Some Fall ramblings ...

September begins with a bang!  High school for my kids and family birthdays too.
 Lauren turns 17!!!  I can't believe how fast time goes!  Seems like yesterday my little Lauren was 5, now she is driving.  EEEEKKKKKKK!

Chalk Art for Lauren :)
 

Kitchen Art :)
Maybe overkill but I don't care!

We celebrated with FUDGY THE WHALE!  as per Lauren's request.



In the spirit of Fall, as it begins officially this evening .... I want to share some of our WIP's and finished knits.

I Love this cardigan.  From this book.

I bought this book sometime last year and currently have 2 projects on needles.  I LOVE almost every pattern in the book.  I am using 100% cotton yarn in a perfect fall shade :)

 

 

Saturday mornings ... knitting ... baseball practices ... Coffee!

 



Finished the back ... on to the front.

Weekend Pullover



This is the coziest sweater.  Highland alpaca wool!  Yummy.

This is going to be perfect when I am by the water watching my son play baseball!

Poncho Perfect!!!  Pattern here.  I used 2 strands of yarn together and larger needle size. The pattern is for child sizes.  I followed the larger size and used lots of leftover yarns to create the varied stripes. 

 

 

Okay ... this one is my favorite!  Made by Lauren (my daughter) for me. 

This was lying unfinished for some time.  I finally blocked it and weaved in the ends. 

Beautiful coral yarn from my local yarn shop.  Wish I saved the tags.  I'm pretty sure its cashmere and another blend.  The beads are a beautiful champagne color.   

Ahhhh, so pretty! Pattern here.  Lauren left off the pointy edge finish.  I think it makes it a little more fallish if that makes sense.  She also used larger needles and thicker yarn than the pattern suggests. 


And ..... A little DIY for the front door. 

 Happy First day of Fall Y'all!!!! 
 XOXOXOX, Lisa

The Purl Bee ... And it's free

Don't you just love awesome free patterns?

Purl Soho, a darling shop in NYC, has such an awesome site. They offer so many amazing ideas. 

I made this awesome tunic dress using Robert Kaufman shirting fabric.

Only change I made was to make maxi length. It is quite comfy and I think a perfect summer dress. I wore it to my nieces birthday where I gave her a cute gift made from another purl bee pattern. 

City gym shorts. 

Cute!!! Aren't they ?

They come together so fast and the sizing was just right. 

Thanks Purl Bee, I'm a fan:) 

Love, Lisa 

Coziest pair of pants!!!

UMMMM .... Hello, that's right!  I made pants.  Hudson pants to be exact, by True Bias.

Woo hoo!  I really love sewing, I do!  What I love even more is when the pattern is right on!  AND... Soo stylish. 

I cut a size 10.  I'm sort of Btwn 8/10 so I went with 10 according to her directions.  I think I would try the 8 next time as long as I choose a thicker fabric.   This fabric is a comfy jersey cotton, cozy enough to sleep in.  

I actually bought new king sheets for my bed.  Because I was so impatient, I used the top sheet. Haha.  

The pocket detail and ankle cuffs .... Navy jersey cotton I had from scraps when I made t-shirt necklaces.  

The main fabric is a little thin.  I figure since it is my first pair it would do fine, especially if I made any mistakes.  

I also crocheted a length of chains for the tie instead of cording. I just tied it through the opening and didn't pull it all the way around the waist. 

This sewing thing is quite addicting!!!!!!!!  Going to make my daughter a matching pair!!!!

9/24/14 I am wearing these to bed a lot!  It makes for easy easy mornings when I have to get kids off to school!  

xoxox, Lisa

Tap shorts

In the spirit of summer.... I made shorts :)  !!!!!!!!!!

The pattern is Katy & Laney tap shorts.

 I must say they were really easy and the instructions were awesome. There are 3 styles to choose from, and instant download!  = instant gratification!
 I chose view C.  Mostly because I had the right size zipper and couldn't wait to get to the fabric store.
High waist anything always appeals to me so these shorts were a no brainer!

I Made a size 6 according to my measurements and they are almost perfect on me. Next time I'll grade them from a 4 in the waist to 6 in hips.

Aren't they awesome :)

I really love the look of menswear and I am slightly obsessed with suiting fabric. This fabric is a stripe herringbone. It has a little stretch in it, maybe that's why the waist is a little big on me. Not sure.

This was my first time installing a fly front zipper and the instructions were so good. 

The only issues I had making these ... Is that I used fabric that looks exactly the same on both sides. (oops)

My seam ripper was my best friend even though I usually despise that little thing. I sewed a few pieces on the wrong side a few times, ughh.
 It definitely took me all day to complete since I am really mostly an advanced beginner. But I think the next pair will be super fast. I can't wait to try!! 

I definitely will skip stripes next time.  See the back dart?  One of my stripes got eaten up. Whoops. Hello beginner.

I'm proudly sporting them today :) 

Xoxoxo, Lisa

Tova ohhhhh Tova

I am sooo in love with sewing. Making something handmade gives me such gratification. 

Since this is my very first post... I thought it should start with wiksten's Tova. Although this pattern has been around for quite some time and there are tons out there on the web... I feel like it is timeless and for me, will never go out of style. It works for me in so many ways. 

I plan on making some for the fall as well. Definitely in a plaid for sure. This one however, is perfect for summer nights or as a beach coverup since the fabric I used is pretty light and is quite see through. It is perfect in every way :)

This fabric is a Swiss dot I purchased at fabric.com. It is really lovely and super easy to see with. It looks grey here but it is actually black. 

No pictures of me wearing it yet although I've worn it twice already :)

I'm going to get my husband to snap a picture but I just couldn't wait to share with you. 

Can't wait to make another. Oh Tova I love you. 

Xoxoxo, Lisa 

Dedicaton

This blog is dedicated to all the things I LOVE!!!!!