Fall time flies

Where does the time go?  Seems that every September the speed of time doubles up and before you know it, we're looking at Thanksgiving menus, Hallowe'en costumes and dare I say it, starting up lists for the holiday season.

So with the shorter days, cooler nights and autumnal backdrop, I have been thinking about soups.  I think I am going to try to make some new soups this fall.  I would like to try this Curried Carrot and Parsnip soup, recipe provided by fortysomething.ca .  I love all of her recipes and they always work out so well!


I am also working on some fall projects.  A little cardi for me, some pajama pants from scratch and maybe some freezer paper stenciling - new to me!


Since my last post, I did manage to complete a little cardigan for a friend who is having her baby shower next month.  It is knit with Brown Sheep cotton fleece, so even though it is a cotton sweater, it has some weight and will hopefully be a cosy little addition.  I am picturing it over a long sleeved onesie or a little dress.  I found this pattern on  Ravelry.  It's the Baby Eyelet Cardi.  Thanks to Linda at clickertyclick for the pattern.



I am especially pleased with the little label I made for the inside with some scrap pink and white linen.  I used some fabric paint and an alphabet stamp set to hand stamp her name.  I always think its nice, particularly for kids' clothes, to have personalized labels.  Hope she likes it!

East coast holiday, knits and new fabric!

It's September!
My favorite month to start my favorite season.  What isn't there to love about fall?  Sunny, dry, cooler weather, the gorgeous colours of changing leaves, autumn harvest - pears, apples, squash, baking, making soups or pies, and of course, opportunities to knit sweaters, to wear with longer skirts, coloured tights and suede boots!  Magnificent.

But before that, one last nod to summer.
We spent the last week on the Atlantic coast, an annual vacation.  Most of the time was spent playing on the beach:

eating lots

and checking out life in the less-fast, saner, calmer, prettier lane.

Isn't it amazing how everything is special when you're on holiday?  Even a pile of sand becomes a sandcastle!














It was a great holiday and just before I left I did manage to squeeze in a few more projects.

Stylish Dress Book 2

Finished that T-shirt dress, "D"from Stylish Dress Book 2 (the same one on the cover), which came in handy on the beach.  I thought the stripes were rather nautical.  

I added the button up sleeve just to give it some more interesting detail.

Also finished this little sweater that I started two (what??  Yep, pro.cras.ti.na.tion) years ago that was sitting around in a large zip lock bag waiting for edging, buttons and blocking.  The pattern is Goodale by Cecily Glowick.

It's sort of cute and I love the yarn which is by Manos de Uruguay, Silk Blend.  It's so soft, with a lovley silky sheen, and knits up easily. And Manos is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization. What's better than that?

And finally, during the summer I ordered some more fabric.  This time from Yozo Craft.  It arrived just before I left for holiday.  Both by Kokka!  I am sooo excited about these - not sure what they will eventually become but I am thinking a skirt and maybe a tote or little jacket for the boy.  So great the potential that lies in a new length of fabric!

Hope you are enjoying all the wondering offerings of autumn!

Progress

One week away from our annual holiday on the East coast.

I've managed to get some things done from my to-do-before-the-end-of-August list.

Finished my son's pullover for the trip.

The pattern is Marjorie Brigham's Vestee from knitty.com, Spring 2007.   I made it in Sirdar Denim Tweed DK.  It was a fast and easy knit although I found the instructions for the yoke a bit confusing.  I am happy with the finished product though.  I made the 18-month size and it fits my son just right, with a bit of room to grow.   It'll be perfect for those windy days on the beach when my little guy is collecting stones, sea shells and starfish -- treasures to bring back home.




Also managed to finish my summer sundress - maybe I'll get a chance to wear it a few times this summer!

The pattern, Mendocino Sundress, was a free download from artist and fabric designer Heather Ross.  It was so fast and easy.  I used a bright and busy purple double gauze by Kokka Fabric - Echino Leaf which I had in my fabric stash.  I just love the print and will probably make this dress again in another fabric.  I didn't quite have enough of the gauze to make the dress an appropriate length so I added a black linen bias strip to the bottom edge.  I think it kind of grounds the busyness of the print.


And in preparation for the fall weather and fall boots, a new skirt! This was from a ready-to-use pattern.  It is Simplicity pattern #2226.

Simplicity 2226

I used a blue linen with an interesting repeated embroidered stitch pattern.  The only modification was one which no one can see -- I decided to finish the yoke facing with a funky bias tape I made from some left-over Anna Maria Horner fabric.

It's fun having a secret in your sewing project!

Don't know if I will get much more done by the end of the week when we leave.  When we get back it will almost be September and I am already thinking about what will be on my knitting needles!


Hope you enjoy what's left of the rest of the summer.

Hello!

Hello and thanks for visiting my blog!
I started this blog to keep track of what I am working on and stay organized, to share things I find interesting or fun, and hopefully to be inspired by all the amazingly talented sewers, knitters, cooks, and craft addicts out there.








It's not been such a productive summer in terms of output but there are a few things I've got on the go.

Or at least, planning to get on the go . . .


Right now I am working on a few things:

A knitted pullover for my son for the fall like this

A blue skirt for the end of summer from Simplicity Patterns, #2226



A purple skirt for the end of summer from this Japanese sewing book

A striped jersey t-shirt dress for our trip out east at the end of August from this book:

A pair of shorts for my son for our trip

A sun dress for our trip out east

Oh, and that little cone in the first picture, that's half of a Humpty Dumpty and one leg, a combo of this pattern and this one,  for my little guy.


 Our trip is in just under three weeks.  Fall starts (in my book) in 4 weeks.  Not sure if I will pull this off. . .