Winterland

The idea for this sweater was in my mind for quite some time. And Project Run and Play's theme for this week, Winter Wonderland, was the trigger to finally bring my idea into reality...

It started off with this old knitted baby sweater that -I guess- my mum made for my little brother, over 30 years ago! I loved the colors and the theme. However, as you can see, it had felted and shrunk into weird proportions. Especially the sleeves had become very narrow and stiff. I thought about knitting another sweater, but figured that the time and effort I would spend on knitting would probably not weigh against the time spent by my son wearing it...

So instead I decided to copy it in another way. I happened to have just the right colored knits in my stash, so off I went. 

I used a basic pattern from Ottobre, changed the collar into a scarf collar, and appliqued the landscape onto the sweater. 

I'm really pleased with the result. And apparently, my little boy is too!

Koolhaas hat

Last winter I discovered knitting. 

For me, it provides the perfect activity to do when my kids are around. It requires some attention, but just so much that I can still keep an eye on them, answer their questions, and give them the feeling that I'm there while still doing something for myself.

 

It is also easy to take along to the playground or in the train. And moreover, knitting goes at a slower pace than sewing. Which is a good thing, since otherwise I would produce more than my kids' wardrobes could handle...

 

Nevertheless, after I got smitten with the virus, within a few weeks I had knitted hats for both kids, my husband, and even for the baby that was still residing snugly within my belly.... So I needed a challenging project, which would keep me busy a bit longer. I found the Koolhaas pattern from Jared Flood on Ravelry, and loved it. Especially the crown, which reminds me of a sunflower.

 

The hat was originally intended for myself, but my son confiscated it. And I must say, it fits him better than me. At least, now I get to enjoy the view of the top of this hat way more often than I would if I had worn it myself...  

And even though this is a knitting project I'm nevertheless linking this post to Sew All 26 at No Big Dill:

Upcycled with love

One of the things I love most about sewing, is recycling (or better; upcycling) clothes. It is so satisfying to take an old item that is no longer worn, and give it a second life by turning it into something new.  Especially when the old item has some significance to you, because it once was a favorite piece of clothing from someone you love.

This baby shirt for example. It may not look very special, but it's made from two pieces of clothing that were once worn by two people very dear to me. The blue fabric origally was a pair of jogging pants of my mom. It's this kind of eighties fabric, very soft and a bit shiny (I think in Belgium it's called 'spons').

The striped cuffs are made from an old sweater of one of my moms best friends. Unfortunately, none of them was able to meet the new wearer of their clothes, because they both died a couple of years ago. 

So you can imagine how special it feels to cuddle this cutie in his new sweater, upcycled with love for him and for those two remarkable women.

And check out this beautiful quilt. My very talented aunt upcycled it from my mom's old sweaters (who owned a dozen differently colored St James striped sweaters).

Beautiful, isn't it? It feels special that my kids get to play on the sweaters that were worn with love by their grandma Vera.

Linking to:

Foxes again

Foxes again! For this shirt I used the same Ottobre pattern as for the previous foxes shirt. I like this color combo, very autumny, and the dark brown matches his dark hair and eyes very well!

Sweet foxes

September was a real baby month. Three little boys and one little girl were born. For the last boy, I sewed this sweet fox shirt (Ottobre pattern). After completing it, I wondered if the size was correct. It seemed way too short and wide, so I had little Jonatan test it. And guess what? It fit perfectly. Apparently, babies have just really weird proportions!

But they're too cute!

Woooshhh

Woooshhhh, another little snowboarder has arrived. 

For my little nephew Ole I stenciled this snowboarder onesie. 

Have a gnarly ride through the pow pow, little dude!

(see the Snowboarding Dictionary for a translation)

Aviatrix

It's september and the first chilly mornings have arrived. So, this Aviatrix hat will keep Jonatan's head warm during the bike ride to daycare. I was super productive during our holiday, so after finishing Jonatan's Aviatrix, I just continued knitting. I made a newborn size for our little nephew, who has arrived in the meantime.  

The Aviatrix pattern can be freely downloaded from Ravelry. I love this pattern! Although it looks quite complicated, it's actually rather simple. This was the second knitting project I tackled (the first was a straight scarf!), and once I had figured out the instructions, it went very smoothly. 

Fortunately for me, yet another small baby has arrived, so I'm allowed to knit another one of these cute hats!