Preparing for Summer

This styalised bird fabric caught my eye at the Knitting and Stitch Show in Harrogate and I couldn't resist making a purchase and then it was off to my local Boyes store to find a suitable contrast fabric - but which colour to pick?
I decided on the royal blue fabric and ric-rac braid and hurried home to get started.

 

Lynsey and I decided on a pinefore style

But where to put the trim?

The fabric was a dream to work with and Martha loved the finished garment.

Cose ups to show the trim details

I particularly loved the hand embroidered buttons that I covered.



Lazy-daisy stitched flowers to match motif on fabric

As usual Martha showed it off to good effect even if it is still a little on the large size for her.


Martha modelling her new frock



My daughter Lynsey has now also become obsessed by fabric and is always on the look out for new quirky designs. She came across this next one on the web from a company called Betsy Boo Haberdashery and couldn't resist this brightly coloured design.

Colourfull Design using Building

Back fastening detail

This time we chose to make a very traditional dress with a gathered skirt, back fastening and Peter Pan collar. Once again it was fully lined in the plain orange fabric used for the collar and waist trim.

Spectacular colour combo



Miss Martha showing off the finished dress

Finally I have recently finished a third dress for this coming summer using another lovely fabric from Grace and Favour. They have an excellent selection of reasonably priced fabrics especially for children.

Notice the Sellotape to piece together bits of an old pattern

I was "commissioned" to make a replica of a simple top/dress that Martha had last summer and my daughter loved. I tthen set about modifying an old pattern I had used before but dhanged it from a front to back fastening.

Under Construction

Back fastening with buttons

Front detail showing elasticated waist

This is by far the plainest of her new outfits for the summer.

A rather 40's looking Martha

Preparing for Spring



Baby Penny in her Kimono




The last time I posted I was busy knitting this gorgeous kimono for my new granddaughter Penelope Constance so I thought I would share this photo of her when she tried it on. As you can see the sleeves were still a little too long but since then she has flourished and it's now a perfect fit.



A better photo for seeing the design.

 The wool for this kimono was donated to me and so cost me nothing. The next freebie came from my own stash. I had bought a pack of aran weight yarn cheaply many years ago but had never got round to using it. When I saw this free pattern on a fabulous Facebook page called Weightstitches I figured it was about time to get going. It's called Bloomsbury Kids by Svetlana Volkova and is knit from the neck down seamlessly in the round. I loved the fact that the main detail was down the back.


Back detail

It was great not having any sewing up what so ever to do and Martha loved it!

Martha modelling her new sweater

You can just about make out
the pattern detail despite her hair.

It is always much easier to find lovely patterns for girls but when my grandson Lucas requested a jacket with his initial on I was more than delighted to oblige. Once again I had another bargain pack that my niece gave me and I used an old baseball pattern and simply knit the L separately and sewed it on later.

One Happy Boy




As Requested

By I had finished his jacket I spotted another pattern on Weightstitches but this time for a baby jumper for Penny. It only took a small amount of yarn and I risked starting it with beautiful left over wool from one of my sister's projects.

Penny's top with Heart detail

Literally all the wool that was left - Phew!



 

Penny modeling her new top

 It is actually ages since I started on this post but I abandoned it as my trusty desk top is so old it won't let me update my browser beyond Explorer 8. As this version is no longer supported by Blogger I was experiencing all sorts of difficulties so I have resorted to my laptop and things are fine. In the mean time I have knit another spring jacket for Martha in time for this bout of sunshine we have been experiencing here in the North East of England. Hope you like it.


Cabled Jacket with 3/4 Sleeves



Martha modelling her new jacket

I even managed to squeeze a pair of matching leg warmers from the remaining wool.