This is a double ta-dah today! Firstly, some truly amazing photos of the little dresses I sent out to the Philippines with my friends back in February. He gave them to Mara's project worker to take back to the project and she very kindly sent these fabulous photos when they were distributed. They chose the most needy families at the project and the parents were given the pencil cases that I'd made and the little girls received the dresses.
I'm told the girls are around about 5 years old and although I made the dresses to fit a UK toddler,they actually work quite well as blouses too. Although I suspect the arm holes may have been a little bit tight with the elastic!!!
I can't tell you how happy these photos made me when he forwarded them - I love that first one where they're diving in to choose a dress and holding them up for a better look!! And to think that the project worker took the time to take the photos (and so may of them!!!) and send them straight away! It made it all worthwhile making those dresses, especially knowing how much fabric I have tucked away in the cupboard that I never got around to using! I think next time I'm in the mood to make dresses there will be another batch on the way - and they won't have elastic around the edge of the sleeve, just in case!!!
If you've ever wondered whether it's worth making these dresses - or shorts and trousers - then think no more. These photos show just why it's worth it!!
My second ta-dah is my blanket. My big, beautiful, merino, cost- me-a-fortune blanket. But oh my word, wasn't she worth every single penny!
I can't tell you how much of an absolute JOY it was working on this blanket - I think I enjoyed every single stitch and when you consider that I have 122 rows with 242 stitches each, plus the border, that is a lot of stitches!!
I went for a very simple border around the edge - a row of cream with bobbles, topped with grey along each side, to match the beginning and ending rows, and then a single row of pale pink trebles all the way around the outside. And that was it. I even had a whole ball of cream wool left over as it went further than I expected, along with almost half a ball of each colour except the mid pink. I could have done a few more rows but it really didn't look right without the pink.
I even made myself a matching stitch marker just as I was about to finish!
Want to see??
It's a good size at 55 x 45 inches and is really warm and snuggly! I decided not to wash and block it yet, as the side borders did a good job of straightening out any unevenness in the edges. And as I have discovered with previous smaller projects, wet merino wool can be scary !!
Although I'd love to be able to carry on using Merino yarn for every project, I really don't think I can afford to. I know there are cheaper brands out there on the market but they may not be as good as the Debbie Bliss that I got half price...
So it's back to acrylic. Although I hate to go back to acrylic. But I've dived straight back in and I went shopping yesterday and spent nearly an hour choosing six balls of blue in different shades, from dark blue through to very light variegated blue. The aim is to make a BIG beach bag which will be big enough to hold all your beach towels, and your picnic, and everything else you might need for a family day by the sea. (And which hopefully I'll be able to sell.)
I made a start on the base last night in navy blue just as the sun was going down and it reached the point where I could hardly see what I was doing !
I'm in two minds about the pattern that will go up the side of the bag - on the one hand I might do a little shell pattern (maybe the one that was used on the gloves I was given at Christmas) but then again, maybe a soft wave pattern? Or even just a simple granny stitch?
I want the colours to remind you of actually looking at the sea - dark at the bottom, getting lighter at the top, to make you think of water and waves on the beach. I haven't even done a a test square, I just dived straight in before I could change my mind about using acrylic!! I put a pic on Instagram this morning of a possible colour sequence, asking which way round to put the darkest blues (apart form the navy of course). The result so far is more than 10:2 in favour of either one or the other - but I'll need to go back and check which before I start!!!! Need to decide on the stitch pattern first though...
On a different note, I did a spot of sewing last weekend. Having sold the project bag in my Folksy shop last month , I wanted to make a couple more. I got carried away with this one and made a matching set, as the London print fabric was so Fab!
This woodland friends print is very cute too and I plan to make a little notions purse and pin cushion today, then list both bags as sets rather than separates. Although actually, I want to keep them both and FILL them! And not with acrylic either!
I'll put these of Etsy this time, so follow the link in the sidebar and have a look later if you're interested.
I can't tell you how much of an absolute JOY it was working on this blanket - I think I enjoyed every single stitch and when you consider that I have 122 rows with 242 stitches each, plus the border, that is a lot of stitches!!
I went for a very simple border around the edge - a row of cream with bobbles, topped with grey along each side, to match the beginning and ending rows, and then a single row of pale pink trebles all the way around the outside. And that was it. I even had a whole ball of cream wool left over as it went further than I expected, along with almost half a ball of each colour except the mid pink. I could have done a few more rows but it really didn't look right without the pink.
I even made myself a matching stitch marker just as I was about to finish!
Want to see??
It's a good size at 55 x 45 inches and is really warm and snuggly! I decided not to wash and block it yet, as the side borders did a good job of straightening out any unevenness in the edges. And as I have discovered with previous smaller projects, wet merino wool can be scary !!
Although I'd love to be able to carry on using Merino yarn for every project, I really don't think I can afford to. I know there are cheaper brands out there on the market but they may not be as good as the Debbie Bliss that I got half price...
So it's back to acrylic. Although I hate to go back to acrylic. But I've dived straight back in and I went shopping yesterday and spent nearly an hour choosing six balls of blue in different shades, from dark blue through to very light variegated blue. The aim is to make a BIG beach bag which will be big enough to hold all your beach towels, and your picnic, and everything else you might need for a family day by the sea. (And which hopefully I'll be able to sell.)
I made a start on the base last night in navy blue just as the sun was going down and it reached the point where I could hardly see what I was doing !
I'm in two minds about the pattern that will go up the side of the bag - on the one hand I might do a little shell pattern (maybe the one that was used on the gloves I was given at Christmas) but then again, maybe a soft wave pattern? Or even just a simple granny stitch?
I want the colours to remind you of actually looking at the sea - dark at the bottom, getting lighter at the top, to make you think of water and waves on the beach. I haven't even done a a test square, I just dived straight in before I could change my mind about using acrylic!! I put a pic on Instagram this morning of a possible colour sequence, asking which way round to put the darkest blues (apart form the navy of course). The result so far is more than 10:2 in favour of either one or the other - but I'll need to go back and check which before I start!!!! Need to decide on the stitch pattern first though...
I'll put these of Etsy this time, so follow the link in the sidebar and have a look later if you're interested.
That's it for today, talk again soon, T xx
