A New Seamstress is Born

Little Miss SockPixie became a seamstress, and a dress designer yesterday! I am so proud of her. I gave her a little guidance on how to measure herself to size the simple rectangle of fabric that would be necessary to create her first dress, a simple sun dress.

She cut and pinned...

She worked, sewing the elastic thread, to create the stretchy gathered bustier...

She was so focused and determined...

And now she is so proud! Her first hand-sewn dress! She is ready to show it to all her girlscout friends this afternoon.

I have to say, I am impressed!  She now wants to make an identical dress for her older sister, Miss SockPixie, so they can wear them together this summer, when Miss SockPixie comes back from France to vacation with us. I am afraid, with another dressmaker in the house, the fabric stash is only going to grow!

Crochet is for Baby Blankets

I love crocheting, as much as I love knitting. And when it comes to baby blankets, nothing can beat crochet. Crochet is so fast that you can finish a good size blanket in no time. I started crocheting this blanket for Mini SockPixie before I knew he was a boy. I picked colors which I thought would appeal to either gender, would be contrasted enough to stir my little one's interest, and would have the vintage charm I love so much.

A blanket needs to be easily washable, so I bought some Encore Worsted for it. Encore is definitely one of my favorite wool/acrylic blend yarns to work with. It makes a very soft project, with a matte look, and no crinkly sound when you squeeze it.

All this knitting and crocheting for the new baby means I have been neglecting my knitting duties to my other pixies, and I have started hearing some complaints! I had better get to work before there is a rebellion!

One more Baby Sweater

I just finished another baby sweater this morning. This time I chose a thicker yarn, Mochi, in a really nice variation on green colorway. I knit the sweater on US 8 needles, as I find the Mochi yarn a little too mushy for my taste. The end result is beautiful and will be so soft, and cushy for Mini SockPixie.

I designed the sweater to be seamless. It is knit from the bottom to the top. The sleeves were knit on DPTs and then knit onto the body of the cardi. I chose a raglan sleeve construction. The sweater is edged with seed stitch borders.

The ony thing I have left to do: pick buttons. I really have no idea what type to pick: blend or contrast. Buttons are so important. You'll tell me, "come on, it's just a sweater". I know, but I want it to be perfect for Mini SockPixie.

New Haircut

A new haircut for me!

I look more and more like my great grand mother, and that makes me happy!

Traditional "pull marin": Done!

I finished the little "pull marin" for Mini SockPixie yesterday. I had to make one of these traditional sweaters. We have all had one at one point when we were kids. My grandma would knit them for us, for our cold holidays on the Normandie coast, along the windy Channel.

I designed the sweater with raglan sleeves, and chose to make " chunky, masculine" decreases for my new little man. The sweater has a discrete buttoned opening in the back to allow for gentle pulling on and off. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in Navy Blue, and a creamy white. The sweater was knit to be seamless (my absolute favorite), so knit in the round,  on US 3 needles.

I am going to knit a little hat to match with the left over yarns!

And then I could also sew some little pants from a light stretchy jeans fabric to make a complete little outfit! So many projects, so little time!

I love my new dress!

I spent a few hours yesterday morning working on  my dress. I started by sketching the dress, measured myself, and came up with some dress measurements that would look OK now, and at the same time would allow me to grow. I decided the high waist would be elastic and so would the gathered neckline. The shape would be a gentle A-line.

Once the pieces were cut, the sewing was a breeze. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the mirror, liking the dress, relieved that I had not pulled a Lucy!

My favorite part of the dress is the top with its high gathered waist, the nicely fitted armhole, and the feminine gathered neckline.

I wore the dress last night when our friends came over. It made me very happy to wear it.

There might be some more sewing for me later on today, but first I must finish the little sweater I am working on for mini SockPixie.

Clothes for Baby, but what about me?

I love being pregnant. Maybe because this pregnancy is likely to be my last ,(5 children is a good number, and I am unfortunately not getting any younger,) I am enjoying this particular pregnancy in a completely new way for me.
There is only one issue, what to wear. That may sound very trivial, but I am down to 2 dresses that I can for the moment fit in. I went downtown yesterday to try to find some maternity clothes. I did find some very very expensive ones, and some not so expensive ones, but truly blah ones.
I shared my thoughts with Mr. SockPixie at breakfast. His answer was: "Make them!" He said: "You have the tools and the skills, make the clothes yourself!"
I love how he trusts that I can do anything!
So this morning I rummaged through all my fabrics, and of course made a real mess in the process. But who cares about the mess, I have a mission: to make a dress today, that I will proudly wear tonight when our friends come over for dinner.
I am excited about the idea, but at the same time I have the image of Lucille Ball in my mind, you know in the episode where Ricky tells her she cannot spend any more money, and she has to make her dress herself, and perm her hair herself!

I might just pop an I Love Lucy DVD in while I sew this morning!

But let's be serious now. I have picked the fabric, a light cotton.

I love the colors and the patterns. Now I have to decide on a shape! Tomorrow, I'll let you know if I pulled a Lucy!