UFO Socks

2T thigh highs or normal socks, whatever.

Crazy bright neon paired with tonal grey and black knit up a fun pair of "UFO" socks. My dear friend Jen sent me this yarn around Christmas and I was really anxious to see what kind of "fabric" it created... the colors in the skein were so bold and concentrated in skein form.

UFO color way close up

As it turns out, it was from Sunrise Fiber company with whom I've had no other experience.  But this was really nice tightly wound sock yarn, and the color was fast... almost no bleeding when I soaked them.

They knit up quickly.  I started with the toes first so that I didn't create any waste... so they are longish and also have a really tall ribbed cuff.  I think I'll be thankful for that when the weather gets chilly again.

Any my knitwear model was completely unconcerned about the fact that the fit was less than perfect. Love her.

Gorgeous weather and photographic ramblings...

Missouri Botanical Gardens

There is so much that I want to document here.  Sometimes I'm stymied by the problem of wrapping the photos and projects into some kind of coherent and thoughtful commentary...  maybe I need to take the pressure off and just share more photos.  (You might think so too after you read this brief but rambling post...)

This spring has been just beautiful.  We've been spending so much time outside, in our yard, at the Botanical Gardens, at my rural home.  And in the evenings, I've been knitting, spinning and sewing.  It's been a great balance.

Urban Garden

I listened to a podcast the other day about the declaration of "being busy".  And I know I just did that in this space.  And it felt cliched.  And the podcaster and her interviewee talked about how busy-ness is really just making time for all the things that you want to do.  And I liked that idea... it's not that someone doles out a list for me each morning as I stumble out of bed of things to do.  These are the activities of the path that I've chosen and our family has chosen... we are lucky that they are all engaging and positive things.

So, I guess if I'm being more honest and straightforward about all this busy-ness, it's all self created.  I get great joy out of our family time, watching the girls in their extracurricular activities and school, carving out time with my better half and also finding professional success at work. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the hobbies and the activity of trying to chronicle them on this blog.

That's our busy... and it's self inflicted and good.

April Already

It's hard to believe that the first quarter of 2016 has already passed.  It's been fun, so far.  And the weather in these parts is wonderful.  I was looking back at my posting history on this blog, and April and May seem to be the time when my ramblings taper off.  That fresh air and sunshine beckons and I am less apt to write down what is in the works...

Sisters

The taper feels like it might be officially starting, so I'll share a few things that I made for Easter and try to beat my own trend.  The last post was the peanut's Easter dress, and this post will be about her sister's.

I bought a vintage Simplicity sewing pattern (3327) on etsy last year in a size that I knew would be a bit big, but it has this pretty pin tucked bodice with waist shaping, so I was willing to wait.  And this year it fit really, really well.

3327 - waist shaping hidden in pin tucks - be still
my beating heart...

I failed to take any progress shots of the actual making of the dress.  But I can tell you that it went really, really smoothly.  The pattern was very straightforward, and simple in the sense that it had no interfacing piecing.  The arm and neck holes were finished with binding.  The one modification that I did make was to sew the contrasting sash into the dress when I attached the bodice to the skirt.

Bodice detail

The fabric is the really fun part of the story though.  Growing up, my dad's god parents were a part of our extended family.  You could count on them and their family to come to every Easter and Thanksgiving dinner.  And they were always very fun and engaging with my sister and I.  His god mother was named Sabina.  She was perennially kind, polite and cheerful.  And she was so very excited when my husband and I had our first baby, which makes the making of this dress even more fitting.

Their household was broken up several years ago on their passing, and my mom was thoughtful enough to buy two pieces of material from among the things for sale at the estate auction.  The material was probably intended to be a housecoat, and it is a very lightweight, 100% cotton lawn, almost. (I'm terrible at identifying fabrics, but it's definitely a garment weight.)

Anyway, my mom gave them to me and this is the first that I've used either of them.  The small fry loved the pink roses.  And we updated it a little by adding some darker contrasting trim at the neck and sleeves.  And those sparkly pink buttons up the back, those were all her doing.

"Girling-it-up" even more

Egg hunting action shot

It's nice to see this come together and used by a new generation of little midwestern ladies.  And I think Sabina would agree.

It's the tune...

... of these years; like a theme song.  I hear myself saying it over and over – we're busy.  Busy doing things... lots of time-consuming, back-to-back things.  The days are full of the kinds of things that aren't monumental in and of themselves, but these days are better because of these things.

This last week the busy-ness included making plans for Easter dresses, taking some walks around the neighborhood, hosting a dinner with our cousins, (continued) working on shoe tying, formalizing plans for some spring planting and gardening and learning the chicken dance.

8940 – Vintage box pleats

The easter dresses are half way there.  I finished the first.  A small box pleated little gem from Simplicity pattern 8940 (60s era?).  The fabric is a Happy Home print from Sew Caroline.  It's crisp and white and the illustrated hearts are graduated in size and concentration from one edge of the 45" width to the other.  And the peanut, she loves the dress.  She ran around the night it was finished in the dress (and PJ pants and slippers) yelling "surprise" every time she entered the room.

"Surprise"

The second dress will appear here soon.  It's special too because the material was something of a generational heirloom... more on that soon.

3327 - Full skirts ahead!

The weather has really influenced the time we've spent outside and inspired me to think more about gardening.  I've got some plans in mind.  We had some giant and overgrown shrubbery removed late last year, and I'm relishing the "clean slate" that I'm starting with and thinking most about blooms... a yellow tree peony maybe, a black iris, pinkish green hydrangea and some lungwort and glossy green european ginger as a ground cover.  I have more fun with the planning than anything...

Plant plans...

And it wouldn't be a post without some mention of what is on the needles. I've started Bygge by Olga Buraya-Kefelian in Wool Folk fingering weight  It's destined to be a fairly simple but interesting graph-paper-in-perspective type of scarf.  And I'm very much looking forward to seeing the completed project.  More on that soon too... ongoing ravelry details here.

Night time photography – meh.

Oh, and the chicken dance... we had a great debate about whether it was the chicken or duck dance... we're of differing opinions with the small fry's Kindergarten teacher on that point.  But we had a great time teaching the peanut the steps, and all got a good laugh out of an hour or so of polka music.

March

The month of March can be so temperamental.  But so far, it's been quite nice in these parts.  My girls and I left the city behind for a bit this weekend to enjoy a clearer view of the horizon and get some fresh air.  It was just what we all needed.

We wandered. We played.  I reminisced. We sat in the sunshine and did nothing at all.  I didn't realize that we needed a break, but I think we did.

The sun was wonderful.  The day was bright and windy, but all that sunshine made everything feel clean and fresh and ready for a new year.  I think I even went home with rosier cheeks... maybe that was windburn.  Either way, it was a glorious day outside.

I did finish the baby sweater too... just in the knick of time for the baby shower.  Which didn't actually occur, because that little girl showed up the morning of.  No better introduction to parenthood, than with the little reminder that someone else is now in control.  What fun lies ahead... can't wait to meet her.

Losing and Gaining

My youngest cousin and his wife will soon be having a baby.  And so – predictably – I'm knitting a baby sweater.  I did the same for his brother's first baby, and have knit one for the arrival of each of my nieces and nephews, so it's really a familiar practice.

Finishing...

There is something a little different about this though.  This is the first time we're welcoming a new member of our family without the presence of either grandparent.  This sweet girl will be the first of her generation to miss the opportunity to be held by our epically kind and baby-loving grandfather or our grandmother who was strong and so proud of her family.  And I'm not just a little melancholy about that.

I love the color palette of
Nature Spun wool

But the silver lining of this family loss is that I feel now that there is a renewed bond between us – the grandkids.  I had a lightbulb moment where I realized that we're all old enough to maintain our family bonds independently, and maintain our own relationships, and maybe take some ownership of some new family traditions.  And I think that's a good thing.

So this new girl will be welcomed by all of us. And maybe we can flood her with enough love that she won't sense an absence at all.  There's nothing like a sweet new person to remind us of the wonderful cyclicality of life.

Anyone want to come over and weave in
some ends?

So I knit on... and can't wait to gift this warm and stripey pullover to some new family.

The sweater is the Nils pullover designed by the Swedish brand Millamia and the ravelry details are here.

A Snowy Valentine's Day

Foreground and background entertainment

We are blissfully "snowed in" here.  Not the legitimate kind, where it's impossible to go out, but the kind that is self imposed.  We did go a short distance to celebrate a friends birthday for a couple hours, but have returned and quickly picked up where we left off.

Sought after "glowing screen" time

Watching the snow fall

It's been a hectic week, and this weekend has been great.  We've done just enough socializing, only the mandatory weekend prepping for the week ahead, and just hung out in between.  These girls, at this moment in time are interested in learning to tie shoes,  eating chocolates that were gifted to them, playing with legos and reading books...  it's hard to believe how the time is going.  It's so cliched – but I ran into someone with the Peanut who said "weren't you just pregnant?".  Only about 3 years ago...  But then again, wasn't I just a college student?  I guess not.  I wouldn't change a thing. It's nice to have a few days to soak in a little of these girls while they still think we are okay to hang out with.

It's hard to be still

In between reading "Wild Boars"* and building lego masterpieces, I did manage to finish a long-in-the-making sweater for the peanut.  The details are all on ravelry here.  But I will share and say that this yarn was delightful, light and smooshy.  And the pattern is one I had made before... in a much smaller size.  And our girl wouldn't take if off after our "photo shoot" so I guess that means she likes it.  (Either that, or I need to turn the thermostat up.) 

Progress, months ago.

July impulse buy

Have a Happy Valentine's Day, and enjoy those you love.  We'll be here enjoying this dusting of snow and rummaging around the stash to find something new to cast on.

* If you know a little book enthusiast who is strangely drawn to things that are borderline gross, do check out Meet Wild Boars.  For whatever reason, the girls love it.