Branching Out With Knits

I haven't worked much with knits until the last month or so (mostly because I had heard it was hard), but after seeing so much of what other people are doing lately, like at MADE and No Big Dill (two of my favorite blogs!) and many others, I got myself a ball point needle and just started. It really isn't hard at all, and knowing how to adjust your machine a little (like change the pressure on your presser foot) makes a big difference with really stretchy knits!

I LOVE the big butt baby pants that RAE makes so I thought I would try to make a version of my own.

That went so well I tried a shirt.

Got the general size from a shirt that fit well and made up the rest :o)

And another :o)

The car one came straight out of a cold dryer so it was a bit wrinkled for the picture.

Previously known as a friend's tank top and short-sleeve shirt. I love getting bags of goodies from other people!

After the shirts, I realized Caleb didn't have any jeans. So a quick dig through my old jeans stash and about 20 minutes later we have a whole new outfit. I've noticed the boys have a lot of separates and few complete outfits, so I need to start making things to bring together what they have - not just add to the volume of their drawers. 

I tried forever to get a cute picture of Caleb, but decided he was way to fast for me!

See :o)

And off he goes.

I made this shirt for my nephew's 6th Birthday. 

Obviously it was a pirate party they were having :o)

I wanted to do something pirate without being covered in skulls and crossbones. It's sometimes hard to find nicer-looking pirate stuff!

I used an old shirt of Samuel's as a pattern, and the back half of a black XL t-shirt and a few other scraps I had saved for the applique. 

I looked online for ideas, but ended up just making up my own thing.

I was able to use the band from the old collar as the new collar. I just folded it under like bias tape so it is about half as big as it was but that's perfect going on a smaller shirt. I think it looks pretty good!! Like my 3sillymonkees tag??? I do!!! I'm trying to perfect it before I do a post on it, so maybe soon :o)

 It's been good for me to just jump into this knit thing and see that it's really not too scary! I feel way more confident and am ready to try all sorts of things with knits now!

The Unexpected Remodel

Check out the fun at my parents' house!!!

The remodel was planned, it was the timing that was a bit unexpected.

I'm sure it will only take 2 weeks :o)

(anyone other than my family watch the money pit on a regular basis?)

This is pretty much how our house looked all the time growing up. It explains why when I smell paint or sawdust my first thought is home :o) 

There were always lots of friends and family helping (usually in the wee hours). Everyone worked, no matter how old (or should I say young). There was always something that you could do even if you could only carry 3 shingles up the ladder at a time :o) That was me when I was 9 years old. We thought it was fun most of the time!

I love all those familiar sights and sounds!

I should have pictures of  the finished product to share very soon. Have fun Mom and Dad!!!

More For Me

I know I should be working on the boys' quilts, but I guess I get distracted easily :o) !!!!

I had a fun week sewing for only me, but then I felt kinda bad and am trying to make up for it by doing extra squares this week :o) That evens out right?

 I got this pattern from a friend's Grandma a long time ago (maybe 5 years or so) and always liked it but never really thought seriously about making it until last week.  I saw this fabric for $1.50 a yard, and for some reason immediately thought of this pattern. I figured I could make it work with 2 yards, and if it didn't turn out that great it was only $3 down the drain. So at my first available nap time I started cutting out the pieces. I thought I would just get that part out of the way that day and sew the next, but it went so fast that by the time everyone was up 2 hours later I was almost done! The next day all I had left to do was the tie, hem and the sort-of sleeve.

 I Love it!!! And really love it for $3! And I'll take many more like that :o) And, thanks so much to my friend Sarah, I have these pretty pictures to share.

 I love that the dress can be more dressed up or dressed down with different shoes, and it can fit you through many shapes and sizes, because it's made to just pull over your head, and you use the tie to make it as tight or loose in the right place for you as you want to. And that's great for me because I'm always changing between just pregnant or just had a baby, and sometimes I'm even at my normal size :o).  I was going to make the neckline a bit higher, but then that problem with most dresses (no nursing) is there again, so I thought I'd just leave it low enough to be accessible and wear a tank or something under it.  But then I saw somewhere how to make a little crocheted chain with your thread (using a regular needle, not a crochet hook) to make a button loop. It was so easy and delicate and I think just adds a little something extra.

I plan on making some variations of this into tunic-type shirts for this fall/winter, and maybe one (or two) more  next spring :o).  Things to look forward to...  So this is done and I still have 2 other pieces of fabric burning a hole in something (my sewing machine I guess) :o).  A green dress is coming next...

Making Progress

3 more down.

:o)

51 to go :o(

New Fun

6 1/2  yards for $11.

I'm ready for some fun!!!

I have sooo many ideas!!! Now just to find the time :o)

Back From The Beach And Here I Go

We are just settling in from a wonderful vacation at Edisto Beach! My whole family gets a house together every year for a whole WEEK! This year we had 18 people! It's always a crowd anytime my family does anything, but that's the fun of it (most of the time) :o) 

This was Josiah's permanent look the whole week. He wasn't a big fan of the wind :o)
He was a really good sport though, and did start having (more) fun the last day or so.

I love how Samuel does his best to get into every picture possible.

This was about the fourth day and Josiah would play just as far as he could reach :o)

This is a very typical first-thing-in-the-morning picture of Caleb going potty :o)

Dad and Pasha working on one of the puzzles that were completed that week.

and Samuel having some iPhone time.

The only sewing project I made any progress on was reading half of The Idiot's Guide To Sewing. I've had it for about a year but never really spent much time going through the whole thing. It is a very informative book, and I would say it's definitely worth the time it takes reading it!
Everyone had a great time relaxing and just being together without having anything to do but just that.

So now vacation is over and I know I HAVE to start seriously working on the boys' quilts or they will never be ready in time. I tried a few different ways to applique the pieces on, but settled for a machine zig-zag stitch to get the job done in the shortest amount of time. I really like the look of hand-stitching the pieces in place, but after 5 pieces and about 2 hours I decided to try another way. I still like the look of doing it by hand better, but I'm happy with the zig-zag (and it will save me so much time!) So far I have 3 tractors

 and 3 taxi's finished,

 and it took me 3 days, so I'm feeling better about my time. And I have some ideas for everyone else's Christmas presents that are fun but should be pretty quick projects. So 3 1/2 months and counting... that's just CRAZY!!!!  Its going to come sooo fast and right after Christmas Caleb turns 1. I was just telling a friend that I'm going to go ahead and start crying about that now because it's going by way too fast!!!  I love seeing my boys grow and do new things, but I wish they would stay little just a little bit longer :o(

P.S. Caleb said momma this week :o) Some things about them getting bigger are good!

Maybe?

If I start now and don't stop for even a minute until Christmas maybe I'll finish 3 of these in time :o)

Think I can do it??? I'm sure gonna try!

This was a pattern that my mom got sometime in the 80's, but she was busy homeschooling and never got around to making this for my brothers, so she gave it to me a while back when she was cleaning out some stuff and I stuck it back for sometime later. I have thought about it from time to time, but it was never in front of me, so it was always just a thought until I did my organizing last week and decided now is the time if I ever want to get it done. I also thought that I'd better do it now before we have another boy and then I'll have to make 4 :o)

I'm not pregnant by the way, but I guess I just assume that we'll have boys for a while. I could be wrong and I already told Tim that the day we have a girl I need more money and a sewing room because I plan on sewing all day from that point on!!!! Sewing boy stuff is fun, but I'm sure it will be nothing compared to all the lace and frills that I have waiting on me!

Anyway, I just figure we'll never have less than the 3 boys we have now, so I should hurry up and do this before I have less time.

I need 60 12x13 inch squares of muslin for all 3 quilts (20 per quilt), and after Tim helped me with my math we came up with 7 yards at 45 inches wide. That gave a little room for it to shrink in the wash before cutting and it was perfect! Good thing I was very careful cutting, because there was no extra.

I had seen the muslin for $1.99 a yard, so I was planning on $15. But it was on sale so it was about $9 :o)

I can't wait to get started on these!

I love  the tractor and think all the hand quilting will give such a nice touch!

Because I had already planned on $15 I thought it was only right for me to have a quick look around ( because Tim was with the boys waiting on me in the car) and I saw a .50 cents a yard table with this pretty yellow flower gauze. So I couldn't help but get 6 yards when it only cost $3 right? I'm thinking summer jammies shorts shirt robe maybe pants too or use whatever's left and make my own piping for pillows in my room :o)

I can't remember the last time (if ever) that I got 6 yards of something. It's usually just a yard here and there and I put stuff together at some point, so this is quite the occasion! And I got some interfacing, and my total was still only $14!