5 hour baby sweater

5 hours?
it can't be true.
a whole sweater?

Well, I didn't time myself...but this 5 hour baby sweater really truly is a quick and fun knit! 

 

and impressive if I do say so myself.  I even had time to include the matching bonnet!

This was a gift for my husband's coworker-people I don't know.  You never know the level of appreciation someone will have for a handmade gift-but I was delighted today to see that baby Grace came home in this sweater.  I was touched!

 and what a gorgeous baby she is.  Welcome to the world Baby Grace!

Reduce, Reuse, Refashion!

I love the idea of taking something with potential and making it into something else.  My son was given these pants in a hand-me-down package...and while they have a cuteness about them-they just aren't my his style.  So, here is my version of a boys pants to jean skirt refashion

the starting product...cute denim w/ corduroy embellishment.

So, basically-I just hacked off the top of the jeans.  These were a 5T so I did have to downsize them a bit for my 18 month old

the first cut

I fiddled with the bottom for a while-I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted there.  But, I ended up with something of a ruffle.  A little 80's?  maybe.  But, isn't that style cool again?

and a little embellishment for the bum with some leftover corduroy

She's starting to be a little more cooperative for the camera.  She likes to pose and say "cheese!"

cheese!

It's not my most graceful project ever..but I'm pretty happy that the pants that would otherwise not been worn now have found a new life!

One thing is abundantly clear

I really kinda suck at blogging!

I did NOT forget about the kids clothes challenge week.  I DID sew this week!  I have one measly thing to show for it and it's not even finished yet...

trust me, this is ridiculously cute on her.  It totally needs buttons.  I will post pictures of my model when it's done!
eta: The finished product!

oh, I did sew one other thing this week...doesn't really fall in the kids clothes category, but it will wrap a sweet little baby. :)

 

Swaddle blanket from a Prudent Baby tutorial.  

A Challenge!

One of my favorite crafty bloggers, elsie marley, is once again hosting a kids clothes week challenge in honor of National Sewing Month.  I'm holding myself to it this time!  Watch for posts with my updates!  I, of course, have eleventy billion projects swimming around in my brain so maybe I can churn some out. 

It's time for Fall!

A few weeks ago I picked up some adorable apple printed corduroy fabric and decided that it was destined to be a jumper for the Diva.  It turned out so cute...if not a touch too big.  But, she'll be able to easily wear it until the spring.  

She also ended up with a matching baby doll.  This was an impulse project!  But I found this tutorial and it was too stinkin' cute!

hug your baby!

what else comes with Fall?  College Football!!  One of my favorite crafty ladies from Crafts for Lily gave me the idea/inspiration for this little outfit and I'm just tickled with how it turned out!

Go State!

Happy Fall!

Shirr Madness

Yes, I know it's nearly August...and I *should* be thinking of fall clothes. But, I still had some cute fabric left from the summer-and these bubble/sunsuits have been all over the interwebs. I have also been dying to try this shirring technique with elastic thread. It was so much fun! And such a cute result

it's the perfect outfit for gardening

okay...back to knitting (which is why I am here in the first place, right?) and thinking about the fall. Somewhat of a challenge when it's so hot out!  But if you also are in the mood to squeak out one last summer frock...here is some inspiration:
Made By Rae's Sunsuit tutorial
Crafts for Lily's take on the bubble
an easy shirring tutorial

And so far this summer....

and that's pretty much it....

A Happy Belated Birthday!

I've never been one to, you know, be on time when it comes to loved ones birthdays.  They understand (I hope), and know I have the best of intentions (I do!  Honestly!)  So, when my dear Nephew turned 3 in March-his gift from me existed only in my brain.

My Brother is one who is passionate about all things mechanical (and rusty, and smelling of gasoline-but I digress)  He "rescued" this (previously owned by our Great Grandfather) 1941 Ford from our Grandfather's barn and has restored it to it's former glory*.

*while retaining some of it's "patina" as my brother puts it

it's restoration has become a family affair

that's my Nephew, by the way.  Here's a close up

How cute is he?

So, when I happened upon Made's 90 minute shirt and freezer paper stencil tutorials, I instantly decided that he needed a shirt for all those car shows this summer.

So, there you go buddy.  Happy 3rd Birthday (late)...hope it fits, hope you like it, and remember that Auntie Sara loves you!

The New Love of my Life

Addi Turbo 12" circs...oh how I love thee so...

Mama's been busy!

So, I'm obviously woefully bad at keeping up this blog! The fact is, I tend to get overwhelmed by all the social media in my life! That and well, you know, life tends to get in the way! So, here's some of what's been going on since we last met

Some of that newborn love I showed you in action for Studio 45 Photography:




The one and only thing residing in my Etsy shop right now! My newborn "Ocean Waves" board shorties

We LOVE the Olympics this house. I was so excited to discover that someone had reverse engineered a pattern for the Ralph Lauren hat that the athletes wore in the opening ceremonies. You can find anything on the interwebs!



And Mama's been sewing a bit, too. Now that I have a girl I can't resist sweet little sundresses and all of the gorgeous designer fabrics out there. This is a Lil Blue Boo sundress made with Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection.

I've got lots more in the works right now! Loads of special requests and a lot more sewing I want to do. Plus one sweet baby sweater that I can't show yet...but will after it is gifted. :)

What I've been up to

So, at the encouragement from some friends-I've decided to work on opening a shop on etsy.com. If you've never been to Etsy-it is like an international craft show and is loaded with some spectacular talent! This alone makes it an intimidating venture-but you can't win if you don't play, right? I just want to have fun, knit a lot, and maybe support my yarn habit a little. So, feel free to visit me at www.ellieclaire.etsy.com

Don't get too excited-there's nothing there yet!

I will concentrate on wool soakers/longies/shorties for cloth diapering (it is, after all, the reason I started knitting again)

And thanks to my dear friend Erica at Studio 45, I will probably be doing some infant accessories for photography props.

Of course, I'm open to custom work too if I have time so feel free to hit me up!

and now here are some things I've done recently:
Newborn hats for Studio 45 Photography



and a sling-used as a prop...I'll repost pics once it's been used for a newborn and not a stuffed bunny! I would have tried to cram my 9 month old in there-but I'm pretty sure that would have ended in disaster.

a pair of wool longies for cloth diapering


and my attempt at looking legit! I found a tutorial for the labels at http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2006/03/label_this.html#comments

There you have it! I'll keep you all posted on my shop happenings (and all the other crafty stuff I have floating around in my brain!)