Spring, knits & Knitting

 I'm so excited that spring is here! Even tho we did'nt have much of a winter here in Kentucky. Still it's so nice to see the  the daffodils shooting up and the trees starting to bloom. Seeing some colour outside has had me digging in my fabric stash this past week for linens and other summer fabrics. So I've been sewing up a storm in my little sewing area.

Here is the review for a little knit top I made about three weeks ago.

Butterick 5495

Pattern Description:
Loose fitting top with front drape gathered into loop, dropped shoulder, seam details and stitched hems. I made version c
Pattern Sizing:
8-14 I made a 10 grading to a 12 at the hips.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Love the shape of this top. Very flattering with the gathers in the front. This top works well for bigger bust ladies ( I'm a 38c). I also like that the length is that little bit longer that some of the other knit tops I've make before.

Fabric Used:
Knit that found on the red-tag sale table at Jo-Ann fabrics for $3 a yard  Cost me about $5 bucks to make this top!
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
None
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I will sew it again maybe in a solid colour next time.
Conclusion:
Great little knit top that you can make up in an afternoon.

I'll leave you with a picture of my Grand-daughter ( who is sitting with me as I type this and trying to tap the keys on my laptop :) wearing a the cardi I knit for her.

Thanks for stopping by.

Vogue 1261 Tunic

It's been over a month since my last post! I have managed to squeeze in some sewing this past month.

Here is the pattern review for Vogue 1261

Pattern Description:
From the pattern envelope: Close fitting. Double needle stitching. A,B: Armhole seams on outside; self binding; ribbon on back; unfinished edges will show. C: neck binding.
I made B
Pattern Sizing:xsm-med
 I used a small
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?
I did not use them.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love  shape of the hem line and that the tunic is close fitting.
Fabric Used:
Jersey that I found on the clearance table at Jo-ann fabrics.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Doubled the fabric on the collar so you would not see the back side of the fabric and cut the back on the fold so there is no back seam.

 Also I did not do the exposed seams.
 I thought about leaving the hem raw but in the end decided to use a twin needle to hem it .
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I also made view A in a cotton knit.

Conclusion:
Love this pattern quick and easy to make.

Cables In Green

Thought I would share a little more knitting with you. I knitted this little top down ( you all know how I love top down knitting) cardigan a few months back. It's a Wendy Bernard design from  Custom Knits

I have knitted three knits out of this book I love it that much!

I have been in my sewing room this past week and have make a couple or knit tops I'll do a review of them soon.

Thanks for stopping by

Sew Serendipity Book Review

Let me just start of by saying that I'm a sewing, knitting and crafting book junky. I'm always on amazon searching through the new releases in the craft and hobbies section. I have purchased quit a few books this past year. Some of them where a bit of a let down and where returned to amazon.

One that I kept was sew serendipity by Kate whitt.

Now usually I would not go for this style of  clothing but I was drawn to how pretty the book was. It has wonderful pictures of the garments with cute hand drawn illusions for the step by step sewing instructions.

 Also the book is spiral bound which is a plus because it lays flat.

I have sewn up a couple of version of one of the skirt patterns in the book and have been very pleased with the end result.

I love how Kate has you do a lot of top stitching which gives the finished garment more of professional look to it.

 I also love that you can can use different fabrics other than cotton I sewed this one up in linen .

There is also a few dress patterns.

Some tops.

A jacket and coat.

I love the style of the coat. If I make this I will have to draft a lining as the pattern does not include one.

Wonderful book with well drafted patterns. My only dislike is that the jacket and coat does not include a lining.

More Knitting And A Wee Bit Of Sewing

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. We had a fun Christmas this year with the grand kids. Christmas sure is alot more fun when you have young children in the house.

My sewing time has been drastically cut down now that I have a baby and 4 year old to take care of but I did managed to sew up a few gifts ( PJ's and scarfs )

This past week I did managed to get into my sewing room for an hour here and there in the evenings and work on some pants. The first pair I made was to tight so I added a little extra seam allowed and made up another pair. Their still a little tight but I think they will be wearable we'll see when I get them finished. I'll post some pics soon.

This I a cardi I knit this past fall from the summer issue of knitscene. Another top down quick and easy pattern knit up in Lion brand wool ease.

Thanks for stopping by....hope to have some finished sewing projects to show you all soon

Knitting

I started to knit this little Cardin in the spring and never did finish it. This fall I got it back out of the forever growing unfinished knitting stash and finished it.

The pattern came out of this book..New England Knits

The Cardin is a simple top down construction. I love top down knits because it requires very little seaming.

I got the yarn at Jo-Ann's. The colour of this yarn caught my eye one day when I was in the store picking up a sewing pattern. It turned out to be the perfect colour for fall.

I love how the leaf detail turned out. It was a lot easier to do that I first thought it would be.

I would highly recommend this book it has so many wonderful patterns.

I have still not had any time to sew.

My husband I have become the caregivers for two of our grandchildren. Ally who is just 7 weeks old and Kameron who is 4 years old. So things have been busy around here. It's been  hmmmm a few years since I had to get up for night feeds and let me tell you I'm worn out :) But it's totally worth it because the kids need us right now and so you do what you have to do. I quit my little job at the fabric store so I could be here with the grand kids so no more employee discount on fabric but I have so much of the stuff that I could open my own fabric store lol. Of course I may have to buy some  fabric to make cute dresses and such for the baby.... I'm sure you understand :)

Thanks for stopping by

Checking In

There has been a lot going on in my life in the past few months. Some of it good and some not so good. I have had neither the time nor energy to blog or sew :( but I have been knitting. I'll post some of my knitting projects in some future posts for anyone who is interested.

One of the good things that happened last month was the birth of my granddaughter. 

Allyson Jean Born October 16th

I see a lot of girly sewing going on in my sewing room in the future! I have a whole bunch of patterns picked out for her both sewing and knitting.

Thanks for stopping by sorry it's been so long since my last post.