Knocking off and Knocking out

When you have just a little bit of fabric and just a little bit of time, what do you do?

Look at cute dress and shirt tutorials online and make your own knockoff version of a simple pattern, obviously.

I may have bought this fabric simply for the delightful exuberance of the pattern since I don't remember if I had had something specific in mind. There was just enough to make a shirt for my tall little girl. It is lined in a white linen/cotton blend.

It is a little snug, which is what happens when you are making up a pattern and have limited fabric but it will also be a darling summer dress for Inessa next summer. I can just picture her toddling around in it.

Button from Grandma Sherri's stash that she generously passed along to me. Not only do the kids love playing with them, often there is just the right button or two to finish off a project.

Purple Girl

Despite the reality of hand me downs from big sister, I hoped to have a few things that Nessie could look back on as uniquely hers. To differentiate, I've been inclined to go for things that are purple rather than pink even though she looks just as lovely in pink as Ellie did.

Some time ago, I was given a bag of yarn that included a couple of skeins of purple wool, almost a lilac color. It seemed the perfect yarn for the first handknit for Nessie. Given my current state of continual interruptions, a lace knit didn't seem feasible so cables it was.

Nessie's Antler Cardigan:

These buttons have been in my stash at least since we moved from our old house. I'm so pleased that there were enough to use here. I'm not particularly happy with how the placket turned out but you learn something with every project, right?