Dolores dress - aka August (2010) one per month project

Finally finished.

 

I have never been so pleased to finish a project. 

Not only because I have kept my sweet daughter Miss A, who so desperately wanted this dress for her 6th birthday, waiting e.i.g.h.t. months for this dress, but also because I am so OVER it.

Having said that, I do love this dress. 

I am so glad I persisted with it, and that I didn't rush it or cut corners or say "that'll do" when certain elements weren't quite right.

Like the neck - which when finished as per the book was quite large (as is the whole dress). 

  So I added two rows of single crochet and one row of picot to match the edging around the sleeves and bottom of the dress. 

I did contemplate doing these rows in pink and red as per the sleeves and skirt but felt it would have made the dress too busy.  I'm glad I stuck with green.

Or the belt which turned out so long it could've wrapped around Miss A's waist twice.  So I frogged about 30cm off the length of it and re-crocheted the red border. 

So, afew details about this project.

Pattern: Dolores dress, Crochet Design for kids - Lucinda Guy

Yarn: 4 ply Luxury in Forest (green), brick (red), baby pink and baby blue - Bendigo Woolen Mills

Time: started August 2010, finished May 2011

I made this dress following the pattern for a size 4-5 (the largest size in the book). 

After taking Miss A's measurements I felt sure the dress would fit her.  But as the months rolled on by I got more and more concerned as to whether it would still fit. 

I needn't have worried though, the dress is actually still too big for Miss A - phew! 

Not only because it still fits, but also because it means that after all that time and effort the dress will see another winter's worth of wearing. 

And that's before it gets handed on down the line to Miss B!

Thankfully Miss A still loves it, and wore it to a birthday party on the weekend!

One per Month - December (handmade gifts part 2)

In January this year I signed up for a "One per Month" challenge, proposed by another blogger.  A challenge to choose one craft book in my possession per month and make at least one item from the book. 

I thought (and still think) this was a marvellous idea.  

I, like many others I suspect, have purchased my fair share of craft books. 

I squeal with delight when they arrive on my doorstep. 

Caress their pages lovingly as I pour over them, oohing and aahhhing over the many delightful projects and possibilities contained within. 

And then what? 

I place them on the bookshelf side by side with the books which came before, only to be forgotten about and passed over as I look forward to the arrival of my newest aquisition.

This "One per Month" challenge would get some of those books down off the shelf, and I would end up with some lovely handmade items at the end of each month!

I cannot say the challenge was always easy. 

As time wore on I became aware of just how difficult a challenge it was, as everyone (including the original instigator of the challenge) dropped like flies..................

But I am proud to say I stuck with it, completing twelve  make that eleven (I'm still working on August's challenge) different projects from twelve different craft books.

And so today I present to you my final project in the One per Month challenge,

from a book called Gifts You Can Make (published 1978). 

I remember this book being around my house when I was a kid.  I think my sister may have even made a bag for me from this book.

  Some of the projects are sooo, sooo dated (as is the styling and photography, he he he), but there are afew projects which I would still consider making.

I made the Quick and Easy Summer Hat as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law.

Awhile ago she admired the hat I made for Miss A as part of my February One per Month challenge.

Miss A piped up and advised Nanna that "mum made it for me!"

My MIL was suitably impressed and went on to discuss the merits of having a soft, foldable hat, which can be carried around in one's handbag etc. 

I knew I had a pattern for an adult version in one of my books so offered to make one for her.

And here you have it.

Gifted to my lovely MIL who is a very accomplished sewer herself on Christmas Day.  She was most pleased. 

I did, as per usual, alter the pattern a little to make the hat fully reversible.  I just couldn't see the point of lining the crown and the brim, only to then attach the brim in such a way that the seam allowance was exposed..............

And speaking of handmade gifts.  I did make afew this Christmas. 

Nothing like last year's mammoth effort but I did get afew things made, including:

this diary cover, using this fantastic tutorial from Bloom.  I made afew of these last year and they were all well received.  In fact this one was a request by my sister.

I really must remember this for the teachers gift at the end of next year! 

And a couple of On-the-Go Art Satchel's, using my very own tutorial, found here. 

I made them slighly different to the tutorial this time.  Instead of using fat quarters of quilting cotton, I used plastic vinyl for the pirate themed one and some cotton drill for the floral one.  As both these fabrics are heavier then quilting cotton I omitted the lining. 

Both held up well.

 Inside the Art Satchel's along with the VA diary and twistable crayon's I've included one of these fabulous activity books I stumbled across at a local toy shop recently made by a company called Buki. 

My girls are hooked!

So I bid a happy farewell to the One per Month challenge.

It's been fun!

If you feel compelled at all to revisit any or all of the projects I've made this year you will find links to each of them over on the right side bar.

One per month - November

Last night, as I was hammering away on the sewing machine making library bags for some lovely little kiddies I know as per last year, it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't posted my November One per Month project.  Ooooooooops! 

It dawned on me because I have once again used the Library Tote pattern from the book The Crafter's Companion, which I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway Cass had recently.  And it just so happens that this is the book I chose for my November project. 

I had been contemplating what I could make as a gift for Miss A's teacher and also something I could make afew of to have on hand for last minute gifts.  I wanted to make something quite practical and useful. 

I settled on the Market Bag. 

The fabric - I used (from my stash) two fat quarters from the Wildwood collection by Erin McMorris for the outer of the bag and some Ikea fabric for the lining and handles.

The bag was simple to make but I have to say, for me, a bit of a largish and awkward size. 

Perhaps my biggest mistake was to double the length of the handles. 

I did this because I can't stand bags which are hard to sling over your shoulder.  But due to the large size of the tote, in hindsight, shorter handles probably do suit this bag better.  One good thing about the longer handles is that I can wear it across my shoulder allowing greater mobility when chasing the kids around while we're out and about.

Also, the design includes a nifty little pocket on the inside top of the bag.  This has a double use, acting as a pocket while your using the bag but when you're finished with it, you can roll the bag up and squish it into the pocket to put away. 

I found that this pocket could be a little smaller, so that when the bag is folded up and put away it wouldn't take up too much room say in your handbag. 

As it is, I would just find it too big to carry around all the time.

So after I finished making it, I decided I wasn't happy enough with it to give as a gift.  So I put it away and promptly forgot about it until last night.

I still think it will make a great gift, so I will tweak it abit and make afew more.

So there we have it.  One more One Per Month to go and God only knows what it will be.  I am so flat chat at the moment, what with, you know.........the end of year and all that.  But I'm too close to completing this challenge I set myself now to give up so we'll see!

One per Month - October

Time flies and it's that time again.

My craft book for October was "patchwork style" by Suzuko Koseki. 

I got this book about a year and half ago, and although I love alot of the projects in the book, the instructions just seemed too complicated to tackle.

  Until now that is!  I've been wanting to update the cushion covers in my loungeroom for awhile now, so trawled through my craft book library for some inspiration. 

Of all the pillows in all the books I have, this style jumped out at me most. 

So I decided to bite the bullet and give the unique Koseki method a go.

 

So whats the deal?  How is this different to other quilting projects?  Well, rather then sewing all your strips together first and then sandwiching them with batting and backing fabric to quilt, you attach and quilt each strip directly to the batting as you go. 

Once I got going I loved it - and best of all it was easy peasy!

I used fabric from Valerie Wells Del Hi range, which I bought eons ago and then when it arrived I didn't quite know what to do with it.  But it was perfect for this project as I wanted something that was bright and bold and would give my loungeroom a lift.

For the backs I used some Ikea fabric in my stash, which also had a flora theme, and again fabric which was bought on a whim.  Only a smallish piece from the bargain bin - too small to do much with - but perfect for this project.

I am really loving this "de-stashing" business.  It's great to go through what you have and actually use some of it.  I just hope the dollar is still so good when it comes time to replenish......... 

One per Month - September

Well week one of the school holidays is almost over.  It has been jam packed so far with play dates at the park, best friends coming to our house for a play and today at Playgroup we had a visit from the Fire Brigade!!

Each month this year I have selected a different craft book from my bookshelf and made a project from the book. 

I have found this to be a sometimes challenging (as in getting around to making something within a set time frame) but always rewarding task. 

I'm sure we all love pouring over and being inspired by the gorgeous projects contained within the wonderful craft books we all accumulate.  But actually following through and producing a diverse range of beautiful, handmade items has been great!  And I have to say that I am really proud of myself for sticking with the challenge thus far. 

This month I chose a fantastic book called Sewing for Children by Emma Hardy.  I delibrately saved this book for a month which contained school holidays because as the title implies, this book contains 35 projects which are easy enough for children to tackle.  But not only are the projects quite simple they are also really lovely projects which adult crafters would enjoy making themselves.

The girls and I chose to make the Flower Hair Ties.  Miss A (aged 6) managed to make most of hers by herself with only a little help from me.  Miss B (aged 4) needed a little more help, but really enjoyed the process and has proudly been wearing hers every day and happily telling anyone who will listen that she made it herself!

I have half a dozen more cut out and ready to be stitched together - I can see these being great little christmas gifts for Miss A's school friends! 

I'm also itching to make afew of the hair barrettes too to go with the hair ties.  There are so many projects in this book that I can't wait to share with my girls and the beauty is there is a great range of simple projects and those that are a little more challenging for older kids.  So this book will give them and me years of pleasure.  

So eight months down, only three months to go!

I'm going away for a little family holiday tommorrow, but before I go I wanted to share something with you that I am so excited about!

Back in June last year I started on a couple of quilts for my girls.

I was greatly inspired by this quilt and rushed in without too much planning or thought. 

I floundered for quite a while, lost direction, changed direction and finally, after 15 months, came up with these.

More on these quilts to come next week!

Don't forget to check out and enter my giveaway while I'm gone.

For those of you lucky enough to have it, enjoy the long weekend and keep safe!

One per month challenge - August

Hello there!  Let's just pretend it hasn't been a whole month since my last blog post shall we?  Lest's just pretend for a moment, that it's still August. 

OK, you with me?  Good, so here goes.

The book I've chosen for the One per Month Challenge this month is Lucinda Guy's Crochet Designs for Kids.  I cannot rave about this book enough, I looooove loooooove loooooove this book. 

I'd like to make every project in this book. 

BUT this is just not going to happen, as I've already got umpteen different projects of the hooky, sewy, quilty kind on the go at the moment. 

To help me narrow it down to just one project I asked Miss A what she would like me to make her for her birthday this month. 

She chose the Dolores Dress - lovely! 

I've been thinking for a while about ordering some Bendigo Wool. 

I've read some lovely things about this yarn and the prices are very competitive plus they have a great range of colours available.

So about a week into August I ordered some lovely Luxury 4 ply baby wool from Bendigo.  After about a week and a half (part of the reason this project was never going to be finished in August) a package  containing 5 gorgeous skeins of the softest most squishy wool arrived on my doorstep.

As soon as the littlies were sound asleep that night I got hooking.

Now.  Fast forward a month to last night.

To say this project has been slow going would have to be the understatement of the century.

This is the first project I have made using 4 ply fingering/baby weight yarn and a 2.5mm hook.

S. L. O. W. I tell you. 

Not to mention that after happily crocheting along for the past month, last night I frogged a good 15 rows due to a stitch count revealing I lost a stitch somewhere...............................

Needless to say this project was not finished in the month of August, and wont be finished anytime soon.

Patience my dear friends, patience.

If it wasn't for the fact this project was a birthday request by Miss A

and if it wasn't for the fact I had all the wool sitting waiting to be used

and if it wasn't for the fact I really, really love this dress and can't wait to see it on Miss A

I'd be quite tempted to frog the lot and move on.

To break the tedium of sewing a gazillion rows of single crochet and double crochet I have been doing a spot of sewing from time to time.

A couple of weeks back I finally whipped up a pair of these cute little pants for Miss B, using the 'Elasticated pants' pattern from one of my favourite craft books, Making Children's Clothes by Emma Hardy.

I've been on a real "use what's in your stash" kick of late so I used some nice dark denim, some cutesy candy print fabric (as chosen by Miss B) and some light blue bias binding I had stashed in my sewing room. 

Miss B has become a massive fan of purple over the last few months, dressing head to toe in purple at every opportunity. 

While purple is a lovely colour and tracksuit pants are great kids wear, sometimes it's nice to have them wearing something just that little bit nicer you know?

Quick, simple, easy to follow pattern.

What more could you want?

I've got another pair cut out and ready to sew up for Miss A sitting on the sewing table.

Come on school holidays, I say.  Only two days of school left this term. 

Not that I'm going to have too much time up my sleeve with all the galavanting we have planned.

Another little something I churned out a couple of days ago was the tiny happy shoulder bag.

I've had this on my list of "favourite free tutorials to try" (see over on the right side bar there) for ages now.

When I found out that one of the teacher's from Miss B's Occasional Care centre was leaving I knew this would be just perfect. 

Teresa has always admired the handmade items Miss B and I wear so I wanted to give her something handmade.

I used some Ikea fabric and pink pinwhale cord I had in my stash.  I really like how it turned out, momentarily considering keeping it for myself!

Does this happen to you when you make something to give away?

I think I consider keeping most things I make for gifts!

The only thing I did differently to the tutorial was to tie the straps together at the top instead of hand stitching them and this was predominantly because I had left it to the last minute - literally - and had to leave home to pick Miss B up from occasional care!

Looks cute like that though I think.

Although there have been a number of other stitchy, quilty, hooky projects being completed over the last few weeks which I would dearly love to share with you bath time is calling and this post is well and truly long enough already so they can wait until next time.

And no I haven't forgotten I promised a 100th post giveaway and tutorial, it's in the pipeline, I promise!

One per Month - July (a.k.a. the case of the missing month)

What a month July was, it just totally flew by.  The past few weeks have just been jam packed full of outings and entertainment, with a quick family holiday to Canberra thrown in followed by a very lovely weekend away to Melbourne for just Mr lls and I - bliss!!!  Hence posts have been few and far between round these here parts.

What a fantastic place Canberra is for family fun.  In the couple of days we were there we visited

Cockington Green,

Questacon, 

Black Mountain Tower,

Parliment House

 and the National Gallery of Australia 

and the list goes on.

The trip to Melbourne was a last minute thing (for me anyway).  Mr lls had been planning on going down to Melbourne to attend a convention for quite some time.  A couple of days before he was due to fly down he asked if I'd like to go with him.  A quick call to the in-laws to arrange a 'holiday' at Nanna and Pappa's for Miss A and Miss B and the answer was a definate Y.E.S.

I have no photo's to show as the camera somehow slipped out of my bag and was left behind on the floor of the car..........................

We arrived in Melbourne late on Saturday evening. 

Mr llp was attending the convention on Sunday so I had the day all to myself.

What a fabulous day I had. 

I caught the train and then tram to East Malvern, especially to visit the wonderful experience that is Patchwork on Central Park.

I spent a fair amount of time there just browsing and lusting after the wonderful fabrics on offer.  I couldn't bare to come away empty handed but as my airline ticket stipulated hand luggage only I restrained myself to purchasing just some beautiful Liberty fat quarter's which will oneday become a quilt. 

Oneday.

I had a scrumptious and leisurely lunch, uninterrupted by squabbling, attention seeking children. 

I then enjoyed travelling back to the city - just me, my thoughts and my mp3 player.

I spent the next few hours at the National Gallery of Victoria, wandering around as I used to do regularly pre-children, just enjoying the freedom to take. my. time.; until the nagging need for a good cup of tea got the better of me!

The next morning we spent alittle time in the city before heading out to the airport for our return flight home.

We arrived home on Monday afternoon, back to reality but oh so happy to be with my two little sweetpeas again.......................

and to the realisation I still had not completed my July One per Month challenge (shock horror).

The book I chose for July was Alicia Paulson's Stitched In Time. 

The project, Silhouette Stack.

After completing seven projects now from seven different craft books, I have noticed a common theme running through all my projects. 

That is my complete inability to follow instructions and adhere to the particular ins and outs of individual projects. 

I always seem to need to adapt the project for some reason or other.

In this particular case it was because I wanted to use fabric to match the quilts (last mention way back here)I have slowly and quietly been plugging away at for Miss A and Miss B.

Yes, Miss B still dresses up as a cat on an almost daily basis - cardboard cat ears and stuffed stocking tail is an absolute must as far as she is concerned!  Who am I to thwart her inner cat.

 

My plans for these quilts have morphed alittle since then, but today I finished the last block - that's 48 blocks done.  I've only attached the sashing to half of these but I'm getting there.

Anyway, I've gone alittle off track here, back to the Silhouette Stack.

I didn't have enough of the fabrics I wanted to use to make it the same way Alicia did by just stacking half a dozen different fabrics one on top of the other.

So how did I do it?

Well I did follow Alicia's instructions for stencilling the girls silhouettes onto the chosen fabrics. 

But then I just made wonky patchwork blocks. 

I then essentially made a teeny little quilt but instead of binding it I laid the right sides together, stitched around it leaving a 3 inch opening to turn it right side out through and slip stitched the opening closed.  I also sewed in a length of ribbon to hang them by.

Voila!

I truly love this project.  Simple, sweet and definately something I will keep for many years to come.

They now take pride of place hanging on the girl's bedroom door. 

A vast improvement on the piece of black cardboard with some Disney princess stickers that was hanging there yesterday...............

More crafty goings on over the next few days including an On-the-Go Art Satchel waiting in the wings to be stitched up for a little boy turning 6 this weekend. 

We have quite the social calendar at the moment.  It seems half the children in Miss A's class were born in August - including Miss A. 

Her birthday party plans are well under way...........more on that later!

One per Month - June

So I'm afew days late with my June One per Month project, not for lack of trying to have it done in June though!

 

I was flicking through Handmade Home about a week ago trying to decide what project to do for the one per month challenge, when I came across the Family Sweater Hats project.  Perfectamundo - after making the upcycled wool scarflettes I had left over pieces from the jumpers I had used - this project was just perfect for using them up.

So I began the process of attempting to felt the pieces of woolen jumpers I had.  After several goes through my front loader at 60C and then 95C with no success I realised a couple of things.
1. front loading washing machines probably don't agitate the contents enough to cause the felting
2. no matter if the jumper is 100% wool, if it says machine washable on the label it probably won't felt! 

Now I'm no felting expert, since my one and only attempt has failed miserably,

so pleeeeeeeease correct me if I'm wrong.

As I had my heart set on making a sweater hat I decided to use the unfelted wool. 

Of all the three jumpers I had cut up, none of them had remnants large enough to make a single colour hat.  So I plugged in my beloved overlocker, stitched three strips together to make a stripy beanie and seriously, the rest of the beanie came together in about 5 minutes. 

I added a couple of overlocked circles held together with a vintage button as an embellishment and hey presto one fabo new beanie! 

It actually fits my head but looks way cuter on Miss A, my ever willing model.

Hope your weekend has been fabulous, whatever you've found yourself doing

xo