In the Nick of Time

December is upon us, time for a countdown to Christmas of course. :) What better way then with an advent calender? I picked up a panel last year after Christmas and had been putting off sewing it as it's odd to sew Christmas fabric in May, right? And August really isn't any better, so it got left until last week and finished at about 11:30 last night!


Close up of today's gift, two little snowman snowmen. It's a good thing I have more than one crafty pursuit as I was all out of fiberfill stuff so i ran to my felting supplies and used a bit of wool roving. (I must say wool makes very nice stuffing very soft and non bunchy.) I did cut the loose thread this morning :) I am not entirely pleased with the stitching on the calender, my presser foot/feed dogs are misbehaving, I think it is time to clean the machine.

And another holiday first for me: I made julekaga! I modified the recipe my mom gave me to work in my bread machine as I have never made yeast bread from scratch (outside of dumping ingredients in the bread machine pan). It turned out pretty good for the first attempt, dough was a bit sticky at first and I think I used too much cardamon, but baby n and I ate half a loaf the night we made it. :P

Love,
Annmarie

Cute Skirts Skirt

Another finished project. 'sigh' really and truly nothing better. Today it is the Cute Skirts skirt from Favorite Things Cute Skirts pattern. I don't know what it is, but I simply am unable to call it a cute skirt, it is the cute skirts skirt. Anyway, I made the panel skirt (has 8 panels), it has a flat front, and elastic back so no zippers for the zipperphobic (Mum!). This was a fairly easy pattern to follow, but perhaps not the best for someone who has never sewn a skirt. There are no lay out directions for cutting fabric and no mention of hemming the panel skirt (the flounce variation mentions a 1/8th inch hem but not the panel directions). Not a great problem for me, but someone new to sewing might get confused and frustrated.

Isn't it nice and spring-y (can you tell I like nice weather!)? Now only if it would be nice enough outside to wear it!

I was wearing a sweater that did not show the waist at all- it lays nice and flat in the front.

And the back is gathered and fuller looking.

So can you see where I was short fabric? If you can't tell then I won't! All in all, a fun pattern to sew and I think I will definitely make it again.

And now because it IS so cold outside I made baby n some crochet longies. Longies are usually wool and used with cloth diapering but I think they are incredibly cute just for kids to wear. But I cannot use wool (have skin allergies), so these were made using worsted weight acrylic yarn that I had laying around the house and US 8 hook (I tend to have a loose tension so need a smaller then recommended size). I crocheted in the round and increased in the bottom area. They are by no means perfect but I did them in one evening and they have survived 2 meals, 8 trips around the house, and 1 grocery shopping trip!

In completely unrelated events: when making bread in a bread machine over night, one must press the start button to actually have bread for breakfast and not a pile of water, butter, cranberries and flour. Umm oops. :)

Love Annmarie