Boxing Day

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. My house was filled with family and later more company stopped by. The food was great and plentiful. Today's clean-up was minimal and I am just taking it easy. Soon, the decorations will be taken down and put away for another year. My mind this morning was on the various projects I want to finish and/or start. No rush but something to keep me busy. I'm still slowly crocheting the latest blanket. It will get finished. Hats are on the future knitting list too. I did manage to make a few things for Christmas this year besides the gnome ornaments.

Somehow I came across an online tutorial to make these mitts. It was from a Canadian quilt shop in Cornwall called Apple Hill Quilting and Design. 

These mittens used a recycled wool sweater that I purchased years ago for just this purpose. The lining is fleece and I have loads of fleece in my stash. The zoom class was just two hours and if I hadn't had to unpick some sewing, I would have had at least one mitt finished in that time. As it was, I finished the pair a few weeks later and sent them to my son-in-law for Christmas. I would love to make more soon. Needess to say they are super warm.

I also managed to knit some fingerless mitts. I like how they turned out.

These were made for my grandsons in B.C. I had knit the same pattern before but totally forgot how to make them. Once I made one, it all came back to me.

It's mild for winter and so I decided this morning to go for a walk. Luckily, it wasn't raining. Resting is what I am doing a lot of today. I found myself standing a lot yesterday and my back hurt from just tiredness and strain. A little while sitting in a chair helped. I hope everyone had a wonderful time and that Santa brought them a little 'something.'

Some extra sewing

I was asked by my middle daughter to make some bicycle seat covers - two of them. She wanted something that she could add a bit of foam to so that riding long distances would be more comfortable. This request, of course, was last minute. I had to finish sewing a sleeve onto the back of a quilt for the quilt show but I put it aside. Luckily, I had a roll of plaid upholstery fabric that I was able to use. I searched the internet for a DIY (Do It Yourself) bicycle seat cover and not only did I get a tutorial, there was even a youtube video. It turned out to be easy peasy and because the upholstery fabric had a rubbery backing, I didn't have to finish any seams. My sewing stash included some half inch twill tape that I used for a draw string.

If you click on the photos, they will enlarge.

Apologies for the small photos but I was unable to enlarge them from my email. I should have taken a photo of them once I had finished them and before I handed them over but once again, I forgot. Perhaps I will get a chance to take photos once they return from their trip.

I did get the sleeve sewn onto the back of the quilt and the quilt show is this weekend. I will have photos from it in the coming week.

Some 'little' sewing

One of my granddaughters turned 4 about a week ago. Her mom and dad bought her a Corolle doll and asked if I would make some clothes for the doll. I gathered up some fabric but it was a bit hard to find patterns to fit. Luckily, I had a Cabbage Patch doll clothes pattern that seemed to be the correct size for a 14 inch doll. I sewed up a couple of extra outfits so that her sister, who also had the same make of doll, could have different clothing.

I like the dresses and the matching bloomers.

I found this little piece of coral print and thought it would make a nice dress.

This is her sister's little doll outfit.

I never ended up showing these 10 little treat bags that I made for Easter. 

Each one had pompom tails but no faces.

They didn't take long to sew up. I found the pattern on the internet.

Having these little bags saved me from hiding the treats in the backyard.

Here's a few of the recipients with their bags.

They were filled with a variety of goodies.

I will now be concentrating on crocheting a blanket and sewing up some quilt blocks.

Flannel pajamas

I did make my little twin grandsons pajamas for Christmas but I didn't totally finish them. I had to make buttonholes and sew the buttons on.

In order to use up my flannel pieces, I combined a solid red with a red print.

The red print had little dinosaurs on it. Perfect for two year old Otis.

This was made for his brother Archer, whose favourite colour is orange.

Sorry for the bad colour. The previous photo was closer to the original. I ended up making all the buttonholes by hand.

These were fun to make. 

Flannel nightgowns

Nightgowns. I didn't get a chance to finish all of my sewing before Christmas so I am catching up now.

This is my youngest granddaughter modelling her new nightgown. I found the fabric in Fabricland just before Christmas. I was there looking to stock up on elastic and just happened to check out the sales table. There was about one metre left on the bolt and I just couldn't leave it there. The flannel has unicorns on it. To say the nightgown is a hit is an understatement. My son told me she cried when he suggested other pajamas one night. 

Here's one of two identical nightgowns I made that were Christmas gifts. Both recipients were born in May of 2017 - exactly two weeks apart. As you can see from both photos, I had to incorporate another fabric in order to complete the nightgowns. Luckily, I had all the fabric for these two green ones and didn't have to purchase anything. I have one or two more nightgowns to make and then I have some pajamas to sew. 

I am also trying to work on my quilt UFOs that are in bins and, in addition to all that sewing, I have two blocks to make for one of my twin granddaughter's quilts.

So, I have lots and lots to keep me busy for next several months.

Just a little sewing

 These are quilt blocks that I put together for one of the guilds I belong to. I requested 4 kits thinking I had time during the summer to get them done. The first one was a challenge. Those triangles (the sky) on either side of the roof had to be sewn in one way only. If they were switched, the sides were not straight. I think I unsewed them twice at least if not 3 times. As you can see, the top piece (the sky) is a tad longer. 

The block is supposed to measure 5" by 8.5" and the instructions said to use a scant 1/4" seam for all seams except the roof part which could be sewn with a full 1/4 inch. Well, try as I might, it was not to be. The 5 inches was fine but even with scant seam allowances, it only measures 8.25". I have to say that I did not cut the pieces out. The kits were pre-cut and you just had to sew them together.

The templates were all in the kit too and as you can see, the template for the roof does not match the piece of fabric that was cut for the roof. However, the piece that was cut was the correct size.

After sewing all four kits/blocks together, I finally figured out why they were not finishing to 8.5". As you can see, the sky fabric is 1/4" too long.

The 1/4" extra should have been added to the height of the piece, not the length. That is why all of my 4 blocks finish at 8.25" instead of 8.5". Apparently, no one has mentioned a problem with their kits. I don't know how many of these small house blocks were taken by the guild members because there were log cabin blocks and bigger house blocks to put together too.

While I was in England, my daughter requested a new cover for the nursing pillow that I had made her a few years before. It was made with that rainbow coloured flannel. She wanted a plain cotton on top because she felt that the flannel would be too warm for the summer. Well, I didn't buy any fabric but my son-in-law was getting rid of some brand new shirts that had logos on them. They seemed to be wide enough.

I put the nursing pillow on top of the shirt and used a pencil to draw around the pillow making sure to add seam allowances. It was all sewn by hand (back stitch for strength) since my daughter had sold the little sewing machine that I had used previously. Here, you can see that I left an opening in the outer edge so that I could slip the pillow in. I made sure to clip the curves.

All done. Not perfect but where there's a will, there's a way.

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.

Still sewing

I had to update some items that I made years ago. I had the fabrics, the pattern was oh so easy but I lacked initiative and time.

My twin granddaughters turned 7 last month and they had needed bigger hooded towels for a couple of years now.

My daughter Maili agreed to model them for me since the girls are not allowed to have their photo on social media.

These were birthday gifts but not total surprises since I had them choose the flannel and the towel that they wanted. This one was Mackenzie's choice.

This is the flannel that Severn chose.

They are long on the girls but not quite floor length.

Severn had first choice of fabrics and she chose this turquoise colour towel. Her favourite colours are actually pink and purple but I didn't have any.

I purchased the flannel a couple of years ago in Stratford, Ontario when my husband and I were travelling around collecting patterns for Row by Row.

This was in Fabricland and the words are all Finnish words. That's the reason I bought it - my heritage is Finnish. Severn chose the flannel because she likes cats. I also have a smaller piece of the same fabric but with a pink background. It just wasn't enough for the whole hooded towel. On hindsight, I could have made the hood part in pink. Oh well.

I did make one for their cousin Teemu since he was in need of a bigger one but I forgot to take photos.

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.

Not finished yet

It seems I wasn't finished making masks. Luckily I put my mask fabric all in one place so I didn't need to go and search for anything.

My daughter in BC asked if I could make her two boys more masks since they are still attending a physical school (unlike the children here in Ontario who are all online.)

A few more for my daughter.

And a few for my son-in-law.

I then made some for my grandson in the UK who will be attending Forest School in August. He's only three and is eager to make friends. With Covid, the daycares shut down but things are slowly getting back to some kind of normalcy.

None of these have elastic but I added the elastic when I sent them. This way, the elastic can be cut to size and tied to suit whoever is wearing the mask. It saved me time and this way, the elastic will not be too tight nor too loose.

Just sewing along

My eldest daughter reminded me that her sons had wanted pajamas. I was going to make some for each of my 12 grandchildren but then I went to England for a month and when I came back I had to self isolate. By then, I had to make a baby quilt for my middle daughter whose friend had a baby girl. So, things have been piling up (or added to) on my list. 

I actually bought this fabric to make my eldest grandson some pajamas.

I have had this flannel in my stash for a while.

There wasn't enough fabric to complete the pajamas so I had to use another flannel for the back.

These are squares that I purchased from Ikea.

 The squares were not all cut exact but I made them work.

My eldest daughter wanted some bags to put things in and so I used the squares. They are a heavier weight than just plain cotton. All the bags are lined and have zippers. I added little handles too in case she wants to hang them up. They weren't hard to make but they did take time.

My daughter then mentioned that the boys could use bigger pencil cases. I put the tape measure there to show her how long I was making them.

I was just using up some of my stash again. They are made exactly the same way as the bigger bags - fully lined with zippers.

They are now on their way to British Columbia where my eldest daughter lives. Her youngest son's birthday is on the 22nd and her eldest son's birthday is in April. I hope the pajamas fit and that they like their new pencil cases.