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. :)

 

Winter Kitty Hat

A little late, but here's a finished project: JJ's two-year winter hat. She wore this all winter long and it keep her head toasty and cute, and she received so many compliments on it. Funny how the plainest looking things get noticed. Anyhow, given how often we lose things around here (socks...mittens...toys) it's amazing we held onto it all season!

Pattern: Kittyville Hat (free! And also found in Stitch 'n Bitch)

Yarn: Tahki Yarns Lana, 1 skein (92 yards) in cream

Needles: US8 dpns

For her 21-month old head size, I cast on 77 stitches and knit a narrower seed stitch for the head band. I knitted 3.5" of stockinette before beginning decreases every 11 stitches. To make smaller ear flaps, I just decreased the total number of cast on stitches by 2-3.

I used almost the entire skein exactly - only 6 inches leftover! I love when that happens.

So glad the weekend is here. Have a good one!




 

A break in the lengthy hiatus!

Is anyone still there?!! Someone out there is still reading. Thank you for still checking in even though I've been away for such a long time. I was so surprised by the sitemeter stats showing that my blog was still getting hits daily. My last post was in February 2011, right around the time JJ started toddling around, and life pretty much became all about chasing her around and preventing mischief.

I just got an iPad though, and a new blogging app, so hopefully I'll be showing up a little more frequently than I have for a while. So much has happened in the past year, and I have actually managed to dig up some small finished objects to show you. I'll have to space them out so that I'll have a new post once in a while.

JJ recently turned two (!!!) She is such a funny kid. I still look at photos and videos of her almost every night after she goes to bed. Not surprisingly, I have about a million photos of her that I can share given that she is the recipient of most of my hand made projects.

After being a full-time mommy for 16 months, I went back to work part time. Not in psychology but in pastry! I've been a cake decorator for the past year, which has been great creative outlet. We are doing great with the daycare and work life balance.

 

I'll leave you with this hat I made for JJ last year that matches her Tulip Cardigan (yet to blog, it's coming). It's Knitpicks Shine Sport, On US3 and US4 needles. The pattern is free from Looking Glass Knits. I made it last year and it's already too small, which is sad! It's such a good hat and perfect between seasons...not too itchy or warm, and goes with everything. JJ wore it all the time and the flower was also detachable for a second look.

Evelyn's Hemlock Ring Blanket

The Hemlock Ring blanket was a project I started back in November and finished over Christmas. It's been sent to baby Evelyn and I hope she's staying cozy and warm under it! Hundreds and hundreds of this aran/bulky weight version have been knitted since Brooklyn Tweed posted it a few years ago. It really is a beautiful little blanket, so cleverly done from a lace doily pattern - wish I'd thought of it!


I used almost 2 skeins of Cascade Ecological Wool on size 10 needles, though the pattern called for US11 (I was being cheap and didn't feel like buying a new needle) so I attempted to knit loosely for the entire thing, which affected my gauge on OTHER projects and now my tension is totally wonky. I would recommend just getting the right needle instead of re-setting your own gauge.

The hardest part about this project was blocking the damn thing. It was as big as my bed and I didn't have the patience or pins to properly block the scalloped edging evenly. You really have to stretch it in certain parts to get the feather and fan sections to lie flat.

Knitting Lace

A little late for holiday recap, but here's the only finished object I managed to gift:


It's the Swallowtail shawl (for the second time) knit in alpaca lace yarn. I think next time I'll use a sock yarn just to see what the added weight is like. This turned out floaty and soft, I'm on a purple kick right now.

Baby Trellis

Happy New Year! I just realized that the photos links I uploaded weren't working, so here are the pictures again. Hope you all enjoyed the holidays, indulged in lots of good food and drink, and had merry reunions with your families.

Once again, here's Trellis:

The Trellis sweater was my nephew's Christmas present - he got it early though, because I figured he'd get some more wear out of it now, that boy grows so fast! Did I mention he started walking at 8 months?!


I really enjoyed knitting Trellis and was very pleased with how it turned out. It's a free pattern from Knitty, made with just under two skeins of Plymouth Encore (an acrylic/wool mix). Soft yarn, good stitch definition, and great for babywear since it gets washed so much. If I have time, I'm going to make JJ one too.

Notes: next time I'd knit this as one flat piece to avoid all the seaming - have you tried joining together garter stitch?! It's awful. I'd also attach the collar with k2tog onto the neckline as I went along, and avoid sewing it on after - not sure why the pattern is written like that. I thought I'd be thrown off by short rows later on, but it's just a straight stretchy piece of garter band, which curls into a shawl-collaresque thing.

So cute!!

Baby Sun Hats

Wow, where did the summer go? School has started and it's been over a month since we returned from our big Canadian trip. JJ turned 7-months old recently, and is really on the go - trying to clamber over anything and everything and desperately trying to crawl.

Back in the summer I made these little sun hats to protect her little bald head from a sun burn. I had grand plans of making one for all the little babies I know, but sadly that never happened...it took me much longer than I expected. Maybe next year. I've got patterns that go up to toddler sizes. I think it's a Simplicity one, I'll have to look it up.



I've been knitting too. I've actually knitted a few things but haven't gotten around to photographing them, so my blog has been painfully slow for some time now. I finished my hot-pink Ishbel, the Swallowtail shawl, and started the Tulip Cardigan for JJ. I've got some Christmas knitting on my mind too...maybe a little ambitious, but I'm going to try this year.

Hope you're all enjoying the cooler weather!

Baby Lily's Quilt

I can finally blog about a little project that has been completed since early July! It's another version of the stacked coins baby quilt, this time using a pattern from Oh Fransson (which is actually featured in Sew Mama Sew). This past summer I have been doing more quilting, and I read Elizabeth Hartman's blog quite often - she's great with colours, and her designs are modern and fun.

Baby Lily was born on June 21, and I wanted to give her something handmade that would be useful (I'm sure she received a ton of clothes, bibs and stuffed toys) so a personalized baby quilt fit the bill. It turned out a little bit smaller than I expected, so I added an extra two rows of off-white sashing to increase the size somewhat. It's just the right size for the park, or using in the stroller. At the time, I didn't know if Baby Lily would be a boy or a girl, so I chose rainbow colours to keep it sort of neutral but not too boring. I love the animal fabric! Lorah said her nursery had a safari/animal theme going on so it seemed like a perfect fit.

I used stippling again to quilt the whole thing. This time, I made my designs much bigger so that there wouldn't be as much thread going onto it - the last one I made felt really heavy, probably because it was so densely quilted.

Some acrylic paint and stamps to put the name and date on...

Here's the back, with just a narrow strip of coins. This is my second baby quilt, and I'm still figuring out how to get the pieces lined up straight. Is it just practice? I thought I had cut and sewn so carefully, but still things turned out wonky and I had to rip out stitches and try again and again. I even pinned! The sashing is hard to get straight. Maybe next time I have to line it up square by square instead of just judging by the ends of each strip.

I did finish a third quilt, the Red Triangles, but I forgot to take a picture of the finished project, and now it's found a new home at my mom's house. I can show you the quilt top at some point...I do have a pic of that.

We just got home from our Canada trip - JJ had a great time visiting everyone. She grew up a lot during the vacation - learned how to sit up, eat from a spoon, and even took a dip in the river!

Daisy Wedding Cake

Hi all! The wedding was this past weekend, a fourth of July wedding - we had a lovely time even with the unbelievably hot, hot weather. The cake turned out just great and yes, it survived the transport, and no, it did not melt! Who could ask for more? I couldn't have done it without D's help and JJ's good behaviour - love to you both!

The finished cake:

TA DA! You are looking at over 10 lbs of fondant, another 10 lbs of granulated sugar, and overall one hugely heavy cake! We decided to do it in two parts and finish the assembly at the reception, so that it would fit in our fridge and also be liftable by one person.

The lovely bride and groom cutting the cake:

I will be absolutely honest. It was wonderful seeing Kate and Jim pose for the cake cutting photos. But the cake cutting afterward? AIEEEEE!! I nearly had a panic attack. It was rather painful to watch. I think there's a reason that pastry chefs don't go to the weddings they bake for. I was warned that it would take a lot of willpower to relinquish control at the cutting. Generally I was quite good and stayed away, but truthfully I did wander over a few times to supervise. Anyhow, it all tasted delicious though, and the bride and groom loved the cake. What's more important than that?

Here are a few more photos of the whole process. I'm not going to offer you a schedule for making the cake like last time, because it occurred over so many weeks that I lost track of how much time I spent doing things. With JJ at home, I would just work on the daisies whenever she took a nap, or whenever D was able to watch her.

The baking was completed over two days, well-wrapped and then frozen. The icings and fillings were completed the next day, the splitting, filling and crumb-coating the fourth day, and the fondant and flowers were done the night before the wedding.

A few notes:

• Cake recipes from Confetti Cakes by Elisa Strauss
• Icing recipes from Toba Garrett for swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate buttercream
• Lemon curd recipe from How to Bake by Nick Malgieri
• Satin Ice fondant
• Cake supplies from Global Sugar Art

This was probably the cutest part of the wedding:

There were so many children at this wedding, all ages. The wedding cake provided an endless source of entertainment and whenever I looked over, there were a few kids hovering about it. They would go up to have a look, get their photo taken beside it, smell it, and eye it longingly. They would pick up the daisies on the table, turn it over in their fingers, then gingerly put them back down. They were very, very excited for dinner to be done. So cute!

Field of Daisies

Five hundred daisies lined up on my dining room table, in need of cheery yellow centres:

Some royal icing in the appropriate sunny yellow:

Happy daisies! I certainly hope there's enough for the wedding cake. I have about 50 backups in case of breakage.

Doesn't this kind of look like wallpaper?

The wedding count down begins! Tomorrow: tinting 10 lbs of fondant.

Daisy-making Machine!!

That's right, aka me. Unfortunately I don't have an actual machine that stamps them out and does all the sculpting and moulding. JJ is sleeping right now and I managed to crank out another 130 daisies today. Whew, I'm daisyed-out.

I'm up to 379. Only another 121 to go!

Wedding Cake Testing and Tasting

Can you believe I am actually blogging as promised?! That's because Daddy and JJ are playing downstairs while I upload photos and write! Must be quick here. Here are the results from Friday's wedding cake test run. This is a cake I'm making for a friend's wedding in July, and we had the tasting on Friday afternoon. I did a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and lemon curd, and chocolate cake with chocolate ganache. Both flavours turned out great, and we decided to use chocolate buttercream instead of ganache for a lighter textured cake.

Kate was deciding between two styles, both Martha Stewart designs, for her Fourth of July wedding. She loved the berry basket cake, which would look great as a whole but would be potentially disastrous when cut into (can you imagine putting a knife through all that fruit? I'm picturing berries rolling everywhere and bleeding juices). The daisy cake, on the other hand, would cut much better, and looks pretty and fresh. And more wedding-y, if you ask me. That's what we're going with. But I did mock-ups in both.

Some minor disasters didn't stop me from making my deadline, although I did have to recruit help from Daddy after my buttercream decided to curdle. Daddy made the accompanying strawberry sauce, which was delicious, fresh, and a lovely bright red.

Let's have a look at my handiwork:

There are about 55 daisies on this little 6" cake! I'll have to make hundreds and hundreds for the real thing, but at least I have 3 weeks to get the decorations done. I usually do two layers of petals for daisies, but with this many flowers on the cake, luckily it's unnecessary. (second of all, it would be the end of me to make hundreds of double daisies. I would have to cut out a THOUSAND to get the number I needed). Daisy-making will commence this week.

The actual top tier will be an inch taller and more densely covered in daisies like the photo. We might even make a 4-tier cake depending on the total number of guests, but it's possible we stick with 3-tiers and just do a few smaller cakes on the side.

Here's the basket cake, which did look beautiful. The weave is done with a leaf tip, which I thought was a nice innovation. It didn't look as stuffy and old-fashioned as a traditional basket weave, and it also didn't matter if my lines weren't piped perfectly. Unfortunately, this was a mess to cut if we didn't scoop the berries off first, which I doubt the banquet servers would be willing to do on a 130-person cake. Pretty though, eh?

I'm a little nervous about having the responsibility of making someone's wedding cake, but I'm sure it will be fine. Let's just hope it isn't the hottest day of the year that day, and that everything goes smoothly with the transportation. My fridge is going to be filled with nothing but cake that weekend, so Daddy and I are going to have to be creative about what to eat for dinners!

Blue Knit Dress

It's been a long time since I've completed any knitting, but I've finally got something to show you. Yes, it's another baby garment, because they are so much quicker to knit and you feel really accomplished for getting it done!

This is called the Happily Ever After dress in Chesley Flotten's Soft + Simple Knit for Little Ones. I used about 3 skeins of Sirdar Dreambaby in blue, and 1 skein in aqua on US5 circulars. At the start, the skirt feels like it's never going to end...just round after round of stockinette. When you finally get to the waistband, switching to seed stitch is such a relief! I like how it turned out - still too big for JJ, but she'll fit into it this fall and winter. She's got a lot of pink in her wardrobe, so it's nice to have something in a different colour.


It's probably going to be another little while before I can post some new crafts. I'm working on a baby project for my friend Lorah, so I can't post that until after she receives it. The red triangles quilt is still lying around unfinished (I think it's become Gatsby's new cat bed).

I'll also be making a wedding cake in July for a friend's wedding, and this week I'll be doing some mock-ups, which I'll write about soon.

Have a great week.