Baby Wrap Sweater

I made this little darling for my new cousin:  

The pattern is from Claire Montgomerie's Easy Baby Knits

and I used Lion Cotton Ease in violet.  The pattern was very easy and fun to work, and I learned a few lessons: 

• not to be intimidated by the phrase, "work the same as right side, reversing all shaping"  - it was easier than I thought, but I spent a lot of time stressing over it.
• blocking makes everything look better - when I bound off, the fronts looked shorter than the back because of the neck shaping - after blocking, all was well.
• Making baby clothes is such a nice way to develop new knitting skills!

I am now making baby shoes from the same book to match :)

In case of Emergency, the Couch is Covered!

After many frustrating months of sewing and ripping and sewing and ripping again, I present to you my new, removable, washable slipcover!

 I

 I would show you a "before" picture, but then you would toss your cookies and YOUR couch would look like mine in its uncovered state!  Instead, here's a closeup of the heavy canvas fabric that I used, which I bought on sale at $3 a yard last summer.

I have to say that completing this slipcover made me feel like I could tackle any DIY project.  Which is good, because now I have to find coordinating fabric for the loveseat and chair.  Hopefully it won't take me another year to finish those! 

FO's and WIP's

Sometimes, I need to make lists, just to see for myself what I am accomplishing.  So here's what is going on...

Recent FO's:

• Potholders - simple, cute, coral patterned, quilted
• Couch cover - I am very proud of this, but can't get a good picture.

WIP's

In the hoop:

• woodpecker quilt - kids' wall decoration 

The deadline for the following items is October 10th.

On the needles:

• baby wrap sweater - done
• organic cotton washcloth in broken rib stitch - done 

In the sewing basket:

• table runner - done
• Kitchen curtains

Okay, now I feel better.

Eid Mubarak!

At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr with a special prayer, parties and gifts.  They also go visiting and eat special sweets.  Our Eid was very exciting - the boys got new bikes, my husband's cousins came to visit, and we had a gift exchange at work.  The greeting we say to each other is: "Eid Mubarak", which means Blessed Festival, it's like saying Happy Holidays.

Like most crafters, I had lofty holiday gift ideas.  I had to abandon some of the items on my list when I realized at the eleventh hour that they wouldn't get done.  At least I didn't have bags under my eyes for Eid!

Here are some of the things we made for Eid: 

            

During Ramadan, we put up garlands of paper stars and moons that everyone in the family decorated.  For Eid, I made a fabric garland using the instructions from Alicia Paulson's "Stitched in Time" birthday banner.  The fabric is from Cake Rock Beach, and another that I got from Purl in a fat quarter bundle.  Unfortunately the pictures came out yellowish - it is prettier in real life.

My son, Zaahir, had been working on a piece of freestyle embroidery for awhile, and this Eid he decided to add some words and turn it into a pillow for his father:

          

 

For my husband I made a card

that says "Eid Mubarak" in Arabic

During the kids' Eid Carnival, some of the mothers were doing henna.  I only had time for a small design, but I love it so much!

At work we had a gift exchange, and I was so excited to draw the name of someone who I know appreciates handmade gifts!  She is one of the librarians at our school.  I made her a crosstitched card (but forgot to take a picture of it), and a pincushion, and a bookmark which I put in a book of poems by Muslim women.  I wrapped it all in lavendar tissue paper and included a lavendar sachet.  I also put a hijab pin on the pincushion.

    the backing of the pincushion is the same as the back of the bookmark (second picture below).    

The bookmark material is from Cake Rock Beach, and the button is hand-hewn from bone.  The tassel has a 6-strand macrame knot.

Now in the works: Eid gifts for next Eid, (at the end of November), kitchen curtains, and wedding and new baby presents. 

Alhumdulillah for a lovely holiday!

Hello blog!

I have missed you dearly.  But without internet this summer, I wasn't able to see you, and then work started with a very busy work schedule, plus Ramadan - which is always the busiest time of the year.  Please forgive me dear blog, I'm back again with many F.O.'s to share and lots of summer news.  See you soon!

Tanja