Very British Summer!

On Saturday Mr Kit and I decided we wanted to go fruit picking (I felt the first stirrings of the jam making madness and he wanted out of the house), so despite the torrential rain we headed off to the farm for strawberries!

The rain was a deluge, but luckily the strawberries were at waist height (I really like this as an idea!), so we could still pick in the rain, without ruining our trousers.

Have a rare blog pic of Mr Kit!  And check out the size of these berries!  They are vibrant strawberries and really sweet and juicy (as well as being huge!)

 We got a good haul and I very much enjoyed turning them into somewhat runny jam (failed to set but oh well, tastes good anyway!)

I'm now impatiently eyeing my garden and waiting for the blackcurrants, cherries and apples to ripen so I can get on with preserving!

New Frock!

(Last time I mention it, I promise...) Becoming a Godmother felt like a new frock occasion (ok, it helps I have two weddings and afternoon tea at the Savoy coming up to attend as well) so I took the opportunity to indulge my frivolous side.

Wings, because fairy godmother, duh!

I didn't really get many photos though, because I was far too busy having fun, so you'll have to take my word for how fabulously swooshy the skirt is!

Fairy godmothers, hanging out together, sans goddaughter who was asleep by this point!

The pattern is McCalls 7117, with the straps and longest length skirt.  I used cotton chambrey in a rose vine print and I love this dress so very much!

I had to take the entire dress in quite a lot, but I'm happy with the finished fit. I can't wait to wear this again and I'm giving serious thought to running up another one...

Last Baptism pic, surprise face is go!

Baptism Outfit

So, yes, I am a Godmother!  Not only that but I got to sew a Baptism Outfit (dress, bonnet, bibs and nappy cover, the works!)

Here's Goddaughter, showing off her frock after the service!  It's made entirely from scraps and off cuts of her mum's wedding dress and we had a lot of fun in the design process!

 The dress pattern is from Cottage Mama and the bonnet pattern can be found here.

It's the same nappy cover pattern as  Monday's only I added a ridiculous amount of broderie anglaise.  I'm sure you'll all be pleased to hear she wasn't actually baptised 'Ruffle-Bum' though...

The main dress is cotton, it has an embroidered dove on the bodice and the skirt has a wedding veil lace overlay.  The buttons are from my button box and were actually from a friend's gran's button box originally.  It felt right to use them so I did! The sash is satin that came from Goddaughter's great grandmother's fabric stash I believe (she comes from crafting stock!).

I used a chain stitch for all the embroidery, apart from the bird eyes which were satin stitch.  I debated making them beads, but worried about the beads being uncomfortable or coming loose to I erred on the side of caution. 

The bibs are backed in cream velvet (the only non-white part of the whole outfit) and trimmed with the same lace I used on the bonnet.

It was a lovely day, the service was beautiful and thought provoking in equal measure and I am so very happy to be Godmother to my wonderful friends beautiful baby!

Nappy Cover

So, I became a Godmother yesterday (it was amazing and I have the BEST goddaughter) and I was also allowed to make her baptism outfit.  One of the things I made her was a nappy cover, only we weren't sure on the size, so I made a test one to check!

It's printed poly-cotton and I top stitched in white.

It was too big so Goddaughter has it for when she's bigger and we made a slightly smaller one for the big day.

I used this tutorial and this is the 6-12 month size.  The only area I changed was to turn the seam allowances in and hem them down.

Birthday Bag

I really do like making the boxy pouches it would seem.  So when a dear friend from back home had a birthday, I ran this up and posted it off!

It's a little smaller than my make-up bag, because I used a shorter zip and I added ribbon tags rather than fabric ones.

The outer fabric is poly-cotton, which I quilted with some bamboo wadding and it's lined in cream lining fabric.

I am trying to come up with more uses for this style of bag so I have an excuse to make a few more!

Socks!

I knitted a thing!  Two things in fact!  It took me over a year (because sock knitting is scary and needed lots of time to think about before committing to each step), but I achieved a pair of socks.

Of course, since I finished them it's been way too warm to wear socks, so they are languishing in my ock drawer, waiting for the cooler weather to return. 

The pattern is Miss Elle's Basic Sock Pattern and I got it as part of a kit from the sadly now defunct Jumble Jelly in Bradford on Avon.

I haven't made the stripes match, but I don't care.  For a first go I think they are good enough!

I have another ball of stripey sock wool and I am tempted to have another go but I think it might need to wait for after the house move at the very earliest!

Braiding

At last year's Knitting and Stitching Show I picked up a couple of braiding kits.

It was very simple and quite calming to make!  I have put the cardboard template safely away and I am really looking forward to making more cording in the future!

I can see this being a great detail for future larp kits!

New Baby Gift

`Friends have welcomed a little girl into the world and I ran up this little frock for her!

I have a lot of this fabric and this was such a fun dress to make it inspired 'Project Project Project' which I shall show you another time!  This one is lined in cream polycotton and trimmed with daisy lace and spotty buttons.

I hope the recipient's parents are doing well and enjoying their parenting journey!

Cakes!

Quick post today, here are some random cakes I've baked recently!

Gluten free fairy cakes, made by me, decorated by some young friends of mine!

Macarons!  I'm still perfecting these, but they are so tasty I don't mind!

Fruity spiced flapjacks!  Fast becoming a firm favourite in this house, these are made with gluten free oats so my poor coeliac hubby can enjoy with me!