Spring Sewing

I have spent the last two weeks sewing a few spring summer dresses for my girls. I also have plans for sewing some shorts/pants for my son, inshaAllah. Coming to the dresses, these first two are for my older one. I did my own drafting for these.
 I got some polka dot fabric to go with a lawn piece leftover from my old dress. I hope the big fat bow will hold up well after machine washes.

 The second one has gingham pockets!!  

 And then there are two for the baby. I did some embroidery at the yoke. It looks very cute up close.

 The second one is a plain floral dress with a ribbon bow at front. These two are drafted from a burda pattern.

 And lastly, some action shots:

Rose Garden Tote

I do not know why I picked out this pattern. Maybe because it was crochet and felted, both techniques that I had not done in a long while. Or maybe it were the roses, which I love. Anyway, I was quite excited when I started and it being crochet, worked fast through the project. But around completion, doubts began to creep in. Nice though it maybe, it was not quite something that would suit me. My husband confirmed these doubts, but it was quite late in the day, so I went ahead and felted it anyway. And hoping to make it grow on me, I took it on my last shopping trip. I can't say it worked though, it has taken me a whole week to get the courage to blog about it. 

before felting

after felting

And in my determination to get a right kind of crochet bag, I have started another one. I am hoping this one will work for me, inshaAllah.

Anouk with Hearts

 The baby pinafore I was working on is done, except for the buttons, which I have been too lazy to pick out and sew yet. The pattern was fine, kind of confusing for me, especially the neckline instructions. But I did modify it a bit, adding the stranded work hearts above the hem, instead of pockets and also sewed on a separately knit heart to the front of the bodice. (That one is a bit lopsided but again, I was too lazy to resew it.) The yarns are Rowan All Seasons Cotton (natural) and  Rowan Cotton Rope (pink). This is the heart chart I knit:

I have already started with my next project, and for a change it is a crochet project.

On The Needles

Life has been busy and I have not had much time to knit lately. So today, I do not have any finished project and will be sharing two of my ongoing projects instead. The first one is the Paper Moon Socks I blogged about previously. I finished the first sock but am bored with the pattern and it will be some time before I start the second one. This pattern takes a long time to grow and I was totally lost in the heel section instructions.

The second project is a pinafore, anouk for my littlest. I am just about to finish the back. I was inspired by some ravelry projects to add stranded colorwork hearts, instead of the original pockets. Hopefully, I will have this one done during the next week.

Little Pink Sweater

I started this with the intention of using up some of the leftover yarns from last year's projects, to knit a pullover in 2 year size. Initial the plan was a simple striped one, but after many modifications, mostly to adjust to the yarn amounts and because I was to lazy to do the appropriate cast on for the sleeves, this is what the finished sweater looks like:

And in my eagerness to make a sweater roomy enough to last a growing child a bit longer, I ended up with a larger size, around 3-4 years. However it did use up several odd balls in my stash and will be a good sweater for the baby to wear around the house, when she is old enough to fit into it.

Baby Dress with Knitted Yoke

Lately, we have been in the throes of a very contagious throat infection, which brought down all the three kids one-by-one over the last two weeks. The baby, last one to get ill, is now on the mend, alhamdolillah. Needless to say, I did not do much besides tending to the kids, all this time. However, I took time today to finish this dress. I had knitted the yoke before the illness, using a partial Maizy ball I had in my stash. I did not use any pattern. I paired it up with matching cotton to make a light, summer dress. Spring is upon us, here in Islamabad. The sunlight has started to feel hot and scorching rather than warm and comforting.

In other craft news, I am also on a knitting spree since yesterday, with one completed sock and a baby sweater started. More to come soon, inshaAllah.

Month O'Socks: Wind Up

The Month O'Socks ended a few days ago and I managed only the foot section of another sock. I ran into sizing trouble with the pattern I started on before this one and lost a considerable amount of knitting time. This pattern is going smoothly,  Alhamdolillah. But I am a bit bored with knitting at the moment and am slowing down for a while, waiting to be inspired again. Maybe I'll try some embroidery for the time being or some beaded crochet..or..cooking....!