Lilysunshine

I’ve been more silent this week than what I intended. I had plenty of little things to talk about, but I didn’t take the time to write them down. I didn’t take the time to take pictures as well. So I’ve borrowed images from the interwebs (hosted by me still – bandwidth thieving is bad).

I’ve been on a sewing / quilting kick lately, so I’ve been buying plenty of sewing related stuff.
First, after months and months of agonising over it, I finally decided of the fabrics (and pattern) I want to use to make a quilt for Lucas. It is really difficult to find decent fabrics for little boys. I didn’t want something too nursery or novelty. I want to make him a quilt that he can keep for a long time. So it took a while to find the right stuff. But eventually I did! I set my mind on the Nautical and Nice line by Moda. Plenty of blues and reds in not girly prints. I know what pattern I’m going to use, but I’ll keep that for another post.
Nautical and Nice

I found the Nautical and Nice quite cheap on Etsy, so I bought 2 charm packs. And somehow also bought 2 charm packs of Sent with Love. I think I’m going to use those to make a quilt for my littlest cousin. It’s uber-girly with plenty of pinks.
Sent with Love

I have also decided that I’m going to start sewing some clothes. For myself first. This is kinda motivated by the fact that I never quite find the right stuff for me in store. And everything is too long (I’m short stuff: less than 1.60m, roughly 5’2″). So I might as well start making my own stuff. I’m not quite ready to wing it, so I bought a sewing pattern and the bits and bops to make a couple of items from said sewing patterns.
Simplicity 2367 pattern – pants or skirt?

I think I’ll start with the cropped pants – I like cropped pants in the summer. I’ll use some of my Bella Solids in Black, it should work out fine. Do I need to wash it before cutting my pieces?
So, to make those pants and probably a skirt too, I bought a couple of zip fasteners, some all purposes Gutterman threads and some hooks and eyes. I forgot to buy some chalk to mark up the pieces, and some pattern paper so that I can reuse my patterns rather than cutting into it like my grandma used to do. She’s also been known to use newspaper to make patterns pieces, but I don’t have newspapers around. And I still need chalk. So that shall be part of next week’s shopping.

I’ve started next week’s shopping this morning by buying lots of small bits of fabrics. I was feeling like I needed to buy fabrics, I’m not sure why. I haven’t bought any wool in a while (well, since the last weekend of June, really) and I’m trying to not buy any before Knit Nation. As I’m planning to buy plenty there!

I’ve finished my blocks for the 4th week of the sampler quilt along, but it’s too dark to take pictures now. I will do that tomorrow and hopefully blog about it before the end of the weekend.
Right now, I must go back to my knitting and try to progress on my Arielle, if I want to wear it before the end of the Summer – I’m 3/4 done, so I’ve got good hope of seeing it finished in the next few days!

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It’s been nagging me for a little while, so I decided to update my ‘About Me’ page.

I’m never quite sure about what to post in there, but I hope it will give you a little insight about the person behind this blog.

If you have any questions about me or anything on this blog, now is also the perfect time to ask!

Have a nice weekend!

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This week has been pretty busy here, with the launch of the Little Fabric Store’s website, Lucas deciding that naps are for weaklings and all, but I’ve managed to sneak in some crafty. Just enough to make the 2 latest blocks of the Sampler QAL.

I decided to re-use the same fabrics as the ones I had used for the first 4 blocks, just adding a couple of prints from the same lime. I’m pretty happy with my choices.
Mummy’s little helper agrees with Mummy’s choices

The first block’s explanations used strip piecing: great thing to be able to do, but not practical without a sewing machine. So instead, I cut my fabrics in 2.5 x 4.5 inches little strips. It worked out well. Yay! I added to the ‘difficulty’ (really, it wasn’t that difficult, just lots of little bits to sew together), by choosing directional prints. So I had to be careful about not sewing the wrong way.
The second block was more straightfoward. It was my first time using half-square triangles and I was please by how simple they are. I can see myself using that a lot in the near future (nothing to do with the loads of charm packs I have ordered this week……. Ha!). I love the big dots print, it worked fantastically well for this block, I think.
My blocks for week 3

All my blocks so far

Can’t wait to see what’s up for week 4!

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Just a quickie post to announce that the Little Fabric Store website is now up and running and that it is full of goodies!

I have been very busy the last couple of days, getting everything ready and it is finally done! Oh, I’m pretty sure I missed some things, but it seems to be working so far!

Today, I’ve also received almost all of the Pindots by American Jane (just missing a couple of colours) and it is really cute! The names of some of the fabrics is so funny-cute: cherries, blueberries, school bus, mail box, etc… They are all in the shop. I intend to offer some bundles, so if there are some you’d like to be bundled up, do let me know! I only have a couple of metres of each colour, so be quick!

Oh, and to celebrate the launch of the website, I’m offering a 5% discount on all orders. To get it, just type launch10 in the coupon field during the checkout.

Now, I’m off to add some more stuff!

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It seems that I have become obsessed with making blankets. Knitted, crocheted or quilted blankets. Blankets galore. I have a few on the go, all at different stages of their making. Today, I am going to talk about a knitted blanket – the latest one I have finished.

A few months ago, I had ordered a few balls from New Lanark.I had heard relatively good things about their yarns and it was very good value for money (£2.95 for 100g of Aran weight). I was very pleased with the colours I had ordered, but a little bit deflated about the yarn itself. It was feeling quite rough. I have a really extremely sensitive skin and rough yarns are not to be worn within 2 inches of bare skin: that meant I couldn’t make anything for myself to be worn. So what to do with it?

As I was browsing Ravelry, I stumbled upon the Hemlock Ring pattern and knew that it would be perfect for my cherry coloured aran weight from New Lanark.

This pattern does require a little bit of faith, as it is very curly and the thick yarn doesn’t make it super attractive to work on. But the big needles mean that it goes fast, even when the rows are starting to have a lot of stitches.
Little duckling-blanket

It used 3 balls of New Lanark’s aran (in cherry), minus 5-10g. I stopped 2 repeats before the golden line on the pattern, because I was getting bored (and sore – my poor fingers didn’t like the yarn). And it was a VERY good call, as I wouldn’t have had enough yarn to do just one more repeat. The cast-off row is really greedy, yarn wise (basically, it’s like knitting 3 rows). Unblocked, it was just shy of a meter in diameter.

I soaked it for 1 hour in cold water with a bit of shampoo, then rinsed it, then gently rubbed some conditioner and rinsed again. I didn’t have enough floor space to block it! So I focused on making the center round and on stretching the petals quite well. When it got dry, I steamed pressed the border. I guess it could have been bigger, but I’m quite happy with how it is now, at about 1.20m. Maybe more.
Hemlock Ring Blanket

How pretty! The drape is very nice and the yarn has smoothed loads. It is quite pleasant to handle now. But I am especially pleased with how it looks. I can see myself making some more of those, maybe with a slightly smaller yarn (and smoother). I’m going to send it to my mother tomorrow, for it to live in our family home (nothing fancy, just an old house built in 1860, with only 2 bedrooms – and outdoors toilets). It will be perfect to snuggle under in winter next to the fireplace or in summer when enjoying a long starry evening outside, with a glass of wine and a silly conversation with my relatives. (Yes, there is a bit of nostalgia going on here, as it has been a long time since I have been able to spend this kind of quality time with my family)

I know that I generally don’t post personal pictures, but I love this photo so much, I feel compelled to share it.
Stop rambling, Mummy

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