Handmade - Part 1

Making something by hand:
It's a slow process. It can be un-exact - meaning that it's not perfectly made because it is hand made. But there is thought behind it and often a whole lot of love.

 I wanted to make little Teemu a nice warm winter hat.

My eldest daughter was with me when I went to buy some yarn. I was hoping to find a nice variegated yarn and the bonus was that this Paton's Decor yarn (Reflection) has 25% wool and is machine washable. So, I tried out a new (to me) pattern. This is the 12 month size and turned out to be OK. I tried it on the twins because I wanted to make them each a touque too.

 This yarn is Bernat's Sheep(ish) Stripes in Femme(ish) and turned out to have 30% wool. It too is machine washable. I really like variegated yarns and will be making one more but I think I may just make it one size up. The pattern is super easy and is just knit one, purl one. I'm adding about a half inch in the length for this one.

The dud. I got this far and I'm not liking it. It's a thinner yarn- King Cole's Drifter DK in Boy Blue. I love colour but I didn't like how the rib was working. It seemed way too loose and that's why I changed patterns and yarn and went with the Decor for Teemu. I'll find another use for this yarn.

Hand made or handmade may be slower but sometimes, it's just the way to do things.

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network.

Another Champagne Quilters Update

My ride last night was stuck in traffic so I didn't make it to Marg's at the regular time but, we did manage to get the top put together.

It was tricky but we took it slow and didn't have to use the seam ripper. It feels good to get this together but we don't think we will be doing another one. I think I will sew a small border around the cutting lines before I cut the points off to square it up.

I had given Marg some ends of yarns that I had and it looks like she kept busy. Eleven hats were made in two weeks and now she needs more yarn. I old her I had lots so I will have to go through my bags to find some that are suitable for baby hats.

I hope you all have a great weekend. My daughter's baby shower is on Sunday so I will be busy sewing today and baking tomorrow.

Little hats

Since my daughter asked me to make some hats for little Luc, I have been on a roll trying out different patterns. I have a few little patterns and the latest one that I chose to make out of a small piece of plaid fleece that I found in my stash is McCall's 6235. The drawing of the hat makes it appear curved but it is more like the photo and boxy.

 It is small and sewed up quickly. Being fleece helped with hand sewing the hem. I didn't have to thicken it by taking an extra seam allowance since fleece does not ravel.

This, of course, is the crown. I do like it when the written instructions and the diagrams are clear and not ambiguous.

In the previous post I showed you what I was working on and now the little hat with the pom pom is complete. The first pom pom came out a tad big so I had to make another one.

I really like the way the yarn makes it look like I was clever and changed colours to make those little white designs but, it's all in the yarn.

Now I'm off to do some more sewing. I have a deadline so I should be moving along.