A Meg-centric update

I'm still snowed under with work, both in my job and studying, and also trying to plan my Brownies' birthday party for Brown Owl's 50th birthday next Friday. Brown Owl is away this Friday so me and the Brownies will be crafting up a storm making cards and decorations for the celebrations next week.

I have been finishing off several cardigans for Meg, there are pieces to be seamed and buttons to be sewn on. I will blog them soon, but I need to remember to charge my camera (after remembering where I have put the camera. And the charger).

In the absence of crafting time, I have been doing crafty shopping, both online and in the 'real world'. More on that, too, when the camera is back in action.

For now, though, some pics of Meg who is quite the sweetest and most delightful baby I've ever met. But then again, I may be just a little biased.

I'd rather be quilting

I am, however, working on an essay that needs to be submitted at uni on Wednesday. 3000 words and I've only just started. I know that I can write that much quite quickly if I know what I'm talking about, but I feel like I just don't know what I'm talking about at the moment. I hate feeling like this.

For Jen's new bairn, due late July

For Jen's wee girl Isabella, soon to be a big sister

I'm looking forward to handing in my final piece of coursework on 31st July so I can work on these quilts. They won't be finished in time for the arrival of Jen's new baby, but hopefully won't be too, too late. The tops are pieced, they both need a wide grey border adding, then they can be quilted and bound.

You might remember I was just making the first quilt for Jen's new bairn. Well, she left a comment saying she wished someone had made Izzy a quilt when she was born. How could I only make one quilt after a comment like that?!

Right, I'd better get back to the essay and try to get rid of my case of writer's block.

Hey, Purlpower, you were right...I DO sew!

I managed to plan my recent trip to Newcastle to catch up with knitting friends to coincide with Purlpwer's visit. While we were knitting in the pub on Tuesday night, we got onto the subject on sewing. 'Oh no, I don't sew', I said. 'Yes, you do' said Purlpower. 'No, no, I just make quilts and bags and things, that isn't sewing'. For some reason, because I haven't sewn anything from the kind of pattern where you buy a pattern, cut out the pieces and follow instructions to make a garment, I had got it into my head that 'I don't sew'. Which is a bit ridiculous. I mean, I often knit without a pattern, but I still consider it knitting!

This latest project makes me feel like I really can sew. It isn't from a shop bought pattern, I designed it myself, but that makes me even more happy than if it was made from a bought pattern. I feel like I really accomplished something with this bag, which has nice features like this button and loop closure.And 5 rows of top-stitching to secure the handles and the fabric outer to the lining. I love the contrasting stitching. The inside of the handles is a co-ordinating orange, and they are folded and stitched in the centre so they are a comfortable width for carrying. There is a layer of heavyweight sew-in interfacing sandwiched between the lining and the outside as well, which makes the bag feel nice and sturdy.

Not only does this bag make me realise I can sew, it also made me realise how much I like designing sewing projects. I've just been reading an interesting post about publishing patterns over at Craft Apple's blog, which made interesting reading. While I'd love to design and publish patterns, I think that's a long, long way off yet!

The leaf fabric and orange handle lining are from the Moda 'Fall Back in Time' range, bought at The City Quilter in New York a couple of years ago. The bird fabric is by Joel Dewberry for Rowan/Westminster Fibers and was bought at Liberty in London a couple of weeks ago.

Can you tell this project has made me happy?!

Meg's Raglan Cardigan

Can someone please confirm that baby girls can never have too many hand knits? If that isn't the case I'm in trouble! This cardigan pattern is in the 'Essential Baby' book by Debbie Bliss. I went down a needle size, using 2.75mm for the edgings and 3mm for the body and sleeves. This raglan is knit from the bottom up, with the two fronts, sleeves and back all knit separately to the underarm, then joined for the yoke and decreases. So, it seems a little fiddly compared to knitting a top-down raglan, and there are a lot of ends to sew in and a fair bit of seaming. That doesn't really bother me, especially when the resulting garment is so lovely, but I know a lot of knitters would prefer to knit top-down.

I was lucky to find perfectly matching, pretty but not too twee, buttons in John Lewis in Newcastle. (I've just got back from a 2 day visit, but more on that later).

If I knit this pattern again, and I'm sure I will, I think I will continue to knit it bottom-up, but will knit the back and fronts in one piece as that would remove some of the seaming and sewing in of ends. I would probably also knit the sleeves a bit shorter, as they do look rather long!

I'm meeting Alex and Meg for lunch today, so I should get a chance to try it on her then.

Lost. And Found.

I lost my knitting mojo for a while back there. I think it was all the baby knits for Megan that I knit before she was born. 'I think I've had enough of the baby knits for a while', I said to Mumsie (now also known as Grandma!) last Saturday.

On Monday, Sam and Alex brought Megan round for a visit. First she looked at me like this:

Then she smiled like this:

And I felt my heart melt. 'Hmm', I thought. 'Just one little cardigan won't hurt'. Yarn was purchased on Thursday for a sweet little raglan cardigan.

Today, they visited again. 'She does look lovely in a cardigan and dress', I thought. 'Perhaps I'll just knit a little bolero, and sew a dress to match'.

Yarn purchased, fabric and pattern ordered. I think I've rediscovered my mojo.

Now, if I can just finish the hideous construction contract assignments I've been battling with for the past month, which are way overdue and MUST be finished by Wednesday, I might actually have a chance of doing some crafting.

Wish me luck.

Long Weekend Part I: Saturday

February Baby Sweater

I first saw the pattern for Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Sweater on Two Needles a couple of years ago but didn't think I'd be capable of knitting it. When Meg came along, I thought I'd try knitting one, as a precursor to possibly knitting the February Lady Sweater for myself.
Meg's sweater was knit with 3.75mm Addis with just over 2 balls of Rowan Wool Cotton in a lovely strong shade of red. It's quite big but should fit Megan in Autumn, if not before. I love it, I think it's the kind of pattern my Grandma would have knitted for Megan if she had still been alive. I think she'd look at this and be proud of my knitting.