Thursday, November 14, 2013

Koolhaas hat

Last winter I discovered knitting. 
For me, it provides the perfect activity to do when my kids are around. It requires some attention, but just so much that I can still keep an eye on them, answer their questions, and give them the feeling that I'm there while still doing something for myself.
 
It is also easy to take along to the playground or in the train. And moreover, knitting goes at a slower pace than sewing. Which is a good thing, since otherwise I would produce more than my kids' wardrobes could handle...
 
Nevertheless, after I got smitten with the virus, within a few weeks I had knitted hats for both kids, my husband, and even for the baby that was still residing snugly within my belly.... So I needed a challenging project, which would keep me busy a bit longer. I found the Koolhaas pattern from Jared Flood on Ravelry, and loved it. Especially the crown, which reminds me of a sunflower.
 
The hat was originally intended for myself, but my son confiscated it. And I must say, it fits him better than me. At least, now I get to enjoy the view of the top of this hat way more often than I would if I had worn it myself...  
And even though this is a knitting project I'm nevertheless linking this post to Sew All 26 at No Big Dill:

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Upcycled with love

One of the things I love most about sewing, is recycling (or better; upcycling) clothes. It is so satisfying to take an old item that is no longer worn, and give it a second life by turning it into something new.  Especially when the old item has some significance to you, because it once was a favorite piece of clothing from someone you love.

This baby shirt for example. It may not look very special, but it's made from two pieces of clothing that were once worn by two people very dear to me. The blue fabric origally was a pair of jogging pants of my mom. It's this kind of eighties fabric, very soft and a bit shiny (I think in Belgium it's called 'spons').

The striped cuffs are made from an old sweater of one of my moms best friends. Unfortunately, none of them was able to meet the new wearer of their clothes, because they both died a couple of years ago. 
So you can imagine how special it feels to cuddle this cutie in his new sweater, upcycled with love for him and for those two remarkable women.

And check out this beautiful quilt. My very talented aunt upcycled it from my mom's old sweaters (who owned a dozen differently colored St James striped sweaters).

Beautiful, isn't it? It feels special that my kids get to play on the sweaters that were worn with love by their grandma Vera.
Linking to:

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Foxes again


Foxes again! For this shirt I used the same Ottobre pattern as for the previous foxes shirt. I like this color combo, very autumny, and the dark brown matches his dark hair and eyes very well!





Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Sweet foxes


September was a real baby month. Three little boys and one little girl were born. For the last boy, I sewed this sweet fox shirt (Ottobre pattern). After completing it, I wondered if the size was correct. It seemed way too short and wide, so I had little Jonatan test it. And guess what? It fit perfectly. Apparently, babies have just really weird proportions!


But they're too cute!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Woooshhh


Woooshhhh, another little snowboarder has arrived. 
For my little nephew Ole I stenciled this snowboarder onesie. 
Have a gnarly ride through the pow pow, little dude!
(see the Snowboarding Dictionary for a translation)


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Aviatrix



It's september and the first chilly mornings have arrived. So, this Aviatrix hat will keep Jonatan's head warm during the bike ride to daycare. I was super productive during our holiday, so after finishing Jonatan's Aviatrix, I just continued knitting. I made a newborn size for our little nephew, who has arrived in the meantime.  


The Aviatrix pattern can be freely downloaded from Ravelry. I love this pattern! Although it looks quite complicated, it's actually rather simple. This was the second knitting project I tackled (the first was a straight scarf!), and once I had figured out the instructions, it went very smoothly. 


Fortunately for me, yet another small baby has arrived, so I'm allowed to knit another one of these cute hats!


bear carrier


This bear carrier was a present for a little friend who turned three this summer. Wherever she goes, she's always accompanied by her teddybear. Like a real mother bear, she'll carry her cub in her mouth when both her hands are occupied doing something else (for example, when holding hands with two of my kids). 


So I figured, she could use a little bear carrier, to keep her hands (and mouth) free.


As you can see below, the carrier basically has the shape of a big diaper, with velcro straps to close it, and adjustable shoulder bands.




The lining fabric is from Mies en Moos, the outer fabric is orange baby rib, also used here and here. I used fleece to give the carrier some stiffness, and added yellow piping as a contrasting detail. 



Thursday, September 5, 2013

Surf's up


Got some boring old jeans?
Cut them off, throw them in the bleach, stencil a surfer dude, and there you are. A very cool pair of shorts.





Sunday, August 25, 2013

For a future snowboarder


My cousin recently got his first son. Since he and his wife are avid snowboarders, they will probably appreciate this cool onesie with a freezer-paper stenciled snowboarder.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Chocolava muffins

Marin celebrated her 5th birthday with a volcano party. We made these great-looking (and very tasty) 'chocolava muffins', filled with chocolate chips and strawberry jam. 
Here's the recipe for 12 muffins:

225 gr flour
150 gr sugar
100 gr soft butter
250 ml milk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons cocoa
baking powder
handfull of chocolate chips
strawberry jam
red food coloring
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar. In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk and butter. Add the ingredients together and mix quickly. Put approximately one third of the mix in a separate bowl and add the food coloring to that part of the mix. Add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips to the rest of the mix.  
Now, fill the muffin forms with the chocolate mix, add a spoon of jam in the middle, and put the red mix on top. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Take a bite, and don't forget to look at these beauties... 

Friday, July 5, 2013

More pineapples

I made another pair of pineapple shorts, for my boy this time. I combined Dana's KID short pattern, with Heidi's Bubble Pocket Short pattern. For the side panels, I used my hand-printed pineapple fabric.

B got all goofy during the photoshoot, but he seems to love his new shorts.




linking to