So cute!

I got Lexi to pose for one of her new pieces of clothing, but she was not happy with the change in between.  I think she is adorable anyway in her sundress, so I am posting it also.

Yea, I'm cute and I know it.

Enough already, Grandma.

More summer clothes for Lexi

I thought I was done with summer clothes for Lexi, but Cheryl says she never seems to have enough shorts.  She is constantly doing laundry, but for some reason, she still doesn't have enough.  I dug up some more left over material and made her six more pairs of shorts, a sunsuit, and a sundress.  She better be all set now.  I guess the reason she needed more is because Lexi has hit a major growth spurt and has really grown into a larger size and has already outgrown some of the things I made for her before.  So, here are most of the things I made.  I already gave her three pairs of shorts before I took a picture, but they are pretty much the same except for the color.

Three of the six pairs of shorts I made for Lexi.

sunsuit

sundress

 

Still knitting Christmas presents for the ladies.  I almost have Ellen's completed.  I'm still trying to decide what to make for the guys.  I'm sure something will come to me when it becomes crunch time.

Now it is official!

I just got back from Eva's.  She accepted all the items I made for her and was delighted with everything.  I am so happy.  I finished the last animal for the Noah's Ark play mat last night.  With everything completed, I went to Eva this morning to show her the things.  While I was at her place, I received two more orders for adult sweaters from workers at her organic garden farm.  They are friends with my son and daughter-in-law who grow the sheep from which I get my wool yarn.  The man has already bought one of my hats.  He loved it and said he never took it off until the hot weather came.  He said he wants a sweater to match the hat.  He wants it to look like a sweater that I made for my grandson, so I will need to see what I can do to make an adult sweater similar to the child's hoodie that I made for Ellis.  The woman wants a sweater like the one I made for my daughter-in-law.  I think I will wait till the fall to work on the sweaters.  It is too hot to knit with wool in the summer.

Finally, the sleeper with the feet is finished.  It was one of the first things I cut out.

Leo the Lion/Noah's Ark animal

Madeline the Monkey/Noah's Ark animal

Gerry the Giraffe/Noah's Ark animal

Ellie the Elephant/Noah's Ark animal

Dorothy the Dove/Noah's Ark animal

Freddie the Fish/Noah's Ark animal

Terry the Turtle/Noah's Ark animal

Noah's Ark play mat with animals all bundled safely within the ark.

Well, it's off for a little break.  Before long I'm sure I will be back to crafting.  I have a few projects in mind for Christmas presents and I will need to get started.  I will not be able to share all of these things, at least the ones for the ladies.  They may see it on the blog.  I think I am safe with the men and the children.

More surprise projects!

Just when I think I am going to finish up with things, I find something new and exciting to try.  I found a pattern for these really cute bath time puppet pals.  They are made from wash clothes and I think they are really cute, so I decided to make some for Eva's order.  I also decided to make one of the novelty bibs like the ones I made for the baby shower for who turned out to be Portia.  Another project I finished today was a summer time blankie for Joey.  His fleece fringe tied is very hot for the summer, but he is so attached to it.  I tried to make one similar with cotton material so that it is not so hot, but I added some fleece on the edge so that I could make fringe and tie it.  That way, the fringe will still feel like what he likes.  He needs to rub the fringes when he is going to sleep.  Hopefully, he will adjust to this new blankie like he did with the first one I made for him.  I also refinished the cotton play top so that the shoulder straps are overlapped and now it doesn't hang so low.  I added a ladybug button to the front so that it wasn't so plain.  I guess that will do for now.

These are the bath time puppet pals.

This is the novelty bib.

Joey's new blankie.  I had to cut out and heat fuse the Boston Red Sox logos onto the plain red material.

This is the refinished cotton knit play top.

  

Lexi modeling the top.  She loves to say, "Ohhh."

I have half of the animals finished for the Noah's Ark play mat.  It is my plan to have everything finished and ready to show Eva by this weekend.  I want everything done before the 4th of July and that is coming up next Monday.  I plan to knit for the next two days because I will have Joey and Lexi again.  Then, on Thursday I want to sew those sleepers that I seem to never get to.  I thought I was going to sew them today, but I made those other things instead.  Also, I had to fix some banners for Tony to put on the car that he will be riding in for the parade on the 4th with the other town selectmen.  I bought the vinyl banners, but they didn't have any way to attach them to the car.  I needed to add some large metal eyes to the corners.  To do this, I folded the top and bottom edges down about an inch and a half to make the vinyl stronger, and then I used white duct tape to hold the folded edge in place.  Then I attached the eyes to the corners.  Hopefully he will be able to attach the banners to the car by using bungee cords around the front and back of the car from sign to sign.  I've had a busy day, but I have accomplished a lot.

Another milestone reached...almost!

Well, I thought I had finished another project...but, I think I need to do some last minute fix-me-ups again.  I finished knitting the play top and tried it on Lexi.  It is the correct size, but I didn't like how low it hung around the neck.  I checked the picture and sure enough, it wasn't right.  It looks like the straps are supposed to overlap on the shoulders although the pattern did not say to do that.  I plan to go back and take the shoulders out and make them look like the picture shows.  Then, I think I will be done with the play top.  I also have finished the play mat and I have just started to work on the animal toys that match the ones sewn onto the mat.  I should be finished with the knitting projects for Eva's order when that is done.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

Noah's ark play mat.

Play top on my lovely model.

Play top before fixing the shoulders.

What to do in an instant?

My daughter Cheryl asked me to make something for a friend of hers from work that is having a baby girl, her second child.  She said they aren't giving her a shower but, she still wants to give her something.  She said that since she knows I like to make baby things that maybe I could make something for her.  I was going to just give her the nursery rhyme quilt that I made for Eva's order because it was something a little extra anyway.  Cheryl seemed disappointed because she didn't think I did much to make the quilt.  All I had to do was put the ribbon around the edges.  So, when I went to the store last night to get some cotton yarn to make the playtime top for Eva's order, I found a delightful book of patterns for toy animals.  I decided to make one of them for Cheryl to give to her friend.  The best part of it is that the animals are small and can easily be used to make another hanging toy play mat.  I can't wait for someone to have another baby so that I can make a play mat with these adorable animals.

This is the nursery rhyme quilt

This little piglet with a crooked smile looks ready to dance in her little red skirt.

 So, this is what I do in an instant when someone asks for something right away.  I love making little toys anyway, so this was not a big deal at all.  I started it at 10:00 last night and finished all but the legs, tail, and skirt.  I knitted those things today and put them altogether.  The whole thing probably only took about two hours to complete.

Things Really Add Up!

I had plans to make so much more for Eva's order, but last night I priced out the things I have finished and found out that I have nearly reached my order amount.  I was so surprised to find out how much I was up to.  I still have some special projects that I think Eva will really like. So, I will do them, and then I will be done with her order.  That is, unless she doesn't want some of the things I have made.  But, for now, I am nearly finished.  I still have one pair of summer pajamas and a winter sleeper with feet cut out that I want to sew.  I'm still working on the Noah's Ark play mat and I want to knit a really cute 100% cotton playtime top.  I think that will be all for Eva.  Here are the new things I have finished.

I've already showed this dress, but not with my adorable model, Dot.

I said, "Say cheese,"  so that is what she did.

Here she is in her more poised caption.  Since the sleeves of this jacket were too long, I have altered them to fit better and added a ribbon to tie at the neck line to keep the jacket closed.  It wanted to flop open too much.

I had to finish a top to go with these pants that went with the above ensemble.  This is the completed shirt.

Ribbed knit top with cotton blend shorts.

Ribbed knit top with cotton blend shorts.

Jersey knit top with cotton blend bottom summer pajamas.

Lovable Jersey knit summer outfit.

Time to go.  Lexi and Joey will be here anytime now.  Have a good day everybody.  I'm so glad to wake up refreshed and ready to go.  I was a little depressed last night when I went to bed, but this morning I am feeling happy and thankful for all that I have and for the wonderful gift my Heavenly Father has blessed me with to be able to sew, to knit, and to craft so many things.