Pinafore dress

My amazing aunt found me an old Cloth Kits pinafore dress kit. 

Burgundy needlecord, size 6-7. Perfect for Eva. I finished it off in the Welsh snow over Easter. 

For me, there is always a bit of teeth-gritting involved in dressmaking, even with a kit where the instructions are so beautifully explained.

Gratifyingly, it has been a hit. She calls it her pinaform dress and has rarely been seen without it.

On reflection I prefer pinaform to pinafore. It works much better don't you think? 

cables

I taught myself how to crochet cables recently. I didn't even know you could do such a thing until I came across this wonderful board on Pinterest. So I looked in books and online and found this tutorial to be the most helpful.  

I first made this cowl:

I made it up as I went along so there were a few false starts, but it went well and kept me warm during the Eternal Winter of '13. I then made a cardigan for my daughter Rosa. I used this pattern from Ravelry. It was so good to make, all in one piece with raglan sleeves. 

See how it grew from the top down? Beautifully logical and straightforward. I was crocheting in labour. I had taken a lot of drugs. 

I adapted it quite a bit as the original had no cables and a colour block-y pattern happening at the bottom edge. The wool was Rowan Cashsoft bought in the January sales so it was a bargain too.

Rosa is at that age where clothes become a way of expressing herself. Which is a diplomatic way of saying she screams for a long time and very loudly indeed if I try and make her wear something she does not want to. Such as crocheted cardigans. 

But she is also open to bribery with chocolate. A great life skill I have tried to instill as early as possible.