Top five of 2015 and New Years resolutions

Okay so I'm guessing Christmas is actually over.... And 2015 is nearly over! 

Which means it's time to see what's been popular on the old blog this year! 

5: 

Lace and gingham dress - not much to say I still love it! And I get quite a few compliments about it!! 

4: 

This is a weird one? It's currently sat in a draw waiting for next Valentine's Day! It's cute I just don't wear it much! 

3: 

My mums Mimi blouse!! She made the top five! She's gonna pee her pants! Anyway I guess she likes it? Another has been requested so that's a good sign? I don't think she wears it day to day though just saves it for vintage occasions.

2: 

My first ever trousers! I'm surprised they made the top five , mainly because they ended up in the bin! Wrong fabric , wrong colour, wrong style, but a lot of lessons learned ! 

1: 

Skyline lilou! This is the dress that received the most hits!! And I still love it, and I always feel fabulous in it!!! 

And so on to resolutions!! 

1: more sewing - pretty standard! 

2: better sewing - I want to improve my finishing and techniques! 

3: better fabric choices - I'm trying to make sure everything I make is something I'll actually wear, which means I have to really look at what clothes and colours I actually wear. 

4: do more knitting - in particular finish my miette cardigan and start more clothing type knits. 

5: keep writing tutorials - I love writing down my ideas and I'm having a lot of fun experimenting

6: bake more - I have aims for once a week but I'll probably forget! 

7: make trousers - actual proper trousers that I can wear. 

8: continue to eat healthy - I've made a really effort this year to find balance with my diet and I'm feeling better because of it. In fact we have a take away a few weeks ago and the grease in it made me feel really rotten. 

9: buy and waste less - just in general really with both clothes and food. We don't throw much away but I'd really like to minimise my impact of the planet. 

10: make another quilt. I LOVE quilting!!! Ideally I'd love to have a quilt in every room !!! And I'd like to keep making them for babies that are about to be born!! 

So yeah that's my year sorted!!! 

In other news! 

I had a lovely Christmas, my handmade gifts went down very well and I received some lovely presents as well. We spent a lot of time with family which was locy and I'm now trying to find room for lil knitwits presents! 

Much love

Frankie 

Xxxo

Embroidered Wolf Cushions!

These were my Mum and Dad Christmas gifts. They go away in their camper van a lot and for some reason [I'm not sure why but there is a story there] they have a wolf on the back spare tyre cover. He even has a name but I can't remember what that is either.

So anyway I thought they might like some cushions to spruce up the inside of the van [I mean there are only so many personal touches you can add]

So here's the one I made for my mum its very floaty and swirly and girly. I tried to stick to the general colour scheme of the van which is turquoise [in fact I also backed them in a teal fabric with leaves on but i forgot to take a pictures]

Its just a basic running stitch but I think it looks really clean and cute. 

I especially like the the eyes and the small details.

This is the one I chose for my dad, basically its a mirror of my mums but I made it more masculine by going for a more geometric style. 

I personally think it looks awesome, you can tell they match but they are not too matchy matchy!

I really like all of the triangle detail and the fact its a little more abstract.

Here they are together, I think they look good but if I were to do it again I'd have them facing opposite ways. 

Oh I love making Christmas presents by hand!!!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Butterfly canvas

I made these canvas for my sister and her husband for Christmas.

From what I can remember of Alevel art they are called a triptych. The idea is that his butterflies are musical and manly and hers of books and lady like. and then because ya know they love each other and stuff they swarm together. 

Know if we can all say awwwwwwwww on the count of three......... 

I also added their initials to personalise them a bit.

I got the idea after seeing something similar in tkmaxx, I thought they'd like it but it cost over £200 and I don't love them that much. 

I think they turned out pretty well, and seen as they have a new house they will have plenty of rooms to choose where to put them.

In fact they should probably just dedicate a whole room of their house to them!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Nativity Mouse Costume

This is actually a pretty pointless post, due to my excitement and lil knitwit having a meltdown and not wanting to do his nursery nativity I didn't get a picture of him at home in his costume.

Naturally I have lots of him during the nativity but I'm not allowed to put them online just in case they have other peoples kids in. Which is pretty understandable but still, now I didnit think I'll have one to share with him online. And by that I mean on here and on Facebook.

But here's the costume anyway.

Its cut down from Mr Knitwits old onesie but I think the only original seam left is the inner leg seam.

I had to put in a new zip and I drafted sleeves and arm holes. You'll have to take my word for it but it fit him pretty well. 

I appliquéd on a lil pink tummy.

I wish i had done the tail a bit smaller but Lil Knitwit had a lot of fun waving it around when he wasn't talking . I also added elastic to the ends of the legs and the sleeves so he wouldn't trip up he looked pretty cute actually.

the ears failed a bit as they kept flopping forwards, however he did have the biggest ears of all of the mice, and they all looked pretty cute. A few of the parents were pretty shocked that I'd made his costume and not just brought one on-line. although we did look and there's not many lil boy mouse costumes out there, instead there's loads of girl mice with tutu options..... because that's how you sex a mouse... you look to see if its wearing a tutu.

As far as nativities go it was AWESOME! it was a huge change from last year where they just sat and sand this year Lil knitwit had lines to learn and he even had to crawl across the 'stage' at one point. it was a really lovely experience and there was no major meltdowns or disasters! Although it was highly amusing to watch one of the angels sing with both of her wings in her mouth and one of the sheep get dragged back across the stage by one leg! 

So yes I'm very proud of lil knitwit for doing his mummy's costume proud! even if he did have a hysterical moment half an hour before! [no seriously I had to leave him in the classroom sobbing hysterically, i have no idea what they did to calm him down but they managed it]

much love

Frankie

xxx

Self Drafted Pinafore dress

A few weeks ago, My lovely mother in law gave me her old dining room curtains. Now she tends to change her decor every few years and is very clean and tidy in general so her curtains are always imaculate!

Anyway my first thought was omg, what am I going to do with brown suede curtains?

So I perused the Topshop website for a few minutes and finally decided to use this as my inspiration. The original is made from cord but I thought my suede fabric would give it a nice 70's vibe which is really on trend at the moment. I don't usually follow trends but I'm a massive fan of the boho chic kinda vibe that hippy's have.

Now because I didn't have a pattern for a pinafore dress, I had to draft my own. Basically i took measurements from my waist, hips, where I wanted the pinafore to flare out to and the space between my nipple area [too much info I know but if you look at pinafores that's typically where the top of the bib is] Then I worked out where I'd need some ease and drafted that in and then added seam allowances.

I also drafted some pockets, they are lined with some floral fabric but you cant see it at all. 

Its just the right size to put a hand or a phone in. Or sweets. or chocolate.

The front pocket is much larger although you can't put anything too heavy in it otherwise it pulls the front of the dress down too much and makes the back floof up!

I top stitched the centre seam line and the side seams and the godet seams, yeah I added some godets after realising I wanted it a bit more flared. I used the same thread throughout, it looks kinda green on the reel but here it looks more of a nice gold colour. 

The hem and top of the dress are finished with white bias binding, I probably should have made some in brown but I couldn't really be bothered. It doesn't really bother me though because I've mainly been wearing it with white tops so it kind of blends in.  

The straps and the buttons are stitched down, I was going to do buttonholes but my machine was not a fan of doing buttonholes in this fabric I think because of the nap of the suede.

I have to keep checking the front of the dress hasn't slipped down otherwise the hem looks uneven like this. Which makes me really grouchy. Also the straps keep slipping down so i might have the tighten them at some point. 

I'd say I'm pretty pleased with it even though it does have its problems. I've kept my drafted pattern pieces so if I ever choose to make another I can make some changes and make it perfect. I think it looks cute and it's pretty similar to the one on the Topshop website apart from the fact it didn't cost me £40. I feel pretty cute and I really like the seventies vibe. In fact it makes me want to spread the love and dance in a floaty style!

And as far as drafting something for myself goes, its not perfect but it fits my body so I'm counting that as a win as well!!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx  

Smaller Knitted Minions

I've made these minions for my niece and nephew for Christmas, Anyway I've pretty much got my minion pattern down but I decided to make these slightly smaller just to say time, I also decided to do more of the details in wool rather than felt.

I did one with one eye and one with two eyes, because experience told me that sibling need something to tell their toys apart other wise riots happen...... and then the police are called....... 

Anyway i decided the best way to be fair would be to give the first child the one with one eye and the second child one with two eyes! You can't say fairer than that!

I also embroidered their initials in the pockets so now there can be no fighting whatsoever.!!!

I think they'll be happy with them, they both love the one that's in their room at my mums house, although they have to share that one and these ones are their very own! I think they'll also go nicely with the cushions I've already made them.

And as a bonus if these break all they have to do is send them back to aunty Frankie for repairs!!!

In other news I'm thinking about changing the look of my blog after Christmas and making things a bit cleaner, I also toyed with the idea of changing my name but now I'm not sure because it might be confusing for people who read it. 

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Salt Dough Bowl

I made a double batch of salt dough when I made my pattern weight buttons with the intention of making a bowl, what can I say I had like 5 'Great British pottery throw down' episodes on Tivo and was feeling inspired! It was sort of like when I watched all the episodes of 'The Good Life' and Mr Knitwit caught me trying to buy some chickens on on-line and looking a coops.

Anyway they made the most beautiful bowls and jugs and well all sorts!

Mine on the other hand is actually kind of hideous!

I wanted something very fluid and organic looking but it just looks like Lil Knitwit made it by himself!

I put a candle in it because that was what I intended to use it as.

I mean I'm pleased I tried something new and it was fun drilling the small holes after I had put the bowl in the oven [apart from the salty dust it created] but I dunno I just don't think pottery is my forte.

I dunno maybe I just need proper lessons or a pottery wheel? YES! A pottery wheel would definitely help!!!

And now I need to decided what to do with it? Maybe the bin? Maybe I could put plants in it?

I dunno!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Hobbycraft Felted Penguins

For my birthday I was lucky enough to get some Hobbycraft gift cards, and one of the things I brought was a penguin felting kit. Mr Knitwit like penguins he wouldn't say it himself but he thinks they are very sweet and adorable.

Anyway as soon as I received them I started them, and worked solidly on them for about two days and then Christmas happened and I chucked them to the back of the to do pile thinking they'll be pretty quick to do ill get them finished next week.

That was in October!

Anyway I finished them yesterday! Just in time to put them out as Christmas decorations!

The thing i like best is that there is a mummy penguin, a daddy penguin and a lil penguin just like US!

I enjoyed doing them I just didn't really get it, its no where near as therapeutic as knitting and sewing. Also they are kinda hairy? I'm not sure if that's because I've done it wrong or because they are meant to be.  

I had to add my own beaks, they do come in the kit but I had an incident with the hoover and Ahem....... Lost them........

All in All I'm pleased that I gave felting a whirl, it was certainly something new and I didn't hate it, it just wouldn't be my first choice in future. At £3.00 the hobbycraft kit is really reasonably priced and the instructions are fairly clear. I might try again with another kit but I'm pretty sure ill never be making master pieces like some of the creations I see in pinterest.

In other news Lil Knitwit has been under the weather and I'm hoping it'll pass before Christmas, but bi have a feeling he'll just pass it onto Mr Knitwit and they'll both end up in bed. GOD PLEASE NO!

All the Christmas wrapping has been done which is a huge weight off my mind, and I've started to categorise the presents. Yes I categorise the presents, Otherwise I'd never get all of them out! seriously plus I don't want to mix up the presents coming into the house [we have a small child so we have a lot coming in] with the ones going out!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx  

P.s what do I do with all of the felting wool I have left over?

Rope Bowl

I've seen so many beautiful bowls made from fabric covered rope and string online that I just had to try and make my own.

I used scraps from my fabric box and sewed it together by hand I didn't stitch the fabric to the pieces of string I just wrapped them around very tightly. 

The string I used was like the nylon stuff that's in pe bags, I'm not sure why I had so much of it but this seemed like as good as use as any.

The inside is really pretty and I especially like the spiral it makes but the back is a HOT MESS! 

I used one of my favourite soup bowls to mould it around so its pretty small, In fact I'd go as far to say its a pretty useless bowl.

Until I realised I didn't have anywhere to store my button pattern weights! Then I realised its pretty darn perfect!  

Much Love 

Frankie

xxx