Finishing

So I've been trying to finish up a few projects before posting. Wanted to have some pics for you all of new things. I suppose what I'm most proud of is Elsbeth's Easter dress. It wasn't particularly hard, but it has a lot of notions and trims and I wanted it to be perfect. Which I think it is. What do you think?

The pattern is McCall's M5793 that I got on sale. Husband wasn't to big on the pattern because it doesn't have sleeves and he doesn't want the Princess to be cold. I told him that I would be knitting her a shrug to go with it, but it wasn't until it was finished that he really liked it. I think it's because I went with green.

Changes I made. Instead of making the ruffle from tulle I just bought a roll of 4inch tulle and gathered it up. I also opted not to have the ribbon tie in the back but just wrap around the waist. I only put on 3 flower instead of 5 and I was creative with the waist gathering. I made a casing with the top fabric and the lining and then threaded through cotton string. I used the string to gather the fabric then carefully sewed the bodice to the skirt avoiding the string so when I was finished I just pulled out the string.

I also finished my last baby sweater in case we have a little girl. I must confess that although this wasn't a difficult sweater to make, nor did I lack the motivation to knit it, the sweater was non-the-less troublesome. First it started with the pattern. I couldn't find that oh so sweet perfect baby girl sweater pattern, that was 1) free or in my growing collection of patterns, 2) a size small enough for an infant, seriously all the patterns I had started at 3-6 months, 3) the proper gauge for the yarn I had in my stash.

So I searched Ravelry and had no luck, then I went to the public library where I did find the perfect pattern in Debbie Bliss's book The Baby Knits Book. So as every good knitter does, I started working on a swatch...however, I didn't like the feel of the yarn in my hands, it just wasn't soft enough for a baby sweater. So, after a thorough scouring of my stash I went to the yarn shop here in DP, In Stitches. I fell in love with ONline Linie 231 Filz-Wolle in a lovely dark purple shade. Naturally I purchased to balls, thinking this is for a 0-3 month sweater it should be enough. Well it wasn't, but since I had spent all my yarn money for the month I headed back into my stash to find another color to help finish up. I found some yarn I had purchased years ago from JoAnn Fabric & Craft that had been damaged out because it had gotten dirty ($1.50 for a ball of 131 yds) which is doable since I would wash it at some point. I did have to use 2 strands to match the same density of knit fabric, but it worked.

However, I didn't have enough of that yarn either so I had to stripe the sleeves with the purple. All in all it turned out. It is super soft, the large bulky stitches will make the baby look even more delicate and feminine when worn and I am satisfied with the finished project. Not to mention I did my very best seaming on this sweater ever!

Okay, here are the specs.
Pattern: raglan sweater by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: ONline Linie 231 Filz-Wolle, 100% Virgin Wool, 2 balls 110 yds
JoAnn Sensations Dolcetto (Discontinued), 54% wool/24% nylon/22% cotton, 1 ball 131 yds, used double stranded
Modifications: Altered gauge from 4.5 sts to the inch to 4 stitches to the inch. Subtracted 1 inch in sleeve length (as babies always curl up their arms the first few months) Seamed using Dolcetto, single ply.

So now I am finished with all my baby knitting, not that I couldn't be persuaded to knit something else for the baby. I do have a few more projects left to complete before Easter. I still need to finish up some ties for the boys. Also I have some sewing projects for postpartum clothes for myself to finish up. It would be nice to sew up a couple outfits for the baby in case we have a little one on Easter Sunday.

Today I'm going in for my 38week appointment. Of course these are now just routine for me, I really get no new information but I do get a chance to hear the heart again.

Have a blessed day! Next time I'll share more on the kiddos.