day 7 :: 2009 craft books

2009 craft books :: Simple Sewing for Baby: 24 Easy Projects for Newborns to Toddlers by Lotta Jansdotter

check out: Lotta Jansdotter blog & the Simple Sewing for Baby flickr pool



i found this Simple Dress adorable ! with the little animal & pocket...


or without it...


this was my attempt at the Simple Dress & unfortunately it turned out to be a failed sewing attempt & ended up in the abandoned project pile... (just keeping it real, i'm not perfect) i had gotten so far, but the bias tape arm holes & neckline were not working for me... maybe because it was my first handmade bias tape? anyway, i love the vintage fabric, so i plan to rip the seams & use the fabric for another project...

see you tomorrow for day 8 !

day 6 :: 2009 craft books

2009 craft books :: Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More by Junko Okawa

check out the above link to see the book cover, browse through the book, & download PDFs for some of the actual-size patterns.


Carefree Clothes for Girls was my absolute favorite crafty type book of 2009 ! carefree is such a perfect name & carefree is totally my style... unfinished hems, wrinkled fabrics, ruffles, lace...


sizes available in the book are girls ages 4 to 7 years. simple construction, yet so much personality & style ! how much i love this book ! it is a Japanese style craft book where the first part of the book there are gorgeous photos, then the second part there are step-by-step instructions with detailed diagrams.

details on this Blouse with Crochet Doily Trim include: wrinkled linen, little ruffle sleeves with fraying edges, bias tape hand-stitched with brown embroidery floss, square doily cut out & used as trim.

i will for sure be sewing more clothing from this book, on my list: dress with quilted bodice, lace-trimmed pants, lace-trimmed coat.

see you tomorrow for day 7 !

day 5 :: 2009 craft books

2009 craft books :: Applique Your Way by Kayte Terry

i'm pretty sure you've seen this book around... this is a collection of 35 stitching projects with full size patterns & templates. Kayte Terry's blog is This is Love Forever.


look at these photos in the book.... what eye candy for all of us to enjoy ! vintage buttons ! liberty fabrics? vintage fabrics? whatever they are - they are oh so lovely !!



from this book i made the Quilt Square cards, but from the above photo you can see that they could also be made out of circles...


it's a great way to use up those fabric scraps... i'm still trying to use up these purple, pink & yellow fabric scraps i have, remember i already made some quilted cards?
sewing on paper is fun ! i want to do more - i like it when i can combine some of my favorite crafts (sewing & paper crafting) together, don't you?

have a great weekend ! see you on Monday for day 6 !

day 4 :: 2009 craft books

2009 craft books :: Norwegian Handknits: Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum by Sue Flanders & Janine Kosel

this is a collection of 30 knitting patterns all inspired by traditional knits from the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa.



this was the most interesting 2009 craft book that i read. i learned so much about the Norwegian knitting traditions. the above black & white photo was taken in the 1890s & it shows a traditional 2-color Norwegian sweater, these sweaters worn as underwear, that is how they started out. can you imagine all this beauty & not to mention hard work being hidden for so long? thank goodness today Norwegian sweaters are outerwear today !


it was fun reading all the stories behind the handknits that inspired the knitting patterns in this book... here's one example about Nisse history, a Nisse is a Norwegian folklore elf - easily recognized by his red stocking cap, liked by children, it is mentioned in many Norwegian folk songs & folklore. "The Elves" tapestry shown above was woven by Pauline Fjelde, she along with her sister embroidered the first Minnesota state flag.


i knitted a little Nisse egg hat, it goes on top of a soft boiled egg to keep it nice & toasty warm until it's ready to be eaten. check out the ravelry link for more info.

see you tomorrow for day 5 !

day 3 :: 2009 craft books

2009 craft books :: Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger

i heart vintage, knitting & i have a baby (well, toddler actually) so this was a perfect book for me. be sure to have a look at all the 25 knitting patterns in this book. i wanted to be sure to mention that some of the patterns go all the way up to size 4 years.


hello cute bunny ! such lovely colors throughout the book...


& sweet photos...


from this book i knitted C the Vintage Pixie Cap in pink. here she is wearing it while outside during a gentle snowfall...


& throwing snow !
for more info about this Vintage Pixie Cap check out this ravelry link.

see you tomorrow for day 4 !

day 2 :: 2009 craft books

2009 craft books :: Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

i'm almost positive you've already seen this book & if you haven't, you probably at least have heard about it... yes Weekend Sewing - with over 40 sewing projects & in case you didn't know 2 of the projects are free online: Quick Garden Gloves & Smocked Sundress (which is sizes 12 months to 4 years, but for woman's sizes click here).


so the story goes that my oldest son had a pair of pajama pants (that someone else sewed) & they were getting holes in them. he was begging me to sew him a new pair, so i was very pleased to find the Pajamas for Everyone pattern in Weekend Sewing. i sewed him up a pair using some Transformers fabric & you know what? they turned out too small for him... so they immediately became hand-me-downs to my second son...


here's my second son modeling them while standing on his bed.


looking at these photos i am thinking i cannot believe how tall my second son is, at 6.5 he is as tall as i was at 9.5 ! he's 3 years ahead of me & he's going to hover way over me !

anyway, i still need to sew my oldest son a pair of pajama pants ! we went to a fabric store together & he found some fabric that he really loved & the pieces are already cut out - i just need to sew them up...

see you tomorrow for day 3 !

day 1 :: 2009 craft books

2009 craft books :: Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting by Lorna Miser

what a gorgeous knitting book ! you can view all the 20 knitting patterns at this ravelry link.


such lovely photos & colors, oh the colors !


even the appendix page is beautiful !


i was really inspired by this Charity Hat pattern, they recommended using Lion Brand Cotton-Ease & anyone (in the US at least) can easily buy it at any local craft store. i love Cotton-Ease, it's soft & i had some in my stash, so i quickly knitted one up. it's a hat that is just lacey enough, making it the perfect hat for a chemo patient.


and here's me in the Charity Hat that i knitted, for more info, here is the ravelry link.

see you tomorrow for day 2 !