A Bit Too Bitty Bump

I knit this sweater-vest type thing (the Bitty Bump) for this child before she was born.  Last winter, when it would have fit her properly, we had a crazy warm winter here in Atlanta and never even tried it on her.  The joy of this garment was really in knitting it, and thinking about the little person about to enter the world that would wear it.  This season, in contrast, has already seen several very cold days and my husband stuck it on her for errands yesterday.  I couldn't believe it still fit her in the shoulders, and I think she totally rocked it as a shrug.  The pattern is such a fast knit that I am seriously considering unraveling this one and adding another skein of that delicious Malabrigo Rasta to it to make a bigger one.  Of course as soon as I do that we will start to have a 70 degree winter again.

KCWC - Hot Pink Bubble Shorts

I managed to eek out another clothing item on the last day of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge!  I've been seeing these Bubble Shorts pop up all over blogland this week and they were just all too cute to resist buying the pattern.  The pattern goes up to a size eight, so I think I will get lots of use out of it for years to come.  So much stuff can be stashed in those big pockets!  I always laugh at the pockets on toddler clothes that wouldn't fit a flea in them, but these are definitely functional pockets.  I used up the last of my Echino hot pink linen for these.  I'm very interested to try making another pair in voile, some of the seams with elastic in them with the linen were a bit hard to sew.  Plus, I think voile will give them a whole different look and will be great for the hot summer that will inevitably show up here in Atlanta.  Now I'm off to go clean the piles of linen fuzz out of my sewing machine before I forget!

KCWC - Paris Shirt

I've been playing along with the Kids Clothes Week Challenge this week, challenging myself to sit down and sew for at least an hour a day for a week, and I actually have a finished shirt for the toddler!  Major back patting was going on this morning as I relearned how to make, and then accomplished, four button holes.  I really feel like there should be a certificate for mastering that skill on your sewing machine.  The main fabric has a map of Paris on it.  I actually have bought a few different Paris fabrics for this child because we went there when I was just barely pregnant with her and the two are connected in my mind.  The pattern I have made before (still for sale in her etsy shop), but this time I made the shirt version instead of a dress.  The main thing that KCWC has brought me is a ton of adorable patterns now lined up that I want to make.  So much inspiration in their flickr pool!

Knitty Morning Out

After a YEAR of my mom casually reminding me that her knit group meets at Starbucks on Thursday mornings, I actually went!  How is it possible that the last time I dropped in on these ladies I was pregnant?  There must have been a time warp I tell ya.  I did a lot of chatting and checking out what everyone is working on, but I also put the finishing touches on Penelope the monster!  I still have to knit the baby monster, but at least I now have part of the oldest daughter's "Christmas present" to give her.

Over coffee and knit chat I was convinced to stop by the re-opening of our nearby knitting shop, Fleece.  They have moved even closer to where I live, which is quite dangerous for my wallet.  Penelope and I headed over there to check out the new location.

After a Grand Opening mimosa and some yarn petting, I was ready to declare this a successful knitty morning out... why don't I do this more often?

Gifts for Knitters

I always love it in December when The Yarn Harlot posts her suggestions for holiday gifts for knitters.  I look through all her links and think to myself, "Yep, this knitter would like that.  Yep, you're spot on with that one Yarn Harlot".  Well, I have a birthday coming up, and at our family Spring birthdays celebration this past weekend I was gifted with some exceptionally great knitterly gifts.  I have other knitters in the family, so they are pretty good at gifting things they know I will like, but if you are not a knitter and you are shopping for a knitter I can guarantee you the knitter you are shopping for will like these:

Noni's Lipstick and Change Kit

Ravelry Info

This is a kit that has yarn, the purse frame and directions for an ADORABLE little felted change purse.  Now, the kit alone would make a great gift for a knitter.  However, my very clever and knitterly mother made the purse, bought me a lipstick and made a tiny little change holder to go in it.  She also topped it off with a K charm and change in the change purse, because she is awesome and detailed like that.  I assure you, whether just the kit or the completed kit, this is a gift any knitter would love.

The second gift I received is a standby favorite any time you need a gift for a knitter... a skein of Three Irish Girls yarn.  You can't go wrong here, and one skein is perfect for socks.  Look at this one, or this one, or this beauty!  But if you really want to go above and beyond, then you find a skein of Three Irish Girls yarn with a colorway named after your beloved knitter.  That is what my Aunt did and I haven't stopped beaming and feeling very important since having it gifted to me.  Also I may or may not have slept with it the first night I brought it home.  I'll never tell.  I mean really, look at this gorgeousness!

A start...

I'm very good at thinking about what I should start, what I would like to be working on.  I can spend weeks and sometimes months imagining myself knitting or sewing something wonderful.  Too much internet is often the culprit, too much time reading about clever things that other people are up to.  Sometimes too much work.  Occasionally too much wine (I know not to touch knitting needles or most certainly the sewing machine after two glasses).  Often, such as in this case, the problem is that I pre-read the pattern and there is a little something different, something that will take brain cells to figure out, something I'm not used to... this tiny occurrence can lead to some major procrastination.  Well, today I got started.  As usual, it was a piece of cake once I took it one row at a time.  I feel like there is some life lesson in here that I should be learning...

Happy Birthday Mom, I Love You More Than Malabrigo

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but sometimes I get a little in over my head on the crafty front.  Some may even say I have wild aspirations about things I am going to accomplish that a sane human would never even consider.  This bag falls squarely in that category.  About a month after my most recent child was born, I decided I was going to make my mom this adorable knitted bag.  Just whip it up really.  Because, you know, I didn't have anything else going on.  It started quite well, I got it knit out of luscious Malabrigo and so what if I didn't have it finished by the time her birthday rolled around, I knew just seeing the outside would make my dear mom happy and that she would understand that I still needed to add a quick lining and handles, then give it back.  Well, AN ENTIRE YEAR has gone by since she first laid eyes on her half-finished present. Shameful!  A total knitted gift fail! However, I am happy to report that another birthday did not pass without it being finished.  Tonight at dinner, her birthday dinner to be exact, I was able to present her with a totally cute knitted bag.  Luckily she is one of those moms that knows I love her even without a finished project in hand, but it sure was satisfying to get this one delivered!  Don't worry, there was another gift as well, I didn't try to eek two birthdays out of one gift.  I'm slow, but not a total slacker.  From now on I'm going to be totally silent about knitted gifts until they are in their intended recipient's hands, finished!  Now, to get started on the oldest child's already promised late Christmas present...

Penelope Joins the Family

It was several months before Christmas when the middle child asked if I would knit her another monster for Christmas.  She was the recipient of Sammy the Sock Monster a couple years ago and she has slept with Sock Monster by her side every night since.  I have to say he has held up quite well!  I of course couldn't refuse a specific knitting request from someone that I knew would really love the knitted item requested, so we pulled up Rebecca Danger's Etsy page and browsed the available patterns.  Penelope was chosen and then Penelope's status was inquired about every. single. day. for months.  She even pulled the Grammy card... "mom, Grammy says if you are going to get Penelope done by Christmas you need to start her now!" (this was around October and Penelope had secretly already been started).  I met her inquiries with feigned indifference until just a couple weeks before the holiday when her comments began to take on a certain frenzied tone, and then I assured her that Penelope was well on her way.

I had started the monster in plenty of time, and really started to relax about a week and a half before Christmas when all the parts were done and only the sewing-up remained.  I still needed to knit an entire monster for her older sister, but that sister was not nearly as obsessed and a week and a half at the end of the year when work would be slow and I was already way ahead on getting Christmas day stuff done seemed totally doable for cranking out a second monster.  So of course, that is when the flu hit.  A week and a half of complete misery.  I did manage to drag my carcass out of bed to see the middle child open Penelope, but she was also my flu buddy and really could only muster so much excitement.  However, this has all been made up for in the month since as Penelope and Sock Monster have become the very best of friends.

The only problem is that the third child seems to think SHE needs a monster too... or she could just have these two she found sitting on the stairs...