pants and booties

hi there! i have been frantically knitting away for this baby! my work is so difficult and stressful these days that when i get home i am just helplessly exhausted. all i want to do is make baby things, and standing to cut fabric just isn't as appealing recently as sitting in a comfy chair and knitting! :) i have about 12 more weeks to make everything and to prepare myself! amazing!

also, i feel like my knitting skills are rapidly increasing...at least my confidence about them is! i recently made my first pair of knitted longies for the baby. we will be using cotton pre-fold diapers, and wool soakers/covers. i have some commercially made wool covers from a great baby consignment store here in town, but new ones are painfully expensive! so, i have been sewing and knitting away. i will have to do an update later on to talk more about wool for diapering and our stash.




these longies, aside from their ridiculous cuteness, are the home of my first kitchener graft. the crotch gusset looks amazing to me! also, this was the first i-cord i've knitted, and i am not sure why i ever thought it would be hard. the yarn (malabrigo twist) is so very very soft, and the color is amazing. it is much more green-blue than these photos read. oh well.




another pair of tiny booties was made, and i love the gold yarn (leftover manos silk-blend) so much.

ravelry notes here and here.

booties for the baby

Today's project was full of firsts: first footwear for the baby, first time knitting short rows (for the toe shaping), and these are officially the smallest item of clothing I've ever made!







The pattern and my notes can be found here on ravelry. Although these are absurdly small and cute, I am just not super thrilled with them. It probably has to do with not being crazy about the color combination. But, they used up scraps and will certainly keep some tiny feet very warm! I can see many more pairs being made in the near future...

Sweet baby heart

Today I got to hear our baby's sweet little heart! I was so happy I cried, which I totally did not expect I would do.

It was a long wait since we have chosen not to use ultrasound/Doppler. I am 26 weeks along, so even though the heart can be detected at about 22 weeks with the fetoscope, it was just a bit too faint last appointment. Our amazing midwife Heather sent me home with a fetoscope so David and I can try to listen at home!

All of this is becoming so real - although I have been able to feel baby moving since before 12 weeks. I have been knitting and sewing like crazy, and will upload those finished projects soon.

sew buzzy, june block

I just got finished making the first block for the Sew Buzzy quilting bee. It was Kristin's month, and she requested wonky stars made from a big selection of 1930s prints. She asked for one 12.5" square, and I received some white cotton and some pretty green prints. I was immediately smitten with the geisha print, and knew my block would have to feature it. Here is what I came up with, and also a close up of the center.

There are still a couple of her prints I didn't get to use. I feel inspired to make at least one more block for her, so I think I'll wait a couple days before sending it and see what gets done.

just in time for summer

I just got a copy of the new Wendy Mullin book Built By Wendy Dresses at Powells. I am not usually one to buy this kind of sewing dress but....I was at Cool Cottons the other day to get a couple zippers, and saw a finished sample from the book (project #8) that called my name! They are teaching a class later in the month for any Portland folks who are interested.

The book includes three basic sloper patterns for different dress types, then includes instructions on how to make alterations to the slopers for twenty-five variations. Although I already have some knowledge about pattern-making and -alteration, its really nice to have a book that lays it all out in such fun, modern projects. Much more accessible than a Vogue Sewing book from the '70s!

I am sick of most of my dresses not fitting, and am craving some new fun summer dresses, so this book was just in time. I have a lot of other projects to get to this weekend, but I am excited to fully read through this book and alter the slopers to fit my measurements!