Yarn Along

I'd like to thank Ginny at Small Things once again for hosting the Yarn Along.  I've really enjoyed meeting so many new people who love to read and knit each week!  If you'd like to "meet" some as well, head on over (when you're done here of course) to her blog.

 

This week I've picked up once again a project that was nearly forgotten.  It's a sweater for me.  Imagine that. If I remember right, I abandoned it before because I got to the point of dividing for the armholes and I realized it was actually too short for me.  Since I'm so short, I wasn't expecting that, but I had to undo a lot of work if I wanted it to look nice, and at the time, I didn't feel like undoing a lot of work.  So it got stashed in my unfinished pile.  Now it's out, and I've fixed the problem and am currently working on lengthening it.  I may even make this little cropped sweater go to my waist.  I don't know yet.  We'll see.

For reading, I put one of our homeschool books in.  Silje just started studying Greek Myths and let me tell you, she's so so so in love with them.  I wasn't sure how she'd react to them, but she won't put this book down, and even rereads sections over and over again.  As a literature major, I'm excited that she'll have this base for studying classical literature in the future.  (I'm of the belief that knowing both the Bible and Greek Mythology are both essential for studying higher literature.  Why schools these days have cut  these two out, I'll never figure out.)

So far her favorite story is Pandora's Box.  There's one other that she loves, but I can't think of the name just now.   

The other book that I put in the picture is one sent to us this week all the way from Norway!  One of my dear friends, Lise, who lives there thought that if Silje is studying geography, she should have an excellent book on the most beautiful city in Norway.  Silje hasn't put that down either and even brought it to town yesterday so she could look at the pictures in the car.

That wasn't the only thing in the package from Lise.  She sent the most gorgeous little dress for Solveig.

How can I not show a picture of it?  She also sent a Norwegian chocolate bar.  That however...

did not make it to this post.

Yarn Along

I'm loving this yarn along party, as it's fun to see what others are doing with their knitting and reading.  Thank you to the "Small Things" blog for hosting it again!

For the reading, I thought I'd post a picture of the books Knut picked out for the kids this year for Christmas.

We've done this for years now.  Well, actually he does it.  I recommended for Silje this year "The Secret Garden" and it has been a hit so far.  Knut picked out for David a Robin Hood book based purely on the amazing illustrations in it.  Although I think the reading level is much too high to even read aloud to him yet.  As always, I'm sure that it will soon be his favorite book, as other Christmas books in the past have become.

Since Elias is really into trains right now, "The Polar Express" was Knut's choice this year and I'm so excited to have this book in our house!  It's so full of magic and the pictures are just stunning.  Solveig got a little "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" board book.

My favorite part of this tradition isn't just the books, but the notes inside.  Knut writes a long letter to each of the kid in the front cover of their books.  He spends so much time composing each letter to each kid, sometimes coming up with several drafts before the final copy is penned into the inside of the book.  So far, the kids breeze right past them and don't notice them.  I hope, though, that someday they will be very important to them.  Each letter makes me cry each year when I get to read it.

You thought I was the only writer in the family?  Oh no.  Knut is a great writer.  He just doesn't know it.  When we were dating long distance, states apart, he wrote me every week.  I don't think many couples have a stash like this as a reminder of their courtship.  Knut said that it was the most strategic thing he's ever done for our relationship.  You see, whenever he does something stupid, or I'm mad at him (which can often occur at the same time) I can always go to my desk and read all the things he wrote back then, and I'm reminded of how much he loves me, and how God brought us through so much.  Makes his life pretty easy.

He doesn't write me weekly anymore, but I still get a few letters from him a year. The last one was during harvest, and it was during the time when all I saw of him was traces that he was home sometime when we were all sleeping. It was so sweet about how he appreciated how much extra work I did when he was gone, and how he missed spending time with the family. I love things in writing because you can always come back to it time and time again when things aren't as "sweet".  I feel bad for modern couples whose only "documentation" of their love is through text messaging.  A whole generation of instant gratification.  Words said with the purpose of speed, rather than deep thought.  I won't go down that tangent any further, though.

As far as my knitting, what you see will soon be frogged.  I put my notebook in the picture too, because I've finally decided to push myself even further and start trying to design my own patterns.  Why not?  It can't be rocket science. This is just a prototype, and I don't like it, and so I'm recording the areas that will change, and making plans for the next tester.   This is the 3rd tester that I'll be frogging, and I'm waiting on a reference book that should be coming any day to help me figure out the stitch I've been trying to accomplish.  Don't worry, it's not frustrating at all.  I've been kinda giddy so far in this whole process.  When I finally have the pattern done, I'll show you what it actually looks like, and what it actually is.

Christmas Knitting

Well, now that Christmas is over, I can share my middle-of-the-night-lighted-pictures of my Christmas knitting.  I really wish I took better and more pictures of these!  This year all of Knut's siblings (and their spouses) got mittens.  I used this luxurious 80%merino wool/20%bamboo yarn.  It was lovely to work with!


5 sets in all, each mitten had a thick stranded design on the outside and is fully lined with another mitten in a contrasting color in the same yarn on the inside.  I used this "Northman Mitten" pattern which boasted to be big enough to fit large man hands, but after I made the first mitten to gauge, Knut tried it on to test it and it was way too small.  I had to increase the gauge significantly for the ones for Knut's brothers.  Knut now wants a pair and wants them even bigger and wants me to add a ribbed cuff as well, and to do all that I may have to pick a thicker yarn.  You know, when I get to it.  I love how my family comes up with all of these custom requests without batting an eye.  Silje still "orders" dresses from me using illustrations from her Cinderella book as reference.  ("Mommy, can you make me this dress?  But in purple, and sleeves like this other dress and...) 

Here's each mitten with the liners exposed.



The big mistake I made was when I was making one of the boys' mittens, and accidentally made 2 right mittens. I had no desire to frog an entire mitten, so after fuming about it for a few weeks and moving onto another pair in the meantime, I finally broke down and bought more yarn to make 2 left mittens. (Originally I had intended each pair to be a different color.) It took some time to track down the exact color and yarn on the internet because my yarn store was out, but it all eventually worked out.

So, now after these and Solveig's stocking is done, do you think I have fulfilled my personal goal of developing the skill of the stranded/fair aisle technique so I can finally make Knut the Norwegian sweater he's been begging me for?  Perhaps you'll need to tune in next Christmas...maybe. I'm still a bit nervous about that project.

Yarn Along

Well I met so many sweet knitters last week, that I thought I'd give a yarn along a whirl again, even though I don't have much new to show, but merely follow-up.  (Next week I promise I'll have something cool on my needles!)  The idea of a yarn along is from Ginny's blog "Small Things" where everyone shares what they have been knitting and reading that week.  Really...that's my kind of crowd!  I'm a bit bummed I can't show you the gorgeous (if I do say so myself) Christmas presents that were finished this last week, and will be blocked today.  I can't spoil the surprise, though.  I promise to take pictures of them and post it after Christmas.

For knitting, I redid the heel and toe of the little one's Christmas stocking that I showed last week.  (Does that mean she can come now?) I can't believe I just went off pattern and finished it my own way like that!  I can't tell you the feeling of accomplishment that gave me!  I also added the little loop for hanging and hemmed down the cuff.  All that is left is blocking, so that along with the surprises, my dining room table will be full of wet yarn today!  The foot part of the stocking was probably redone 3 times, and although the toe looks short to me, I measured it against all the other Christmas stockings we have, and it was right on.  At any rate, I'm washing my hands of this project and declaring it done.  I don't have any more patience for any more frogging.  Then of course, I got the little avatrix hat done this week for the giveaway yesterday.  (Congratulations again, Rebekah!)  It was a really quick knit that I got done in one evening from casting on to weaving in ends, so I will definitely be doing this one again!

As far as reading, Silje and I finished a simply sweet book, Mountain Born from her Sonlight curriculum.  This was by far, the most difficult read aloud book that we've done, and was the first read aloud book that we've encountered that is much out of her reading level.  That's kind of the purpose of the read aloud books, most of which she could read with our without me.

It's a story about a boy growing up in a sheep herding family.  While many of the books we read are silly, or having talking animals or something, this one was very real to life.  What I loved about it was how descriptively it was written.  It would spend pages describing this boy laying on a hillside and staring at the clouds.  Then there was the heartwarming friendship between the boy, Peter, and his leader-sheep, Biddy.  Maybe it's the knitter in me that loved hearing how the sheep were sheared, dipped, and set to pasture.  Then the process of turning those fleeces into a coat for the boy.  The author took her time describing all of this with no hurry, and it was a very peaceful and inspiring book to read.

Silje had to warm up to it, but ended up loving it in the end.  It's just so different from the books she normally chooses, and the chapters were pretty long.  I had to stop at the end of about every page to explain what I had just read, or to confirm that she understood.  However, I will restate that she did end up loving the story in the end.  She's a huge animal lover and  loved reading of the strong bond between a boy and his sheep, and hearing tales of each of their heroics really touched her heartstrings.

I would also like to share one very special treat for me this last week.  You see, Knut and I are at the point in our lives where we can't always surprise each other for Christmas.  I mean, if we're going to spend money on each other, we have to be extra certain that it's exactly what the other person wants, because we simply cannot afford to buy something that won't get used, or will just sit around.  The last couple of Christmas' we've gotten into the habit of just telling the other person what we want to get for Christmas.  I mean, if I were to go into a ski shop and buy wax for Knut, I would have no idea what colors/temperatures etc. he would need.  My head would be spinning.

Likewise, if I were to tell Knut I would want something crafty, he would have no idea where to start.  I told him I wanted a set of interchangeable needles this year.  So I did the research and decided that I'd like the set of small needles made by Hiya Hiya.  (They have a set of large needles too, which I would eventually want, but I thought I'd use the small ones more immediately.)  I hate having to tell him what to get me, and prefer a surprise, but I have to admit...I was pretty excited to get this set.

So Knut went to the yarn store to pick these up, and the lady there talked him into getting me both sets.  Gotta love a good saleswoman, right?  While it was way over budget, he did it, and even got me one other present at another store just so I'd have a "surprise" for Christmas.  I mean, seriously, my man is awesome.



Oooooooo...mystery present!  Now we just need a tree to put it under!
So why, you ask, do I have a picture of the smaller set when it's not even Christmas yet?  Well, it's because there's snow on the ground, and Knut got a new waxing iron from me for Christmas.  He said he "needed" to use it before Christmas, as he certainly wasn't going to wait until after Christmas to ski.  So I negotiated that if he got to use his present early, so did I.  Well, he's only giving me the small needle set early, but that was enough to satisfy me.

On a quick side note, I love that my needle set is called "Hiya Hiya."  You see, when I was a teenager going on mission trips, I went with an organization where we met under a big tent for a rally every night of training.  We sang songs and there was one song in particular lead by this 80-something year old woman who was the darling of all of us teenagers.  She was known as the "Hiya Hiya" lady as she lead us in a song that went like this:
"Hiya hiya, hiya hiya hiya hiya,
Hiya, hiya...liftin' Jesus hiya."

I have to admit, whenever I see my needles here beside me, her little tune goes through my head...liftin' Jesus hiya.

To Keep Busy...A Giveaway

Well, for those of you following my blog, I have been knitting a lot lately.  Ha!  That's an understatement.  Keeping off your feet and keeping your insanity is tougher than you might think, and knitting helps me a bit in that regard.

I made this hat with David in mind, as he could use a new ear-flap hat.  I made it in this cool aviator pattern in navy blue 100% wool.  The pattern was, I thought, pretty gender neutral.  However, now that it is done, Knut says it looks like a girl's hat (which is so not true...it's blue, and no lace or ruffles...I don't see how it's girly), and it doesn't even fit David's huge head.  In fact, even though I made it to gauge in size/age 4+ it just barely fits Elias (who is 2), who is not in as much desperate need of a warm hat.  Apparently my children have huge heads... a thought I'd rather not dwell on with another birth looming.

So as this will be too big for the new baby (I'm hoping, anyway) Elias doesn't need it, and it's too small for David and Silje... BUT it's so. darn. cute. and fresh off the needles, that I decided to give it to anyone of you who may want it.  I could put it in my store, but I'm kinda finicky about getting a designer's permission before selling from their design.  I mean, I could "frog" the project and use the wool again, but I really wanted to do a giveaway when I had reached 400 posts, which passed awhile back, and I was so busy that I decided I didn't have time to make anything to give away. This is just too cute to rip up, and I already have gifts in mind for my nieces and nephews for Christmas.  Plus, I think I need the excitement of a giveaway in my life right now.  Everything is so on edge around here, waiting for the baby to come, that a distraction sounds awfully nice.

I am now imagining my readers getting up from their computer chair, and doing a little happy dance at the mere thought of winning this adorable hat.  I can hear the gasping and oohing, and ahhing.  I know you are all excited.  So go ahead...I'll pause for you to do your happy dance.

For whoever wins, you have the option of me sending you the hat as is, and that way keeping it gender neutral, or if you'd like, I'll add a huge flower to the side like this one I made for Silje, with the color options of light pink, red, or cream if you would like to actually make it girly.

So here's how you enter...leave a comment.  Pretty simple, right?  Leave a comment, and make sure you either leave your email address with it, or at least leave a way for me to contact you in your profile.  Actually, the last giveaway that I did, the person who was drawn left me no way to contact her and I had to draw again.  Don't let that happen to you!

In your comment I'd love for your feedback as to which kinds of posts you enjoy the most.  My blog is kinda all over the place as far as topics, and I'd enjoying knowing which topic has you coming back.  If you are a regular reader to my blog, or would like to be, please let me know by clicking the "follow" button because that's fun for me.  I don't want people "following" just because they want the giveaway, so it won't count as an entry if you do, but I just wanted to throw that out there.

So leave a comment if you'd like the cute little hat, and I'll draw someone's name and announce it Wednesday morning...unless I have a baby.  Or pretending to have a baby again at the hospital.

Yarn Along

One of my favorite things about blogging is discovering new people with similar interests that you would normally not meet.  Through a friend's blog, I found another blog, of another homeschool mom across the country who also loves to knit and read.  You can find her blog here.  I think if we lived closer we would be good friends!  So this week, when I saw her event called "yarn along" I thought I'd join her party and make a post with what I've been working on this last week in regard to knitting and reading.
 
The knitting item is a stocking for the new little one, soon to make her arrival at any moment.  Knut and I bought our first stockings for our family from World Market when Silje was born.  We got 3 knitted stockings all different.  We knew we'd have more than one child, and we thought it would be tedious to try to find an exact stocking year after year, so we just picked the knitted "theme" and try to make sure that each one is different.  I didn't know how to knit at the time, and I actually wanted more of a velvet theme, but Knut insisted.  I love that man.

However, finding knitted stockings has become increasingly difficult.  Finding ones that are different than the ones we currently have is even harder!  So this time, it dawned on me that I am a knitter, and if I want to knit a stocking for the baby, that would be perfectly fine. Keeping with my goal this winter of choosing projects that would help me practice the stranded technique, this pattern was chosen. (You may need a ravelry membership to view the link.)

I was planning on finishing it last night, and I guess you could say I did, but I'm not pleased at all with how the heel and toe turned out.  (Knut who normally is complementary of my work also agreed it is not hanging right at all.) I've never made a stocking, or sock for that matter, so I followed the pattern to a T.  I think that tonight I'm planning on frogging it back to the heel, and winging more of a short row heal.  (The term "frogging" is one I learned from my internet knitting friends.  Frogging means that you undo your work.  Why the word "frogging"?  Because you "rip it...rip it...rip it...") 

I've never just felt my way through something like this, but I'm trying to convince myself it's not like I'm performing surgery.  I'm a good knitter, and I can figure it out.  I'm hoping this positive affirmation will help because I need to make this stocking work!  I'm not frogging the whole project, and I have no budget or even good choices of store-bought stockings and this baby and Christmas are both just around the corner.

The book is the one I incorrectly cited my previous post. I've just been reading bits after the kids are in bed and I'm attempting to get sleepy.  I've only had time to go over the chapters on prayer and I must say, it is quite uplifting and calming all at the same time.  I sincerely recommend it to anyone who wants to deepen their relationship with God as it's full of inspiration on how to take the time to just enjoy Him.

Therapy

I'll admit, I've been a grump this morning.  Well, it hasn't just been this morning.  Lately, I've been a hormonal mess.  I hate the feeling that I can't trust my own judgment or emotions.  I hate that I flip over something and only recognize afterward that my reaction probably wasn't rational.  I'm so tired.  I didn't sleep well last night.  By about supper time every night, every muscle in my body hurts.  Feeling this baby move, while always a joy and good thing, is becoming more painful as she's stretching me to the max.

I decided a little while ago to order myself some therapy.  Some pampering, if you will.  One of the things I did when I was pregnant with Elias was get myself some brand new adorable slippers for when I'm in the hospital.  There's just something about being so tired and sore, and being able to put something on that's so comfortable and special at such a time.  I wore those slippers out!  You moms may know how incredibly difficult it is to spend money on ourselves, as that's usually the first thing to get cut to get our kids something.

So on my incredibly grumpy morning, my therapy made a most timely arrival.  In the mailbox, I got these:

Chunky, and may I add super duper soft 85% wool 15% alpaca yarn!  I bought this yarn without feeling it first, which is very very very unlike me.  However, the pattern recommended this specific brand, and as I read other reviews of it, plus the fact that it's quite inexpensive, I thought I'd give it a try.  On first touch, I'm impressed.

and this:



I just can't wait to get started!

What is it, you ask?  What could it possible be for?  Well, if you guess the obvious: new slippers for me, you'd be correct.  The yarn is chunky weight, so you probably won't have to wait too long to see the end result.  That other stuff?  It's unspun merino top wool.  Never have I felt something that has made me long to know how to spin so much before, but this won't be for spinning.  Seriously, I'm just sitting here at the computer petting it in my lap.  Wool therapy always lowers the blood pressure, you know.  So how does this heavenly buttery soft stuff play into my project? I guess, you'll just have to see.

My Little Girls' Closet

Here's the promised picture of my little girl in her new sweater and headband.  She picked out sparkly diamond-like buttons, and we had one extra in the pack, so I put it right in the middle of her flower, which delighted her to no end.

I was writing a blog post about starting to pack for the hospital this afternoon that somehow erased as soon as I pushed publish.  Our internet connection is sometimes sketchy, and apparently it wasn't automatically saving as it normally does.  Anyway, I took it as a sign that it was terribly boring, and since I don't feel like writing it again, I'm moving on.

I have to share a tiny bit more of my super fun virtual baby shower that has been coming in the mail from my online friends.  Ironically, my sister showed up to this virtual shower as well, since she sent me a sweet fleece outfit in the mail as a surprise by chance the same week I seem to be getting all of these sweet presents.  I thought that was cool, and ironic.  My poor mailman probably is wondering what in the world is going on as I'm getting at least one package every day, but usually multiple ones.

Today, I got this adorable present in the mail:

It's a little black handknit wool sweater with hand embroidered pink flowers along the bottom.

She sent along the full skein leftover from the embroidery in case I felt inspired to make something matching.
 
(Which is also ironic, because I happen to have a great baby bootie pattern that uses this exact weight of yarn.  Now I need to repeat to myself over and over again: "You must finish at least 2 projects before you start a new one.")

I haven't shown pictures yet of the little fleece set my sister sent me, or yet another diva gift, a sweet little swaddling/burp cloth set.  Those have already been put away in my little girls' closet and the older girl is sleeping in there right now while the younger is sleeping away inside me still.  So maybe another time.  For now, though, I'll enjoy the quiet.

I "Finished" Something!

Well, except the buttons!  Silje and I will be picking some out while we're in town today.  I've been making so many things for this baby, I saw that Silje was feeling a bit left out.  That surprised me because she normally doesn't care whether or not something is homemade, and she has plenty of nice clothes.  Still, I wanted to make something special for her, so as another diversion from what I should be working on for Christmas, I took another small break to make this for her:

I don't think the picture is quite the right red, and looks more pink in the lighting.  It's actually called "cherry red" and uses the same kind/brand of yarn that I used for her little sister's sweater here.  However, this yarn must have been from a different batch because it's not nearly as soft as the other yarn, and I actually talked with my local yarn store about it.  They said that their employees have noticed it, but I was the first customer to point it out.  That, and the fact that I'm on a first name basis with most of the employees there might be a sign that I spend too much time there.

I used a pattern called the "tea leaves cardigan" although the mini version, as the original is for adults.  What attracted me to it?  What else...it's knitted all in one piece with little finishing.  No seaming at all.  As you can tell, it still needs buttons.  I motified the pattern to have buttons all the way down, instead of just 3 at the yoke and open at the bottom.  I just think it looks nicer that way. Also, I made full length sleeves instead of the 3/4 length ones that the pattern calls for, and I made the body a bit longer because she's so long.



When I had Silje try it on as it progressed to make sure that the sleeves were long enough, I could tell her holding back in saying something.  I think she was expecting something flashier, or something.  I picked cherry red because I thought it would be festive for the upcoming season, and she said she liked it, but her face didn't light up like I hoped.  Then I got an idea to make a matching headband for it.  I didn't have a pattern for the headband.  I just did a circular band of stretchy ribbing on my needles, and attached this crocheted flower that I whipped up while watching t.v. last night.

That did the trick.  She loves matching and accessorizing, and this huge trendy flower headband made her swoon over the whole set like I was hoping.

(Side note...I got the flower pattern from one of my newest reference books in my sewing library:
Here's one more plug in...I got this book, and the other reference books that I'm trying to build up for a great crafting room library for free by using "swagbucks."  It's basically using a specific search engine like you normally use and you earn points by using the swagbuck search engine instead of whatever else you normally use.  You can buy tons of things with these points, but I like to buy amazon.com giftcards.  Since I signed up a few months ago, I've gotten about $60+ in giftcards.  It's not a lot, but it's less guilt when buying something just for me!  I've gotten about 4 great new crafting books through it so far.  I get points if I refer people, so here's a picture link if you're interested:



(I don't intend on putting a bunch of ads on the blog...I just figure is something is relevant I'll post it.)

After I get the buttons on, I'll post pictures of Silje wearing it.  I picked the color cherry red and the pattern, so I figured I'd let her pick out the buttons.  It seemed so huge to me that I thought she would be swimming in it.  I kept measuring her, checking my gauge, shaking my head, but in the end, she tried it on and it fit like a glove.  I just can't believe that she's that big!

I was kicking myself a bit too, because this project wasn't as quick as I was thinking it would be.  Don't get me wrong, it just took a few weeks, and not even working non-stop.  It's just it's getting down to crunch time for making handmade gifts for Christmas and I don't have a lot of "diversion crafts" time left.  After making a run of infant things though, I forgot how long bigger sweaters take!  Not quite the instant gratification.  However, I DO plan on doing this pattern again in the future because it was so well written, and the finished product turned out so well.  My only regret is going ahead with this yarn, as I'm worried it will pill pretty bad, so I'll just have to take extra care when washing it to see if I can avoid that.  In the future I think I'll opt for a higher quality yarn.

More Show and Tell

I'm sorry I missed my Friday homeschool post. Life just got a bit busy, but most of all I got distracted. O well.

Harvest continues on, and continues to go very well. As the corn, I'm sure, is nearing the halfway point, I'm at the point where I'd like my husband back. I can see he's been taking extra steps to try to make life easier on me. For instance, he'll walk up to the house to pick up his lunch, rather than me walking out to the semi to hand it to him. On Saturday Silje and David each got a turn to ride the tractor with him for a few hours and they both had so so much fun! Elias is still too young to go by himself, and we haven't figured out logistically how I can go out there, as sitting in the tractor with a big tummy and a baby on my lap would work exactly. Not to mention Silje and David wouldn't fit in there, and while one of them could ride in the combine with their grandpa, we try not to have a ratio of one kid per adult in the large machinery. On top of that, I just don't enjoy riding the tractor when I'm this pregnant.

All that to say, Elias has really been missing his Daddy, and when Knut stops in, even if it's just for 2 minutes, Elias attaches himself to his Daddy and we have to peel him off of Knut in a crying fit when he has to go again. While the other kids are often awake when Knut heads off to work, Elias rarely is. While the other kids get rides with Knut, Elias doesn't. I think Elias is ready to have his Daddy back too.

As for me, I'm still knitting up a storm when I'm too sore to be up and about, and have even gotten a little sewing done, but nothing I can show here. There is one knitting project, though, that is finally ready to be shown. Finally.

This is the little lilac dress that has been in the works pretty much all summer, and is finally off of my "almost finished" pile. It was knit up in size 3-6 months, and was knit with dk weight pima cotton yarn.


I didn't finish the bonnet, and probably won't. The sizing was all off, and it had to be taken apart. I could up the needle size and make it the right size, but it just doesn't seem to me to be the right bonnet pattern for this dress, and as I've been looking at different hat patterns, I can't find one that seems just right for this project. So I'm tentatively calling this project done. Every dress doesn't need a matching bonnet, does it?


This faux-wrap dress with a light purple velvet ribbon looks so simple and sweet which is why I picked it. However, the way the pattern was written made me pull out more hair than any other pattern I've ever encountered. Knitting up the pieces was easy, and not complicated. However, assembling the dress took far too long. I had to attach the sleeves 4 (yes...4!) different times, redoing it over and over. Things that could have easily been knit in the round without seams, or with edging attached was not. Everything was knit separately, and attached one by one. Would you believe I spent 2 evenings watching a movie and working on this, as well as one Sunday afternoon naptime just doing finishing work on this piece. That's the same amount of time that I worked on the entire pink sweater/bonnet set that was previously posted, and that was from start to finish.

However, I do like it, and I hope it fits after all of this trouble. I will not be doing this pattern again, but a different version of this dress might be the first pattern I actually try to write. I've had the goal for a few years to write up my own knitting pattern, and I feel I'm nearing that point, though I think I won't attempt it until next year sometime. I think I'll see if I can write a dress similar to this, but in a much easier way to understand, as well as a few style changes, and probably using a different weight yarn. So really not this dress at all, but thinking of this dress sets my mind thinking "If I were to design this pattern, I would have the sleeves like this, the skirt like this, and I'd make it so you could do it this way..."

So, there it is. If I decide to make a bonnet for it, I'll show you...but don't hold your breath!

Problem Solving

I've been needing to sit more. There's no emergency or doctor's order, but I've been pregnant enough to know that when contractions start coming, it's a good idea to use the bathroom, chug some water, and then put your feet up just to be safe. It's just the drill of 3rd trimester for me. This baby and I have had lots of discussions about how she's not allowed to come too early, and so we'll have to see how well she follows instructions.

Anyway, I've been sitting more. Is there anything better to do while sitting than to have some knitting needles in your hand? When you don't feel sick, you don't feel tired, but you KNOW you need to sit and stick your feet up for 15 minutes or so, it's good to have something in your hands to keep the feeling of productivity up.

Mostly I've been working on Christmas presents which are mostly handmade this year, which I aim to do as often as possible. I know...my poor relatives. No ipods from Knut and Gretchen. I was almost done finishing up one when I realized a huge mistake. A mistake so big that I wasn't sure if I should rip up over a week and a half worth of work, or if I should just wait a few days and see if I could come up with some way to fix it.

So the only thing to do at that point is to start a new project. Ha! Like I need another one. I should have finished another unfinished project, but I needed some unattached bliss. I needed to make something not off of my to-do list, not on any goals...something made that was quick, uncomplicated, refreshing, and just for the fun of it.

This is what I came up with. This set took me 3 days from cast on to weaving in ends. Seriously, it was just what I needed. Thick aran weight yarn, one piece pattern with very very little seaming, something that was from a new pattern so I wouldn't be bored, but not too hard so I could easily work on it back and forth while holding a conversation on the phone, watching the kids at the playground, whatever. It needed to be a project that I could be interrupted multiple times without needing to count a hundred stitches to figure out where exactly I had left off the last step.

I wasn't sure if I was going to make this for my little girl, or give it away, and I think selfishly I'm going to keep it, but with the pride soothing reasoning that I should really see if this pattern fits a baby nicely before gifting it.

The sweater is from the gifted designer, Debbie Bliss (although the dress pattern I'm nearly swearing over in finishing is also by her, and not exactly one I'll eagerly do again). I have never made a sweater this way. It's such an odd way to construct a sweater to me, but it made it such a fast knit, and very very simple. I think it's such a unique style for a baby sweater, and worry a little about the collar on a little baby, because I think babies have such little necks that collars often don't look that great on them. This one is quite thick. However, I think this, a onesie, and a pair of cute pants would be just darling. I have the book this pattern comes in, but I think it's offered by itself free online. I pinned on a little ribbon rose that I don't intend to keep. I'd rather get a nice silk flower to use. I think if I make this pattern again, I'll add about 2-3 rows of garter stitch on the bottom edge to replace the rolling stockinette stitch, and I'll add a buttonhole in front for a large button instead of the pinned rose that the designer uses.

The bonnet is from the same pattern that this one came from, except I sized it at the size "small" instead of "newborn" as the previous one I made was. I also made the rounded crown style instead of the pixie crown. I debated back and forth on which style to do and couldn't decide until I figured I already made one style...why not make the other one and see which style looks better on a little baby. Again, it's good information to have when making a little handmade item as a gift. I also did an i-cord tie in front instead of the buttoned chin strap that I made for the other outfit.

What's even cooler is the yarn I used for this. Normally I brag about this nice fancy natural yarn that I got from the local yarn store made from some specific breed of sheep wool, or bamboo fibers, etc. Well, this is from the local yarn store, but it's a nylon/acrylic mix and despite that is one of the softest yarn ever, was super cheap (in comparison to what I've grown accustomed to) and it knit up so so nicely. Not only that, but I got this sweater and bonnet out of just one skein. (See the tiny little ball I have leftover! It doesn't get more right on than that!) That skein was less than $6 (but I had a 50% off coupon when I bought it) so that makes this an under $3 set. One of the few times these days that making your own clothes actually is cheaper. I could not be more pleased. Now to just see it on the little girl. (Not that that's an invitation, little one. You stay put.)

Now that this little diversion has accomplished what I hoped it would, my mind has cleared and I've figured out what to do about my enormous mistake on the other project, have fixed it, and am throwing myself back into finishing some Christmas projects. So you may not see many crafting pictures for a little while again. Unless I screw up again, or get an overwhelming urge to nest again...which is entirely possible.

Working Through

I'm continuing to work through my "almost finished" pile in my sewing room. I'm doing a bit of alternating between finishing one thing (or two!) and then getting a part of a longer project done. Last night after I finished a pair of longies and matching hat for Nerdy Gerdy Boutique, that had been sitting, waiting for finishing touches for about a month and a half, I started a Christmas present. I cannot share what that is for obvious reasons, but I can say that it's turning out much better than I had hoped, and I'm looking forward to making a bunch more of these! I think.

Just for fun, though, I should really share the longies that I finished, and the little matching hat to go with them. They're just little ones. Size small. Awhile back I promised myself that I was really going to work on learning how to do the "fair isle" technique in knitting better. Knut really wants me to make him a Norwegian sweater, and I feel like I need to perfect this technique just a bit more before I take on a project that...expensive. This is not the first time I've tried this technique, but it's the first time I've done it and it's a bit presentable.



I'm putting this in my store as "second" which means it's second quality. It's discounted that way. There is nothing technically wrong with it, but as I'm not as experienced with this technique, I feel as though the stitches pucker here and there when it is stretched. I've done some more projects with this technique, and I continue to improve, and I think I've figured out how to fix that problem. Managing the tension of 2 strings of yarn is a bit trickier than just one! I'd love to get this to someone who wants a deal, and doesn't mind things that probably only the maker would notice about it. It's been awhile since something new hit the store, and it feels good to keep that going.

Squishiliousness Part 2

I know I told you you'd see the whole set of dress, booties, and bonnet when this is done. However, I finished the booties today, and couldn't help but sharing them.


I stuffed them with fleece scraps, so pardon the lumpiness. I just think seeing them stuffed is a little bit better than seeing them flat. They weren't made to be flat, you know. They were made to fit around chubby little round feet.

These Mary-Jane booties designed by Bekah Knits were made with lilac colored pima cotton dk weight yarn for the main portion, and ivory fingering weight 75% bamboo/25% nylon yarn for the "fake" sock that is attached. While I must say that both of these yarns are incredibly soft and silky and have great stitch definition, they are also very slippery and tend to split a lot, and show every single split! So I wouldn't recommend this type of yarn for a beginner. Definitely at least an intermediate knitter.

I have some extra bits of yarn in these weights in acrylic and wool blends in really fun colors like ruby red or black in my yarn stash, so I may decide (if I have extra time before the baby come *insert hysterical laughter here*) to make a few extra of these booties just for fun, and not for matching outfits like this set is for. I think yarns with those contents might "grip" better when knitting and it might go a bit faster.

However, the reviews from this pattern say they are great "stay on" booties, and I can't wait to try them out. They seem a bit big to me, but they're made in size 0-6 months, so I suppose that seems right, as I just finished a bitty newborn outfit. The dress they go with are 3-6 months, so logically they should fit at the same time.



The pattern itself was not too tough, but was a bit tedious for my taste. I only pick tedious patterns when the cuteness overcomes me, and that was the case here. However, there were 3 seams, 13 yarn ends to weave in, and 1 button to sew on per shoe, so not exactly the instant gratification that you get when you "finish" knitting like my last post.

Like I said, though, the cuteness overwhelms that pattern fault, so I will definitely be using this pattern again.

Last night I cleaned my entire sewing room, and organized it. Now that I have that fresh clean start, I plan on working through my "Gretchen's too lazy to finish any project" pile and turn it into a "finished and finally out of my sewing space" pile. Some of the projects in this enormous pile will take 5 minutes to finish. Others a few hours, but I'm hoping to at least finish one project a day. About half of them are for my family, and the other half are store things that I started but had to interrupt because of a custom order that demanded my attention sooner. Then after the custom is done, I have forgotten about it, and start a new one. Then the cycle continues. Then of course, there was the unfinished projects that I started when I was on the sewing/quilting retreat last spring (how many months ago now) that couldn't be finished due to me forgetting some essential piece at home.

So I'm working towards my goal of getting completely rid of this pile by New Years. I'll keep you updated.

Squishiliousness Part I

We had a busy busy day today, but I'll save all the fun details for this Friday. For fun though, I thought I'd post PICTURES of my most recent finished project for this new little baby. This is her "taking home from the hospital" outfit, made in the newborn size, and will probably be used when we're out and about this winter, when she's under the cozy little car seat cover.



The pattern I used is called "Small Things Romper" and "Small Things Bonnet." What I loved about both of them is they are completely seamless. Everything is knit in the round, or the edging is done as you knit. There was nothing to seam together or finish off when I was done. Weaving in a very minimal amount of yarn ends and adding buttons was about it.



The pattern came with options, and I chose to add the fold over hands and fold over feet so everything is nice and toasty warm on the inside. For the bonnet, I used the "pixie" option which gives it a little pixie point in the back instead of rounded and formed to the head. The neck of the bonnet has a slight curve which makes me think of the sweet little curve of a baby's head just above the neck that I just can't wait to kiss!

It's made out of 50% merino and 50% baby alpaca wool. The color is hand-painted (see the slight variegation?) in pink sapphire. This yarn is seriously buttery soft, making me swoon in the yarn store, and I'd been saving it for a few months until I found just the right project for it.



It is very simple and classy, I think. I was thinking about embroidering a little flower on the bonnet and one of the legs of the romper, but Knut and I both thought that the beauty in this one is the simplicity, and I finally decided to leave it as is.



It does have a slip-stitch detail that makes it look like a little braid is connecting all of the edges and I think it just looks so polished. I definitely enjoyed knitting up this pattern! With worsted weight yarn, it went so quick, and with so little finishing work, it was quick satisfaction.

I have another baby project that's sooo close to being done. It's size 3-6 months. It's all knitted up, but since it was not knit in one piece like this romper, I have to seam all of the knitted pieces together. (Ugh. It's so pretty but I just hate seaming and finishing work...which this project has in abundance!) That set has matching booties and while one is done, the other is only half done. The bonnet for that one came out a bit small, and I may redo it using larger needles. So keep watch, that one will be posted in the next few days I hope.

Nesting

There was something about the ultrasound that clicked something on in me. I woke up the next morning with a to-do list all ready to go, but got tossed out the window. You see, I felt the supreme urgency that the boys' closet (containing all of my baby things) MUST be cleaned out. As in, right now. All the itty bitty baby things, as well as girl things left over from Silje were moved into Silje's closet. Well, you see where this is going. Silje's closet, therefore, had to be cleaned out as well, and organized for another set of clothing. There are great shelves in the closet, and I have no intention of buying another dresser, so everything needed to be cleaned out.

All of the baby clothes were already sorted, so I have not opened up the big bags of clothes to go through and check for stains and freshly wash and fold yet. I think it's still far to early to do that. However, today I got the desperate inclination to go through all of my baby patterns, and organize (well my patterns are already organized into a file, but I needed to narrow down the ones for this baby) and decide what to make for this baby.

I have more than enough things left over from Silje. As my firstborn, I think we got over 8 handmade blankets for her. Some we let her have, some we've kept for future kids. She had so so many clothes, but the thing I'm worried about is that she was born in June. This baby will (hopefully) come in December. I don't think whispy little sundresses will cut it for the winters up here.


It was loads of fun! My favorite patterns are Debbie Bliss or Erika Knight patterns, as well as the Sidar pattern company, although they're usually only available in England. O, the beauty of being able to order off the internet and get the cool patterns! I think if I add a few little sweaters to the wardrobe, I could make use of some of the summer dresses of Silje's. When I was pregnant with Elias we didn't find out if he was a boy or girl ahead of time, and I made a little girl mantinee sweater/bonnet/booties set just in case, and will have that ready too. I'll have to show pictures of it someday. I used a pretty burgundy yarn.


You may remember I made the sort sleeve version of this sweater for Silje before, to go with a summer dress, and I thought it knit up quickly and beautifully. (Actually, looking back I don't think I ever posted the sweater, just the dress.) Anyway, I think an infant size in the long sleeve would be easy to make.


I've been holding onto this pattern for awhile, although I don't think I'd make it in white. It's a little knit dress, kimono style. It might be nice to have a warm cozy dress on hand.


This is the pattern for the bonnet I made in the previous set mentioned for if Elias was a girl. Isn't it darling? It knit up so nicely, and was much easier than it loos, although I haven't gotten a ribbon on it yet. Elias surprised me a month early and after he came, it didn't make it to the top of my list to put the finishing touches on the girl clothes after he was born. I think I might make at least one more of these. At least. However, I think I must buy one of those hats with the obnoxiously large flowers on them, though. Those are awesome.

I'm planning on doing things for my store through October, and then stopping for my "maternity leave." I'll pick it back up...when I feel like it. That will leave me my biggest and most uncomfortable months to just sit and knit for my own little girl while I watch the older kids. Maybe work on some Christmas presents too. I don't think I'll get all the things done that I hope to, but I don't have to. Planning/dreaming is half the fun, anyway! It's a treat to work off of these different patterns. I'm only licensed to sell from "Little Turtle Knits" patterns, and all of these patterns are "for personal use only" and often my personal sewing/knitting gets to the bottom of my list. (I didn't even show you the sewing patterns I went through in my stash today!)

I haven't even begun to sort through my favorite free online patterns on ravelry.com. O, this is going to be fun!

Nerdy Gerdy and Names

With all the business and fatigue in my corner, it was about time that I put something new in my store. I keep getting custom orders for diapers in, and so while I'm still busy, I don't have much new to present otherwise. However, the site that hosts Nerdy Gerdy (hyenacart.com) and that I advertise on gets me quite a few bites for my wool items. In fact, they have given me all of my business when it comes to the wool covers. Since I've had a few email requests through prospective customers there for more wool wraps, I thought I'd gather the ones on the "only needing finishing touches" pile and just add buttons and weave in ends. Only 2 of the items in this picture I actually started and finished this last month, so as you can imagine, I'm please to see my almost finished pile down, and my finished pile go up!


So tomorrow morning, these will be added to the store, and I'll have one more custom order for a partial stash of diapers available. Perhaps the custom slot for wool as well, since that has also been requested. I just love these wool wraps. There's ribbing for where baby needs a bit of extra protection, and cute buttons to make it fit well for so much longer than soakers.

I had so much fun with the variety of wool used this time. For instance the oatmeal colored one in front is undyed, tweed virgin lamb's wool. It's wool taken from a little lamb's first sheering and it has such an amazing texture to it. Then the denim blue soaker is made from Peruvian highland wool, which had to grow on me at first, but now I'm just in love with it. The greenish-brownish variegated one is made with Merino wool/nylon mix and O MY GOODNESS it's about the softest yarn (not wool...yarn in general) I've ever worked with. I couldn't help but smile when I knitted with it. It's only 80% wool, while most of the covers I sell are 100%. However, it need only be 75% wool to be effective, so I'm covered. The softness was totally worth that!

I also finished up a couple of dishcloths that I usually only give to family or showers and such. However, I had some ready to go, and have had some requests for those as well.

On a side note, I had another ultrasound this morning. Some of my old friends at the pregnancy center offered to do it, and I was brave enough to bring in all 3 kids for it! The kids enjoyed it for the most part, but mostly paid attention to their Wheat Thins. Our little baby is still growing right on schedule, and both the ultrasounds and the doctor put my due date at December 19th, but my dates would put me at the 15th. Whichever date the baby chooses, we hope that it is at least full term this time!

Knut and I have already begun the name discussion, and it's funny how our "back up names" for one child is never the given for the next. We feel the need to revisit our choices for each child, and already, ones we liked for the other kids don't feel right for this one. Well, some names remain at the top of the list, but some are taken off, and still others added. To me, this is the really fun part of pregnancy!

We haven't always found out the gender ahead of time, but we are planning to this time. However, the name will have to remain a surprise! We never decide for sure on that until the baby comes. We usually have a "short list" of about 2 names or so to bring to the hospital. Except for David. At the time, that was the only boy name we agreed on, so there was nothing more to discuss! We always seem to have a terrible time agreeing on boy names! We agree on literally dozens of girl ones, but the boys, urgh! So we shall see...