the one-hour top #1 : what's black and white and ... ?

I recently finished a top I'd been wanting to sew since the first time I saw it ... the One Hour Top by Fancy Tiger.  (It's a given that I pretty much want to do everything I see the Fancy Tigresses make.)

True confession : though I've been sewing for pretty much my entire life, I have a severe aversion to sewing with knits.   I made a dress when I was pregnant with my first child (who just turned 15 ... so it was many years ago) and let's just say that it had that "homemade look" more than the handmade look.  You know what I mean!  Luckily with all the resources that are available today, and the promise of a cute and comfy top that could be finished in an hour, I felt like I could attack sewing with knits once more.

I would say that for the most part, the pattern went well!  I was extremely pleased with myself when I managed to use a twin needle (for the first time, yay!).  Let's ignore the imperfections that I won't be highlighting in this blog post, then, and I'll move straight on to the feeling proud of the quickie shirt I made.  The black and white print (that is, ahem, not quite centered on the shirt - note to self, remember that next time!) looks really cute with my Skully Jane Market Bag.

I wore the shirt out today with my tote and my "black and white and re(a)d all over" scarf.  I love the combo of this tote with this scarf -- add in this cute top, and I'm in handmade heaven.

Project notes :

Pattern : One Hour Top - by Fancy Tiger
Fabric : super cheap knit fabric from Hobby Lobby
Mods : Size M/L -- no mods
{{On Kollabora here.}}

Another hat : this time, a Panda hat !

I've made another hat for one of my daughter's friends who adored the piggy hat I made previously ... but this little girl is a lover of pandas.

Who am I to say no to a panda lover?  Plus, I love gifting a handknit hat ... makes me so happy.  (Even happier when I cast on for the project at 11:00AM and am weaving in the ends at 3:45 ... and the party starts at 4:00.  Nothing like a little last minute knitting to put some excitement into your weekend, right?)

My daughter is wondering when *she* is going to get a handknit animal hat ... ;)

Notes:

Pattern : Bamboo the Panda hat  (From Knitted Animal Hats book) 
Yarn : Yarn Bee Tender Touch (?) - from Hobby Lobby, and it was machine washable. That's my defense!
Ravelry : project page here

Finished knitting : the wintertime bandit

I previewed this recent handknit in my previous post as I wore it for the first time the same day I wore my new Scout Tee.  It makes me so happy when I can squeeze in two (or more) handmade wardrobe items in one day -- and it's even better when they are both brand-new!

I'm happy to present a finished handknit -- one that I started last winter (thus the name) and managed to knit entirely with the exception of the last two rows.  As I wound the yarn for this project, a small ball broke off from the rest and I misplaced it, thinking it was a measly extra 20 yards or so.  Well, I couldn't find it as I was coming up on the tail of my yarn and with two rows to go -- only two rows to go!! -- I put the project away.  The project has been languishing in the naughty corner of my craft room since then.  Luckily, I cleaned up my craft room and found the mysterious tiny ball of 20 measly yards and managed to finish this scarf off.  Phew !  That was close. 

The best part about finding an almost-finished project is that it only takes about an hour to finish it up and block it -- then wear it the next day, which I proudly did with my miáucoles shirt.  

As it's currently fall, I've been smitten with the late afternoon light and couldn't help trying to get some photos with the sun rays shining in.  

My dog, named Callie because she is the calico dog in the house, joined me in the photo op.  She does match the black scarf nicely, don't you think?  

Project notes :

Pattern : Springtime Bandit, free on ravelry here
Yarn : Malabrigo Silky Merino

Needles : US7

Mods : none!

{{On ravelry here.}}

{{On Kollabora here.}}

finished quilt! : The Baby Swoon

Hey there!  Long time no post.  I've been super crafty & busy and unfortunately have not taken the time to document any of it.  I'm here to remedy it!  I recently put together a set of handmade gifties for a sweet little boy recently born ...

I have wanted to make a Swoon quilt ever since the super-sized blocks took over the quilting blogosphere a while back.  I purchased the pattern, and before I started making my own quilt blocks I thought I'd try it out on some stashed fabric.  I made a baby cowboy-themed quilt block some time back and was pleased with how it turned out.  After I found out that my cousin, who lives in Texas (where my family is from), was having a baby boy I knew I had to finish up the quilt to send off to him! Unfortunately baby K has been born -- but I'm still managing to get this off before he's too big to use it as a stroller quilt.

 

I was quite pleased with how the quilting turned out ... I followed Angela's directions for quilting a Swoon block, and pretty much did as she told me to do.  Despite not spending a lot of time doing the actual quilting on a block, I feel like the outcome was okay!

I also added the quilt label that I've been adding recently, a little tab inserted to the binding that says "made with ❤" on one side, and "jenifer f. 2013" on the other side.  And yes, I machine sewed the binding on ... I think that if I could get even better at this it might become my go-to binding technique.  The backing was a scrappy pieced backing, my favorite.

I also managed to use the leftover HST on two little bibs, and I also sewed up a little "latchy catchy" that I saw on Etsy and pinned once upon a time.  I thought that was a clever idea for keeping the door quiet on a sleeping baby!

Last, but not least, I added in a knit cap and booties that I made a while back.  The knit cap was practice for two-handed stranded knitting (pattern long ago forgotten!). (ravelry link)

The booties were made when I saw some friends down and taught them how to knit socks.  We made baby socks with worsted weight wool (leftover Malabrigo Worsted), and they are the perfect add-on to these goodies.  (ravelry link)

Hopefully it won't be a year before I update again ... see you before then!

handknit hat : the piggy one

I am here for quick post : a handknit gift that I made for a friend of my daughter's who happens to LOVE pigs.  What to do, especially when you're a knitter?  Make her a piggy hat, of course.  

I made this hat rather quickly with some bulky yarn in my stash -- alpaca / wool blend, so it'll be warm, but it can't be machine washed.  As her mom is a sewer and crocheter, I'm hopeful that it'll be okay. :) Still, I prefer given machine washables when possible. 

Oink, oink! 

Notes:

Pattern : Oink a Piggy hat
Yarn : Knitpicks Sierra (discontinued but just like the current Cadena that is offered)
Ravelry : project page here