do. Good Stitches: August 2014

The Bliss Cirlce took July off from making a quilt to let everyone get caught up a bit. This month we dove back in with these patchwork wonky stars assigned by Barb. Instead of doing a rainbow, however, she asked for a night sky color scheme, suggested blacks, grays, blues, indigos, etc. This is my interpretation (and what was available in my scrap bin).

Beach bunnies

The other weekend, a few friends and I met up for a short beach trip to the Jersey Shore. I rarely ever go to the beach, but a couple weeks earlier I got it in my head that I MUST HAVE A BATHING SUIT COVERUP, so naturally I made one.

I used some corally-pink lace paired with yellow bias-tape, all from JoAnn, for a fun, summery feel. And I used the Staple Dress pattern, which was just perfect for a project like this. I was afraid the lace would fray a bit, so I used french seams throughout.

For my first Staple Dress, based on my measurements and muslin, I graded the pattern somewhere between a small and a medium. For this one I just cut a straight small and I think the fit is much better. It cinched nicely in the waist and doesn't fall off my shoulders like the original does.

I used pre-made bias tape to finish the neck and sleeves in an attempt to speed the project along (though it still took me an entire day...), and I think it worked well. I really like the pop of color that the yellow adds. Bright pink and yellow is one of my favorite color combinations.

The waist cinching took a bit more thought. The pattern is written for shirring, but that was not going to work with this lacy material, so instead I again used store-bought binding. I measured a piece of double-fold bias tape to be a bit larger than the dress and, beginning at one of the side seams, sewed it on to the dress along both the top and bottom, leaving openings at either end to form a casing. Then I shimmied a 1/2 inch piece of elastic cut to be a hint shorter than my waist measurement into the casing, and stitched the opening closed. I stitched through the elastic in order to secure it and keep it from twisting. And that was it! At first it was really unevenly bunched, but after a wash it spread out.

It actually ended up being a bit chilly on the day we went to the beach, so excluding the short time we spent in the water, I mostly hung out in the coverup. It was SO comfortable. Some random woman sitting next to me even came up and complimented me on that and the socks I was knitting. This project also reminded me that I need to make a few more Staple Dresses. The name of the pattern really is indicative of how much I wear my first one. In fact, I wore the original to the beach because I felt the coverup was a bit too revealing for commuting, just in case we had to make any stops (which we actually did on the way home - at a yarn shop - so good thing I planned ahead).

Both of my Staple Dresses

Baby Gifts, part 2 - The Itty Bitty Geranium Dress

Next up, the ever adorable Geranium dress by made by rae. I used the free pattern she has available for sizes 0-3 month.

I used leftover chambray from the Staple Dress I made last year (which gets a ton of wear and compliments, btw). and lined it with some unknown fabric from stash - pink with yellow polka dots for a fun pop of color.

Photo credit to mom for this idea...

This dress was really fun to make. The instructions were quite clear. My only oops was when I was rushing and accidentally sewed the bodice and skirt together right side to wrong side, so the skirt was inside out!

I just can't believe how tiny it is. I'm a bit nervous it won't fit her at all, but I guess babies are pretty small, right?

I actually really hate buttons, so I almost used snaps for the closure, but the buttons just look so much cuter. So I sucked it up and spent a full hour touching buttons (quite an achievement for me) to finish off the dress. I definitely do not (nor will I ever) have a button stash, so I got these clear flowers from JoAnn. This was my first time doing buttons and it went pretty well. Thankfully my machine has an automatic button-holer, so that was good. But they all still came out different sizes. It takes a bit of finesse to close the dress, but it's doable. Certainly good practice for next time.

I cannot wait to see my niece in this. We're 100% going to be taking a twins photo in our semi-matching dresses and we're both going to look upon it fondly for the rest of our lives!

Baby Gifts, part 1 - The Knit Blanket

Nearly a month ago now, I wrote about my brother and sister-in-law's baby shower.  Well, I'm finally getting around to sharing what I made for them and my niece!

First, there was Hugh Manatee, which I've already posted about here.

Next, I used this tutorial from Purlbee to knit a blanket. When I purchased yarn for this project, we didn't yet know the baby's sex, so I just got colors I liked. I knew I wanted a pretty neutral background with pops of color.

I used Spud and Chloe Outer in colors Rhino (main), and from top down: Wave, Sandbox, Soapstone, Leapfrog, and Carbon. It was my first time using Spud and Chloe, but I'd heard great things about it. It did not disappoint! I absolutely loved this yarn. My only complaint, which isn't even really a complaint, is that the skeins are super short so I ended up having to buy A LOT (I think my final count was 13 skeins) over the course of three different trips to the store. And obviously that's mostly a result of my inability to do math and properly figure out how much yarn I actually needed.

I also wasn't very pleased with how the blanket blocked - now it's a bit misshapen - but again that's my fault because I don't have a big enough space. The only cat-free place I can block items is in the bathroom, and it's just not large enough to accommodate a blanket. But you can only really tell when you hold it out. Draped over a chair or a baby, no one will ever even notice it's not quite rectangular.

Otherwise, I'm in love with it! The yarn is super heavy and warm, so I hope it's a cold winter and my niece can cuddle underneath it. Fingers crossed I'll get to spend a lot of time cuddling with her and the blanket, too.

Check back Thursday for one more baby shower gift.

So many babies!

So, I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've never been a huge baby person. I'm more into dogs (and I guess cats now, too). However, I think that might be changing just a little. Apparently I'm at that age where people I know start to have kids, and they're kind of cute (especially since I can play with them, and then leave them with their parents). I'm opening with this to prepare you for the increase in frequency of baby-item posts that is coming. It started with the shower for my niece, and continues with this blanket I made for my cousins' new son (who's bris is today, so this is appropriate timing!).
  

As with their first child, they decided not to learn the sex. Typically I stick to green and yellow for gender neutral, but I broke out of my comfort zone a bit with this one and added orange. I'm glad I did because I really like how it looks!

 
The inspiration for this blanket came when my quilt guild participated in a hand quilting demonstration day at the National Museum for Women in the Arts. I'd never hand quilted before, and I didn't have any other hand projects in progress, but I had just found out that my cousins were expecting, so I picked up some fleece and pearl cotton from JoAnn, and set about making this blanket. I sandwiched the two pieces of fleece right sides together with some batting and turned it as you would for a simple throw. To secure the batting, I machine quilted a few lines horizontally and vertically, then hand quilted a few lines in both directions to add more interest. This also proved a good beginner's project to demo at the museum since the cotton is thick and easy to see.

For the final touch, I used this tutorial from Purlbee to finish the quilt off with a zigzag blanket stitch. The pearl cotton I used is a yellow ombre, so it's kind of fun as it fades in and out. It's probably a bit too warm for this blanket right now, but they live in Michigan, so I'm sure it will be quite useful when winter (and gray skies) set in in just a few short months.

And thanks to my cousin Arlene (the baby's grandmother) for taking pictures for me. I took some on my phone before I gifted the blanket, but then my phone broke and I lost all my photos :(