Stanley

Just popping in to introduce Stanley, my latest one of a kind handmade toy.  He is listed in the shop now.

Summer sewing

I've been cheating on the blog a bit lately with instagram (@juliastaite) but here is a look at some summer dresses I made for the girls recently.  The pattern is the madeline dress by sew sweet patterns on etsy.  Its a lovely classic dress with a great collar - very cute!

The pattern was simple and came with clear instructions.  Its quite a quick dress to whip up apart from the dreaded buttonholes (my worst part of sewing!)

I did however have major sizing issues -  Bea is pretty tall so I cut out the age 5 for her (shes three and a half) but after partially sewing the dress together it was very clear it was way too small.  So as not to waste the fabric I cut it down to fit Nell.  Shes 9 months old so I cut out age 2 after the first came out so small and as you can see below its fits - but probably won't for long!

I made Bea a bigger one (age 7!) and it fits well for length but still comes up a bit snug in the width.  Its a shame as its such a sweet little dress.  Maybe it was just me but I would recommend going up at least two sizes if you're making your own.

Hello Penelope

I have just listed a new one of a kind toy in my shop.  Penelope rabbit has got a little bit more detail than my other soft toys have had so far and I really enjoyed working on her.  I have a new cat on the way too but sewed one side on inside out so he needs a little more work...

Finished!

I just finished this cardigan for Nell last night.  I used this pattern from Drops and added a crochet edging shamelessly copied from Alicia Paulsons version.  I also added these cute buttons from this lovely Etsy shop and I'm pretty happy with the results!  And the only upside to this stupidly cold weather is Nell will hopefully get some good wear out of it.

Itchy fingers

I haven't made much lately that isn't for the shop.  In fact not since Nell was born and shes nearly 7 months old now.  Last week I suddenly started craving a new project so popped onto ravelry, picked a pattern from my favourites list, got some yarn and now I'm knitting a baby cardigan.  I love baby knitting as its so quick!  Although Bea has requested I knit her something next (I'm thinking short sleeved top for speed).

I have also started planning dresses for the girls for Nell's 1st birthday in July.  Its good to have busy hands again!

Key candy

I like to have a keyring on my keys.  It makes them easier to find as I'm scrabbling around in the bottom of my nappy bag.

I have just been making some keyrings for the shop.  They have a panda illustration printed on cotton on the front and are backed with a co-ordinating fabric.  They are stuffed with toy stuffing to make them like little squidgy pillows.

You're the cat's whiskers

I've just added this fun valentine's card to my shop, featuring cats of course - you can never get bored of cats can you?

See you next year!

Will they ever forgive us?

Christmassy things

The tree is up and as usual we have had fun adding new decorations to our collection.

This I my favourite - Because Bea made it at nursery!

I got this one from Jo Heckett on Etsy for Eleanor and its lovely.

Bea chose this one for Eleanor too.

And this was her choice for herself this year!

Now the rush to finish my customers Christmas orders is over Bea and I have started on some festive projects - including this toilet roll and cotton wool snowman.

I'm very much feeling the Christmas spirit this year as Bea is sooo excited - she has even been waking in the night thinking its Christmas day!  Cute, but not much fun being the one to tell her it was just a dream...

Christmas (already!)

I haven't even started wearing a coat yet but I have just added a christmas card to the shop!  I'm looking forward to christmas already - I always do at this time of year but get a bit sick of it before we even get to christmas day!

The card is a cat and bear illustration on recycled card and comes with a red envelope.  It is available singly or in a pack of 5.