Baby Things

I spent years making baby things before I ever had a baby. I mean years. When you learn to knit baby things are just a natural fit. They are small, usually simple and easy to finish. Not to mention stinking cute. I was a pro at baby things, so of course I had to make as much as possible when I was finally going to get the baby. This is the little hat I made just before my daughter was born. That was of course before anything like a blog was know to me, so I feel like I should do a post now. Ok, and it is also a cute picture that I just wanted to post. It is a great neutral newborn hat that is modeled here by my new little son.

Warm and floppy

I finished this a couple of weeks ago, and have been wearing it so much I only just took it's picture. It is a great hat. Really warm, really soft, a little too big though. I'm going to try washing it in warm water to see if I can shrink it a little. I might do this pattern again and tweak it a bit so it will fit better. I also think I probably go off with the pattern, but it is a little random, so it is hard to tell. So much the better. I have decided that with a new baby in the house, a girl just can't have enough good hats, so expect to see more! Along with the practicality, there is also the added benefit of having small attainable projects.

Memoir inspiration

My husband picked this book up for me at the book store just before our baby was born. Based on the cover he assumed it would be something I would like. Of course he was right. Light reading is a life saver when you are exhausted & nursing every two hours. This book, "Sweater Quest", is about the journey of a mom knitting an amazingly intricate Fair Isle sweater in one year. When I started this book I had just finished knitting my baby's blanket and had nothing in the wings. You can't read a memoir about knitting and not having a knitting project in the works. It was only a matter of moments before I decide to make a slouchy tam to go with a new jacket. I of course had no pattern, but just a general idea of what I wanted. Something chunky that I could hopefully make with a Malabrigo yarn. I am totally infatuated with this brand of yarn, because not only are the colors beautiful, but it is just so darn soft! A quick scan of Ravelry and I found exactly what I was looking for! It is slouchy, chunky, cabled and worked in Malabrigo which means I wouldn't need to worry about futsing with conversion. It is a love fest, the book, the yarn, the pattern, the baby, and just the act of knitting in the fall. The only things that could make this better would be a fireplace and a breve...

Baby & blankie

Here is my new baby enjoying his newly finished blankie. I'm very happy with the result of both endeavors. :) Since this is my crafty blog I will talk about the blanket and let you deduce from the picture how great the baby turned out. The blanket turned out to be a great size for him. It is about 26x32" and is heavy, warm, but also very breathable. It is great for a little guy to cuddle in. It is also remarkably soft and luxurious for a cotton. I fell in love when I saw a whole shelf lined with the stuff and determined something must be made from it. Then, as any good yarn store has, there was a sample knit in it. The sample that happened to be this blanket. I took creative liberty and did my own color combination, which I think if very "little manly".

Whew, it's done!

I think it is going to work! Here is E's completed quilt top. I actually really love it, and more importantly, so does she. It was such a long journey of confusion and self doubt for me to finally arrive at this pattern and combo of fabrics, but I am really pleased with the result. Just another confirmation to always listen to my gut. I think it is really sweet, does justice to the lovely fabrics, but doesn't overpower. And for as busy and bold as the fabrics are up close, I think they present a really almost subtle affect. I was so determined to finish this quilt before baby #2 arrives and I'm so glad I did. Now to save up for the machine quilting required to actually have it finished and ready for use! It is huge, there is no way I'm quilting that myself! I'm a little crazy, but not that crazy!

You just have to go with it

I decided to try hanging some batting to stick my fabrics on, just to see what was working or not and what should go where. It was pretty slick. So this is what I have ended up with for my daughter's quilt. I ended up pulling a different fabric than the one I thought, and I think it is good. So now all I have to do and sew, sew, sew!

Major Rueage

I finally took the dive to commit to a pattern for the much - agonized - over quilt for my daughter. I decided to pull a few fabrics out, bring an "editing eye" to the project and also greatly simplify the over all design. I'm still happy with that decision, however, after doing all the cutting I, of course, had to lay out a few blocks to get an idea of the effect. Here enters the problem. Instead of the lovely pinks, my daughters favorites, coming out, they are completely over powered by what I thought would be the secondary and merely complimentary fabrics. As you may see from the photo, the pinks really do recede when alongside the greens. This does not make me happy. I may have found a solution in pulling in the fabric that is along the bottom, which seems to bring a bit more equilibrium to the pinks and greens. I plan to substitute it for the most grievous green (in my opinion) which is the furthest to the right. When you take a few steps back, this one, believe it or not, stands out the most above all the other fabrics. How can it be that that sweet, subtle polka dot print could pop so much next to those bold busy pinks?? If you know, please enlighten me to save me from repeating this error in future!
Addendum: I neglected to mention that all of this cutting and progress only happened because of a quilting day with my good (and only) quilting friend. Cutting goes so much faster with two! Thanks B!

Finishing things

I decided that after having a baby I would probably want some pretty loungy things to wear. So I pulled this unfinished project out and finished it off yesterday. I started this one a long time ago. It was another one where everything was all cut, I just had to sew. Having already made this robe twice, it was a bit of a no brainer, which was good for me yesterday. I didn't have much brain to spare. I did manage to have enough to add pockets to this robe where they didn't exist before. I love pockets and am usually bothered when I don't have them. I found a good photo tutorial online to help me out when my brains started to let me down. I also cut out a pair of pants to go with this. I am hoping to crank those out this week. We shall see. I mean, what good is a pretty robe without matching pants, right?

T.C.B.

I managed to get this quilt top sewed together. A few snags with squares not being the right size. I should always make notes if I am going to "set aside" a project. I remembered that there had been a problem - simple to fix, but I didn't figure it until I was a little far and had to rip out almost 3 rows. Once I got that resolved and finished the piecing I set it aside for about a week just to work myself up to pinning the whole thing together. It went well, both times. Yup, the first time the back was not straight, and because it is so close to the width I need, there was no room for that kind of a mistake. So, I unpinned it, straightened it and re-pinned. (quite an accomplishment when you are 8 months pregnant!) Now it is ready for machine quilting. Now I can set it aside again!

I also had to get a pic of the little baby blanket I have been working on. I'm about 3 rows from the half way point. I think it is turning out really cute. Thanks to my hubby for advising me on how to arrange the stripes. It is pretty sweet to have a guy around with such a great eye!

My first Nebraska Wedding

I decided to try tomatoes this year, and have not had great success. I think my soil is probably a little lacking, but here is the first of the Nebraska Wedding. I have 5 more ripening. I think it is pretty funny that it matches my harvest gold counter so well. It was mighty tasty!

I always get it done...eventually.

A project began about a year ago using fabric bought much longer ago than that. Please ignore the bad pic. This was a reference only so I wouldn't forget what went where before it was sewn together. Anyway, I pulled it out a few weeks ago and finally decided to finish it up. I have to take breaks from the knitting because I have these irritable nerves that act up if I don't. Sewing always takes more energy for me, but once I get going I love it so much. The hum of the sewing machine, the feel of the fabric, the huge three dimensional end product that is totally functional. I love sewing. I'm such an over thinker and over planner that it usually takes me forever to actually get to the sewing part. That is why this has been fun, everything was all ready to go!

I'm knitting. Really.

With a big project you just have to give the occasional status update you know. So here you go. This is the little knitted blanket for Baby 2. It is just fun enough to keep me interested, while still being very easy and fast. A perfect recipe for success. That sounds a little too certain, so I will add an 'I hope' to that last statement. I guess I'm a bit of a skeptic.

Chunky cardigan

One project down. This was a nice little project, it was a good pattern, nice yarn, easily accomplished. Lots of finish work, sewing in ends, button band, etc. Always my least favorite part, but I managed to push through all the putsy stuff and finally even blocked it this morning. I am already moving on to other things and hopefully will have more to share soon!

Another new project?

That's right. Another project. Have I bitten off more that I can chew? Quite possibly. You see, my body has decided to get fussy, so I have to rest with my feet up. A lot. Knitting is the perfect. I can still "do" something while I'm not doing anything. I saw a sample of this blanket knitted up at The Yarnery, one of my favorite happy places. They had used this amazing Ultra Pima from Cascade Yarns. I love how it has that amazing sheen, and it is so incredibly soft. I just couldn't resist. I just have to finish up a little sweater, then the teddy bears, then this is next.

Robe

There have been so many "pending project" posts, I figured it was time to put a completed project up. I really do finish things sometimes! I finished this one a while ago in fact, but started wearing it before I photoed it and therefore had to make the effort of ironing it all over again. So it has been a while, but here it is. This is the finished Amy Butler Kimono Bathrobe from a previous post. I ended up lining it completely in a white cotton lawn, for a little more weight and for softness. Loungewear is something I love, so this was a fun and functional project. And I don't know, but I think I'm going through a big green thing right now. There is green everywhere!

Bears

My daughter saw a teddy bear pattern in one of my knitting books and thought it would be a good idea if I made one for the new baby brother so that she (my daughter) could play with it. So I'm making not one, but two new teddy bears. The projects seem to be piling up!

It's a plan

The fabric, the plan, the measurements. Now the only uncertainty is which fabric to put where. I vacillate, yet begin to think it doesn't matter too much. Some quilts fabric placement is crucial, but this one, I don't think it is. It will be very pink and green and probably cute no matter what I put where. And yes, by the way, three of these fabrics are from my stash.

It's the little things

So I have a success in the knitting realm. A small one, but I will take it. I actually finished this hat once and then realized it was just too small, so with about 6 rows to go I took it all out and started over again. It was only then that I realized I had used a size 4 for the ribbing and 3's for the body. So that was why the ribbing was sloppy, even for me. So I am glad with the decision to start over. I love this yarn, it is so soft. Merino is an amazing fiber!

Trouble committing

I am one of those that has to have a few (or more) projects going at once. I get bored, I get frustrated, I cast it aside with frustration or loathing and move on, usually coming back to it sooner than later. But sometimes it is later, much later. I am a slow finisher. I was rockin' this scarf and then I started making mistakes, like every row. This is after knitting at least 24 inches in this pattern. Who knows... so then I moved on to Nellie - see below - that wasn't working so well, and I still haven't figured it out, just for the record. All of this is going on while I'm trying to finalize a pattern for my daughters quilt, find one last perfect fabric, and then do the dreaded math. So I moved on, pulling this yarn from my stash. A small skein of amazingly soft bamboo, and then a hand painted merino. Neither of which I bought enough of for anything but, well, a hat. Not just one hat at a time, but two, because... well, I don't know why. Trouble committing, I guess.

C'mon Nellie!

Well, my great hopes for speeding through this road trip project were totally unrealistic. Not too surprising, however also not for the reasons one would suppose. This is a pattern that makes me crazy. I kept saying, if only they had given me a drawing of what this flattened out sheep is supposed to look like, it wouldn't be a problem at all. It is a weird pattern after all, not intuitive, how about some visual aids here? Well, I didn't get much further than this before things were looking funky, I mean super funky. So much ripping happened and now I'm stymied! I am going to attempt this again tonight, to get past that one line in the pattern which happens to be crucial to the shaping. I may go crazy trying it yet again, so this post is an attempt sort of clear the air before I pick it up again!

Whoa Nellie

We are getting ready for a weekend road trip, which means, of course, that I need a good knitting project. So I am planning on making Nellie the Sheep, by Debbie Bliss from her Baby Style book, for Baby Deux. The last time I did a road trip project I finished it in record time. This is a smaller, but more involved project, yet I still have high hopes for finishing quickly. I have made this project once before and it turned out very cute. I did, however use a cheaper yarn, so I'm excited to see the result with this, one of my favorite yarns! It is the lovely Rowan Wool Cotton. A really delightful yarn to work with. Soft, durable, a little sheen, and no pilling!

A quilt for E

My daughter needs a quilt for her bed so of course, I must make it. I got a bunch of Amy Butler fabrics in pink, of course, and greens, but didn't have a pattern. Really I just had a notion of the idea of what I wanted. Vague? Yup. (Let me insert here that I have had this fabric for about 6 months) I have been messing around with Photoshop (and I really mean messing, this is slapped together, and the fabrics are not at all in actual proportion, but just wanted to get the gist) trying to get an idea for a pattern, and I think this one might work. I got the pattern idea from this new site that I fell in love with for the patterns. The actual fabric isn't quite so in your face pink, somehow in real life it doesn't look quite as busy. So I will look at this for a few days and hopefully decide if it is a go or if I should keep playing with patterns. I need to tackle this one soon though!

Kimono Robe

This is my current project. I have made this robe before, including making one for my mom out of a beautiful linen, and yes, I forgot to take a picture! I really love this robe pattern from Amy Butler In Stitches . It is just challenging enough to be interesting, but easy enough to be attainable. There are some nice details including a lot of top stitching, which I am a big fan of. I think it adds such a nice finishing touch.

A little Regency dress

I decided (days before of course) to make E a little Regency dress for Easter this year. I had bought this fabric for her a while back with the intent of making some sort of dress and as Easter rolled around decided it would be perfect. Time being short and wanting use what I already had, I pulled out the Girls' Regency pattern from the Sensibility pattern site . A friend had used this pattern several times with great results and I also found it to be a delightfully simple, but pretty and sweet pattern. To make the dress sleeveless, I borrowed a technique, also from their site that I had used to make a bodiced petticoat. Toward the bottom of the tutorial it tells you how to flip the bodice so that ALL of the seams are on the inside. I love for a garment to be neat inside and out. That said, when I get a decent picture of her in it when it is PRESSED, I will post it. :)