tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157264732024-03-10T12:13:06.698-07:00Needle and SpatulaCRAFTS, COOKING, GARDENING & LIFEKate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-76025047831779191732014-11-06T22:02:00.001-08:002014-11-06T22:02:57.870-08:00Uptown Girl Coat Pattern Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15110151083" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Uptown raincoat 1 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="Uptown raincoat 1" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3946/15110151083_53ea3d74af.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Lately I have been making nearly all of Esther's clothes (except a few things, like jeans) - it's actually become a bit of a problem that I can't get myself to stop making her clothes and work on any of my other sewing projects! In any case, I thought it would be fun to sew her a raincoat. I bought the <a href="http://makeitperfect.com.au/MIP/Uptown_Girl.html">uptown girl coat pattern</a> from Make it Perfect and sewed up the coat using aqua PUL (waterproof fabric often used in cloth diaper covers), lined in quilting cotton (one of the newly re-released far far away prints from Heather Ross), and using a vintage button from my stash. This was my first coat-sewing experience and I think it turned out pretty cute!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15109579464" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Uptown raincoat 2 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="Uptown raincoat 2" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3946/15109579464_0849cbd610.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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The pattern was well written and the construction of the jacket was well-thought out - I liked how they had you turn it through a sleeve (although it might not work well if you used a more stiff and bulky outer fabric). I read some other reviews online and made a size 1 for width and a size 2 for length, since Esther is on the long and lean side and I didn't want it to be too bulky, plus the fit is loose anyways. My one gripe with the pattern is that the hood is really not deep enough and as a result it doesn't stay up on her head well - not great when we are out playing in the rain.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15544691580" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Uptown raincoat 3 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="Uptown raincoat 3" height="500" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8596/15544691580_14de5e5e58.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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I wasn't sure how the PUL would work with this pattern, especially with the gathers, but it worked pretty well, and the finished coat is soft and comfortable. As cute as the lining is, in retrospect I wish that I had lined it with a lightweight fleece instead, since the cotton at the cuffs gets wet and dirty really easily. Esther loves the coat though, and whenever she sees it she wants to put it on and then go outside and play!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15109580304" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Uptown fleece 1 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="Uptown fleece 1" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7514/15109580304_ecf332a9ae.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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I wanted to give this pattern another try with a deeper hood, and Esther was needing a lightweight fleece jacket (for the occasional non-rainy day that we get), so I bought this cute polka dot fleece fabric from fabric.com. I love how this coat turned out and she has already gotten a lot of use out of it!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15544805720" title="Uptown fleece inside by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="Uptown fleece inside" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5607/15544805720_75d7ff618f.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I decided to make the jacket unlined but to line the hood with a lightweight green jersey (from an upcycled t-shirt). To convert the pattern to be unlined I added extra width at the jacket fronts to fold over and create a placket, and extra length at the bottom and the sleeves to make hems. To make the hood deeper I added something like 2.5" to the outer hood edge and 1/2" to the lining hood edge, so that the overall hood would be 1.5" deeper, with the fleece wrapping around to the inside. I also sewed the edge of the hood into a casing and put in an elastic to make sure the hood would stay up well. Finally, I finished the neck edge of the jacket with a strip of off-white jersey. I left the rest of the inside seams unfinished, since they aren't visible and the fleece doesn't fray.<br />
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I also altered the sleeve pattern to make the sleeves a bit less full and take out the gathers at the top of the sleeves, just as my personal preference. For the closure I used three large green buttons from my button stash instead of the one button the pattern calls for and I think it looks really cute!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15544096128" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Uptown fleece 2 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="Uptown fleece 2" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7533/15544096128_4b066a2622.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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The hood fits great with the extra depth and really stays up, I like the effect of adding the elastic. The gathers in the pattern are really cute in the fleece and it was quick to sew up since I had already made it once and I skipped the lining this time.<br />
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After making these two coats I decided to try another coat pattern and make Esther another rain coat with laminated cotton so I'll be back to share that soon! In the meantime, wish me luck peeling myself away from sewing yet more toddler clothes to actually work on other projects - like maybe some clothes for me for once? Not to mention that it is now NOVEMBER and I should really get cracking on some holiday sewing!Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-7424389883758668972014-11-01T22:47:00.000-07:002014-11-01T22:48:21.467-07:00Halloween Monkey Costume<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15689141362" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_3116 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3116" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5601/15689141362_a215968656.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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This year was Esther's first time trick or treating so I was really excited to sew her costume. We decided she should be a monkey since the "ee ee" monkey noise is one of the animal noises she likes to make, but it is also very appropriate since she is a big climber and explorer, always keeping us on our toes. <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15068193503" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="15501728558_7a144f4e72_o by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="15501728558_7a144f4e72_o" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3939/15068193503_e827e5f79a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I traced some pajamas to draft a pattern and then added a hood, ears and a tail. I probably could have added a bit more ease, it was a little snug but the fleece had enough stretch that it worked out. I put pipecleaners in the tail so it could be bent into shape. I possibly should have put the tummy patch a bit higher (and made the ears a bit smaller) but all in all I am really happy with how it turned out!<br />
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I came up with a pretty easy way to make the ears so I took some photos as I was working to show you how:<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15502160808" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="15501722608_4c133e6e5d_o by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="15501722608_4c133e6e5d_o" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7558/15502160808_26f7f45d5f.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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I layered two pieces of brown felt with one piece of beige felt on top, and sewed an ear shape with one side open, then trimmed it close to the seam. Then I turned it inside out so that the beige felt was sandwiched between the two pieces of brown felt, and sewed around about 3/8" from the seam to create the ear lobe.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15687551405" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="15687112245_fbb6bf3df5_o by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="15687112245_fbb6bf3df5_o" height="375" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3938/15687551405_d51af9c61f.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Then I trimmed out the inner part of the brown fleece on one side of each ear, close to the seam.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15502159308" title="15687112685_a62ed6d676_o by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="15687112685_a62ed6d676_o" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7470/15502159308_0b9aef85f6.jpg" width="375" /></a><br />
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To attach the ears to the hood, after deciding where to place them, I first sewed them down face down (facing forward).<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15685633531" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="15685198671_28bdf4da88_o by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="15685198671_28bdf4da88_o" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5614/15685633531_a5e8dd0613.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Then I flipped the ears back and sewed a seam just barely catching the front edge of the ear, which made them stick out nicely.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15068192273" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_3113 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3113" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7513/15068192273_ea16888e84.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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Happy halloween from my monkey to you!Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-57938080781339414622014-10-08T01:00:00.000-07:002014-10-08T13:17:13.878-07:00Dr. Seuss OutfitI am very excited to be participating in the <a href="http://www.fatquartershop.com/">Fat Quarter Shop</a> <a href="http://fatquartershop.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-can-you-do-with-fat-quarter-bundle.html">Dream Big with Dr. Seuss blogger challenge</a>, using their <a href="http://www.fatquartershop.com/dr-seuss-abc-s-fat-quarter-bundle">Dr. Seuss ABC's Fat Quarter bundle</a>! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679882812/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0679882812&linkCode=as2&tag=needlean-20&linkId=CHYWIKLVVTV2AWWB">Dr. Seuss's ABC's</a> is a favorite book in our house, so I was very excited about these fabrics, and I kept having phrases from the book pop in my head as I was working with them (it's catchy!). Fat Quarter Shop put together a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC7WI2k6cFE&feature=youtu.be">video tutorial</a> showing how to make a cute baby quilt with the bundle; I went in a different direction and made a cute toddler outfit.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15472698505" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="seuss outfit by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="seuss outfit" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5610/15472698505_ea2d2c50d5.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
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Esther has nearly outgrown her <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2014/05/more-quick-change-baby-pants.html">last set of quick change pants</a>, so I made her some 24 month sized ones to last through the winter. The main fabric for these pants is a lightweight green corduroy that I had on hand, and I used the <a href="http://www.fatquartershop.com/celebrate-seuss-adventure-abc-patchwork-yardage">ABC patchwork print</a> for the bum panel and a patch on the shirt. Rather than making the pants reversible, they are mostly lined in upcycled flannel (from a sheet) with the yellow polka dot print just on the bottom inside to make a cute cuff.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15285820819" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="back of pants by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="back of pants" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3937/15285820819_ba4891d189.jpg" width="373" /></a></div>
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The alphabet bum is so cute and colorful! In making the pants, I made the same basic modifications as my last pairs - I narrowed the outside leg seams (making the waist/legs wider) but them added more curve to the inseam to make the legs a bit narrower again. That way they aren't too much of a squeeze to get on over her diaper bum but have a bit less of a boxy look.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15449614256" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="seuss pants front by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="seuss pants front" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3936/15449614256_4009e10b73.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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Not that I shy away from unisex clothes, but I thought with the boy-ish style and colors of the pants, it would be good to have a shirt that was more clearly a girls style. I upcycled a orange shirt to make a long sleeved top with a gathered neckline (my own pattern), with yellow fold-over elastic for the neckband giving a nice contrast color. I wanted the shirt to tie in with the pants so I put a patch on from the same patchwork ABC fabric.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15286073148" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="umbrella yak patch by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="umbrella yak patch" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3940/15286073148_d7f6c108cc.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Originally I cut a patch out of the <a href="http://www.fatquartershop.com/celebrate-seuss-adventure-abc-blocks-quilt-panel">big alphabet panel</a> to use on this shirt (with the E elephant for Esther) but it was a bigger patch and it was too stiff to work well with the gathers in the neckline. So I picked it out and made this smaller, lower patch and am saving the E for another shirt! I am planning to save the rest of the panel to use for applique patches for other kids items in the future - I foresee lots of cute initial T-shirt gifts.<br />
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I also made a second pair of pants which turned out even more boy-ish so I think I am going to save them for a future baby gift.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15286141527" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="bear pants by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="bear pants" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5610/15286141527_cbc28e7842.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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I used the <a href="http://www.fatquartershop.com/celebrate-seuss-sunshine-bowtie-bear-yardage">bear fabric</a> for the bum panel on these and the green dot for the contrast cuff lining. The main fabric for these is upcycled from a chambray shirt of Lawson's, and I actually used the reverse side which was a bit lighter. I lined these pants in upcycled flannel as well, so both pairs of pants should be nice and warm for the winter.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15472699265" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="flannel lining by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="flannel lining" height="375" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3955/15472699265_8e85036a99.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I usually think of sewing kids clothes with fabric yardage so this was a fun challenge to realize how much I could do with a few fat quarters!<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Disclosure: Fat Quarter Shop provided me with the fat quarter bundle of fabric for this challenge, but all opinions expressed are my own.</i></span>Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-3456033374191074382014-10-01T21:45:00.000-07:002014-10-01T21:45:33.353-07:00Improv I-spy Baby QuiltWell, I just looked up and realized that after a summer full of lots of fun with a very active and mobile toddler Esther, and plenty of time crafting, I didn't manage to blog at all. Oops! Other bloggers, does that happen to you where you want to spend every spare minute squeezing in the actual crafts and so you don't make time to blog about it?<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15393621106" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Improv I-spy 1 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="Improv I-spy 1" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3929/15393621106_6ff0143f31.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Now that it is really starting to feel like fall I am planning to get back in a regular habit of blogging. So I wanted to share this improv i-spy quilt that I recently finished for a friend's baby (after it sat on my design wall most of the summer - hopefully they still get some good use out of it even though he's probably crawling around more than laying on blankets now!) I started out cutting different size i-spy squares and framing them with different widths of solid colors, making great use of jellyroll fabrics. I originally had thought about making them into wonky stars but I decided to keep it simpler and have the i-spy squares scattered on an improv pieced background. I used my design wall to lay it out and pulled together a bunch of different grey fabrics for the background. It turned out a bit darker than I anticipated but I think it's a fun modern take on an i-spy quilt!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15393615676" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="improv i-spy 3 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="improv i-spy 3" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3929/15393615676_baa5e9120c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I did a quick free motion meander quilting on it, and made an effort to avoid falling into my normal trap of tiny quilting - I couldn't believe how fast it went with big meanders, it probably only took an hour to quilt! It was good to get some more FMQ practice, I think I should be brave and try a non-meander design pretty soon.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/15229915349" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="improv i-spy 2 by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="improv i-spy 2" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3931/15229915349_e3a81c6994.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I backed it with a perfect-sized australian animals fabric that I had in my stash and bound in a solid teal. I accidentally trimmed too close to the orange block when I was squaring up the quilt - originally it was intended to be floating in the middle like the rest of the blocks - but I actually like how it turned out that that one block is against the binding.<br />
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I have been doing tons of sewing clothes for Esther (more on that soon), so I'm having a hard time focusing on my quilting projects... I always think I'll get back to them after I just sew her one more shirt, haha. But I have another baby quilt half pieced and a bunch of similar i-spy squares started for another i-spy variation for us to keep, so I should really get back to it soon!Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-24581926475932230792014-05-20T23:02:00.001-07:002014-05-20T23:02:54.277-07:00More Quick Change Baby Pants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/14048390479" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="strawberry pants by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="strawberry pants" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5279/14048390479_579ab85856.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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Esther got a ton of use out of the <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/11/quick-change-baby-pants.html">first batch of quick change baby pants</a> that I made her, I couldn't resist making her a slew more when she outgrew them. (Pattern from Anna Maria Horner's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470497815/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0470497815&linkCode=as2&tag=needlean-20">Handmade Beginnings book</a> (affiliate link)). Most of these I kept the print selection simpler and just used two prints, with one for the main pants and the other for the butt panel, then the opposite for the other side. That way the butt panel and the cuff match for both sides. I love love love this Heather Ross Briar Rose Strawberry print and it looks so cute on these pants. I can't resist dressing her in these whenever they are clean!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/14255216403" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="bunny pants by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="bunny pants" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5524/14255216403_aa3fdc7a9e.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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I also love how these bunny pants turned out, I had been saving this Aneela Hoey fabric (from her Posy line) for a special project and decided these pants would be it! These I actually lined with a lavender fabric because I figured the bunnies would be too cute to ever be reversed. The only downside to these pants is that they get dirty really easily so they aren't great for digging in the mud at the park, but they are cute enough to make up for it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/14048429040" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="elephant pants by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="elephant pants" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2913/14048429040_b6725a66f0.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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I actually made these elephant pants before Esther was born, when we knew we were having a girl but I still really wanted to make her gender neutral clothes. (The elephant fabric is from <a href="http://cloud9fabrics.com/happydrawing.html">Cloud 9's Ed Emberley fabric line</a>). Which obviously is not as high a priority for me now, haha. Not that I don't dress her in plenty of gender neutral things, I just have loosened up and realized that part of the fun of having a little girl is dressing her in adorable strawberry and bunny outfits. I had nearly finished the pants but I went back and took them apart and resewed them with narrower side seams to make them wider in the waist/butt, since the first pair I had made originally were so tight. I love the elephants on these pants and while the other side (with elephants as the main pants print) is super cute she more often wears them on this side since they don't get dirty quite so easily.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/14211894756" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="leafy pants by Kate Sharaf, on Flickr"><img alt="leafy pants" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2936/14211894756_bec408f793.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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Finally, I made her a pair of simpler green leafy pants. She actually was wearing these on St. Patrick's day very fittingly, and totally accidentally - I was at a kids event where all the other children were purposefully dressed in green and I hadn't been thinking about it at all. One time when wearing lots of green paid off! I also modified the pattern a bit more for this pair of pants (and the others, except the elephant pants that I had sewn earlier) - since I was letting out the side seam to make more room in the bum, I also narrowed the leg by adding more of a curve to the inseam, making the legs narrower at the bottom. This changes the shape of the pants a bit but I think it looks better than the extra-wide leg that resulted from the other adjustment I made and it also looks a bit more feminine. I did have to be careful to make the bottom of the leg still straight so that they cuff well.<br />
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I have to say, it took some willpower not to make more of these pants - these were all 12 month size and I am trying to hold off on making more until the fall when I see what size she is in then... I'm figuring that as she gets taller this summer she may be able to wear this current set as capri pants for a while too.Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-16764148340920133762014-03-11T22:22:00.000-07:002014-03-11T22:22:27.090-07:00Mod Mosaic Baby Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/13070812735/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="mod mosaic baby quilt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="mod mosaic baby quilt" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7402/13070812735_9b45d63cd4.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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I realized that I never shared this baby quilt which I made over a year ago - before she was born for a baby who is now walking! I used Elizabeth Hartman's <a href="http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2012/01/mod-mosaic-tutorials.html">Mod Mosaic design</a> although I think I pieced it somewhat differently than in her original floor pillow tutorial - I pieced small sections together randomly and then laid it out rather than laying out all the pieces first.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/13070811525/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="mod mosaic quilt detail by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="mod mosaic quilt detail" height="375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7322/13070811525_36d8d4c1e0.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I mostly used the green/yellow/orange/pink colorway of Thomas Knauer's <a href="https://www.threadbias.com/manufacturers/andover-fabrics/fabric_lines/savanna-bop">Savanna Bop</a> fabric line, with coordinating fabrics from my stash, since the parents had shared a similar color scheme fabric with giraffes that they were using for curtains. I quilted it with looping free motion meander design. I didn't want to put a border on the quilt but I also wanted to echo the white strips in the quilt, so I used a <a href="http://www.52quilts.com/2012/05/tuesday-tutorial-susies-magic-binding.html">flanged binding</a> to have a border of white next to the green binding.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/13070811705/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="mod mosaic binding by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="mod mosaic binding" height="375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7370/13070811705_8651c33d31.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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It seems like our friends are having another baby boom this spring so I am hoping to make a number more baby gifts for all these new cuties soon!Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-61461817552220672102014-03-01T21:17:00.000-08:002014-03-01T21:17:19.008-08:00Guest Post on Sew Mama Sew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/february2014/RaglanCardigan005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/february2014/RaglanCardigan005.JPG" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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I am super excited to be sharing a tutorial for an <a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/2014/02/offset-raglan-top-for-kids/">Offset Raglan Top for Kids over on Sew Mama Sew</a>. Hop on over and check it out (and see the photos of my adorable model wearing it)!Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-25432521348754817922014-02-06T22:43:00.000-08:002014-02-06T22:44:21.061-08:00Winter 2014 Kids Clothes Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/12358169064/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="leggings skirt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="leggings skirt" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2861/12358169064_d367cdc208.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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Last week was the winter 2014 <a href="http://blog.kidsclothesweek.com/">Kids Clothes Week</a> challenge, and I was able to nearly meet the challenge to sew kids clothes for an hour each day all week... I missed one day because Esther was teething and was having trouble sleeping and I've been having problems with waking her up by sewing if she is sleeping too lightly, so I didn't want to push it by trying to sew. Really hoping she outgrows this problem soon or I may have to rethink having my sewing area upstairs near her bedroom. In any case, I was happy that I got to sew so much and I made some cute (and useful) new clothes for Esther! I had had the idea to make a skirt attached to leggings after seeing a pair of leggings with a shorter ruffle attached on a friend's baby.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/12357898183/" title="leggings skirt 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="leggings skirt 2" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3763/12357898183_59d1085dbd.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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I made both the leggings and the skirt from upcycled knit shirts, reusing the original hems. It turned out really cute although for the next iteration I will probably make the skirt a bit shorter! Having the skirt attached to the leggings makes it a bit less likely to get in the way when she's crawling and also just makes it easier dressing and undressing her (which it feels like I do a thousand times a day with diaper changes etc).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/12358172704/" title="knit pants by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="knit pants" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3738/12358172704_7119091202.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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I also made several pairs of upcycled pants/leggings - these two were
made from heavy interlock turtlenecks which turn out to make the perfect
weight for cold weather baby pants. I didn't get a picture of another
pair of leggings I made out of a cute pink fabric with tiny white hearts
on it - unfortunately the fabric stretched out quite a bit when she
wore them so that's a bummer, but she'll still probably get some good
use out of them for the next few weeks around valentine's day. You can see the green pants are super comfy:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/12357734875/" title="green pants by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="green pants" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2884/12357734875_480a69eb5b.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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I also made a couple upcycled knit cardigans similar to the ones I made for the last KCW (<a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/10/kids-clothing-week.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/10/more-baby-shirts-for-kids-clothes-week.html">here</a>) but in a big larger size. As you may be able to tell from the photos in this post, getting Esther to stay still long enough to get a good photo of her wearing the clothes I make continues to be a challenge, she is really always on the go (or trying to grab the camera), not to mention that she doesn't love having her clothes changed - so I didn't get shots of all the clothes on her. You can still get a pretty good idea of this shirt, though, I think - I improvised the v-neck and am really happy with how the binding I put on around the neck/placket turned out.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/12357903043/" title="green v-neck cardigan by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="green v-neck cardigan" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/12357903043_858ddd3d8d.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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My favorite project from this KCW is definitely this aqua cardigan, which should fit her for quite a while - the sleeves are rolled up about 2-3" here.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/12357741195/" title="aqua cardigan by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="aqua cardigan" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2823/12357741195_fc97d16005.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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I love how the white binding on the button placket gives this a sophisticated look and the white buttons echo the polka dots. She has gotten a ton of use out of the cardigans I made her for the last KCW so I may just keep making them in successively larger sizes as she grows!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/12357913963/" title="aqua cardigan 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="aqua cardigan 2" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5496/12357913963_192d3ae05a.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-40241175856478804532014-01-08T11:22:00.001-08:002014-01-08T11:22:19.665-08:00Lone Star Mini Quilt and mini-tutorial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841448806/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2878/11841448806_cfe7750f36.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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I am nearly caught up with my blogging backlog, and I wanted to share this project from over a year ago (!) - a lone star mini quilt which I made for my friend Natalie of <a href="http://greenleafgoods.wordpress.com/">Greenleaf Goods</a>. Natalie was so nice and sent me some lovely placemats made with Lotta Jansdotter's Bella fabric when we moved into our new house, so when she moved to Boston I knew I wanted to sew something up for her, too. I had seen some lone star quilts in her pinterest boards and I thought a mini quilt would be just the thing to brighten up her space!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841445466/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini detail by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini detail" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5519/11841445466_8a82f2e4b6.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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I pulled some fabrics in a palette that I thought Natalie would like and machine pieced the star (more on that below) and it came together pretty quickly! I added a few lines of echo quilting around the star and some hand quilted lines inside the star. When I bound it I added twill tape to two corners for hanging.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841446216/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini back by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini back" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5482/11841446216_e6820b386e.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a></div>
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Here's a quick mini-tutorial on how I did the machine piecing (I know that I looked at several tutorials online when I was figuring this out but it was so long ago now that I'm afraid I don't remember where to link to them). This isn't a full tutorial with all the measurements and everything you'd need to exactly recreate this mini-quilt but it should be enough to show you how to do this technique.<br />
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If you look at the star, it is made up of 8 sections, each of which has 3 columns (or rows, if you prefer) of 3 diamonds. Each of those three columns has a different set/order of fabrics. Cut strips of fabric long enough that you'll be able to cut 8 units out of each strip (one for each section of the star), and piece them together in your groups of three, staggering the ends if you wish (to save fabric). Cut into diamond shapes at a 45 degree angle making sure to account for the seam allowance in determining the width to cut. ** I don't have notes on what width/length strips I used or how wide I cut the diamonds but I can go back and try to recreate this info if folks are interested **<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11840660815/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini assembly 4 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini assembly 4" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/11840660815_0f97f8c939.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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Once you have your strips cut, lay them out as they will be sewn together, like this:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841451336/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini assembly 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini assembly 2" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7398/11841451336_222fa966b4.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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Make sure they are not laid out like this!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841090644/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini assembly 1 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini assembly 1" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5481/11841090644_5755a880ac.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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Then you will piece them in the order you have laid them out. (The next set of photos are in different fabrics because I was testing the technique before I made the real quilt). In order to match your points, first take a pencil and use a ruler to mark the 1/4" line at each of the seams.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841454686/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini piecing 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini piecing 2" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5475/11841454686_5da31b5e01.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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Then lay your two strips that you are piecing right sides together and put a pin through the two seams at the point where you have marked. Check that your pin is going through exactly at the seam on both sides, then secure your pins and sew the seam with a 1/4" seam allowance (going through the marked points).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841093524/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini piecing by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini piecing" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/11841093524_c23a8a0b4b.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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Press open and sew the second seam for each section in the same way.<br />
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Then I added triangles of background fabric to each section, pieced them together and squared it up. Here is a view of the finished piecing - I love how neat all the seams look pressed open.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11841089844/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="lone star mini piecing by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="lone star mini piecing" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2823/11841089844_f6078f9074.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a></div>
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-66927926307426350822013-12-19T22:47:00.000-08:002013-12-19T23:08:22.385-08:00Sweaters for EstherIf I didn't have a blogging backlog I could probably write a whole post about each of these sweaters that I knit for Esther... but as it is, I am glad that I have managed to get photos of her in each of them and excited to share with you! I finished basically all the knitting on these sweaters before Esther was born but didn't finish any of them all the way before she got here... I think it was similar to <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/06/babies-and-quilts.html">her quilt</a>, it was as though by not finishing the sweaters all the way she wouldn't come yet. Doesn't quite work that way though, huh?<br />
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This yellow <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/seamless-baby-kimono">kimono style sweater</a> was simple to knit and luckily only required a few buttons to finish it up after she came - I knit it in a newborn size but it was stretchy enough to fit her from a few weeks old until she was several months old. Worked out perfectly that I only made her this one tiny sweater since she was spitting up all the time and I didn't really want to put her in a sweater too often. The pattern was quick and easy, I can see myself making it again either in a bigger size for Esther or as a small one for another baby.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11460468394/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Yellow Baby Kimono by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Yellow Baby Kimono" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3774/11460468394_d71325412b.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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Speaking of how these didn't quite get finished before she arrived - here's a photo of the sweaters blocking that I took four days before she was born. I remember it being a bit awkward crawling around on the floor getting them all pinned! Not totally intentionally, the other three sweaters that I made for her were all about the same size (9-12 months)... but it worked out great, since she has finally stopped outgrowing her clothes every 3 seconds and is actually getting a good amount of wear out of them. Plus they ended up fitting just right for the cold season, hopefully they will still fit through most of the rest of winter/spring.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11460425505/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Blocking Sweaters by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Blocking Sweaters" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3665/11460425505_8314aa2dcc.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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This stripey green sweater is from the same <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/seamless-yoked-baby-sweater">seamless yoked sweater</a> pattern that I used for <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/01/a-few-baby-sweaters.html">this yellow baby cardigan</a>. It's a fun pattern and a quick knit, I may make it again! The yarn is some fun liberty wool that I picked up on a trip to Olympia, WA - I bought three balls and managed to match up the patterning in the yarn so that the sleeves fell at the right point in the pattern and matched eachother! I had <i>just</i> enough yarn for the sweater. It's a little psychedelic but I really like how it turned out and she looks so cute in it!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11460466784/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Green Yoked Sweater by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Green Yoked Sweater" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7376/11460466784_aebc36a682.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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This pink <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/provence-baby-cardigan">provence baby cardigan</a> is the one that tripped me up the most of all of them. I guess I have gotten spoiled by knitting so many sweaters with no finishing that having to seam all the pieces, and then pick up stitches for a collar and button band, was just too much for me (especially when very pregnant and then when Esther came along). It didn't help that I outsmarted myself by knitting the body of the cardigan in one piece rather than separate back, left front, and right front pieces - and then that made the seaming to insert the sleeves trickier. But I finally powered through it and finished up the sweater a couple weeks ago and I <i>love</i> how it looks on her. And it just now is starting to fit her well so I don't feel too bad about taking so long to finish it. Also I have to say I think this photo is the cutest. I love the look on her face and also how she somehow managed to get her pants leg pulled down over her foot. It's all about the pulling up and standing around here lately.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11460536876/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Provence Baby Cardigan by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Provence Baby Cardigan" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5496/11460536876_89b17de372.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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This grey <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/offset-wraplan">offset wraplan sweater</a> also gave me a bit of a tough time, but I finished the knitting so long ago that I can't totally remember what the issue was. I think they had you pick up the neckline after knitting the sweater and it just annoyed me because it could easily have been knit in one piece. And I maybe had issues with the button band (I think I overcompensated and have too many stitches, which made it kind of wavy, but it's not really too bad). I love the offset opening on this, but the width of the neckline irks me - you can always see her onesie underneath like you see in the photo below. This sweater is actually still a bit big on her so hopefully as she grows into it more this won't be as much of an issue. I was pretty determined to make her mostly gender neutral sweaters/clothes when I was pregnant - since I'm not super into girly stuff and so that we could still use them for a potential future sibling no matter that baby's sex - although of course now that she's here it seems kind of silly and I don't mind dressing her in girly things. But these basics are nice too, and this one strikes a nice balance with the purpley buttons.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11460418105/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Grey Offset Wraplan by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Grey Offset Wraplan" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/11460418105_a4e1228298.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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There's actually a funny story about this sweater. When I was knitting it, I showed Lawson the pattern a few times, which has an octopus appliqued on the front. I was describing the sweater to Lawson and the idea of an offset cardigan wasn't ringing any bells, so I reminded him that it had an octopus on it in the pattern (but I wasn't going to put an octopus on the one I was making). The first time we talked about it he asked why not (I just didn't feel like it), and the second time he responded with "I still haven't received a good explanation for why there won't be an octopus!" So we joked about him wanting the octopus but he did give it up. Plus we got a cute octopus onesie as a gift at our baby shower so that helped too.<br />
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If you're interested in what yarn I used for each sweater or those types of details, the info's all in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/NeedleAndSpatula">my ravelry projects</a> as always!Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-39114258155658372962013-12-08T21:02:00.000-08:002013-12-08T21:02:20.640-08:00New Pattern Prices and Discount Until New YearI haven't mentioned my PDF sewing patterns in a while here, but they are still available for purchase in<span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://meylah.com/NeedleAndSpatula">my Meylah shop</a> and in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/NeedleAndSpatula?section_id=7744017">my Etsy Shop</a> -- and now automatic digital download is available from both shops, so you can get sewing right away! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I have been thinking for a while that the $6 price for the patterns did not reflect the complexity of the patterns, or the current market for these types of patterns. I am proud of these patterns and put a ton of work into writing them, and I would hate for anyone to think that the low price was a reflection of a lower quality product. So I have decided to raise my prices to $8 per pattern, which I think is still a great deal! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">For one last chance to buy the patterns at the old price, use the coupon code "NEWYEAR" on Etsy for 25% off (bringing the price for each pattern back down to $6). This coupon code is only good until December 31st, so if you have been thinking of buying one of my patterns now is a great time to do so!</span><br />
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</span>Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-91124711128779660642013-12-04T23:07:00.000-08:002014-02-06T21:16:14.351-08:00Picking Holiday CardsThis is the first year that Lawson and I are getting photo cards for our holiday cards - with our cutie-pie to show off, how could we resist? We took photos this past weekend on a beautiful hike (just before the temperatures dropped this week, good timing), so we thought we'd use those photos for our card. I think the family photo turned out pretty well since we were relying on the kindness (and photography skills) of strangers, but it isn't the best photo of Esther ever, although it does reflect her inquisitive side (she really could not stop staring at the waterfalls). Luckily we'll be able to include some additional cute photos of her on the back of the card. Also, I kind of love that everyone in our family is wearing something I knitted in the photo.<br />
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I have always admired the cards at TinyPrints, both ogling their options online and seeing the nice baby announcements and holiday cards that we've gotten from friends. I'm super excited to be partnering with them for our cards this year and I had fun playing around on the site mocking up some cards. There are tons of cute options, but I narrowed our choices down to this selection. What do you think?<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11217265676/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="joyful holly card front by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="joyful holly card front" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/11217265676_7e55fd0f04.jpg" /></a></div>
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This joyful holly card is my favorite, I think - love the square shape and the cute motifs. Plus, pure joy pretty much captures our sentiment this year I think. They have an option for a cute patterned back, but since we'll be putting photos on the back I think it looks less cluttered with the solid red background.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11217236605/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="joyful holly card back by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="joyful holly card back" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5514/11217236605_0bdbdaf2fe.jpg" /></a></div>
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I also love this cozy feeling card - another square option. The back would look pretty much the same as the last one except with a solid blue (or there's a red or green option for the card and back, too).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11217233945/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="cozy feeling card front by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="cozy feeling card front" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7302/11217233945_2c96df5821.jpg" height="500" width="500" /></a></div>
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I think this card (delightfully dotted) may be more traditional than we are going for but the dots are fun! Plus you can see more of the waterfall in the photo. Speaking of which, I really appreciated how easy it was to zoom/crop your photos on the TinyPrints site - it makes it really easy to customize each card, particularly when you are trying different photo orientations and also want to customize what looks best with each card.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11217234865/" title="delightfully dotted card front by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="delightfully dotted card front" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3802/11217234865_77878f4cc3.jpg" height="357" width="500" /></a></div>
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I actually think the patterned background on this one looks good with the photos!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11217244874/" title="delightfully dotted card back by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="delightfully dotted card back" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3693/11217244874_def313fc98.jpg" height="361" width="500" /></a></div>
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Speaking of playing around with photo placement to see what looks best with the card... I was bummed out that our photo just really didn't work well with this joyous heart card. This card was one of my favorites but the waterfall is definitely not compatible with the name placement. I'd be more disappointed if I didn't like the other options so much, though.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11217246164/" title="joyous heart card front by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="joyous heart card front" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/11217246164_4a381ec3f3.jpg" height="500" width="365" /></a></div>
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So what do you think? Which card is your favorite, and what are you doing for your cards this year?<br />
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You may have seen that TinyPrints has been having some great black friday week deals - if you aren't going to get your cards picked out this week, though, you can still get 20% off and free shipping using the promo code TPH85Z - the code expires 1/31/14, so there's still plenty of time to get your cards for the holidays. Just paste the code in the "promo code" box at checkout and you're good to go!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclosure: I am excited to be partnering with TinyPrints on this post and they will be providing me with some of our cards. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-44032840571148079212013-11-26T21:04:00.000-08:002013-11-26T21:04:12.205-08:00Appliqued Onesies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078696916/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="flower onesie by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="flower onesie" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3817/11078696916_0152e4512a.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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I'm going to keep right on sharing some of the clothes that I have made for Esther, keeping going with the momentum from my Kids Clothes Week posts. Although technically I didn't make these onesies for her, I embellished them. You know how if you get a pack of four or five onesies, three or four are cute and one or two say "I'm a princess" or "just perfect"? No offense intended if you are into those types of sayings, but they are not really my thing. Plus I love getting to give her things a more handmade touch, so I have been having a great time appliqueing designs on onesies (similar to the <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/10/more-baby-shirts-for-kids-clothes-week.html">appliqued t-shirts</a> I made several years ago). This time I tried using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WWOBWY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000WWOBWY&linkCode=as2&tag=needlean-20">steam-a-seam lite</a> instead of regular and found that was great for keeping the shirts from getting stiff and it was easier to stitch through.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078778834/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="watermelon and star onesies by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="watermelon and star onesies" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7326/11078778834_76a8af34bb.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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It's a fun challenge picking the right applique for each onesie to cover up the saying or icon that was originally there. The first batch of these that I made (with the flower, watermelon, and umbrella) I did the applique on my machine, using the free motion foot. With the big designs, especially the umbrella, it was trickier than I expected to keep the rest of the shirt out of the way and keep the design flat as I worked on it, so the stitching is a little wonky but I don't really mind. I was curious to see how they would turn out with hand stitching so for the second batch (with the star and the strawberries) I hand-sewed the appliques with a simple running stitch and a single strand of embroidery floss. That obviously took more time but was easier to control and turned out more neatly. I enjoyed both techniques and think that which one is better to do really just depends what you feel like at the time. I didn't do it on either of these but I think it would be fun to add some more embroidered details when doing the handstitching, so maybe I'll try that on my next ones!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078760404/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="strawberry onesie by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="strawberry onesie" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/11078760404_451c4e9e36.jpg" height="500" width="377" /></a></div>
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I think I had just made the strawberry one in this picture, whereas you can see that the umbrella one has gotten lots of good use - I like the fuzzy frayed edges!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078650655/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="umbrella onesie 1 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="umbrella onesie 1" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7357/11078650655_738e009701.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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I don't think that I had seen the thimble blossoms umbrella quilt when I designed this onesie, or at least I wasn't thinking of it consciously but it is a pretty similar idea! I figured an umbrella quilt would be good for a Portland baby.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078824083/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="umbrella onesie 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="umbrella onesie 2" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3720/11078824083_6be9b6602e.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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Really, this picture is just here because it's cute. I'm having such a fun time with this cutie. Although photo shoots are continuing to get more and more difficult - I am still ending up with a lot of shots like this (she is increasingly mobile and wants to eat the camera):<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078807033/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="going for the camera by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="going for the camera" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7420/11078807033_19a8f7f806.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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Also, I never shared the photos of her wearing the <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/10/more-baby-shirts-for-kids-clothes-week.html">grey striped cardigan from KCW</a>, so here are a few:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078637595/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="grey striped shirt on E by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="grey striped shirt on E" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7364/11078637595_d33c8537d2.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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She has been getting a ton of use out of this shirt (and really, all the shirts I made her, but this is especially a favorite). I'm so glad I picked the green buttons, I love how they look!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/11078640975/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Grey striped shirt on E 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Grey striped shirt on E 2" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5477/11078640975_48bb6de7bf.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-54571110007544986212013-11-19T11:39:00.000-08:002014-05-20T23:03:11.611-07:00Quick Change Baby Pants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10949435043/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Quick Change Pants 5 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Quick Change Pants 5" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3706/10949435043_47861c4af4.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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To follow up on my kids clothing week sewing posts (<a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/10/kids-clothing-week.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/10/more-baby-shirts-for-kids-clothes-week.html">here</a>), I wanted to share a few more of the clothes that I have sewed for Esther. I love the Quick Change baby pants pattern from Anna Maria Horner's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470497815/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0470497815&linkCode=as2&tag=needlean-20">Handmade Beginnings book,</a> it is such a cute way to showcase favorite quilting cotton prints. While the instructions say that it require 3/4 yard of each of the main prints for most of the sizes, I found that I could eke it out with 1/2 yard, particularly for prints where the orientation of the fabric didn't matter. I love that the pants are reversible, so it's like getting two pairs of pants in one! Plus with the cuff that you can fold down as they grow, they should fit a bit longer than most baby clothes.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10949245716/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Quick Change Pants 3 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Quick Change Pants 3" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5475/10949245716_32e583d815.jpg" height="500" width="333" /></a></div>
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This first pair that I sewed for Esther was pretty snug, which could have been because I made them at the height of her deliciously chubby stage, so for the next two pairs that I sewed, I cut out the same size (9 months) but made a smaller seam allowance for the two outer seams (eg the ones at her hips, not the inseam).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10949433353/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Quick Change Pants 4 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Quick Change Pants 4" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/10949433353_188d6e736c.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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That worked great and the next two pairs fit her much better - although they are still a bit of a wiggle to get on and off. These pants in muted sage green and coral are my absolute fave!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10949335224/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Quick Change Pants 1 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Quick Change Pants 1" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/10949335224_27f0f011b9.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
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I also made a super fun bright pair of pants for her also in green and pink. I was tempted to sew tons more but I should probably make them in a larger size! She is growing so fast, it's already about time to fold down those cuffs...<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10949427563/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Quick Change Pants 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Quick Change Pants 2" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/10949427563_078895b315.jpg" height="333" width="500" /></a></div>
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-92132348745211776452013-11-06T14:19:00.004-08:002013-11-06T14:19:55.496-08:00Bulgur Kale Salad with Cranberries and Almonds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10715146544/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Bulgur Kale Salad with Cranberries and Almonds by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Bulgur Kale Salad with Cranberries and Almonds" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/10715146544_6c841bcce1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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It's been a while since I've shared something from the "spatula" side of this blog's title, and while I have some more kids clothes posts in the works I thought I would just quickly post this in the midst, since it was really yummy and is just perfect for fall. And I want to keep track of the recipe for myself for the future!<br />
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This salad was inspired by one from Whole Foods, but I added the almonds and I didn't actually look at their ingredient list so it may differ in other ways. The orange juice and sherry vinegar balance each other well, giving it a bit of sweetness but also enough acidity. I just threw it together, so this is actually less a recipe with formal amounts than a general idea, but it should be enough of an idea to recreate it I think.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
<ul>
<li>Dried bulgur wheat (or grain of your choice)</li>
<li>Dried cranberries</li>
<li>Kale (smaller/more delicate leaves are preferable if possible)</li>
<li>Slivered almonds</li>
<li>Shallots (or red onion)</li>
<li>Olive oil</li>
<li>Orange juice </li>
<li>Sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)</li>
<li>Salt to taste</li>
</ul>
My favorite way to prepare bulgur wheat is to put it in a heat-safe bowl and pour boiling water over it to just a bit more than cover it, then let it sit covered until the water is absorbed - so that's what I did here, adding the cranberries in before the water so that they would get a bit rehydrated too. Finely chop the kale (removing large pieces of stem), and lightly toast the almonds. Finely dice the shallots (I used just a little bit of shallots - less than half of a small head). Add all the ingredients to the bowl of bulgur and cranberries and toss! If you are unsure how much OJ/vinegar/olive oil to use, I used about equal parts OJ and vinegar I'd say (maybe somewhat more OJ), and you can start with less than you think you'll need and adjust until it seems like enough.Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-64978966461512412662013-10-23T22:59:00.001-07:002013-10-23T22:59:18.448-07:00More Baby Shirts for Kids Clothes Week!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10452751316/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Pink Gathered Yoke Shirt 3 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Pink Gathered Yoke Shirt 3" height="500" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/10452751316_ae1c9861e7.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
After all the sewing that I got done on Monday (as I described in <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/10/kids-clothing-week.html">yesterday's post</a>), I didn't get as much time to sew yesterday, and I only managed to cut out the pieces for another long sleeve top for the baby. Today I got a bit more time to sew so I was able to sew together that top, and cut and sew another button-front top for her as well. It's so fun really making time to sew and getting so many cute things made for her!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10452737274/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Pink Gathered Yoke Shirt 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Pink Gathered Yoke Shirt 2" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7401/10452737274_5f27de26dd.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
I love how this pink top turned out; it was inspired by a similar styled shirt that she has which she has almost outgrown - as you can see, this one has a bit of room to grow. I adapted the self-drafted pattern I used for the first set of shirts again, removing the button placket/front opening, adding a shoulder button, and here cutting a yoke just below the armholes and then adding a gathered bottom to the yoke. The sleeves of the shirt this was made from were gathered, so I just cut out sleeves and reused that hem with the gathers, giving this shirt cute gathered cuffs with no extra work for me!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10452738354/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Pink Gathered Yoke Shirt 1 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Pink Gathered Yoke Shirt 1" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7433/10452738354_122825a0d1.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
The pants that she is wearing above are not ones I sewed but I like the a lot! I have been feeling a bit torn about whether to embellish these shirts a bit more -- I have lots of ideas of ways that I could do that, but at least for these ones, I am really enjoying just having some good solid color basic shirts for her. She has a lot of shirts with designs on them, and then a lot of (non-matching) pants with designs on them too, so it's nice to have some basics that are really versatile and will go with a lot of her more interesting pants.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10452807705/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Grey Stripe Cardigan Shirt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Grey Stripe Cardigan Shirt" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2822/10452807705_49944f5b78.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
I finished it after she had gone to bed so I'll have to take a photo of her wearing it later, but here is the second shirt that I made today - a fun grey and white striped cardigan style shirt. I almost put pink buttons on it but I couldn't resist the green. This shirt is very similar to the coral red shirt that I shared yesterday, but without the added length. Also, for this shirt, I decided to use twill tape to stabilize the button placket rather than just folding over the knit - this fabric (again, from an upcycled plus size shirt) seemed particularly stretchy and like it would benefit from that added structure, and I'm really happy with how that turned out. Although for some reason, not sure if it was related to the reinforced placket or not, I had a heck of a time getting the buttonholes to sew correctly and had to rip out and restart a couple of them when they got messed up. Luckily that worked and I was able to get them all made and looking decent in the end. And I am kind of amazed that ALL the stripes match up! Not only in the front but on both side seams and the sleeve seams too - I wasn't going to stress about it but it worked out amazingly well without too much effort.<br />
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I'll be honest, I feel a little embarrassed about how excited I am about these new shirts and that I have fun planning my baby's outfits. But it's just so fun to have a kiddo of my own to sew for and I'm thrilled with how these tops are turning out - not only do I think they're really cute but I also know they will a ton of use. After sewing for other people's kids for a long time but not really knowing what size or type of clothing they needed most or what would really get used, it's so great to feel like I know just what I want and can make it for myself. And I love getting to experiment with how many different ways I can adapt a pattern - as I mentioned yesterday, I probably have more ideas for these little shirts than would actually be practical to make (um, in fact, I sketched out a bunch just to get the ideas down and had 8 or 10 more variations that I'd love to try). But I should maybe cut myself off soon and save the rest of those ideas for later, to sew in a larger size! Not to mention that my sewing time the rest of this week will be scarce, so this may be it in any case for now. I may not technically end up meeting the challenge of KCW to sew for an hour a day all week but I am more than satisfied with how much I got sewn already this week, so I'm calling it a success!Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-59738690339336572672013-10-22T23:32:00.000-07:002013-10-22T23:32:00.909-07:00Kids Clothing Week!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434634906/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baby outfit 1 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby outfit 1" height="500" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5542/10434634906_87b3f2d06e.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
Have you seen that it's <a href="http://blog.kidsclothesweek.com/">Kids Clothes Week</a> this week? It is such perfect timing for me, I wasn't paying attention that it was this week but I had just sewn several things for Esther on Sunday and was excited to do more sewing on Monday when I found out it was that time again! I have enjoyed reading about KCW in the past and following along as others sewed, but this is my first time sewing along myself, now that Esther is 7 months old (I think there was at least one other KCW since she's been born but I wasn't up for it at that time).<br />
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I sewed her a few clothes when she was smaller but mostly tried to hold off - she has been growing so fast (already wearing mostly 12 month clothes and some 18 month!) and so it seemed silly to sew things that she would outgrow right away. I am hoping that she is going to slow down her rate of growth a bit now, though, and I also find that clothes don't always fit her right because she has a very long torso but not so long arms and legs, so it seemed like a prime chance to sew her better fitting clothes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434732983/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="baby outfit 4 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby outfit 4" height="500" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3811/10434732983_285155efbd.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
I had sewn her a number of pairs of leggings when she was smaller (I think I have some cute pics of her in them so I will try to find those and post them later), and I had been meaning to sew more, so I sewed up two pairs over the weekend and another pair on Monday. The pattern is self-drafted, just tracing a pair of leggings that fit her well. These grey striped leggings were a favorite shirt of mine that had gotten a hole in the front near the hem (this happens to me all the time, I think its because my pants button rubs them? I'm not sure but it's super annoying). They are kind of lightweight but so cute on her! I also decided to try sewing her a little shirt... I traced a cute long-sleeved t-shirt that she has and used it to make the pattern, but added snaps to the front instead of buttons. The snaps were a bit of a fail because I didn't reinforce the fabric enough and now I don't think you could unsnap it easily without ripping the fabric. Luckily it still fits over her head without unsnapping so I'm just calling them decorative and going with it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434614064/" title="baby outfit 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby outfit 2" height="500" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2888/10434614064_e0594e906a.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
I really liked the way that shirt fit so I used the same self-drafted pattern to sew another very similar one on Monday, but this time with buttons, and I added a bit of length for our extra-long baby. I should mention that for all the leggings and these two shirts, I have been upcycling t-shirts (most bought at the goodwill outlet bins here in Portland for super cheap!) and I try to reuse the hems as much as possible - saves time and frustration hemming knits and gives them a more professional look. These pants are Anna Maria Horner's Quick Change Pants from her book, I made a number of pairs of them earlier and will have to share more about them later too! I love the green and coral in these pants and so it's so great to have a shirt that goes so well with them - I think both of these shirts will get a ton of use, which is great!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434596394/" title="baby leggings by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby leggings" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3765/10434596394_8c855df412.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
I also sewed her another quick pair of leggings yesterday, and added this stamped tag in the back which should help tell the front from the back.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434604506/" title="baby leggings label by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby leggings label" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/10434604506_2da9a77624.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
Finally, the project that I made yesterday that I am most excited about is this ruffle peplum tunic!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434790183/" title="Baby ruffle shirt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby ruffle shirt" height="500" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3790/10434790183_32f84d0e0d.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
I started with the same self-drafted long sleeve t-shirt pattern, but cut the front piece on the fold (eliminating the buttonhole placket fabric), and put a buttonhole on the left shoulder instead of the seam. This fabric is from a weird pair of lounge pants, believe it or not, so there wasn't enough hemmed fabric to recycle for the body of the shirt, so I left it unhemmed under the ruffles, which are also unhemmed (and cut on the bias mostly to maximize their length - still would have preferred it if they were a bit longer, but these were the longest pieces I could get diagonally across the bottom of the pants). The shirt was cut to the same length as the regular t-shirt pattern and the ruffles are each 3" wide - one is sewn on about 1/4" about the bottom hem, and the other is sewn 2" above that.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434649745/" title="Baby shirt detail by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby shirt detail" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3727/10434649745_90f8dcd0fe.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
I love the little flower button I found in my collection to use here - I think it helps it look a bit more fancy and special.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434771263/" title="baby ruffle shirt 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby ruffle shirt 2" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3796/10434771263_7c25b59e89.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
The tunic length is great on Esther since she is so long - I don't have to worry about her shirt riding up immediately when she scoots around. But speaking of how much she is scooting it does make it tough to get good photos of her in the outfits, particularly an outfit like this that is hard to see when she's sitting down.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434606105/" title="baby ruffle shirt 3 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby ruffle shirt 3" height="500" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3802/10434606105_fcd3d37636.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
Not to mention that she is always on the move and tends to immediately crawl over and try to grab the camera so there are a lot of shots like this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10434776163/" title="baby outfit 3 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby outfit 3" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/10434776163_c877326acf.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />
I kind of can't believe that I sewed two tops and a pair of leggings yesterday, I really had a fire under me! (And the baby cooperated by napping well and going to bed on time). Today I didn't dedicate all my free time to sewing like yesterday but I did cut out and start sewing another tunic length top/dress for Esther that I am really excited about! I hope to finish it tomorrow and maybe start another top for her. I am kind of tempted to keep using this basic top pattern to sew tops until I run out of ideas but I should maybe stop myself after I make a few more or I'll have more tops than she'll ever wear. Not to mention that I have more ideas of other things I want to sew!<br />
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-15152254362158537532013-10-17T11:28:00.001-07:002013-10-17T14:41:04.048-07:00knitted baby accessories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10332141135/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="newborn baby hat 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="newborn baby hat 2" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3699/10332141135_22af9cefb7.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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In the spirit of actually posting the various projects I've been making, in no particular order, I wanted to share some of the knitted accessories that I made for Esther. I also have made her quite a few little tiny sweaters (love how fast baby sweaters are to knit up!) but I'll share those later. This hat was the last knitting project I finished before she was born - I realized that I had knit her several larger hats but nothing newborn sized, and with a march due date I wanted to be sure she had a special handmade hat to wear in her first days!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10332109965/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="newborn baby hat 1 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="newborn baby hat 1" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2890/10332109965_d52bd23fb2.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I knit this hat with a variation of my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-baby-hat---decreases-in-10-sections">basic baby hat pattern on ravelry</a> and using Knit Picks felici sport yarn (which, ahem, I got on sale and have a bunch more of, so you may see another baby project in this yarn in the future). Esther was just a few days old in this pictures and the hat fit her for her first month or so, and then it got pretty warm so she didn't need a hat anyways.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10332105454/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="two baby hats by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="two baby hats" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5541/10332105454_af59658c00.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I had also made her several other hats before she was born, and conveniently now that it is getting chilly again, they both fit her now. So that worked out well! Both are improvised designs that are similar to that basic baby hat linked above. On a recent outing she started trying to pull the hat off her head, though, so I may need to get to work on one with ties to keep it on pretty soon!<br />
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She gets very serious about looking around (and trying to eat the straps on the stroller) so here is a serious baby photo from a few weeks ago:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10332095134/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="baby hat in action by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby hat in action" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7405/10332095134_4306685956.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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Before she was born, I went on a bit of a baby legwarmer knitting spree. I knit three pairs and was all geared up to knit several more but didn't get around to it. Baby legwarmers are great since they can keep little baby legs warm while allowing easy diaper changes, or they can provide an extra layer of warmth under or over lightweight baby pants. I had no idea what a huge baby we'd have, though, and Esther didn't get too much wear out of her little legwarmers before she outgrew them! I bought her some of the super stretchy larger commercially made ones and she has been getting a lot of use out of them, so maybe I will motivate to knit her another larger pair.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10332293183/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="baby legwarmers by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="baby legwarmers" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2885/10332293183_f2c6da94ea.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Somehow I only got photos of her wearing this one pair of the legwarmers although I know she wore at least one other pair quite a bit. They're packed up now so you'll just have to take my word for it.<br />
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[Edited to add:]<br />
Oh wait! I found some progress pics from my phone at least of the other two pairs of legwarmers.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10335264106/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013-02-03 19.08.16 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-02-03 19.08.16" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7456/10335264106_90400dce19.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10335262714/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013-01-16 22.59.50 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-01-16 22.59.50" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7338/10335262714_55ca65981d.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-48582536591919445892013-10-08T10:47:00.000-07:002013-10-08T10:47:22.273-07:00Halloween SewingI'm still trying to get back to blogging regularly, as you can tell - in addition to being busy with the baby (and summer fun stuff until recently), I really have continued to struggle with what I should post about - I have such a backlog of fun things to share, I can't decide which to post so I just don't get around to posting! This is totally silly, I realize, but I do really want to share it all with you, so I'm going to just try to be better about jumping in and sharing something already. In this case, though, it was an easy choice since these photos have been sitting on my computer since last October and I wanted to be sure to share before halloween!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10158047573/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Halloween table runner by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Halloween table runner" height="375" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3809/10158047573_b6889dcd9e.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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One of the wonderful things about owning a house and being somewhere we intend to stay a long time is that we have finally started acquiring grown-up furniture. After years of having a tiny ikea dining room table that barely fit 4 placemats, we now have a lovely vintage dining room table with plenty of space for a table runner! I have visions of making a whole slew of runners for our table but so far this halloween one that I whipped up last year is the only one that has come to fruition.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10157998446/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="halloween runner 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="halloween runner 2" height="375" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3771/10157998446_007bd265a6.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I had bought up this awesome Lizzy House halloween fabric last year and I was determined to actually use it rather than having it sit in my stash. I thought these fun square in square blocks would be a great way to show it off (I am sure there is a real name for these blocks that I don't know - anyone?). I just pieced them by measuring and cutting the squares and triangles but I realized after the fact that they would have been much faster and easier if I had foundation paper pieced them.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10157904735/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="halloween runner 3 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="halloween runner 3" height="375" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3821/10157904735_baaf0b4144.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I backed and machine bound the runner with a solid grey kona fabric, with the goal of having the runner be reversible. This is probably why I haven't motivated to sew any more runners since last year, the grey side of this has been a great all purpose, all season runner for our table that matches most of our placemats! Making your runner reversible is a great way to get more bang for your buck (so to say), especially if you're making something like this where one side is really only useful for a few weeks a year. I actually often lose track of the fact that this is actually our halloween runner and get a surprise when I take it off the table to wash it! Which reminds me, it's been October for a week, I really need to go flip it over while it's still halloween season.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/10158047183/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="spiderweb coaster by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="spiderweb coaster" height="375" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2888/10158047183_db67494118.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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In the top photo above, you can also catch a peek of this fun spiderweb mug rug that I whipped up last year. It's a bit of a play on the traditional spiderweb block, but done in a more improv style. This was also a fun chance to play around with my low volume grey fabrics! Maybe this year (or realistically at this point, next year) I'll make a couple other cute mug rugs/trivets that are also halloween themed to make a set.<br />
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How about you, have you been doing any halloween sewing?Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-29882212593125845982013-07-31T17:00:00.000-07:002013-07-31T17:00:02.103-07:00A fun playmat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9388672537/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="map quilt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="map quilt" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3707/9388672537_b9d77c7e4e.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Before Esther was born, Lawson and I saw this fun map fabric at <a href="http://www.drygoodsdesignonline.com/">Drygoods Designs</a> in Seattle and had to get it, since he loves maps. I figured that it would make a good playmat/floor quilt for Esther and I meant to make it before she was born... which didn't quite happen, but I was happy to get it made a few months after she arrived and still in plenty of time for her to play on it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9391447444/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="E on map quilt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="E on map quilt" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7453/9391447444_d9891b7b87.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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She seems to like it, wouldn't you say? Since I was sewing this with a newborn in the house, I kept it really simple - rather than quilting and then binding it, I sewed it more like a blanket (but using two layers of batting to make it a comfier playmat), and then quilted it after topstitching the edge down. The quilting is some very minimal straight lines.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9391448674/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="E on map quilt 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="E on map quilt 2" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2810/9391448674_531c04ea13.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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You can see, she's already studying the fun map in the photo above. When we've had older kids over they've had lots of fun checking out the map and finding neat details on it, which makes me think this may be useful for a longer time than I expected!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9388675547/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="back of map quilt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="back of map quilt" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3740/9388675547_d2a49fa085.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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For the back, I pieced together a bunch of black and white prints, since babies are supposed to particularly like looking at these types of high contrast images. And I mixed in some fun i-spy type prints (keys, scissors, leaves, safety pins, dog prints), thinking they would be fun to point out and talk about when she gets older. So it really is a pretty reversible little playmat!<br />
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Esther now has quite the collection of quilts, between the one <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/07/a-wonderful-gift.html">I just posted about from my do.good stitches bee mates</a>, and the <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/06/babies-and-quilts.html">earlier one that I made for her</a>, not to mention several others that we have received as gifts... but between always having one on the floor to play on, having one to take to the park or on the back deck, having one to snuggle under (and having some in the laundry after all those activities) they really all do get put to good use!<br />
<br />Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-78084971340642688572013-07-28T22:42:00.000-07:002013-07-28T22:42:27.142-07:00A wonderful gift<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9388573811/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="do good stitches quilt for E by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="do good stitches quilt for E" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5536/9388573811_cfc5f764d1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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As I mentioned in my <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/06/babies-and-quilts.html">earlier post</a>, Esther received a lovely gift of a baby quilt made by the members of my do.good stitches bee, the love circle. I so enjoyed the creativity that goes into the bee and the challenge of making different blocks each month, especially when the quilter for the month gave us some room to play around. So the lovely quilt that <a href="http://greenleafgoods.wordpress.com/">Natalie</a> coordinated, pieced together and quilted for us is so special to me... not only because its so beautiful in its own right but because it means so much to me to get to have a quilt that really represents how special and creative this bee is.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9388572899/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="back of do good stitches quilt for E by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="back of do good stitches quilt for E" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3724/9388572899_9808021890.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I love the scrappy back almost as much as the front - I have to use both sides so we don't miss out on this awesome star!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9388571053/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="E on do good stitches quilt.22 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="E on do good stitches quilt.22" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7440/9388571053_ee18b6b76a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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The quilt seemed so big when Esther was just a few weeks old but she is getting so huge it no longer seems big at all! Its the perfect playmat (and great for the two of us to snuggle up under, too).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9388575405/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="E on do good stitches quilt - 4 months 2 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="E on do good stitches quilt - 4 months 2" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/9388575405_b48c577a8e.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Huge thanks to all the bee members who contributed blocks and especially to Natalie for making it happen! If any of you all area reading I'd love to hear who made which stars...<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9391347516/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="E on do good stitches quilt - 4 months by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="E on do good stitches quilt - 4 months" height="500" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5535/9391347516_ed19a6c063.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-54479549447999090162013-06-26T00:11:00.000-07:002013-06-26T00:11:16.974-07:00Blog stuffA brief non-baby/non-craft related post... as I am sure you have all heard, google reader is going away (or has it already?? I am really not on top of this).<br />
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I confess, I actually have not been doing a lot of blog reading of late - in addion to having had a few other things going on like creating another person, I have just been finding it easier to share and connect on instagram (I'm @needleandspatula) and since I so often read on my phone, I find the blog format harder to keep up with there. I think I'm not the only one in this boat. But I really do find that sharing and creating community by blogging and reading/commenting on other blogs is a deeper way to connect at least for me, and I am working hard to do more of both posting and reading others' blogs.<br />
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I am sure you are all way ahead of me on this, but as you know, if you want to keep following my blog (and I hope you do!), you'll need to subscribe elsewhere if you are currently following in google reader. I have subscribe by rss and subscribe by email links in the sidebar and I am going to add a bloglovin button for good measure - for now you can click here to <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2703445/?claim=t5hktjjcj7r">follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>.<br />
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Can any of you give me advice on if there's anything else I need to do to make it easier to follow my blog in a new format?<br />
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Thanks so much folks!<br />
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And so this isn't a photoless post, here is a baby pic:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9139885921/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013-05-21 17.41.09 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-05-21 17.41.09" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/9139885921_f12e6d46db.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-84257545791423924552013-06-16T23:44:00.000-07:002013-06-16T23:44:11.808-07:00babies and quiltsThanks everyone for your well wishes and nice comments on <a href="http://www.needleandspatula.com/2013/06/welcome-baby-esther.html">my last post</a>! As I mentioned, I really want to get back to blogging, but I have been continuing to have the challenge of having too big a backlog of things that I want to share. So, I am going to just jump in, post whatever I feel like or in the order that seems to make sense, and try not to worry if there are things that just don't ever get blogged.<br />
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This particular post is one that I have been thinking about for a while. Most of the quilts that I have made have been baby quilts, and so until I had a baby, most of the quilts that I made were gifts (in fact, I realized that Esther's baby quilt is the only actual quilt that I have finished and kept other than my very first small sampler quilt). I know that many other quilters feel my compulsion to welcome new life with a soft, cuddly handmade creation. But I also know that for me, I just love the process of making quilts, and while I put a lot of thought and love for the new baby into them, I also never worried too much about if/how they were used after they were gifted. So it has been an unexpected joy as I have become a mother to see how loved those quilts are by those who receive them.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9063246061/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013-05-03 16.12.03 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-05-03 16.12.03" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3665/9063246061_7f97f71062.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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One lovely gift that we received before Esther was born was a joint present from a group of our friends back in DC - all of whom have small children that I had made quilts for. Before sending us the gift, they sent pictures of each of the children with their quilt, holding up signs saying that they love their quilts but since their moms don't quilt they wanted to buy us the crib on our registry. Honestly, seeing all the photos of the kiddos (some still babies, some older) with their quilts was as great a part of the gift as the crib itself! It was so nice to know the quilts are being used and loved.<br />
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Later, at one of our childbirth/infant care classes, the instructor asked everyone by way of introduction to share a favorite gift that they had received so far. I was amazed that at least half of the people said it was a quilt that a friend or family member had made for their baby - more than any purchased object, it was clear that these handmade gifts are cherished treasures. Now that Esther is here, I have been joined a playgroup and have been going to other moms' houses, and there is always a quilt laid down on the living room floor for the babies to play on (or brought to the park, or put down on the deck or the lawn) - and there is always a story of who made the quilt for them, with love. And as you can see from the photos here, Esther spends a lot of time playing on quilts at home too!<br />
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I just wanted to share these anecdotes as a kind of group thank you from new moms to all of you quilters out there - you may have realized how loved your gifts are, but in case like me, you didn't fully know, here it is.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9063262023/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013-05-10 18.27.37 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-05-10 18.27.37" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3691/9063262023_7c9422fd07.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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So, on to the actual quilt in these photos! I had a very hard time deciding what quilt design/color scheme I wanted to make for Esther's quilt, and didn't even start it until the last month or two before she was born... finally I had to tell myself that I would surely make her more than one quilt and not to stress out too much about this being her official one and only "baby quilt" that I made her.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9063244801/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013-05-026 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-05-026" height="377" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2830/9063244801_bf3730fe49.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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The design was inspired by several quilts I had seen with a square pattern like <a href="http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2011/12/navy-and-green-crib-quilt-pattern.html">this one by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter</a> - I thought it would be fun to make it with rectangles, though. I also made it so half the white diamonds were wider and half were skinnier - I like the way it turned out, but I think I might actually like it better if they were either all the same width or the differences between the two types of diamonds were more striking. I realized I haven't taken any photos of the finished quilt that don't have a baby in them, but I figured you all wouldn't complain too much! Hopefully you can get a pretty good sense of the design even though you can't see the whole thing at once.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9063244345/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0046 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0046" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2880/9063244345_0d767f9017.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I foundation paper pieced the blocks with templates that I drew, so the sewing went pretty quickly (which was good, since I was really pregnant and pretty low energy by that point). I picked the color scheme thinking of springy colors and then as it came together I realized it was pretty eastery.... not totally what I intended but I am OK with it. I free motion quilted it with simple loops (it was really quick since its so small), and was actually finishing sewing the binding on in the hospital as we waited for my labor to really start! Lawson said that he knew the baby couldn't be born until I finished her quilt, so I guess its a good thing I brought it with me.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/9063245403/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013-05-25 08.04.31 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-05-25 08.04.31" height="500" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5347/9063245403_be05fe8488.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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I also want to share a wonderful quilt that my friends in the do.good stitches love bee made for me, and another quilt/play mat that I made since she was born... but since this post is already way too long, I will save both of those for later posts.Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-3938192445237894702013-06-04T23:48:00.002-07:002013-06-04T23:48:55.495-07:00Welcome Baby Esther!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945669712/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0102 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0102" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/8945669712_14a7a99e33.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I have been meaning to stop back in here and share the news of our baby Esther's birth pretty much since she was born in late March, but it has been so hard to tear myself away from snuggling her! She is a total cutie and we are loving her to pieces... she is already growing up way too fast. I'll keep this post short but plan to be back soon to share more baby-related crafts. Here's a quick selection of some favorite photos from her first two and a half months (sorry I couldn't limit myself to fewer, but hey, who doesn't like cute baby photos, right?).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945050949/" title="2013-03-22 20.20.56 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-03-22 20.20.56" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5349/8945050949_dcdf574371.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945677314/" title="2013-03-23 13.31.49 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-03-23 13.31.49" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/8945677314_41133e4d24.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945058589/" title="2013-03-23 16.20.50 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-03-23 16.20.50" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5458/8945058589_4b9713881d.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945061093/" title="2013-03-24 14.41.15 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-03-24 14.41.15" height="500" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3779/8945061093_5d7a4210c1.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945690708/" title="2013-03-27 17.30.37 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-03-27 17.30.37" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3677/8945690708_dfb1731036.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945079001/" title="2013-04-03 17.57.09 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-04-03 17.57.09" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7395/8945079001_8f5b19478c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945732032/" title="2013-04-21 16.54.43 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-04-21 16.54.43" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2883/8945732032_d7f6c65d93.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945102347/" title="2013-04-20 11.55.07 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-04-20 11.55.07" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2824/8945102347_e84c7b7d92.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945735452/" title="2013-04-20 11.44.36 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-04-20 11.44.36" height="333" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/8945735452_38fe1e07e3.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945757836/" title="2013-05-15 19.02.06 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-05-15 19.02.06" height="500" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3831/8945757836_5cc7c1d5d4.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8945144123/" title="2013-05-20 12.00.46 by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="2013-05-20 12.00.46" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8546/8945144123_1485e26a09.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15726473.post-38101922629697694832013-03-14T23:30:00.000-07:002013-03-14T23:30:19.101-07:00Sewing Maternity TopsBeing pregnant has been a great excuse to try my hand at sewing myself more knit tops - something that I have wanted to do but hadn't prioritized. Having more of a deadline to get things done for them to be useful while I was pregnant helped me get in gear! I have been lucky to also get some nice maternity clothes as hand-me-downs and bought a few things, but I was having a lot of fun sewing these up too. I was tempted to make more but realized it would be kind of ridiculous - but hopefully I can keep that energy going to make more clothes for myself and the kiddo in the future!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8558173191/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="aqua maternity shirt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="aqua maternity shirt" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8558173191_e38f4bfb57.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
I made a few out of upcycled tops that I had found at thrift stores - I found that starting with a top that was a 2X size or larger was good to make sure that there was plenty of fabric to use and particularly that it would be long enough to cover my growing belly. For the aqua colored top above, I reused the original neckline and the sleeve and bottom hems. I traced a maternity tee that I owned for the basic tee pattern (sleeve/armhole/sides), and added the gathering below the bust before I cut out the pieces. (To add the gathering, I just sewed a piece of elastic on the wrong side of the shirt, stretching it as much as I could as I sewed). I sewed everything together just using my regular sewing machine, using the knit stitch which is kind of a slight zigzag (the symbol looks like a lightning bolt on my machine) and am very happy with how it turned out!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8559279642/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="blue v-neck maternity shirt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="blue v-neck maternity shirt" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8368/8559279642_50e6d5da23.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
This v-neck tee is even more basic, but was put together basically the same way (minus the gathering at the bust) - I used the original neckline and hems again. I really like the color of this one, it has been a nice basic to wear.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8558172887/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Orange maternity shirt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Orange maternity shirt" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8097/8558172887_bf46f902de.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
I also made some tops just starting with knit fabric that I had on hand. I honestly haven't worn this one too much both because the fit is a little off and it's not really my color... but it was fun practice at least. I had remembered seeing <a href="http://www.noodle-head.com/2011/08/sewing-with-knits-mondays-quick-tee.html">Anna from Noodlehead's t-shirt tutorial</a> where you make a t-shirt with kind of dolman-style sleeves where they are just part of the front and back pattern pieces rather than inset at the shoulder. I didn't actually look back at the tutorial before I sewed, which probably would have helped - I think a looser fit in the bust/shoulders is definitely more flattering for this type of tee and it's not what I did. It's not horrible but like I said, it's not my favorite. Definitely piques my interest to try this style tee again though!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8559279436/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Orange maternity shirt sleeve by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Orange maternity shirt sleeve" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8240/8559279436_de23cc0f5f.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
See how there's just a seam down the top of the shoulder? Definitely easy construction.<br />
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The last two things that I sewed were based on one of my favorite styles of tops/dresses, where you have a gathered cross front. I made a top as practice (and because I wanted a top) and then I made a dress with the same basic style and pattern. I was pretty proud that I was able to figure out how to make the gathered cross front based on modifying a regular t-shirt pattern and that it turned out so nicely!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8559279718/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="blue maternity shirt by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="blue maternity shirt" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8386/8559279718_be12f7f312.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
I didn't have the energy to take photos and write up a tutorial when I was making these, but this style shirt would also be great for non-maternity so if I make another I may write up a tutorial. I'm hoping that both this top and the dress still work for non-maternity wear (and it certainly would be easy to make a non-maternity style using less fabric/gathers for the lower part). When I made them, I intentionally designed them to be fairly low cut and intended to wear with a tank underneath - I figure that after baby is born, I can wear them with a nursing tank and they'll work great for that too!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8559279514/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="green maternity dress front by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="green maternity dress front" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8226/8559279514_d4402ee8ea.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
(Ahem, pardon the jeans under the dress. We took all these photos one day and I didn't feel like changing out of my jeans when we got to taking the photos of the dress.)<br />
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The back for the shirt was also similar to the back of the dress, with some gathers/pleats but not as many as the front.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potterykate/8559279594/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Green maternity dress back by NeedleAndSpatula, on Flickr"><img alt="Green maternity dress back" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8239/8559279594_f2f982fb1c.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
As you can tell from these photos, I'm definitely in the home stretch of this pregnancy! We actually took these a few weeks ago so I think I look even more pregnant now. Our baby is due next week so she could come anytime in the next few weeks! I have already started my maternity leave from work and am taking advantage of the time to rest and also do some more crafts, so hopefully I'll find time to come back and put up another post or two before baby arrives (unless she comes sooner rather than later).<br />
Kate S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00576377437893492473noreply@blogger.com14