And Speaking of Toys...

We've got a couple new ones by Ysolda in the shop today. Possibly the cutest knit mouse in the known universe:

Mousie

And a hedgehog named Smith. I mean, who doesn't love a hedgehog?

 Smith

Wouldn't Mousie and Tiny Shoes make a sweet baby gift? Oooh, and Smith paired up with Ragman or Britt? So, so cute. I love the idea of using the same yarn for two different projects. That's one of the lovely things about knitting toys, you can use just about any yarn you want to. Get all matchy-matchy with another project or bust up your stash and populate the house with little hedgies. It's good either way!

Happy knitting!

A Small Plush Toy for Baby. Or Kitten.

The other day I found this sweet little tutorial (and sad, accompanying story) for a rainbow sunshine plushie. Which was just the kind of project I could whip up for a baby who is ready for a toy or two.

{Rainbow Sunshine Plushie by Chez Beeper Bebe}

Baby Norah loves the little sunshine...

And so does Posy...

Duh, I should have known that there were two babies in the house ready for a toy or two!

Happy sewing!

You Are All So Nice

Honestly. I think that the nicest people in the world are either crafters or Buddhist monks. (A tie perhaps?) Everyone I interact with when it comes to the shop is sweet, courteous, understanding, helpful, thoughtful, and kind.

I'm not kidding! Or exaggerating! Every single one of you is super awesome.

And I don't know if anyone else has had this experience, but it's kinda strange in a wonderful sort of way. Every other job I've ever had has had a mix of nice and not-so-nice folks (understandably, I mean, that's just how the world is, right?). Being "surrounded" (in a virtual sort of way) by so many happy, nice, wonderful people is, well, so nice.

So could I humbly suggest that you all go out and get this badge for your web sites, blogs, desktops and such?

Because you really are. And I, for one, am so grateful.

I hope everyone has a very nice week!

A Small Change that's Kinda Big

So, you all know Jane Richmond, right?

Cozy Bolero

Knitwear designer extraordinaire, I've been selling her patterns on the site since it's inception. And her patterns have a tendency to sell out—again and again and again. In fact, as Jane would no doubt attest, I have a bit of trouble keeping them in stock.

Amelia

Well, that little problem won't be a problem any more. Now I'll be selling Jane's patterns as pdf downloads. Yay! Yay for me (no more frantic re-ordering when I suddenly sell the last copy of a pattern) and yay for you (pdf = no shipping charges and instant gratification) and yay for Jane (no more rushing to the post office with a stack of patterns for little old me).

Jane

The only catch, at this point anyway, is that I have to sell the stock I have on hand, so you'll see (if you're particularly observant, and I'm sure that you are) that only some of her patterns are listed as pdf's, while others remain printed.

Manda Ruth

But I doubt that will be the case for very long. I'm sure they'll all be converted to pdfs in no time. Considering how awesome her patterns are and all.

Happy knitting!

Kate Cardi

How cute is this?

Kate Cardi

Adorable, right? It's a new pattern by artist, seamstress, and knitwear designer, Rachel O'Donnell. Not only is it knit top down with nothing to sew up, it's also worked on size 13 needles.

Cute and quick, what's not to like?

Happy knitting!

Bright Blue Napkins

We have new, bright blue napkins for the table!

This isn't the most exciting project, I know, but it does bring to mind a personality trait that we probably all share. Which is this, when I see something I really love, almost without exception the first thing I think is: I could make that.

Sometimes that's true, sometimes not. And generally I don't actually make it (whatever "it" is), though I could (if I had say, nine life assistants or a consistent source of 56-hour days). But I do every now and then, like in this case.

The other day I saw the loveliest blue napkins at our local grocery store which brought on that ubiquitous crafter-thought. Which led to a quick detour to a local fabric store and a resulting date with my sewing machine.

And can I just say that although I always love to buy beautiful things, there's just something so satisfying about making something lovely myself. No surprise there, right? I mean, isn't that really the reason we all do what we do? There's no question that buying a sweater is far easier than knitting one (insert practically anything for "sweater," the corresponding craft for "knitting" and it's still true). But there's no comparison for how it feels after finishing a project. Don't you think?

Happy crafting everyone!

It Worked!

I kinda knew it would, but still, I was pleased when my little sewing experiment turned out so well.

I wanted to try to make the Sweet Dress pattern by Leila and Ben as a shirt, rather than a dress, for my six-year-old, as mentioned in this post. And it was as easy as you might have guessed (all you fantastic sewers out there).

In this case I used the largest size (5) and simply made it shorter. It looks like it'll fit at least through the summer (which is really all I can ask for these days) and could pretty easily make a cute dress for baby Norah in the near-ish future.

My next project (experiment) for said six-year-old will be an actual dress: the Dress with Lace Doily from Carefree Clothes for Girls. Cross your fingers for me!

Happy sewing!

And Speaking of Easy...

Here's another standard in my sewing repretoire...the Lazy Days Skirt by Oliver +S.

I'm not sure how many skirts I've made with this pattern. A dozen? Maybe more. Let's just say that there are quite a few in Sophia's closet.

And despite the fact that it's intended for the lazy days of summer, I've made longer versions out of heavier fabric and they've worked great (with tights and mama-knit leg warmers) for the cold, rainy winter days. (But let's not dwell on that, summer has just arrived after all.)

In fact, when I feel like sewing but don't have the brain power for something too complicated, this is my go-to project. Perhaps that explains why my six-year-old has so very many of them!

Happy lazy days sewing!

Awesome Green Pants

I love these shimmery green corduroy pants. I knew I was on to something when I found the fabric (not only was it super fabulous green, and bamboo, it was also on sale!), but little did I know how much I would love the resulting pants.

Can I admit that one of the reasons I love them so much—aside from their inherent awesomeness—is because so many people stop me to compliment them. Which, in case you haven't gone out in public with an infant yet, is so very unusual. (Typically people compliment me on the baby not the pants the baby is wearing. Which of course I also love!)

I'm pretty sure that people like the fabric, not the style (as you can see, they're simple and straight-forward, nothing fancy), but I'll take it. When you're this busy sometimes you have to let the fiber (fabric, yarn, whatever) do all the work, don't you think?

The other reason I love them is because they were scary-easy to make. Yep, it's the super easy pants pattern once again. But hey, when something works...

Happy sewing everyone!

Oliver + S Bubble Dress

Today's post is by the lovely Regina who blogged for Crafty Bird not long ago about her experience with Jane Richmond's Elsie Cardigan pattern. Today she shares her thoughts on the super cute Oliver + S Bubble Dress pattern. Don't you just love that fabric? Be sure to jump over to her sweet blog, Cardigans and Kids for more inspiring projects.

The Oliver + S Bubble Dress pattern: I have been eying it since it's release quite awhile ago. Alas, it has buttons, worse than cute buttons, it needs button holes! Now, I can handle—most of the time—different sewing tasks that include elastic, snaps, even a zipper now and again, however, those button holes put me in a sewing conundrum so I really try to avoid them.

I'm here to say this dress is worth the button holes. It is as adorable in real life as on the pattern and there are only 3 buttons and button holes, and a clever plan with elastic and making the built-in cap sleeves.

The most time-consuming part of the dress making process is the tracing and cutting of the pattern pieces (which is worth taking the time to be exact.) Once I began sewing, I was happily surprised with how quickly the dress went together, and how cute it is.

Notes: I made the size 0-3 months with the scallop. I used muslin for the lining and a vintage sheet for the dress.

Thanks so much Regina!
Happy sewing everyone!