Fellow Crafters - Watcha making? - Page 3

[Smokering]

nikie23: Socks are evil. I bought a ball of sock yarn some time ago with grand plans for making all of DD's socks from now on (we try to avoid made-in-China, sweatshop clothes, but finding ethically made socks for toddlers?). I spent weeks frantically googling "easy toddler sock pattern", "very easy toddler sock pattern", "super simple sock pattern", then looking at the instructions with frantic eyes going "Transfer one-third of the stitches to - WHAT? Short-row who the heck? Pick up where how who I HATE THE WORLD!". And then reading a bunch of comments appended to each pattern by expert knitters, saying things like "I think the gauge is a little off on this one, my first pair was two sizes too small - but no problem, it was such a quick knit I just frogged it and knit them again over the weekend".

Suffice it to say, my ball of sock yarn is still pristine, and DD wore extremely dingy socks for a long time until DH got sick of it and went out and bought her a packet of nasty sweatshop made-in-China ones... which, as much as it goes against my principles, was something of a relief. One day, I swear I will master socks... but I don't think it'll be soon.

[nikie23]

Bwahahahaha!  I hate the world!  That is exactly how I felt!  It didn't help that after my third do-over DH asked "what's wrong with you?" because I was having so much trouble.  Apparently he'd decided I might have a brain tumor, and that's why I was having so much trouble.

I think we watch too much House.

I read somewhere that tube socks are good for babies.  No gussets or heel turns or short rows, and you can't tell if they get turned around.  At this point, I'm thinking this LO will be rockin' the 60's athletics look.

[Spinnerette]

littleteapot! I added you ^_^ I'm Goethe over there. Nice to meet you! 

[erigeron]

I knitted 2 soakers using the Frantic Mama pattern. I didn't have gauge issues, I don't think, but I am usually a tight knitter and am not too fussed about baby clothes being slightly the wrong size. I made 1 pair of socks but I do not have very much washable wool so I'd want to get more before making more socks. I also have a blanket and sweater that I want to make--been working on the blanket for 2 years but the pattern (designed by me) is just not working and I think I'm going to frog it and make it up differently. This is my first child so I do not have to worry about older kids distracting me and eating into my knitting time.

I'd like to make more clothes but I am not much of a seamstress. I think I'm about up to hemming some wipes--saw a lady on Ravelry who made them out of old t-shirts, and I want to look into that more. We don't have a sewing machine, but are supposed to be acquiring one soon.

[Smokering]

With T-shirt fabric, you probably don't even need to hem it. It won't unravel. Couldn't you just cut it into squares? :)

[erigeron]

True. I think she was stitching them together to make double layers, now that I think about it.

This will kill two birds with one stone--make some wipes, and hopefully get rid of some of the cruddier T-shirts from hubby's vast collection of semi-cruddy T-shirts.

[littleteapot]

Some more knitting I've finished lately...

Felted baby booties:

Aviatrix hat to match:

Faux Mary Jane booties (they're knitted as one piece socks):

[HeidiLC01]

I got the maryjane pattern too, so cute !

Are the others pay tons soy wool ? I've been debating on using that for a while..worry about it being itchy.....they came out so cute !

[Smokering]

I got three Ottobre magazines the other day in the mail. :) Today DD and I are hitting Spotlight and a local op shop - an awesome one which often has really nice, really cheap fabric - to buy goodies. It's not all for the baby, DD needs some new winter clothes, but it's still exciting. :)

So my short-term to-do list is as follows:

Make the "Gnome Girl" pinafore from Ottobre for DD, in nice warm wintry fabric

Make the blouse that goes with it

Make a pair of Ottobre rompers for the baby

Finish sewing press-studs and buttons on the shirt I'm making for the baby (longer-term goal: MASTER BUTTONHOLES!)

Finish knitting the other top I'm making for the baby (nearly done, just need to finish knitting a sleeve, seam up the sides and make i-cord ties)

Finish the mei tai (also nearly done)

Make DD a fairy costume for her birthday/dance classes

Make DD a flannel quilt for her birthday (partly cut out, should be fairly simple - just squares - but the first time I've made a proper quilt to go on a bed, so eep!)

My long-term to-do list is much longer, sadly...

[littleteapot]

Originally Posted by HeidiLC01 
Are the others pay tons soy wool ? I've been debating on using that for a while..worry about it being itchy.....they came out so cute !

It is the SWS stripes soy wool by Patons. It's VERY pilly so it works best in something that you're going to felt, but the yarn is lovely!

[HeidiLC01]

Ha ha ha, I just noticed in your reply that my auto correct changed it for patons to pay tons..lol
Will have to give it a try. I have some in my stash, similar to that but w/pink instead of blue.

[Smokering]

Anyone want to nag me? :) I decided to make a big effort today and see if I could finish FOUR nearly-done projects that have been hanging around, pesking my mind. They are:

1. A knitted blue kimono top for the baby. Need to finish one sleeve (I gave up because I had to do a simple maths calculation - heh), sew up the sides, sew in all the loose threads and make i-cords to close it.

2. DD's Ottobre pinafore. Need to figure out something funky that's happening with the lining, hem the lining, sew the lining to the shell and add the suspender clips.

3. Mei tai for the baby. Need to make the straps (padded and interlined, which is a bit of a pain), quilt the straps, attach the straps and then sew the whole thing together and turn it right-side-out.

4. DD's fairy dress. Need to fix the darned straps once and for all! I shirred them on one side to make them boofy, but they sagged when she wore the dress... and I went over the stitching with straight stitches, but it's still suspiciously elasticated. I might need to rip them out and make new ones, with gathers instead of shirring. Shouldn't take too long, except DD has made off with the remains of the satin binding and hidden it somewhere.

So if anyone else has a sewing/knitting/crafting goal and wants to participate in mutual prodding, awesome. :p

ETA: DD's pinafore is done... but it's 7:43, so I suspect I won't exactly make deadline. Gonna go henna my hair and make dinner, and then might get a bit of knitting in.

Edited by Smokering - 3/27/11 at 11:44pm

[jshannyn519]

I haven't even started my projects yet. I did manage to do the 2 little iron-ons today, but aside from that I think the baby quilt will have to wait a bit longer. I only have a little over 4 weeks left of this semester, but combined with baseball and softball games and practices I simply do not have the time for sewing!

[bk_hope_2_b_mama]

You all are making me wish I could knit! This is my most recent project...

[BHappy]

here's a little yellow squash hat i just finished...

[jshannyn519]

Cynthia I love the mobile! How big are the big circles? I'm going to start painting some jungley sort of things on my bedroom walls and I was playing around with the idea of using sticks as part of it. I like your project a lot.

Bhappy that hat is adorable!

ETA: I really need to at least get my fabric cut out for this baby quilt. I'm thinking that I'll end up with a different pattern than the rail fence I was planning. Somehow that seems to complicated to me right now.

[bk_hope_2_b_mama]

I used jars and glasses to draw different size circles. The branch is from the yard; I painted it white and that was really it - aside from some balancing. Thanks!

[nikie23]

What did I do?!

Months ago I started knitting a baby blanket.  But my tension control was terrible, so the ribbed trim looked all wonky - loose stitches and rows that were different sizes.  And the more I looked at it, the more it bothered me.  So, in a fit of perfectionism... I ripped it all out and am starting over from scratch.  And now I'm looking at the two balls of yarn that I'd already knitted and now have to do again, plus the three more balls that will also go into the blanket, and just... .  Why did I think a newborn would be worried about a couple loose stitches?  I really need to get crackin', too - LO is supposed to get here in 11 weeks!

In the meantime, though, I have made a couple more jumpers, and I bought the yarn for a name hat (although, unbeknownst to me, one of the colors was on back-order, so now I have to wait for that to get here before I can start it).  So at least it hasn't been a total waste of time?

[erigeron]

I was working on a baby blanket for something like 3 years, and it just was NOT working, so I ripped it out and made it up with a different pattern. I think it was worth it--I didn't want to use an item with my baby that I had struggled over and wasn't happy with and would hiss at every time I saw it.

Right now I'm putting the finishing touches on a little sweater, and plan to make at least 1 more sweater and some more soakers.

[nikie23]

I love the main pattern of the blanket, but the ribbing on the trim is messing. me. up.  The yarn is really smooth and silky and shows the stitch pattern *really* well, so it's that much more obvious that I'm a horrible amateur.  I'm considering switching the ribbing for moss stitch or something, or possibly making the ribbing narrower so it's not as prominent.  I just don't know!  And the time thing is totally messing with me, too - I feel like I don't have enough time to experiment.