Gloves...What a Nightmare!

Well, I have officially completed my first pair of gloves.  Probably will not be doing very many more in the future.  With me, though, you can never be too sure.  Sometimes, I like to do things until I get it right and they start to become easy for me to do. The gloves were tricky, and sometimes the pattern was not true to what needed to be done, but with a little frustration and a whole lot of determination, I persevered to the end.  I found out the hard way, that the pattern had a problem in stitch count when I completed my first two fingers and found out that they were coming out of the middle of the hand instead of next to the thumb.  A mutant may have been able to wear it, but certainly not my five-year-old grandson.  I had to take out those two fingers and try to pick up the stitches of the hand again without making it too noticeable.  The stitches were small and the yarn frayed quite easily, so picking up the stitches was the nightmare I faced.  All in all, the procedure is not difficult, and once I got the hang of it, the fingers went in quite smoothly.  It was also a challenge to work with the four double pointed needles and have another needle holding the unused stitches.  Needles just kept getting tangled up and crossed.  Sometimes, my finger would become twisted and I would have to take the stitches out (one by one on these occasions) until I got back to where I twisted and get things turned around. The second glove was much easier because I had worked out all the kinks and quirks with the first one.  Lucky for me that yarn is such a forgiving medium with which to work.  I can often cover up mistakes...sometimes not completely unnoticeable as with these gloves...but other times they look great.  I won't worry too much about these gloves if Ellis isn't crazy about them, I am just happy for the experience in making something I have never done before.  With practice, I'm sure I could make a pretty decent looking glove.

Last year's hats.

This year's mittens and gloves.  I opted to not make the gloves out of red because the yarn was too thick. I think the will get more use out of these gloves, anyway.

This completes my Christmas projects.  I now need to start making puppets, puzzles, and games for my new Sunbeam class at church.  I get a whole new group of kids in January.  It is exciting this year because I will have two of my grandchildren, Dot and Joey.

Ezra's PJs

It is midnight and I am recording my latest project completion.  I have had Ezra's pajamas cut out and ready to sew for some time now, but have not been up to doing it.  I started this past weekend, and by doing at least one pair a day, I have now finished the five pairs.  Here they are:

This shows a sample of what they all look like.  This, however, is the only pair that I put tread proof bottoms on the soles of the feet.  I didn't think to do it until I got to the last pair, so I did it with these.  The others have soles that match the PJs.

This shows the prints on each of them.  Trucks, (of course), animal heads, trains,  backyard with dogs and doghouses, and jungle animals... I couldn't decide which to use, so I used them all. 

I also got a picture of Joey and Lexi wearing their hats and mittens when we were out for our walk yesterday.  Here they are modeling them for Grandma.

I was a little worried that it wouldn't be cold enough for them to use this year, but it was definitely cold enough yesterday.

I have been working on Ellis' gloves.  I have had my problems, but I will tell about them in my next blog when I have finished both gloves.  I did get the first one finished today.  Should be done tomorrow.

Mittens, Mittens, and More Mittens

If you want to know what I have been up to, well I have been knitting mittens most recently.  For a while I was working on a new project called, 'Keeping America Warm'. It is a project that makes afghans, hats, and other accessories for needy people around the country.  You can complete whole projects, or just pieces and send them to be assembled and sent to needy people.  I decided to knit a complete afghan, rather than just do a block and send it to be added to other peoples' blocks.  I will post a picture of it when I have it finished.  It is a ways away from that.  Anyway, in the meantime, I decided to make Christmas mittens for the grand kids.  I made the hats last year and now I have made mittens to go with their hats.  I got the idea for doing mittens when Kim asked me to make mittens for Dot and Lucy.  She didn't care what yarn I used, she just wanted mittens.  I made them, and then I decided to also make mittens for all of the kids.  Since it is Christmas time, I decided to do the Christmas mittens.  Here they are with pictures of the hats that I made last year.

These are the mittens for Dot and Lucy that inspired me to make the Christmas mittens.

These are the hats made for Zoe and Jackson last year.

These are the mittens for Zoe and Jackson made to go with the hats.

Dot's and Lucy's hats from last year.

Dot's and Lucy's mittens.  Dot's are really the same size as Lucy's.  They look smaller because of the angle of the shot.

Hats for Lexi and Joey.

Mittens for Joey and Lexi.  Joey's are the green and look smaller because of the angle again.

Ezra wasn't born yet, so he had no hat last year.  Here is his hat and mittens made this year.

 I have finished a pair of mittens to go with Portia's hat, but because I will not be seeing them until Christmas day, I will not be able to deliver them to her until then.  I still need to make a pair of gloves for Ellis.  I think gloves are in order for him because he is older than the other kids.  I haven't decided if I will make his red to match his hat, or if I will make them from multicolored yarn.  The pattern I have calls for sports weight yarn and the red that I used for his hat is heavier.  The multicolored yarn is a lighter weight and would probably be more useful to him than the red ones.  I will decide when I start to make them.  I will post a picture of their hats and mittens/gloves when I get the gloves finished.

Now I'm Done

I finished Ezra's dress pants this morning, so I am done with clothes for a while.  I still need to sew Ezra's pajamas, but I will wait for a few days at least.  I really don't feel like sewing anymore right now.  I still don't know what I will do with my time, but I will think of something.

Dress pants and shirt all set for my handsome little man.

Almost Finished With Clothes

I was able to finish three more articles of clothing today.  I sewed Joey's other dress slacks.  They are very plain, but should match anything and will look nice with a sweater during the colder months ahead.  I also was able to sew Ezra's casual pants and his dress shirt.  I could not do the dress pants until I got some thread to match.  I thought I had just about any color I needed, so I didn't buy thread when I got the material.  Well, I must have just run out because I still have a bobbin with the color I need on it.  I got the thread tonight, and I will get the pants sewed tomorrow.

Joey's dress pants made from gray corduroy.

Ezra's dress shirt.

Ezra's casual corduroy pants.

This is Ezra's pants again, but they really are the color like above more than this. I took this picture to show them from the front view with the shirt that I bought to go with them.

The pants I am making to go with his dress shirt are from the same pattern as the casual pants, but I am not putting on the side pockets.  They are being made out of a dark olive green corduroy.

One More Thing Done Today

These are the leggings I made to go with Portia's skirt. I looked on line and could only find the pattern for leggings that calls for using old knee high socks.  I don't have any of those, and I wanted to use some ribbed stretch knit material that I had that matches the skirt very well.  I made up my own pattern and I hope they will fit tight enough.  The idea is right, but I'm not sure about the fit.  Hopefully, the cuffs will be tight enough to stay in place.  I may have to adjust them if they are not.  No big deal.  It is easy enough to do.

The leggings by themselves shows a closer color to the actual color of the leg part.

This shot shows how the leggings are the color of the dots and one flower and the cuffs are the color of the background color of the skirt itself.  I'm afraid they look a little like pajama bottoms, although they look wider here than they do in person, so maybe they will be okay.  We'll see when she can try them on.

Sweet Success for Sweet Little Girls

Another successful day at the machine.  I was able to finish the jumpers for Zoe, Dot, and Lucy, plus sew the hems in Joey's suit and attach the hook for his pants. Here are the jumpers.

These are the identical jumpers for Zoe and Dot. No, they are not twins, but they are very close to the same age, only nine days apart.  I sewed them simultaneously, step by step since I was using the same material and pattern.  It made it so much easier that way.  I did not make the tops. They are store bought.

This little jumper and top is for my little Goose, Lucy.  The top is the one that I had made for Lexi, but since it didn't match anything I made for her, and it did match Lucy's very well, I decided to give it to Lucy instead. I think it looks very nice with this jumper.

Now, it is back to the drawing board to see if I can figure out how to make some leggings to go with Portia's skirt.  I might go online to see if I can get some ideas.  After I make them, all I have left to make are the two pairs of pants and a dress shirt for Ezra and one more pair of pants for Joey.  All of those things have been cut out and are ready to sew.  Once these clothes are all finished, I will get back to Ezra's pajamas for his Christmas present.  I have them cut out, but they need to be sewn.

Another Round Completed

Well, I did get a little time to sew today, so I was able to complete three more garments, as well as cut out five more to be sewn.  I cut the sweat pants for Jackson and Ellis.  I figured they could use sweat pants more than dress pants since they do not attend church and need to dress up, but they do play a lot.  Therefore, sweat pants for the two of them.  I was also able to sew both pairs of sweat pants.  I did not make the shirts that are with the pants, but rather, I made the pants to match the shirts that I bought.  I also cut out two pairs of pants for Ezra. Both are corduroy, but one is a little dressier than the other pair.  I bought a mock turtle neck for Ezra that will probably go better with the more casual pair and I cut out a white dress shirt to go with the other pair for church.  I will sew those later.  I also sewed Portia's skirt.  It is the same as the one I made for Lexi, but I did not make the vest for her.  Instead, I am going to make some leggings to match the dots in the material of her skirt.  I also bought her shirt that is shown with the skirt.

I'm showing the side view of the pants for Ellis and Jackson so that you can see the stripe and pocket that are along the sides of the pants.

I'm not sure if this shirt really goes with the skirt.  It is about the same color as the purple flower on the skirt, but the skirt material is a dark brown.  Also, the I love U does not really match.  I don't think it will really matter, because Ellen is not into the matching thing as much as Cheryl is.  I will be making the leggings the same color as the dots and the blue flower, so at least they will match the skirt. I wasn't sure what I would use to make something for Portia when I bought the shirt, but I really liked the shirt and wanted it for Portia.  This material is the closest thing I had to match it.  It is also the material that I am using to make jumpers for Dot and Zoe.

Joey was here for a few minutes today and I was able to get him to try on his suit so that I could mark the hems of the pants and the sleeves of the jacket.  I was able to capture a picture of this sharp looking little man.

What a handsome guy all dressed for church!

I will be sewing away again for the next few days.  I hope Joey and Lexi will let me get some of it done.  I am finished with my knitting projects for now, so I only have machine sewing to do. They have gotten better about letting me do it, so we will see.

Clothes Projects Going Well

It is past midnight and I am entering this blog to show what I have been able to accomplish today.  I was able to sew Joey's complete suit.  All I have left to do is the hook on his pants and the hems on the pants and on the sleeves of the jacket.  I do not want to do those until I try them on him to get the right length. I also have the jumper, skirt, vest, white top, and pink top that I made for Lexi earlier this week.  I could not show them before because Cheryl had taken them home.  I asked her to bring them back so I can document their completion in my blog.

The jacket looks a little wide here, but it isn't really that wide.  It is just the angle I had to use to get the shot. The suit is made with wide ribbed corduroy and looks very sharp.

I did not make the black top.  I was able to find this black onsie that went well with both outfits. This is the skirt and vest. Cheryl wanted a onsie so that it would not keep coming untucked.

Oops! The hem got a little askew here, but it is really okay on the jumper.

This top is really a deeper pink, and did not really match the jumper above that I was hoping for. She will need to use it with some other thing since it doesn't really match anything that I made for her. She has some black pants that would look nice with this shirt.

I really started feeling guilty because I was making things for Joey and Lexi and not for the other grand children.  I decided that was not really fair, so I am now making some things for the other kids, too.  I have almost everything cut out and I will begin sewing them very soon.  I do not have to babysit tomorrow, but I don't know how much I will get done since Tony also has the day off.  I don't know if he has plans to do something. I really want to get the things done for the Maine kiddos because they will be visiting later this week and I want to send the things back with them.  I also need to finish the Pennsylvania gang's because we will be going to see them the day after Thanksgiving.  I will get those things done first, and then I will get the things made for Marty's kids.  I see them more often since they live right next to us.

What's That You Say...3 In 1 Day?

Yes, I am blogging for the third time today.  I finished sewing Lexi's other jumper and one of her tops.  I finished the hems, the button, and the hand stitching on her other jumper and her skirt and vest.  I didn't get a chance to take a picture of them before Cheryl took them home, so I will need to get them at a later time, maybe on the model herself. Here is what I have for now.

The other top will be the same as this one, but it will be pink.

Tomorrow, I will start to sew Joey's suit.  I will need to cut out his other pants before I can sew them.  I still haven't decided about whether or not I will do shirts. Knowing me, I probably will.

Second Post For The Day

As I anticipated, I was able to finish the sweater today, so I am posting it before I head downstairs to work on the sewing machine while Lexi is napping.  I am very happy with the final results of the sweater.  I had to make so many adjustments with this sweater to get the correct size.  I was using a different sized needles and yarn.  I also needed to create a hood pattern since the pattern I was using for the sweater called for a collar. All of these adjustments meant that I needed to judge how many stitches to use to get a sweater the size I needed for Tony.  I have made this sweater before for a much smaller man and for a woman which can be viewed in older posts.  Each time, I used a different pattern for the hood.  I couldn't remember which one I used, but I decided to use the style I made with Ezra's sweater that I just made.  I like the way it looks, but I really had to make adjustments in number of stitches and rows to convert this pattern from a nine month to a man.  I couldn't have estimated better.  It came out perfect.  Hurrah!

This shot shows the hood, pockets, and front, but does not show the color as well. It is black.

This shot of the front shows the color that it really is. It is so hard to find a good place to take the pictures.

This is a shot of the back and shows the hood.

Now, it is back to the sewing machine.  Lexi let me try her skirt, vest, and jumper on her this morning.  She really liked the jumper and skirt, but the vest made her mad.  She tried to rip it off because she could not get it to close.  It is supposed to be smaller and just use one button which I have not yet put on.  She couldn't understand that.  She really blew a gasket when I tried to take the skirt off her.  I only wanted to see how long I needed for the hems of the skirt and jumper.  I will finish those, put on the button and sew the side seams of the vest, and try to get her other jumper and two tops finished.  I know I will not get all that done this afternoon, but I hope to get some of it done.  Jon just came to take Joey, so with Lexi sleeping and Joey away, I should be able to get some of it done at least.

Another Busy Day

I have been working on Tony's sweater for his Christmas present.  I am all finished with everything but the hood.  I should be able to finish it today or in just a day or so, depending on how much time I get to work on it. 

In the meantime, I have been given a couple more projects to keep me busy.  Yesterday, Joey came to my house carrying a full sized bed quilt.  It is really soft and he insisted on bringing it with him instead of one of his smaller ones.  He always needs a blankee to cuddle with when he is in the car or when he is ready to sleep.  Anyway, his mom asked if I could possibly make him a smaller one with the same kind of material that the big one was because he says it is so warm and cuddly.  Also, they have misplaced his Red Sox fleece blankee that I made for him a couple of years ago.  Cheryl put it away for the summer, and now she cannot find it.  Joey has been asking for it since he saw his cousin with a Red Sox blanket the other day.  I knew I had some material like the big blanket in my stash.  I took Joey with me to find it.  He was excited because it was red like his old blanket.  He also found another fleece material that he liked.  It is a wintery print with penguins in scarves and hats, snowflakes, etc. all over it.  He wanted that, too.  I thought I could just make one of the fringe tied blankets with the two materials.  I proceeded to cut the fringes and start to tie.  After I had finished tying one side, I realized that the really soft material is not appropriate for a fringe tied blanket.  It was shedding all over the place.  I had to untie it and find another red fleece material to use as a backing.  I got that finished last night.  Here is the result, along with a shot of the old fleece Red Sox blankee that has been misplaced.

Cheryl also requested another project for me to sew.  She said the kids need some new church clothes and that maybe I could make them instead of buying any.  I got the material and started to make them.  I cut them out night before last and started the sewing machine work last night.  I finished a skirt and vest and a jumper for Lexi last night.  I still need to make another jumper and two tops for her which are mix, match outfits.  I also have a corduroy suit cut out for Joey and I will also make a pair of corduroy pants for him.  I may or may not make some shirts for him.  I will see if I have the material in my stock downstairs. I have an easy pattern that looks good that I used to make his Woody costume. 

Little Monster Ezra

Even though it is for Christmas, I took the opportunity to try on the suit while Ezra was visiting me last night.  I am very happy with the outcome.  It is a little long, but with shoes on, it should still be just fine.  The sweater fits wonderfully.

I need to sew the button holes a little smaller.  I had stretched them for some bigger toggles, but decided the toggles were too large.  These monkey buttons were perfect size, but didn't stay shut when I buttoned them.

The best I could do to get the shot of the little monster face. Ezra was too fidgety to get anything else.

I've finished the back of the sweater I am making for Tony for Christmas.  It is coming along nicely, and will give me something to work on for a while longer.

Monster Suit Done

I've finished the sweater for the monster suit for Ezra.  I was disappointed in finding the buttons that I wanted to use, but settled on some monkey buttons that were perfect for the color. Since the monkeys are on the front of the sweater, and the monster is on the back of the pants, I don't think it matters.  I'm very pleased with the finished project.

Sweater front, showing the monkey buttons.

Full suit from the back showing the monster mouth.

Full suit from front.

Now it is back to knitting an adult sweater for my husband for Christmas.  I am almost done with all of my Christmas knitting.  Still have to work on the sewing machine to make Ezra's pajamas. That should conclude the Christmas projects.

Pants Finished; Project Not

Well, I finished the monster pants that I was making for Ezra, but I am not finished with the project.  The main problem...they are too big and too heavy to fit as regular pants, so I have decided to knit a sweater to match the pants and make it into a winter suit to be worn over his clothes.  I will give them to him for Christmas, and by then, he will have grown just a little bit more and maybe it will fit even better. Here is a look at the pants.

This is the front view of the pants.

The back view shows the monster face.  Since I was making this pattern up as I went by looking at a picture, I misjudged how many short rows I needed to use to make the mouth look more open. Instead of a wide open mouth, this little monster has a wide, toothy grin.

I have started the hoodie sweater which will be done in the hunter green, except for the arms.  They will be done in the striped pattern like the legs.

Joey's Sweater

I finished Joey's sweater today.  I was really upset with myself.  The reason I was making it in the first place, is so that he can have a bigger sweater than his old one.  I did make it a little bigger, and the arms were longer, but when I got finished with the body of the sweater, it was just the same length as his old one.  That meant that I had to take out the last ten rows which were the band of the sweater.  I had to knit another six rows to gain another inch+ to the length.  Then, I had to re-knit the ten rows for the band.  It turned out to be a perfect fit for the sixteen inch zipper that I planned to use.

This shot is a little too dark to get a good look of the black sweater, but gives a nice front view of it and the handsome model.

Outside, the sweater shows up better, and gives a better view of the hood.

You can see that the sleeves are plenty long to cover his hands, so he can easily wear another layer under it and will be able to use it for a longer time into the winter.  Now that I have finished the sweater, I will get started on making a very cute pair of pants for little Ezra.  His mom found these pants online, called Monster Booty Longies.  They are adorable, but since I do not have a pattern, I will need to design one by myself.  I'm up for the challenge and can hardly wait to get started.

Baby Hats

I have finished the dozen baby hats to be donated to the hospital for the newborns. I made six for boys and six for girls.  I planned to put pom poms on all of them, but then I decided that the pom poms looked more like for boys.  I have a cute pattern for making a bow, which I used for the girl hats.  It took a little more time to make the bows, and it seems to hurt my wrist while making them, but I like the outcome.  I am happy I decided to put on the bows for the girls and the pom poms for the boys. Each hat was knitted from a different yarn, so there is a variety of textures as well as colors.

Next, I will knit a sweater for my grandson, Joey.  He has almost outgrown his sweater from last Christmas, plus it is getting quite worn.  His mother has requested another one, so I will get right on it.  I needed another project to work on anyway.

Heads and Tails 2 Modeled

I knew that I would have a couple of models show up to try on the masks and tails for me.  Dot and Lucy make for some really cute character shots.  Here they are: my little fox and raccoon.

 Lucy gives a foxy yip.

Foxy Lucy showing off her tail.

Oops, the mask got a little askew, but this gives a good shot of the head and tail of this little fox.

Raccoon Dot shows her face.

Nice pose to show off both parts.

Now, that is some tail!

Back to making baby hats for the newborns at the hospital, pajamas for Ezra's Christmas, and probably a new sweater for Joey.  He has outgrown his Christmas sweater from last year, and Mom seems to be hinting for a new one.  I don't mind, because I will want to knit something after I finish the hats.  I have three more of them that I want to make to get twelve.