The old and the new in England

Over the years I have made a few aprons for family members. I don't have to make any for myself since I still wear the ones that my mom made. I love her full aprons and even though I use a different pattern, they are still a full apron. I don't think I have ever made an apron that doesn't have a top or 'bib' part to it.

I found this in my daughter's kitchen drawer when I was visiting her family not long ago. I always wear an apron if I am cooking or washing dishes.

The fabric has candies on it. I still have some of it left and should really use it up. Perhaps a Hallowe'en bag? Or included in a string quilt? I have no idea when or why I acquired the fabric.

This is my latest knitting project.

It's a Wee Speedy 2 pattern - free on Ravelry. I had purchased the yarn a few years ago. I saw this little sweater in the window of my local yarn store window in a yellow/gold colour and was then tempted to go in and ask about the pattern and yarn. They had no more of the yellow/gold colour but they did have this lovely denim colour. It's cotton and thick and thin yarn. When I asked about the pattern, I was told that it was a free Ravelry pattern and so I purchased the yarn intending to make it but never did - until a couple of months ago. This will fit the little newborn who is now named Phinneaus Hunter Oak. It took quite some time to decide on a name that both parents were pleased with. I'm sure he will end up being called Finn.

Something new from something old and other small projects

 Sometimes you can extend the life of an outfit.

I made two outfits that were similar for my twin granddaughters when they were about two (they turn 7 this month.) This is the top (minus the ruffle) and there were shorts too. It's a fairly loose fit and it has a zipper in the back. One of the twins' cousins is still wearing the top even though she is a size 4. It was just a bit short and I decided that I could add a ruffle so it would look a bit nicer. I couldn't find the fabric that I used but I did find something that was a close match. It just so happened that there was a lot of that fabric and since I had just finished sewing a little dress for another granddaughter, the pattern I used included pedal pushers (or Capris or cropped pants) with a ruffle on the hem of the legs.

Here's the new outfit. I hope she gets some wear out of it since the summer is almost over.

I finished another hat for one of the grandchildren. I'm stockpiling in anticipation of cold weather needs. This is number two. The pattern is free from Ravelry and is called Citrus Hat by Laura Treadway. The one from the previous post was called Rusty Barn Hat by Christy Houghton. I'm trying to add to my repertoire of hats. So far, I haven't found one that equals my favourite, Bankhead hat by Susie Gourlay. All the hat patterns are found free on Ravelry.

I also finished a small, preemie hat. This pattern is one of my favourites for babies. The pattern can be made in any size and it stretches so it fits different sized heads. The pattern is Bev's Baby Ribs pattern from Bev's Country Cottage.

These are what I finished up yesterday. Six face masks for a wedding party. The front of the mask matches the groomsmen's ties. The lining for the three men has golf clubs and balls because the groom likes to golf. For the bridesmaids, the lining is nurse-related because the bride is a nurse. I threaded thin elastic into the sides but left them untied so that the wearer could adjust it to their own liking.

We finally have some cooler temperatures and very little, if any, humidity so it's quite comfortable outside. I noticed that at 7 o'clock this morning it was 13C with blue skies. That makes it lovely walking weather. Stay safe and don't forget to wear a mask.

A few little things

There is a list of things to make and it changes every once in a while. I haven't finished the l sweaters that I was knitting but I got into knitting hats instead. 

This little hat is a preemie size.

I thought I would try taking a photo of the little hat with different backgrounds.

I needed to make something that I could finish quickly and I also wanted to make something for charity. In this case a NICU department in a hospital.

Today, I finished this little dress. It sat unfinished for a couple of months because the neckline and armholes were to be finished with single fold bias tape and I don't particularly like this finish because it tends to pucker. I initially cut it and was going to finish it for my youngest granddaughter's birthday - in June. It's still hot enough so she will get some wear out of it yet.

I finished this hat today too. I have decided to make several hats for my grandchildren for the coming colder months. This way I will have some on hand for when they are needed. I've never used this pattern before and it's OK but I may not make another one. There are a couple of different patterns that I want to try out and I have the yarn so while I am watching TV in the evenings, I can knit hats.

My eldest son Mark came over the other day and brought his three daughters. They brought strawberries to share with their cousins and they gave me these lovely lilies. I have not had anything in my kitchen for months so these made the kitchen a much nicer place to be in.

Some things completed

While I was in England during December and January, I knit my littlest (youngest) granddaughter a blanket that she could use while sitting in the stroller.

Here's Aurora using the blanket. We have had some really cold days but it looks like Aurora is bundled up nicely.

I brought home some double knit yarn from England and, since I like making small things in between bigger projects, I knit a couple of hats. These are free patterns on Ravelry. The one on the left is called 'Baby Hat With Top Knot - Tegan' and the one on the right is called 'Basic Baby Hat.' My daughter claimed them for her friend who recently had a little girl.

Here's the finished Christmas mystery top. I wanted to take a photo of it outside but there wasn't anyone willing to hold it up for me so I just placed it on the back deck. It worked out well. I have some of the light blue fabric left over to bind it with but that will have to wait for later.

This is one of the pillowcases I made for Christmas for one of my granddaughters.

As you can tell, the theme was princesses.

I purchased the co-ordinated fabric from Sew Sisters in Toronto. It was on sale and I thought it would make perfect pillowcases. The pink fairy fabric was in the mystery box I also purchased from them.

Here they all are. Unfortunately, because I wasn't here at Christmas time, they weren't handed out but once I got home, they were the first things the little ones got.

The boys all got dinosaur pillowcases.

Well, that's it for the finished projects at the moment.

Works in progress

 I am finding myself switching up what I work on daily.

This is a little baby blanket that I am making for no one in particular. I belong to a Facebook group called Warm Baby Project that is based in the UK. They have offered free baby blanket patterns and they usually have some kind of design knitted right in. The first five patterns were free and this sixth one was only a couple of dollars so I decided to try it. I'm only on row 122 and there are 167 rows altogether. That means I have two more pages to go. Counting is all you have to do since it's just knit and purl.

This is the yarn I'm using. It was on sale somewhere and I thought I would pick it up and use it for some charity knitting.

I have also started a slouch hat. This is on hold right now.

In the sewing department, I'm also working on finishing up this Christmas quilt top. It was a mystery quilt that I started early in December before I left for England. This one is a fused applique project. There is another red and green pieced Christmas mystery quilt that I signed up for too and was working on at the same time but I have left it for now. Too many things to do all at once and I found that some of the fabrics were too close in shading and it was confusing me. I need to concentrate in order to complete it.

My eldest daughter requested some bags just to keep things in. Odds and ends or toys. I have a lot of longish zippers and a lot of these Ikea scraps (that are heavier in weight than cotton) so I thought I would use both to make some bags. After I found these pieces, I noticed that four had already been sewn together. Bonus for me.

And lastly, I have started a baby quilt for one of my daughter's friends who had a little girl in late January. These were charm squares that my daughter arranged in a four patch. She wanted something more modern and neutral in colour for them instead of pink and mauve. The pattern is an easy one called Breezy Charm Quilt and it's a free pattern from Tacy Gray. I had all the fabric put aside before I left for England so I haven't had to hunt around for anything. I shall show you the completed top once it's all put together. Same with the Christmas blue and white one.

We had a bit of snow this past week.

We had some really cold days too.

Some of the snow on the sidewalks melted in the sun and a bit of it came back. On Monday it's supposed to be a high of 3C and Tuesday we should be at 4C so perhaps more of this snow will be gone again.

We are still in lockdown and it has been extended for another two weeks. I don't mind since I'm such a homebody anyway and I have so many projects that I can work on to keep me occupied.

Stay home, stay safe.

Sewing, knitting again

I have a few things that are finished and more things that I am still working on.

I finished this Harry Potter scarf for my eldest grandson. I purchased the yarn at Poundland in England (similar to our Dollarama.) I started it in England and just finished the fringe last week. I added fringe because the ends curled up. I will block it before sending it to see if that would help with the curling inwards of the whole scarf.

This is a baby sweater that has been unfinished for a while now and I thought it could be my next knitting project but...

I started (and now finished) this little rainbow baby hat. It was supposed to be a newborn to 3-month size but it turned out bigger. I shall try another pattern. There is a charity on Facebook called Warm Baby Project and it's based in England. They supply knitted garments to hospitals and other places that need them. I have learned a few things while following the site: some hospitals have different coloured hats for the babies in need. They are called traffic light hats because they are either green, yellow or red depending on the level of care the little ones need. It's easy to see in a hurry. Also, rainbow hats and blankets are given to newborns whose families have previously suffered a miscarriage, still born birth or have otherwise lost a baby.

And this is my current sewing project. It's the Quilters Trek - previously known as Row by Row. I wasn't going to participate this year but the theme was True Blue so how could I pass it up? I'm almost finished the rows, or blocks and then I have to put it all together. Lots and lots of work but I love blue so it's been fun.

Twin things

My youngest daughter, Ayla, gave birth to twin boys. They are fraternal - meaning that they are not identical. I made a couple of things twice.

Two white hats - before we knew the gender.

Two blue hats (a slightly different pattern.)

And two stroller blankets. I made these before leaving Canada. The little colours are small balls of yarn by Lion Brand and they are called Bonbons. I had to add a different colour for the one on the left because the package of Bonbons I had included white - so it wouldn't have shown up at all if I used white as a background. I had seen someone use a gray colour but I thought I would go with navy blue. Most of my grandchildren have a variation on the rainbow coloured one. They are fun to make. The pattern is called Lemon Squeezy Stroller Blanket and it's free at Ravelry or on Lion Brand Yarn's website.

I hope you are all well and keeping busy.