i know. not a clever or interesting title. but it is what it is. i’ve finally found a little time for knitting and sewing in this new year. not much, but just a taste to keep me sane. i’ve been wanting to make this dress for isabelle for some time now. finally, with a chance to sit down at the computer and mull things over (thank  you, sweet sister-in-law for the childcare), i went back and looked over the pattern. then i got on etsy to look for some double gauze. but i didn’t want to wait! then it occured to me – i’d made myself a shapless dress from some beautiful double gauze…and there was enough to cut it up and make the dress for belle (mine is the kokka in the link, but in the gray/purple colorway). so i did. well, at least i cut the dress and started to work on hers. i’ll post about it soon, but if you’re looking for a fun project for a little girl…this is a good one!

i used this amazing monkey pattern, with some small modifications, to make this softie from recycled felted sweaters. one of the local thrift shops saves all the hole-ridden woolies for me to take home, so i had a good stash to go through. unfortunately/fortunately, the orange sweater i used for the body is a cashmere blend. that makes it super soft, which is nice for a child, but it was a little floppier than i wanted it…oh well!

if you compare my monkey to the pattern, you’ll see that i added “thumbs” to the hands and feet, i put a little curl in the tail, and i added a 3-D mouth to the face. i did make wyatt a brown corduroy monkey with the original directions, and he is insanely cute too!

the knit mushroom in his lap is this tutorial. i used some leftover wool from my stash and added a single polka dot to the top. i used wool for the stuffing and added the cat toy – that’s right, it’s a rattle! i’m glad it didn’t come out any smaller or i’d have wanted to keep it for myself!

when i’d been digging in the bag of felted sweaters, i pulled out a little maroon one, formerly a man’s large, that had shrunk down to just about fit around isabelle’s little body. i cut off the waist band, shortened the sleeves, and cut up the center of the front. with a zipper, some sweater scrap adornments, and heart patches for the elbows, isabelle had a new, very warm sweater!

while isabelle and i were having a girl day, we made some accessories for her baby. a coat, shirt, pants and this cute wool sleeping bag. i just folded a wide strip over at the top, stuffed it with wool, and stitched it shut for the pillow. then i pulled the other end up and folded it back so that it was the proper depth for baby’s body, stitched down the sides and was done! it was one of our faster projects, but also a new favorite. baby and her sleeping bag have gone everywhere (literally) with us lately. and when isabelle put baby on her back, she looked up at me and said “now i’m a mommy, too. ”