Sweetheart Pajamas!

Happy Valentine's Day! Today, I'm sharing these cute pajamas I made last night in preparation for Valentine's Day AND Pajama Day at school. Talk about double-duty!

I realized this week that my kid doesn't own any RED pajamas to wear to school and I wanted him to be festive for Valentine's Day. The class was going to be delivering valentines and doing fun things for the holiday all in their pajamas! So I knew I could go buy some, but figured I could make something just as cute (or cuter) from my stash.

First came the pants. I'd just recently made some pants for the boy, so I had a good idea how to do them pretty quickly. I used some checkered flannel from Joann's and the Kindergarten pants as a guideline, and just cut around them. I kept a big hem on the bottom because I love the look.

The shirt came next. I used a roomy play shirt as the pattern piece and, again, just cut around it. What helped me draw up this shirt was all the practice I had making Flashback Skinny Tees last year for both my kids. (It's a really great pattern that taught me a lot about shirt construction.) I only own the pattern that goes up to size 5, so thought I'd be brave and cut my own pieces. And guess what? It worked! The fabric is knit from Joann's.

And those hearts? They're my favorite part of the outfit. I appliquéd them using EZ-Steam II by Pellon and didn't even bother top-stitching them. The adhesive seemed really strong.

I love how they turned out! I sent my son off to school today happy. He was truly excited about his new pajamas. 
Which made me happy.

I am sure there were so many Valentine's events going on in schools today around the world and I hope your little ones had good days too.
Have a super weekend!

A Gray Knit Cowl

One of the things I've really enjoyed doing this winter is knit. I like how knitting forces me to slow down. I use the time to sit still and either watch a show, talk with my husband, or just think. All good things. Most often, I'm never still, whether it's playing/reading with my kids, driving them around, or making it to dance class, karate, etc. (and just in the nick of time, it always seams). I mean, face it. A knit project is seldom fast. Sewing, on the other side of the spectrum, gives me near-instant gratification. And I need that now and again! But the slow pace of knitting also gives me enormous pleasure, especially when the project's done and getting use. This cowl, for instance, has been wonderful. I wear it daily, back and forth from school, out in the cold as we trudge along through the snow. It's great because it covers a good portion of my face which makes such a difference on the coldest days!

And, as I said, knitting is not a fast craft. BUT, this cowl was probably one of the fastest things I've made. I used straight needles (the pattern has this option, though I think circulars would be easier) and I have two seems, but they're hardly noticeable. It's an interesting stitch pattern* and you actually knit with two strands of worsted weight yarn (so it knits up pretty fast, like super bulky yarns). I am thinking this cowl would also look good in an ice blue color and am debating whether to do another. (Though I have such a long mental list of knit projects I want to do right now!). Anyway, I highly recommend making this beautiful cowl. You can find the pattern HERE.

*If you look at the picture of the cowl on the blog with the pattern, you might notice that the finished project looks different from mine. Upon reading some of the comments from other readers and knitters (and looking at my own cowl), it appears that the straight-needle pattern option has different results than the circular option. It doesn't matter to me. I like this pattern just as much!

Kindergarten Pants for the Little Man

Recently, I have decided to start sewing again for my son. I made a gorgeous outfit for my daughter not too long ago, and she refuses to wear it! I am not at all sure why. My son, on the other hand, loves everything I make. From shirts to quilts. So I decided to make him some pants, which is what he needs. 

I used this free pattern, which is about a size 4/5. My son is a skinny 6 year old, so I enlarged the pattern a little bit and got a light-gray pair of pants that fit him OK, but weren't roomy enough (I was glad I used an old fleece sweatshirt of my husband's for the "trial run"). I opted to use knit fabric rather than cotton as the pattern does because it's what my son seems most comfortable in. And I also wanted him to be able to wear them to gym class and run around. Aaaaand, there's a pair of Carter's pants that he has that I wanted to try to replicate. I also seem to have more knit fabric suitable for a boy than cotton. :) 

The dark-gray pants featured in these photos worked out much better. I increased the pattern quite a bit more and widened the ankle some too. I also didn't do a cuff as the pattern calls for, but did follow the rest of the directions, including those for these awesome pockets. I think they are what make these pants so cool. For the lining, I used a cotton truck print from the stash. The main fabric was some sort of fleece from JoAnn's remnant bin.

Oh, and I added the faux drawstring at the waist, which I also think makes the pants look more professional. And a clothing label!

My kid wore these pants to gym class the day I took these pictures and they held up to some kindergarten craziness, so I think that makes them a success. Happy!

Does anyone else have a good (and easy) pants pattern for boys that they've liked? Please share if you do! I'd love to know.

The Garter Scrap Cowl

I finally handmade something for my husband! And it was a total surprise for him too. He told me he didn't suspect at all that I'd be making anything for him (I often knit right next to him while we watch shows and they're almost always hats or something for the kids). So it was kinda cool to give him this post-Christmas gift last week.

Originally, I wanted it to be a scarf. But honestly, as I knitted, I realized this was not going to work as a scarf. It would've looked too cumbersome. So, about halfway in, I decided it would be a cowl and it was going to be layered and warm. In making him this gift, I used several of my leftover balls of yarn so that the finished product is kind of a trip down memory lane. There's that blue striped yarn that I used to make my son's very first knitted hat (buried in this photo here - one of my first blog posts!). And there's the dark and light greens that I used to make my first pair of wrist warmers (which I realized I never blogged about). And the orange - that was used to make a newborn baby hat for charity a few years ago. I like that this cowl holds a lot of good memories. 

It is a nice cowl because it's very warm and cozy. I used (mostly) all wool yarn. And because you cast on 56 stitches to start, the finished product is folded in half width-wise for extra warmth and also structure.

Do you want to make The Garter Scrap Cowl for the man in your life (or yourself)? Grab your Tupperware (in my case, anyway) of leftover balls of yarn and get to it! It's a relatively quick project because it's all in garter stitch and you'll be doing yourself a favor too by using up a whole bunch of yarn that might never have found another use. This is easy knitting, folks. What are you waiting for?

The Garter Scrap Cowl Pattern
U.S. Size 10 Knitting Needles
Worsted Weight Wool (or blend) yarn (leftovers of varying amounts)

Cast On 56 Stitches
Row 1: Knit
Repeat Row 1 until the cowl reaches 27" in length
Finishing
Cut the yarn, leaving a 20" tail. Sew the short ends of the cowl together to create a circle. Weave in the remaining end of the tail.
Fold in half width-wise.

Enjoy!

* Note, for the orange yarn in my cowl, I used two balls and knitted them together because it was a very thin yarn.

Interested in a new cowl for yourself that is quick and beautiful? Check out my latest project HERE: A Gray Knit Cowl.

Holiday Wall Quilt

So it's time to finally post my second and last Christmas craft! (Now that it's packed away in deep storage for next year...) The Holiday Wall Quilt! Yayyy!

The inspiration and design for this project can be found here. 

I loved Jennifer's quilt and wanted to replicate it asap. I found some leftover Christmas fabric (previously used here, here, here, and here) and a piece long enough for the background.

I freehanded my letters and holly pieces (and trees - can you find them?), but if you want to be more precise, I suggest you follow the tutorial and print out the pattern pieces that Jennifer supplies. (I was in a hurry...)

I had a great time making this quilt namely because I haven't made a quilt in a long time. It was fun to bust out the free-motion needle and aggravate my husband with its squeakiness (does yours squeak too?). Just kidding, I don't really try to aggravate him. :)

I got it up on my wall as fast as I could. In this picture it looks a little wonky probably because it is a little wonky, but probably also because it's hiding the ugly red fire alarm box that adorns our wall.

I thought I'd throw in this iPhone photo just to show you how big the quilt is. (I have no idea why my son looks like he's going to eat it. I think I said, "Smile!" and this was the best I got.)

Anyway, glad I made it and glad I finally got around to posting it. Whew!

I also got some knitting done over the holidays and that's up next for the blog...

Have a wonderful day!!