Introducing: Latitude

My final design in the Strata and Line Collection is Latitude, a cozy and simple sweater coat.

The coat is worked from the top down with round yoke shaping and a bit of waist shaping. The buttonholes are worked with the rest of the body, while the oversized collar and cuffs are picked up and worked after in the striped pattern (though you could always knit separately and seam on if desired).

The sample features Quince & Co's Puffin yarn in a range of seaglass blues. This fluffy single-ply yarn makes the coat super warm and cuddly.

As a sweater coat, Latitude was designed to be worn with approximately 2" positive ease. The modeled shots show the coat with about 4" of ease. For comparison here's a shot or two of me wearing it over a 38.5 week baby bump and 1-2" of negative ease.

Latitude is available for download as a solo pattern for $6.00 USD or can be purchased from my Ravelry store with my other two designs from the collection, Longitude and Lamina for a discounted $12 (with the coupon code LINE).

Latitude $6 USD

If you want to queue it up on Ravelry, the collection can be found here.

A Confession

I have a confession to make. I’ve become addicted to sewing baby clothes.

Teeny tiny adorable baby clothes.

When I started my sewing for the Wee Baby T, I avoided clothes as I didn’t have a good idea of what size babies actually are (still don’t really).

So I made other practical things: some bibs, a carrier, a nursing pillow, a toy or two.

But then Made by Rae came out with the Geranium dress pattern and I was overcome with the cuteness. I downloaded the pattern the day it became available and set about to sewing it shortly after. It sat finished except for the closure for a while (I made several failed attempts at snaps, but need to purchase better snaps methinks), before I finally added some buttons. In the meantime, my addiction lay latent, as yet unknown.

I had intended to sew some more baby clothes, in fact the weekend after we found out the gender I went and bought a bunch of fabric and some patterns for that express purpose, but still I held back.

Then a few weeks ago I was hit hard by the nesting instinct.

It started simply, an envelope tee from Growing Up Sew Liberated. But there was something thrilling about it. The tee was so little! It took such little time to sew! And I had successfully sewn something with knits for the first time!

I started digging through my stash, pattern books, and pinterest to see what else I could make. I came up with the fabric for another tee and started planning for my next projects.

A few weekends and a few trips to JoAnn’s later (and a new found appreciation for sewing multiples assembly-line style), we have all this:

Patterns from top to bottom: Envelope tees from Growing Up Sew Liberated. Geranium Dress from Made by Rae Reversible baby pants from Growing Up Sew Liberated. Baby Tights from Made by Rae Basic Newborn Pants from Made by Rae

And I have more fabric! And more patterns! And more plans!

Who knows what my sewing time will be like in the not-so-distant future, but as long as that babe stays inside, she’s getting better dressed by the weekend. [Note to Wee Baby T: this does not mean you should take this as an opportunity to be overdue] ;)

Bits and Pieces

The nesting instinct is strong in the Cleaver household these days.

Things are beginning to come together in bits and pieces. The nursery got painted this weekend, we've ordered new carpet to replace the mismatched (and smelly!) carpet in all the bedrooms, and have even purchased (or made!) a few things for the Wee Babe. Once the carpet is installed next week, we'll be able to start setting up the nursery for reals, and not just on paper.

With about 9 weeks to go before my due date, it seems both like time is going by way too fast and not nearly fast enough. I've definitely hit the tired and uncomfy part of the third trimester, but there's still so much to do! That said, one thing I've learned to appreciate about this pregnancy is that it's forced me to just SLOW DOWN and rest when I need to, something I've never been terribly good at.

After all, my most important job these days is gestating, and I seem to be doing pretty well there. :)

Contractors, Chaos, Colds, and Christmas

Back when I first started blogging, I made a promise to myself that I'd never apologize for my blogging, particularly for not blogging for a while. Because as we all know, life happens and sometimes that gets in the way of the best intentions of a twice-weekly posting schedule.

That said, every since this summer there seems to have been a lot of LIFE happening and this past month has been no exception.

Since Thanksgiving, the Cleaver household has experienced a total of the following:

• 1 holiday dinner hosted;
• 2 full days of holiday baking and a pair of second-degree burns;
• 2 1/2 hours in a semi-frozen field shooting photos for an upcoming design collaboration;
• 3 knitted items finished being finished at 11:30pm the evening prior to said photo shoot;
• 3 weeks of contractors installing, among other things, insulation in our attic and a new ceiling in our living room;
• 4 colds (2 for me and 2 for the mister, and maybe even one for the dog!);
• Watched Skyfall, The Hobbit, Les Mis, and a handful of Harry Potter films; and
• 17 boxes of stuff from my mother's house in California arrived and were sorted and stored.

Mr. Cleaver and I had both agreed that we would just get through all of this and enjoy our Christmas to the fullest extent possible. We had a great time with Mr. Cleaver's family on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Now that we've had a few days to breathe (and a grateful snow day home from work for me) - we at the Cleaver camp are turning our attentions to that next most important of projects: preparing for the Wee Baby Cleaver!

Our Happiest Thanksgiving on Earth

According to my big brother, I haven't posted anything since November 8th, and I'd be the first to admit that ever since this pregnancy began, I'm lost my blogging rhythm, which I suppose can only be expected. But worry not - things have been carrying on here at the Cleaver household, in perhaps a more chaotic fashion than usual.

Work has been keeping me very busy, we're having new insulation put in the house, I'm trying to finish up a number of deadline projects, and I've been building up a cache of knit and sewn baby things I hope to share with you soon. In the midst of all of this, we took off Thanksgiving week to visit my extended family in Southern California.

With three other shutterbugs snapping photos of all the family gatherings, I neglected to pull out the camera for any of the family events, but I did take my camera with us on our Tuesday trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland, thanks to the generosity of my aunt and uncle. Because everyone else was still working that day, it was just Mr. Cleaver and I, but I was pleased to accompany the Mr. on his first trip to Disney.

We gamely avoided any of the non-pregnancy-friendly rides, but still found more than plenty to fill our day. Mr. Cleaver declared Pirates of the Caribbean to be the best ride, while my favorite of the day was the new-to-me Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Between all the standing in queues and walking, I think it took my legs 3 days to recover!

But it was a fabulous fun day and a great transition into the holiday season!

My Day in the 207 Kitchen

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to scratch a big item off my bucket list, appear on 207. For those not from southern Maine, 207 is a nightly local news magazine show, similar to the Evening Magazine shows that are shown  in various US markets. A typical episode of 207 may have a performance by a local or visiting band, interviews with a author, a cooking segment with a local chef or baker, and some other local news story

.

Since it's inception on our local NBC affiliate, 207 has been hosted by local news anchors Kathleen Shannon and Rob Caldwell. Ever since we moved back to Maine, it's been part of Mr. Cleaver and I's nightly ritual to watch the show (followed by Jeopardy!) and so it's been a dream of mine to be on the show somehow to and to get a 207 mug the guests use on the show.

So last week when I came home from knitting and Mr. Cleaver told me that 207 was holding a contest to be on the show, all you have to do was post on their facebook page about your favorite (original) apple recipe. So post I did:

Every year I turn my big bag of apples into a number of delicious apples pies. I even have streusel topped and cup-pie (mini-pies made in a cupcake tin) options!

I would call myself a 207 super fan and I would love the chance to roll out some dough with Kathleen. I'd even bring some choice samples from my vintage apron collection for us to wear!

Granted, I think there was about four people who posted, but nonetheless, I was thrilled when I got a facebook message from Kathleen asking me to be on the show!

After getting the details (you have 5 minutes to assemble a pie!), and making my sample pre-baked pie, I went to WCSH6 studio yesterday morning to film my segment. A producer brought me up to the Kitchen set (which lives on the sales floor) and I began to set up.

Some funny things I learned about the set and baking on tv:

• While everything on the kitchen set works (stove, microwave, sink, stovetop), there is another kitchen for staff's daily use directly behind the kitchen with a fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, dishwasher, and official cooler. There are some fake cabinet panels that cover the doorway during filming.
• The cameras are all controlled remotely. So there are no camera guys, but you can see the cameras move.
• There are some big banks of lights that are hot, but not super hot, and while I was mic'ed, I didn't have to wear any makeup other than what I walked in off the street with.
• You actually do it in five minutes, with no editing it down and five minutes goes by really fast! But you just keep working while you talk/ talk while you work.
• Things go in the little ingredient bowls because a) it goes faster and b) they can't show any product labels, including generics, less it seem like an endorsement.
• Kathleen Shannon takes her shoes off in the kitchen segments. So technically, we were barefoot (her), knocked up (me), and in a kitchen.

I have to say that while I was nervous about my first television appearance, Kathleen was a total pro,who made it very easy on me and I had a blast. It was a total bucket-list worthy experience. After our segment was finished filming, Kathleen was nice enough to give me tour of the rest of the studio where I discovered that everything is on different floors (i.e. the weather green screen is no where near the news set) and that all the sets are much smaller than you would think.

And I got not one, but two 207 mugs, because she gave me an extra for Mr. Cleaver because we're such big fans. Earned it baby!

I'm not 100% sure when the segment is going to air, either Friday or Wednesday, but I'll try to post a heads-up for locals when I know for sure. In any case, they always post video (and the recipe) online afterwards, so I'll post the video or a link as soon as it's available. Fingers crossed I don't come across as a total goob  and even if I do, it was still super fun!.

School House Tunic #4 or Maternity Sewing #1

I know, it's like a disease, but I can't stop making School House Tunics. Especially when I realized that they make great maternity wear. Aside from my normal modifications (button loops, pin tucks), I added a couple extra inches to the front skirt, making the pleats deeper and giving myself some extra belly room going forward.

I probably needed to make some room adjustments to the bodice, and I likely will on the next one, because of course there'll be a next one. You should probably be grateful that I purchased another Sew Liberated pattern (the Sunday Picnic blouse) for the spring/summer, otherwise, there would be no stopping the madness.

Have you done any maternity sewing? Have a favorite maternity pattern? Have any standard patterns that would work well for growing bellies/pregnant ladies? Let me know!

(P.S. If you like the cowl, it's my free Knoll Rib Cowl pattern, more about it here.)

Fall is on Its Way

Oh hey there blog. Don't worry, I didn't forget about you. It's just been a long quiet summer. I watched a lot of dvds (The Poseidon Adventure really holds up by the way and my love for the X-Men cartoon survives unabated), but for the past month or so, I didn't really do much of anything I'd call "blog-worthy." But fall is quickly approaching here in Maine and the Cleaver household is getting back into the swing of things.

First stop? Ricker Hill for our annual apple picking adventure.

On our 4th year out, my love for this place is still strong, as the doughnuts are still delicious, the views wonderful, and the apple selection top-notch.  We picked a half-bushel and a peck of MacIntoshes, McIntoshes, Cortlands, and my personal favorites, Jonagolds. I see a pie-making afternoon in my near future.

The weather was sunny and crisp, just like an apple-picking day should be.

Steinbeck was super-helpful.

We came home happy, tired, and full.  Though I might have been a bit more tired than usual, but that's only because gestating a tiny human being is hard work......

Yep - the Cleaver's are expecting!

While I couldn't come up with any cutesy blog announcement photo theme (they are seriously not kidding about that 1st trimester fatigue), both the Mr. and I are super excited. I'm about 12.5 weeks along and am due in late March. So expect many photos of tiny baby sweaters soon. I imagine it's going to be a busy fall!