Making a jacket!

I had to take a break on the gold dress until the organza for the lining came in. I still had the sewing bug, so I started this jacket. I'm really happy with how it's turning out, although it is very slow going. I have the fronts complete, but I have to wait to go any further until I get buttons. I am going to try welt button holes. Should be interesting since I've never made any type of button holes before. Too ambitious? I am determined not to let this end up on the unfinished-stuff-that-didn't-turn-out-like-I-thought-it-would pile.

I'm quite proud of my welt pockets. My rudimentory hand-sewing skills are getting a real workout.

Here's a look at all the work that goes into the inside. See my pretty pocket? I'm so excited to see how this turns out!!

Here's my current knitting project - a simple hat for the baby boy since he's grown out of his fleece ones. Should be done by tomorrow night.

And finally, the little man has found the yarn and likes playing with it almost as much as the kitties do...

And here's one of my psycho kitties...

Knitting and Sewing Projects

You may recall, um, several months ago, I said I was going to make matching sweaters for my son and my nephew. Well, that plan is finally coming to fruition... sort of. Here is the sweater I made for my nephew. It's all ready to go except for the zipper. More on that later...

Here is the left front of the sweater for my baby boy. It looks kind of salmon-y pink on my screen, but it's really a terra cotta color - very manly! All the other pieces are ready. I just need to stitch them together, knit the collar, and, yes, add the zipper.

...So I live in Germany and haven't really found any good sewing notions stores. I'm sure they're out there. I just haven't found them yet. When I went on a visit to the U.S. in September, I bought zippers for these sweaters at good ol' Jo-Ann's. Of course, I forgot to bring them back with me, so my mom kindly mailed them to me... and now I have no idea where I put them! So, I went out into the wilds of Germany and found a sewing notions section at a local department store. I bought two zippers (one pictured in the first photo with the green sweater). However, I am an idiot and got regular zippers, not separating ones. Not so helpful on cardigan sweaters. So... zipper purchase number three just took place at Jo-Ann.com. I figure if I do find the original zippers, I can easily use them again on more baby sweaters. I don't know what I'll do with the regular zippers. The other is white, so I guess I could use it on a skirt at some point.

I digress.

Here is my new sewing project. It may be hard to see through the wrinkles, but this is a gold silk brocade fabric. I think it's very pretty and is as subdued as gold silk brocade can be. I'm making a simple, straight, strapless, knee-length dress with the aid of my trusty new couture sewing book. It will be an adventure, and I am ready!

And finally, here's my studdly little man right after breakfast, sneaking Cheerios he left in his chair. Sneaky little man... 9 months old already!

Photos of my Christmas dress

As promised, here are two pictures of the dress I made myself for Christmas. I am happy with how it turned out, and I love the flannel fabric. It is so comfy! Seeing it in the photo, though, makes me think 1) I need to let it spend some quality time with the iron and 2) I need to work on my posture.

Here is a closeup of the bodice. The shaping is a bit unique and really does fit well.

The only things I am less than thrilled with are the color of the fabric and the sleeves. It's just a LOT of gray and feels a little blah. Gray is the new black, though, you know, so it's all ok. The sleeves look pretty loose in the first picture, also. All in all, a success considering this is the first dress with sleeves that I've sewn since, um, making clothes for my dolls.

I'm alive!!

Is anyone out there? I doubt it. Not posting for four months after just starting a blog will pretty much obliterate your nonexitant audience...

Anyway, I have been pretty busy with sewing more than knitting. I made a Christmas dress (will take pictures tomorrow). I just reviewed the pattern at www. patternreview.com here. I've used those reviews a lot to select patterns to buy, and there was only one other review for this pattern, so I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. :-) I am JennyAnne there, by the way. Jenny was already taken, and I thought KnittingJenny would just be confusing for those sewing people.