Tada! "High Noon" Pyjama Pants and Nightie

In Mum and Dad's new house - which they've been in for just three months now but which feels like they've been there forever! - Dad's bedroom was previously used as a dining room and the previous owners had removed the door and built an arch into it.  So it would be quite tricky to put a door back on, without some building work.   Amanda came up with the idea of putting saloon doors on so Dad could make an entrance each morning when he got up - and from then onwards, it has become a bit of a family joke.   Needless to say, when we were working out what to get Dad for Christmas, stetsons, spurs and sheriff's badges were mentioned!  

So what's a fabric-obsessed person to do?  Once again, I spent ages checking out fabric websites to find the perfect material for Dad's Christmas jimjams.   And I found it!

I love that it says "Howdy Pardner" and "Giddy Up" all over them!

Perfect!   (No elastic in these either, just tape cut to size.)

And so it came to Mum's nightie - which is a wee bit on the short side, but I do have enough fabric to make some three quarter length pyjama bottoms for the sake of decency. Goodness knows when I'll get round to making those though - my "to make" pile is so tall that it's in danger of toppling over! I couldn't use cowboy fabric for Dad and not get cowgirl fabric for Mum, could I?

I love this!   It really makes me laugh!

This was quite a new departure for me - I hadn't made a top before with a round neck that pulls over the head - the nearest I'd made with a round neck was my "Sew Happy" dress but, of course, that had a zip in it. Mum doesn't like anything too high in the neck, so this was all new to me. 

Very happy with how it turned out however and hopefully Mum will get her pyjama bottoms before Christmas 2015! 

Tada! "No Elastic Fantastic" Pyjama Bottoms

These jimjams were an experiment.  Dad had expressed an interest in some pyjama bottoms but Mum advised that I couldn't put elastic in them.   What???   I had no idea how to get them to stay up, except possibly for a matching pair of braces!   The lovely helpful ladies at Sew Simple in Taverham came up with the solution - tape, which we could cut to the correct length and tie the pyjamas up with.  Genius.  

The fabric is the softest brushed cotton which I found in the bargain section at Knitwits fabric shop in Dereham.   I even bought some for myself in an orange and purple colourway, although I'm still not sure whether I want pyjamas or possibly even shorts for the summer.  I should imagine it's probably more suited to winter clothing - could be a bit too warm for shorts!

Tada! "Sunday Teatime" Wave Blanket

The colours for this blanket were originally supposed to be pinks and purples as I knew Katherine and Jessica both love those colours, but, unfortunately, Stylecraft don't do fifteen different shades of pink and purple.   So I supplemented them with some grey, some silver and a beautiful gold colour, which I was really not sure about.  (In the end, it was the cream colour I wasn't sure about - the gold worked beautifully!)

I started this blanket back at home in Norwich after returning from holiday, although I had taken all the wool with me just in case I got the seaside coloured one finished.  I really underestimated how much time these would take and, in fact, was intending to make another double bed sized blanket for Christmas too.  That has now been put on hold and will be a birthday present instead this year!

I was unsure about the stitch count for this.  It became apparent during the blue and green blanket that I had cast on way too many stitches and the rows weren't as deep as I'd anticipated.  However, if you turn the blanket sideways so the waves are vertical, it's exactly double bed size.   And because I loved the effect of the vertical waves, I decided to work to the same principle with this one too.

I love this blanket - I'm usually drawn to blues and greens, but this one really sung to me.   I was completely stumped for a name though - I just couldn't get it, until I saw the cover of the Lakeland Christmas brochure.

And then I got it!  These colours remind me of cakes, jellies, jam, trifles, fireside, pilchards on toast, Sunday teatime epitomised!

Tada! "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" Pyjama Pants

2014 was the year for making jimjams.   The majority of men in our family are particularly difficult to buy for, for birthdays and Christmas, but since I learned how to make pyjama bottoms, there has been no stopping me.  

For Rat's birthday pyjamas, I needed a very particular fabric, a musical something or other, but, despite spending HOURS on fabric websites, I couldn't see exactly what I wanted.  So annoying.   Luckily, Mum, Amanda and Shannon came to my aid - I received a really random 'phone call from them while they were holidaying in Yorkshire, to say they were in the market at York and would I like some fabric that had musical notes all over them?  Of course I would!

I have to say that I discovered that I really don't like working with black material - I just can't see the stitching.    I think that, if I ever sew anything in black again, I will need to move my sewing machine over to the french windows and do it in complete daylight.  Or even take it out into the garden!  

I'm really pleased with the way they turned out and Rat seemed so happy that he's even said that if I only ever give him jimjams for birthdays and Christmas from now on, he will be more than happy.   That's all sorted then!

These bottoms were actually sewn on my old machine - which was previously Amanda's - and it was so heavy that it wasn't very mobile so I set up my sewing area on the dressing table in my bedroom.  (My new machine is very lightweight so can be moved around the house - space and light permitting.)  I had to take this picture of Finn - who kept me company for every stitch on these, bless him!

Tada! "I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside" Wave Blanket

Every year, I try and make as many of my Christmas presents as I can, but even I can see that there have got to be some kids and parents out there who get fed up of my home made jumpers!   You can only have so many, can't you?   So for four of my recipients (and rather perfectly, two young men and two small ladies) I decided to try something a bit different - joint/ family presents.   And I have to say that these blankets are some of the most favourite things I've ever made, not least because I made them on holiday and so I have lovely holiday memories of them too.  This post is all about the boys' blanket and post to follow about the girls'.

The first was a seaside inspired colourway - I first wrote about this in a post back in September (Waves In Progress) when I started to make it.   The wool is a very hardwearing but incredibly soft acrylic yarn - Stylecraft - and I wanted something tough as it's for two very active little boys (and their Mum and Dad!) and I guessed it might get a bit of manhandling on picnics and campsites!

It was jolly useful making it on my October holiday too, as it kept me warm while in progress!

I do like a caravan for stretching your legs out!

And the more rows I did of this blanket, the more I loved it, so have resolved to make my own one day, in exactly the same colourway.  (I'm hoping to get my living room carpet taken up soon and laminate flooring put down and I thought that, if I used chunky wool, rather than double knitting, I could probably have The. Most. Beautiful. Rug. Ever.   It's on my list of things to make!)

Gorgeous!

Tada! "Pretty in Pink" Cardi

I have serious cardigan envy about this cardi - I don't even remember where I got the wool from now, but I'm so cross that I didn't get more and make a cardi in my size.

And the thing about taking photos of clothes with nothing else in shot means that there's no size reference.  This cardi is so neat and pretty, but you'd never know it was for a twelve month old!

Frost

Crikey, it's turned colder - to the extent that I've had to resort to long johns for the first time in ages. Long johns serve two purposes as far as I'm concerned - primarily obviously for warmth, but also to provide extra padding in the event that I slide over on the ice. A not uncommon experience for me I'm sad to say. No balance!  

Last weekend was particularly icy - beautiful but freezing.   Bright blue skies and glorious sunshine. Finn and I headed out, fully intending to have a walk over the marshes. However, to get to the marshes, there is a sharp descent through the woods on tarmac first before the path levels out. Bearing in mind how slippery it was and having nearly gone over twice just getting to the top of the incline, our route was changed towards the park instead.   A much shorter walk, but a much safer one - grass is much less slippery than pavements.

Finn loves rolling in frost - I think it must be very refreshing for him. And I think he probably doesn't really care where he walks - I like to take him to new places so that he can explore, but he seems as happy in the park at the top of the road as he is if I take him somewhere a bit more special.   He's very easily pleased, which makes life very easy for me.