change that plan. Enter Sheldon. He was actually NOT a very quick knit, even though he looks small. I forgot how fiddly making toys can be, with their many separate pieces and sewing and stuffing so on. He is no less than...9 pieces!! The shell turned out beautifully, but was fairly tedious to get through. B the time I was done knitting the top and bottom pieces of his shell, I wanted to be done. Then you have to make the little body attachment piece and sew it to the shell, and then you have to attach I-cord edging to the entire thing before you can actually put it on the body itself.

I knit the whole thing on US6 dpns and some stash Debbie Bliss Cotton DK, which is nice for baby stuff...the cotton feels soft even with the tight gauge, so it should hold up against rough baby handling and be ok for spot cleaning.

We gifted him last week, here's hoping baby T will take a liking to his new turtle buddy:)

 

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Postage Stamps!

Working on a new project now! It's a postage stamp quilt with 40 different fabrics, totaling 120 two-inch squares. I didn't think I had that many different fabrics but after going through my scraps I had way more than enough! It going to be a wall hanging and I'm giving it to my mom when it's done.

You choose the squares completely randomly and stitch them all together. The only time you can change a fabric is if you draw the same one twice. Here's how my randomness turned out:

 

I started sewing each strip and I'm about half way there. It's nap time right now so I'm going to cram in some craft time as soon as I post this. We are going to a jazz, beer and barbecue festival later an I doubt I will have another chance to sew today! Have a good weekend y'all.

 

At the Lady Bug's Picnic!

It's been unseasonably sunny and hot this May, and we were really in need of a new hat to replace the one she'd outgrown last summer. I procrastinated forever and had the cut out pieces sitting on my desk for a month. Then I ended up having to buy her a baseball cap while we were on holiday because it was so sunny. But, I eventually did finish her hat...just this week. And it only took me an hour. Don't you hate it when you discover that those abandoned projects take no time at all to finish?? JJ requested this ladybug print when I told her I was making her a new hat. Cute and cheerful, no?

It's the same pattern I used to make her animal print hat. It could be reversible but I didn't sew the inner lining very carefully so it's a bit messy, so we will just keep it right side out. The pattern is easy follow, and I left out the interfacing on the brim because it didn't really need the extra structure. Attaching the brim to the cap is a it tricky if you try to match the edges perfectly. I'd suggest ignoring the edges and easing the cap however it fits best to the brim, even if the edges aren't aligned perfectly. There is still plenty of room in the crown so it won't make the hat too short. I forgot about this when I made it again, and I think the crown looks a it poofy around bits of the brim.

 

Hudson's Quilt

My good friend Lorah's new baby arrived just a few weeks ago, and I made this quilt for her. Two years ago I made this quilt for her daughter Lily, one of my first quilting projects if you remember! I thought it would be nice for the two kids to each have their own.

Lorah's is one of the most prolific crafty people I know, and I wanted to make her something she wouldnt have already made herself. I checked her Pinterest board for inspiration, and found this quilt pattern she had bookmarked. It's by Hyacinth Quilt designs and actually very easy to put together. The baby room is shades of yellow and green, which helped me decide what colours to us for the quilt. I am proud that it is made entirely of stash fabric that has accumulated over the last three years!

I think this quilt took me less time than knitting a baby blanket! I worked on it over three evenings, cutting and piecing the quilt top the first day, making the backing and then th quilt sandwich the next day, and then one more evening doing the quilting and binding.

Here's JJ helping me take photos of the quilt....rearranging things

 

Pain de Mie

Homemade rolls to go with pulled pork! These were easy to do, and the egg wash made them look so pretty. Recipe from Ciril Hitz's Baking Artisan Bread book, Pain de Mie. I'm going to make this again this week. My machine almost couldn't handle it and overheated. I hope it survives more bread making.

 

Whole Wheat Sour Cream CC Banana Muffins

I hope it's not too disappointing to see some plain looking muffins around here! After spending all day piping decorations on cakes, I'm usually not in the mood to make something fancy at home. In fact, I'll usually try to choose a one-bowl type thing that's mixed by hand because I can't face doing the dishes and cleaning the mixer when I'm done.

These banana muffins are my favourite right now. JJ is a fan of them too. It's a recipe from Cooking Light, but I'll post the adapted quantities of ingredients right here. As far as baked goods go, I think these are a little healthier without tasting like a mouthful of dry fibre. I might start making these into carrot and zucchini muffins too!

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup veg oil

2 egg whites
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup light sour cream
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with papers or grease and flour tin.

Whisk together wet ingredients in a bowl. Combine dry ingredients and mix into wet ingredient bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake 15-20 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

These freeze really well too...

JJ got a sandbox for her birthday...it arrived today. We still need sand, but she's having a pretty good time in it already!

 

Simplicity 5695: Dragonflies and butterflies

Last summer I bought an armful of 99-cent sewing patterns at Joann's, thinking it would be fun to make JJ some pretty summer dressed and tops. She's about 18 months in this photo. It's Simplicity 5695 (view D) in size 2, which was actually pretty snug around the chest and hard to get over her head and arms. I'd probably cut it a little wider next time. It was easy enough and I just shortened the dress to make a top. The elastic though, was a major pain in the butt to snake through such a teeny narrow hem! I used a safety pin at first, and then switched to a big knitting embroidery needle and after much grumbling the elastic was through. It was the most time consuming part of this pattern.

In hindsight, it wasn't that good a fabric choice because it didn't soften up like other quilting cottons after a few washes. Even though it looked cute, I didn't dress her in it often because it wasn't soft and comfy like her other play clothes. At least I got a photo of her in it. :)