the colourful quilt top

as luck would have it, it stayed dry for (most) of the weekend, & in between all the other regular weekend stuff, the little people spent quite a lot of time playing outside, spending some quality time with their dada, which gave me some time to get on with this quilt top,

i used half of the scraps i'd cut up last week, (meaning i can make another quilt just the same) i thought whilst i was doing one, i may as well do another one, to keep as a standby new baby gift, 

i think i know what to back & bind this in, i just need to pick up some batting,

just a few of my favourite parts of the quilt

life taking over

wow, i hadn't meant to stay away from this space for quite so long, but it kind of feels good to have had a little break, life has somewhat been getting in the way of my crafting time lately, our house has gone on the market, so we have been having a BIG tidy up, 

that said i have found time for a little making, whilst trying to keep the mess to a minimum! 

i whipped up a little skirt out of the fabric i had left over from the wonderland quilt, it won't fit little O for a year or two, as it actually fits big G, (& he'll be five in a few months) so it may become a present for a friend of his,

yesterday i spent little O's nap time chopping up some of my fabric scraps, from this

to this

very satisfying, & it feels good to use up some of the fabric i have stashed away, i'm thinking these will be used to make up a little baby quilt for a friends baby due early june,

i have some more knitting on the go too, but can't share just yet as it's for a present, i have also tackled the mess that was my lace scarf for the lace KAL, it wasn't so scary, so i'm thinking i'll be more inclined to get on with this now!

the smock dress!!!!!

well this is the little project i have been so excited about!, i spent a (very) little time making up my own pattern, using the vintage smock pattern as a starting point, i knew how i wanted it to look & it was just a case of trying the paper pattern on little O as i went, (she was very accommodating, i think she thought i was making her a paper dress)

& was just so blinking lucky that it worked out, i changed the shape of the bottom hem, made the back longer so it is more like a dress, then made longer straps to go over from the front, so they would cross over at the back, 

it's hugely adjustable, as there is a good few inches of fabric overlapping at the back, & i put about 4 button holes on each strap, (she's wearing them on the shortest setting now)

the pockets are slightly too large (although she loves them!) i made them using this tutorial, 

the fabric is from the 'snippets' range by American Jane for moda, & i had some left over from a metres worth, i had a FQ in the lighter blue to make the pockets in,  i only wish i had brought more, as i can't seem to find much of this about now (although i have a charm pack stashed away for a rainy day), & i lined it again with a natural coloured muslin, 

i just wish i could get away with making one in my size!

sewing up the loose ends

i've been trying to finish off some of my current projects (before starting any more this week!) in the last few days i've sewn the binding on my wonderland quilt

today it had it's wash & has been line dried & oh how i love it

(although i have been fabric browsing on etsy, getting ideas for the next big project)

i am spending this evening sewing in the ends of the granny blanket, so i can start on the next row, 

here is a little sneaky peek of something i made at the weekend, but need to get more photos taken before i reveal all!

although i'm thinking some of you may be able to guess!

spring stripes cardigan

i finished the cardigan last week, & little O has been wearing it pretty much all weekend, 

the pattern was very quick & easy, despite a small mistake in the 1-2yr size on the sleeves, (the first one i did came out a little too short, so i had to re-knit it having noticed the mistake whilst knitting the second one)

it's knit up in some rowan cashcotton DK yarn, which is just so soft & lovely to work with, it used very little too, i started with two ballls of each colour, but had about 45g of a 50g ball left of the pink & about 35g of the green left,

the pattern goes up to about 7/8 years, so i'm sure i'll knit it again, you can find the details over on my ravelry page,

i had a lovely relaxing weekend, & have been at the sewing machine again, i do have something to share, but no photos yet! but lets just say i'm feeling ever so proud of myself, i'll be back soon with a little snippet!

a little smock

i've had this pattern on my 'to make' list for ages! & whilst little O was napping this week, i found the time for some sewing,

this came together 'amazingly' quickly, i made it up using some of the fabric from a thrifted skirt & just lined it with some cheap old muslin, the pattern did come up a little small, so i am unable to tie the straps together,

so another first for me, i put some button holes in!!!!! which was way easier than i ever thought it would be. (these photos are pre-button holes hence it's held together with safety pins - nice!)

little O seems to be very happy with it too (she's so excited she can't stay still!), i can't wait to get going on the next one, thinking maybe i'll add some pockets next time!

spring knitting

all this lovely sunshine set me in the mood for some 'spring knitting'

i brought this pattern a while ago, & have used some yarn from my stash, (which is just so soft & lovely to work with) it has been a very quick knit,  despite having to re-knit one of the sleeves due to a little mistake in the pattern (don't you just hate that!) & i already have the perfect fabric in mind to make little O a flowery skirt to go with this too,

the granny blanket got its third row added, i just need to sew all in the ends in before i start in the next row,

tea for two

i have to say how much happier i've been feeling, & just from a few days of sunshine, i can cope with the cold, but the endless rain was so depressing, 

i have also been making, which always puts me in good mood, sometimes when an idea strikes you, you have no choice but to just do it, over the weekend we sorted out little O's bedroom (as she had been previously sharing it with a ton of other stuff) having made more room, we were able to set up her little table & chairs, i had a sudden urge to make some place mats for her, now i'm most certain that this is not an original idea, & i'm sure i've seen many similar out there, i just couldn't think of where,

so i just made it up as i went along, using some fabric scraps for the cutlery, 

some white fabric i had left from the wonderland quilt, i even zigzag stitched together some odd scraps of wadding to go inside them,

then used an old shirt for the backing, 

i love quick little projects like this, & i think they have gone down very well with little O, no time was wasted setting up for a little tea party, to which big dog & little Ted were invited,

i'll be back soon to share another little knitting project i've started! but right now i'm late for a very important little tea party!