Classic Striped Cardigan

Marled Stripes and Flower Buttons

So the knitting did continue... although slowly.  But I've finished our new babe's striped cardigan and it's blocked and ready to be grown into.

I totally fell in love with this pattern the first time that I knit it.  It's constructed from the bottom up and knit in separate pieces until the underarm decreases.  (For a striped version, this is the point at which you want to be careful where you stop your striping.)  And after the two fronts, back and two sleeves are knit to the underarm point, they are joined and the raglan decreases begin.  And the knitting continues until you reach the collar.  It is SUCH a clever way to construct a sweater... I'd try it on an adult version, but I'm not sure how well it would work with shaping and my currently addled cognitive skills (I'm blaming pregnancy brain – isn't that convenient?)

Ready to be grown into

I ended up having plenty of yarn, and was a little bit worried about running out of the red.  I consumed more of that, as the ribbing for the hems of the body, sleeves, collar and button band are all done in red.  But I finished with enough to spare.

The small fry helped me pick out some matching flower buttons, and we used some contrasting blue thread to pick up a little color accent.  What fun it was to knit this.

Finished knit

And I'm day dreaming about the coming days with a new babe in hand, and a bit less water retention.  This pseudo carpal tunnel thing is not much fun for someone who likes detail work as much as I do. Soon enough, I'll get my wish... less than three weeks left until my due date.  Cross your fingers for me.

Knitting (with pins and) Needles

Third trimester fun is revealing itself in some very manageable but subtle ways around these parts.  And I'll open by saying that I feel great.  And I'm cruising through this pregnancy with little to no issues which is such a huge blessing.

The funny and somewhat ironic thing is that I'm retaining a little water, which is pretty typical. And it's so minimal that I likely wouldn't even notice it, except that it's giving me carpal tunnel symptoms.  Which is putting a serious damper on my knitting, sewing, typing, writing, pretty-much-any-repetitive-fine-motor activity.  And so my productivity is down a little because between every second and third row, I'm icing my wrists to get feeling back in my thumb, index, middle and half of my ring finger.  (How funny is that?)  It's not painful, it just feels a little like my fingers are asleep... that "pins and needles" sensation and my ability to gauge how tightly I'm grasping something is a little off.   I'm dropping things a bit more often that I used to too.

Conch Shell hat for the babe.

But the knitting marches on... just a little more slowly.  I managed to finish the conch shell hat from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Opinionated Knitter.  It is such a clever pattern and pretty finished object.  I ended up using the Purl Soho - Super Soft Merino that was sent to me from my Squam friends... aren't they lovely?  It used up nearly the entire skein, and I modified things only by selecting a smaller needle size.  I used US 8s.

And I've cast on another Classic Cardigan from Debbie Bliss in the two skeins of Ella Rae that were also sent from Squam.  I love, love, love this pattern... It's a bottom-up raglan and is pretty easy to stripe as long as you pay attention to your stripe stopping point before you join the backs, fronts and sleeves...

The beginnings of a classic baby cardi

Pretty isn't it?

Monkey Dress

The finished Monkey dress made it's debut on the 4th of July weekend, on a trip to see some family a little further north.  And it's been worn and washed and I think it's going to be a hit. The small fry seems to like it. A cotton smock is a pretty nice warm weather option, and the sleeves are minimal so there is plenty of air movement.  The hem and yoke are doubled, so the dress has weight where you want it – up high for structure, and at the hem for weight.  And the dress in the middle is single weight so it's cool and flexible.

Have bucket hats, will travel.

Some of the other details that I love about the design of this dress are the notches in the center of the neck and the pocket yokes.  It's a simple element to create and adds a little interest to the garment without making the assembly fussy.

Notched pocket details...

Another Oliver + S success!

And the companion dress

Splurge!

"Two if by Hand" Polwarth/Silk (85/15)

I've waited so long to catch some CatReading handspun for sale... and last weekend I had just the chance I had been looking for.

Look at this amazing stuff... now what to make of it?  Suggestions?

Generosity

Goodies from the most lovely friends

This year I missed Squam Art Workshops.  And missing it was really, really bittersweet.  But it was for good reason.  Our little family is going to be expanding early this fall, and the experts curtailed my travel plans just before the New Hampshire trip.

So the amazing and talented girls that I met there last year went again this year.  And Elizabeth - the mastermind behind the event - allowed us all to share a cabin again.  So it was a rekindling of our little group. By all reports everyone had an amazing time.  And how could you not... Squam Lake is such a beautiful setting and the classes offered are unlike anything I would encounter locally.  This year I missed a photography class, and two knitting classes with Stephanie Pearl-McFee and Steven West.  (So, so sad about missing those.)

Gnome Homes

But my room-mates were the best.  We had planned a swap among us of creative and fun little things.  And I am sure that I got the best gift.  These were made by the lovely Emily and are "gnome homes" for double pointed needles. They are hand-knit, felted and each of their little hats is secured by a length of elastic so that you can lift it off and store you double pointed needles.  How clever is that?  You can see on the red-hatted one that I've got some bamboo DPNs in there already! I'm doing my best to convince the small fry that they aren't intended to be used as new characters in her doll and fairy cast.  And I received hand made soap with a crocheted bag (lovely Jamie), a pea pod pin (lovely Kelly), an initial necklace from the Squam marketplace and some tea (lovely Jen).  And they mailed to me the goody bag from this year, complete with two skeins of beautiful blue yarn. So the disappointment in missing all the fun this year waned a little when all these goodies arrived in the mail.

It's so, so good to have kind and thoughtful friends. I am a lucky girl.

On the baby front, I've just arrived at the third trimester and things are going pretty well.  I've got my energy back and I'm feeling good.  And now that I'm not craving sleep by 8p.m. every day, the creative projects are back on my "radar." So cross your fingers for an uneventful remaining rest of the pregnancy, and more blog fodder sooner than later!

Lovelies

These lovelies are off to their new home.  I hope the recipient likes them.  The largest glass bead is one that I made, and the assortment of other little beads is hand strung on a sterling silver chain that dangles below.

Off to a new home

And something of the same style, but with a different color scheme is now available in the shop.  Click here to see them and a better description.

Rosy

  

Class Picnic Blouse – again

Ready for summer...

This last week or so I've been a little less "out and about" than normal and have managed to finish off all three of the little "Class Picnic Blouses" that I had cut out awhile ago. This is record timing for me, but I must attribute my speed with the simple truth that cutting, sewing, pressing, etc. in a batch process – even a batch of three – makes things so much faster.

Heather Bailey Garden Gnomes

Amy Butler Graphic Floral print

Woodland animals

The gnome version is 3T size, and the other two are 6-month size.  And I'm pretty happy with the way that they all turned out.  I even did a few things wrong (also in batch) which meant three times the number of seams to rip out, re-align, pin and sew. (ugh.)  But it was worth the trouble to have a nicely finished product that I won't be embarrassed to put on our girl.

And the current favorite baby got a new shirt too... can't leave anyone out of this action.

New baby doll smock

And now on to the Monkey Dress...