Thursday 17 June 2010

Knit It - Such a Debonair Little Jumper

The Butterfly Balcony - A Stitch In Time Volume 1
A Stitch in Time 1920-1949, Vol. 1 by Jane Waller and Susan Crawford
I have wanted  to knit something from this beautiful book for ages now, but I have not had the chance, partly due to not having any suitable wool/yarn (there are so few colour choices available in 4 ply nowadays it all seems to be baby pastel shades) and partly due to the fear of starting something that is beyond my skill level and so will most likely end up unfinished and thrown in frustration to the corner of the room.

Well, my mum has just solved one of my problems by gifting me three large balls of balls of a turquoise 4 ply wool and so with being between knitting projects at the moment I decided it was time to give on of these vintage patterns a crack! As there are so many gorgeous garments to choose from it has not been an easy task but after much debate, I have finally plumped for 'Such a debonair Little Jumper'

The Butterfly Balcony - Such a Debonair Little Jumper





OK, the pattern was picked, but then I panicked a little when I realised, though I knew that each ball weighed 100g I didn't know if the yardage/meterage would be enough to cope with all that knit one purl one rib needed!! I ummed and ahhed over this for a few days then decided just to go for it, so I cast on with crossed fingers (quite difficult!!) and half way through the 40 odd rows of K1, P1, I remembered just how much I hate knitting rib - not the best jumper to start with this being the case. Oh well in for a penny....

The Butterfly Balcony - Such a Debonair Little Jumper
So this is the story so far
It has taken much longer than I'd first hoped as I found I just could not get my tiny brain around the leaf pattern - I just could not see the pattern forming - so after knitting and ripping back about 6 times, though it feels like many more, I have finally sussed it, and have to say it is really quite a simple pattern when your firing on all cylinders that is!!

I am away at my parents in the Isle of Wight this weekend, so hopefully I'll get plenty of time for knitting, with the added bonus of my mums knitting advice being on hand!

Wendy x

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Sew It - Peppa Pig Pillow

It was my God daughter Willows 2nd birthday party a few weekends ago and much fun was had by all. We were very lucky to have the most wonderful weather and spent a gloriously summery afternoon relaxing in the garden whilst Willow and her cousins played in and with her new sand pit, and ate their weight in cake and crisps.

On the gift front, I bought willow a book which was one of my very favourites when I was a child, The Jolly Postman. I was absolutely obsessed with this book and every time my mum would take me to the library I would return it only to take it out again! To accompany the book I wanted to make something homemade and so I hit upon a cushion cover appliquéd with Willows Favourite Peppa Pig.

~ Peppa Pig Appliqué Cushion ~

The Butterfly Balcony - Homemade Peppa Pig Appliqué cushion
Ingredients:
1 Pillow Case
Pink fleece fabric for body
Scraps of fabric for appliqué

First I started by finding a suitable image of Peppa online, I chose this cute fairy one which I think works perfectly. I printed it out as large as I could on an A4 sheet so that I had a rough guide for cutting out my pieces.

To make the cushion I bought a child's single duvet set from Asda I unpicked the seams of the pillow case and then cut it in half to make into two cushions (the other cushion is still to be finished which will be George).

I next raided the stash of fabric scraps my mum had sent me a few months ago (thanks, mum) and created Peppa along with the bright pink fleece throw I had bought from Asda last year, which I used for her face, hands and legs! I used iron-on Bondaweb to hold the bits in place whilst I zigzagged around all the raw edges, Finally, I finished with a few buttons on her crown and wand and added some French knots for her eyes.

Lastly sewed up the sides to make the cushion, I used a tutorial (this is a good one!) to make a very simple envelope cushion cover, and I was done!

The Butterfly Balcony - Homemade Peppa Pig Appliqué cushion

I am pleased to say that it went down really well, though my button sewing skills took a bit of a testing as they were mercilessly pulled at, but thankfully the metallic thread seems to have them held in place, for now at least!! 

Wendy x

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Busy Blogging Nothing!

It's been a month since I updated this little blog and I am feeling rather guilty. It's not that I haven't had lots of blog-worthy bits and pieces to write about it's partly me being a bit lazy and having too many different things to do at the minute.

Another part of my excuse is the lack of space.  As I am sure you will notice from the Picture, this is my sewing station, beauty bureau and also my computing corner, which means only one of the above can be done at any one time - The curse of living in a shared house with only one room and a balcony to call your own.

Anyway I hope this week to catch up with all the things I have been spending my non-blogging hours on as you can see from the picture I have started two more blouses from my much loved Economy Design Pattern, I have also started a knit from the wonderful 'A Stitch in Time' which is a long process for a slow knitter like me, and I have been busily working on gifts for my Best Friends new baby which is due at any moment! Which means I had better get a move on to finish!

Wendy x