Designer Dresses

It is virtually unheard of but this is my second blog post of the day!

Just in case I give the impression that all I do these days is sit and knit I would like to redress the balance by reporting some of my other projects - that are still Martha related but involve getting out my lovely Benina sewing machine and the good old ironing board and iron. Consequently I need a decent chunk of time to make it worth while getting set up and that is something I'm a bit short on.

A sample for a college assignment

Detail of embroidery



When I was studying for my degree in Textile and Surface Design I had to complete a fashion module. As I was a mature student (very mature!) I chose to work on children's fashion as I felt I was much more knowledgeable about this market than other areas and went on to design several dresses on the theme of "creatures that visit the garden". I loved every minute of it from dying fabrics, appliqueing motifs and embroidering details before making up the garment fronts. As a result I was awarded a Madeira Scholarship for this work!
When I was given some lovely needle cord from my neice I dragged the samples out from their folder to act as inspiration for a pinefore I planned to make for Martha using this fabric. The samples happened to be the right size for her - much to the frustration of my daughter who would have liked the whole dress and not just the front.
I set to work using an ancient pattern but adding my own twist to it.

The Construction Process

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The Fun Bit

Fabric Paints, Buttons and Embroidery

Martha wearing grandma's creation.

Knitting Update

This afternoon I found myself in the unusual position of having some time on my hands as husband Paul, daughter Lynsey and grandchildren Lucas and Martha have gone off to Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books, in Newcastle. Lucas, at 4 years old, is an excellent reader and was very excited about going - meanwhile I have the house to myself and decided to update some of my latest knitting projects into the folder of that name.

After updating this I realised that the current number of recent children's projects was a surprising nineteen with the score:

Martha 18   v   Lucas 1

I must say in my defense that one for Lucas was not a resounding success as the pure wool proved troublesome. On the other hand Martha loves all of hers and frequently asks "Are you Knitting me another cardi grandma?"

As she already had a plethera of hand knits I thought it wise to knit some in bigger sizes to put away but when I saw the Mia Mila pattern for the fairisle kimono style jacket I wanted her to wear it straight away (and very nearly knit it too small!). Here are some pics of the finished garment I previewed in my last post.

Finished Garment which was very challenging

Martha modelling her new jacket

"It doesn't really itch grandma"

Martha enjoying cake at Hidden Gems
in Sedgefield

This was quite an extravagent little number, as 12 balls of wool were needed, but at the end there was nearly half of it left so not being one to waste resources I used it up by knitting a waffled striped cardigan I knit originally for Martha's mum about 30 years ago.

Waffle stripes

Finished garment

Martha admiring her new cardigan

Showing her dolly Florence

The ripple effect was created by increasing in every stitch of the first row, and decreasing in every stitch of the last row, of every coloured stripe.

Since these two cardigans I have knitted a cotton shrug for our lovely British summer and have started a chunky gillet for the autumn so I will post these when i have more photos.

Addicted to Knitting

It's been quite a while since I posted anything on my little blog. I can make all sorts of excuses, like being addicted to other forms of social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - Oh and there's always Christmas - but the true reason if I'm honest is my obsession with knitting! What better way then to celebrate passing the 10 000 "hits" I've had on this blog than to update it with my latest knitting projects.

In November, when I last posted, I had just embarked on a bit of an experiment to use up some of my stash of yarn, some of which I have had since my kids were quite little. I had enjoyed knitting my grandaughter Martha a dress with a lacy yoke and hem which was knit from the neck down on circular needles. This was my inspiration for the pattern I invented for this balloon style striped dress.


Cotton DK yarn from stash



The colour combination





I absolutely love knitting on circular needles and nearly always choose to use them even when not knitting in the round


The finished garment.



After a great deal of debate of flower
versus cherries the cherries won

Martha is always a delight to knit for as she looks good in what ever she wears.

Martha standing on one of my upturned lucite tables
 - as you do!

Also she has a bit of an obsession with
washing her hands



It didn't really seem possible but when it was finished I still had a lot of the green yarn left and quite a lot of smaller amounts of the other colours so I felt I had to use it up. This time I used the the pattern I had previously used for her checky cardigan but instead of using multi-colours I added the details by working sections in different stitches. I enjoyed the mathematical challenge of choosing ones that divided exactly into the total number of stitches I had for the back and two fronts (which I knit as one as far as the armholes) so that the patterns at the centre front are identical. I like knitting the whole body together because then you have no sides seams to pattern match and it looks much neater.

Close up of cable section

Sorry I didn't take many pictures of the different sections but you might be able to make them out on the finished garment. There are no model shots either as I knit it for next winter as she's not exactly short of hand knits.

Finished garment with striped yoke

At the request of my daughter I embarked on a project to knit a chunky short sleeved cardigan in a tweed wool for Martha to wear with jeans. Unfortunately when I saw the pattern she had chosen I wasn't too keen so we decided I would use a pattern from a book I already had. This did however involve a bit of modification as the one I had had a hood and long sleeves. It soon became obvious, due to the dense nature of the knitting, that I was going to run out of wool. I contacted every branch of Hobbycraft in the North of England only to find that all of their current stock was of a different dye lot. Fortunately after an email to the manufacturer they sent me two balls of the correct one free of charge so I was able to complete it.

Completed cardigan

View of back showing pleat detail.

Detail of cable

Marha's wardrobe of handknits have been much admired at many of the toddler groups she goes to and we are always happy to share the patterns. One lady was so grateful the next week she brought in a fabulous book of patterns by a swedish company called Millamia. We both loved a knitted coat in it but when we priced it it was going to be too expensive so iI knit it in a substitute wool and I'm pleased to say it worked out well.

It was a perfect fit and when Martha was asked to model it she struck up this pose.

Such a Cutie!

When I was searching the internet to find out more about the thickness of the MillaMia yarn I can across another of their children's pattern books and it was a "must have". I fell in love with this gorgeous Fair Isle kimono.

We were straight out to the wool shop to select 10 colours of 4ply wool to get started.

Colour selection

samples to match up with colours on chart













It described the pattern as "challenging" but that didn't stop me deciding to "improve" it by knitting all three body pieces in one. This way there would be no pattern to match at the sides and would save me having to finish off quite so many ends!It is totally addictive, but as you are often working with 3 balls simultaneously and every row is different, progress is slow but this is how far I have got so far.

The different bands of pattern



Some times the back is as
interesting as the front



The Garden Yarners

This is just a quick post to tell you about a lovely new knitting and crochet group that my daughter-in-law Lynsey has started in her village of Whickham near Newcastle. I have posted an article earlier about the wonderful "secret garden" (well almost as it is tucked away behind the main street) called the Whickham Hermitage Community Garden and the group met there for the first time last Wednesday evening in the lovely surroundings of the Orangery cafe to knit or crochet.

It was a really warm and friendly atmosphere and people chatted and exchanged ideas while being served tea and biscuits from the pretty vintage crockery of The Whistling Bunting.

Several members brought along books and magazines for others to browse and many ideas, from types of yarn to good places to buy it, were all talked about.

It was a select little group to start with but we hope that when more people get to know about it it will grow just like the wonderful plants in the garden where it all happens.

Why not join us at the next meeting on the first Wednesday in December from 6 - 7 30pm?

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