Stitch 2 Stitch

Another MIP pattern that I’m loving!! I must say that the patterns in MIP is really motivating coz they are easy that the end result is rather positive which is really what a beginner like me looks for. So I’d definitely recommend this book to any beginner who wants to try simple but cute patterns.

Here’s my reversible shorts – I prefer the 1st one though.

Flowers with stripes

Stripes with flowers

In the book, this pattern was modelled by a boy but I thought, heck…shorts are shorts, so I’m quite happy with it but the problem is that I’ve now got 2 more kids asking for the same thing!! *slaps forehead* I’d better go and dig that mountain high pile of fabric I have and find me some co-ordinating fabrics!

Yours truly made a huge blunder while knitting the front of Brandon’s vest. I havent had any trouble with the cables but the multiple instructions to remember coz they sort of pile up on one another, makes me confused and sometimes (like this time) things dont register although I’m looking and “following” instructions.

So last night, I finally found the courage and “semangat” to rip about 2in of knitting. *sighs painfully* And of course to make things worst, I had ripped TOO much and so, now I must knit it back!!! *slaps forehead* It ALWAYS pays to take a few minutes to re-read instructions before ripping anything especially when you’ve left it for a few days. And here I thought I would already be ready to finish the vest by this weekend! Arrrgghhh!!!!

Never mind, slowly but surely.

I reckon this pattern is for boys but girls can wear cargo pants surely? To be honest, I’ve had this fabric for ages as it was something I bought from eBay and I wasnt expecting the print to be so large and well, I just had no use for it. It had been sitting in the cupboard for so long and being slightly stiffer than your average cotton fabric, I didnt know what to do with it. As you can see, I have almost no imagination!! LOL

So I thought, why the heck not? If it’s not nice, she can wear it at home…otherwise, it was a good fabric choice on my part. Turned out that it’s more of a home thingy.

At least to me….it’s just a weird print and perhaps more home decor! LOL

Arianna seems ok with it. She did ask to wear it again so it must value to something. Perhaps that iron-on bear did the trick. Who knows? But I am quite eager to sew another one up for Brandon though. Such a simple pattern and easy to sew up too!!

Yea, yet another Otto pattern! lol This time, something I’ve not done before but was looking forward to it coz I just like the look of it.

With this pattern as well, I’ve finally finished up this catty fabric too. Tis good to see fabric finishing although sometimes, some fabric you wished wouldnt finish. But at the same time, you wouldnt really want loads of patterns using the same fabric right? Quite a hit with Arianna!

No wardrobe belonging to my girls is complete without at least ONE of these pretties :

My absolute fav pattern for girls

In my efforts of stash busting, I must add that this top has helped me rid the last of this thin knit I got from SL a few years ago when I first started sewing. Phew!!

I’m slowly making more room….for more fabric!! LOL

I know that I said that I’d steer away from Otto patterns but it is not easy when they have been my goto patterns for a LONG time!! So I’ve caved in and made a couple of things for Brandon, for winter and this rather chilly summer.

Muksis (#5, 1/09), Raglan sleeved Tshirt (#5, 2/05), Hupsis pants (#10, 1/09)

Fabric is from Spotlight and while I like the print a lot, cheap stuff doesnt compliment my gorgeous Stella knit. There is a lesson in there of course, it pays to use the good stuff!

In my efforts to sew out of my comfort zone, this is the first garment that I’ve done this year that is not an Otto pattern. I decided to sew up this simple tunic from Make It Perfect, a book I bought when it was dirt cheap! It was more like, ‘Oooooo lots of people I know have this, I think I should get it too!’ and hence, this impulse buy. But I dont have any regrets coz the clothes in there range from babies to adults, so I’ve already cut up a couple of things to sew up for the kids. None for me though – I’m not really a skirt person and patterns in there are mostly skirts and aprons!

Front

Back

Modelled shot – grinning from ear to ear!

“Mum, we NEED to wear it to the shops tonight ok? We’ll wear it with this rainbow skirt….ok Mum?”

This year, I will be putting in extra effort to slash down my stash. I really have fabric coming out of my ears and DH is already hinting (hard) at me to reduce them asap. So, I’m trying to use up all my old fabric and hang on to my newer and more pricey stuff.

Anyway, this fabric was something I got off eBay. Although cotton, I feel that it’s more medium weight. But it could be all that chemicals so I’m hoping that after a few washes, it will soften and not stick out so much. I am not 100% happy with this pattern. Simple pattern and all – could have done it in one day if not for the weekend (go figure!) but I did finish it over the weekend, but I think again…its more me, than the pattern I think. My choice of fabric and trim was not a good one. Both fabrics were stiff and made the arm hole simply open up even more. I might give this pattern another chance but not at the moment.

Like I mentioned recently, I went on a tracing frenzy, then a cutting pattern/fabric frenzy….and now, I’m suffocating under this humongous pile of to-sew! >.< Best get back to the sewing machine….

TFL

I have to admit that I am super proud of myself! ^.^ Why? Here’s why :

My first attempt at cable knitting and this is just 1/2 way through. This is the back portion of Brandon’s vest.

Here’s the close up of the cable. It’s a simple cable of 6 stitches but to me, it looked really complex and complicated until I tried it out myself

I’ve since CO the front piece but I foresee a problem…..Note to self : ALWAYS, ALWAYS read through the whole instructions before starting a pattern coz you dont know whats on the other page!! In my case, I zipped through the pattern and saw “Easy” up the top and thought, what the heck. And now…..I’m already freaking out even though I have not reached the neckline. >.< But that’s ok, I will succeed. I will stick it through and even if Brandon outgrows it before I can finish it, I already have someone in mind to give it to.

So….onwards and upwards!

HERE I COME! ^.^

After a very long time avoiding this rather daunting and complex looking stitch, I finally succumbed and am now in the midst of my first ever cable stitch project : a vest for Brandon. I picked the easiest and free pattern I could find on Rav and well, am actually doing well till now.

What I thought to be difficult is actually the total opposite. While I am sure that they are more difficult cables out there to tackle, I am quite happy to stick to the easy ones. One should not underestimate simple patterns – they are somestimes the ones that looks nicer!

I decided that this being a brand new year and all, it’s time I took the plunge and try out other patterns aside from Ottobre. I seldom stray away from my trusted Otto patterns mainly because I am already used to their pattern and instructions. More often than not, I look at the pattern pieces and I can figure it out without reading the instructions. Otto is my (naturally) go-to pattern choices.

While I am somewhat faithfully to good ol’ Otto, I have tried out other patterns from Farbenmix, Knippie and Enid Gilchrist. Just a handful of patterns (you can see from my category dropdown list) and it’s really quite boring! lol So this time around, I have gone all out and traced out at least 6 garments for the kids and 1 for me, all of which are NOT Ottobre patterns!! (Egad!!! What have I gotten myself into??????)

Patterns that I’ve traced out and am now painfully and slowly cutting out are from Kwik Sew (knit PJs), stuff from MIP, Newlook and Burda. I dont know HOW much tracing paper I used but at the rate I’m cutting them out, I think I might burn out way before I can even start sewing! Then again, it’s all part of the build up…..picking the patterns (somewhat painful), tracing (painful), cutting out pattern pieces (more painful), picking out the fabric (the worst pain especially when you have SO much fabric and somehow none are ‘speaking’ to you!!) and then comes the sewing up, and the (anti)climax is when you are so excited to get your kid to model the FO and they decide that they dont like it and wont coperate! :/

So instead of wasting me time in here, I best run along and get me pattern pieces cut up. The daunting task of picking what fabric awaits me. Gah!