A Shower for Maggie (+ Pie!)

Last week was National Pie Day, so this past Sunday my knitting group gathered for our annual Pie Day celebration, but far more importantly, we invited a few more folks over and held a baby shower for Ms. Maggie.

Maggie's expecting twins in the early spring, so we took the opportunity to shower her with pie, love, and handmade baby things!

As is now my typical baby gift, I made two sets of envelope tees from Growing Up Sew Liberated,  tag blankies from Simple Sewing for Baby and Made by Rae's Basic Newborn Pants. All versions of things that we used/use often with Little Miss Cleaver and all of which, I seem to have forgotten to photograph, except for that glimpse of green corduroy above.

We ate pie, played match the baby photo to the party guest (harder than you'd think), opened gifts, ate more pie, and stenciled bibs and onesies.

Can I talk a minute about stenciling clothes? Why have I never done this before?! So fun.

I found a perfect Handmade Charlotte Woodland stencil collection and we used Tulip Soft Fabric Paint at Michaels. I'll have to get a report back on how they hold up to washing, but having the stencils took the pressure off of a) coming up with ideas and b) having the skills to pull it off, that free-hand drawing would require. I kinda want to stencil everything now.

As per usual, the food was delicious and the versatility of pie continues to impress. There was veggie quiche, apple/cheddar/leek tart, mixed berry pie, cranberry custard, chocolate caramel, chocolate pecan caramel, as well as an array of other lovely snacks and  hors d'oeuvres.

Pie Day may be one of my favorite days of the year (especially in the midst of a cold January), but it's even more fun when you get to celebrate a dear friend. Now to wait a few months for the little guys' arrival!

A Coat for Miss Cleaver

The weather this winter has been... weird. It was very very cold, then rather warm (high 30s!), then it snowed, and it's going to be very cold again this week. At least I married a meteorology nut who could warn me before I walk out the door in something inappropriate (temperature-wise, style-wise is still up to me).

Regardless of its day to vagaries, you know a winter in Maine is going to be long (hiya snow in April!) and generally cold (remember when I called high 30s warm?).  So it behooves me to made sure my kid has some good winter gear. Her Memere provided the snowsuit, and obviously we have plenty of sweaters, but a good everyday coat? I found stylish ones that seemed warm enough hard to find.

So armed with the leftover wool from my lady grey, some star-studded minky from JoAnn's, and some extra time over the holidays, I made up ithinksew's Mackenzie Jacket into a cozy coat just after Christmas. To ensure it fit (both because of the thicker fabric and long winter season), I made the 12 month size, so it's a little roomy now (LMC's ten months now), but I imagine that before the winter's out it'll fit just fine. I did however, hem the coat much shorter than suggested, as it seemed almost floor-length.

My other nod to cold-weather practicality was a pair of Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby leggings, knit out of little less than a skein of Dirty Dyework's Edna in celery. I finished these back in early December, methinks. I had to modify the gauge a bit for the lighter weight yarn, and I shortened the rise, but otherwise, followed the pattern exactly. I probably should have made two pairs, but it's unlikely that'll happen now. Looking at those snowman-making photos from today though, makes me think LMC should probably have some mittens, but considering our success rate with keeping socks on her feet, I can't imagine keeping mittens on her hands would be any easier.

The little gnome piece is the Maggie Mae Tunic from Shwin Designs. 12 month-size, tunic length. The armholes seemed a bit small, so I made them open up further down the bodice. I also added the piping, which I think adds a lot to the top, but I would add it in a different order than I did here next time (and they'll most likely be a few next times).  Mr. Cleaver is very good about letting me get some sewing time in on the weekends if I want/need it and sometimes LMC will even provide a nap assist. Simple projects make it easier to get stuff done, which means I've been mostly making baby things, but I'm hoping to squeeze and item or two for me in there at some point.

Though the mornings are still largely unpredictable in terms of waking time, our nights have taken on a certain rhythm, which means that I'm getting more time to knit and yes, design again. I've got one project in the works right now that'll be coming out in June and another submission in for a Winter issue (fingers crossed),  so it'll be a while before there will be anything to see from it all, but it feels good to be getting back on the design wagon.

And the Ornaments Too!

We got our live tree at just the perfect time this year. Picked it up Saturday morning without incident, including my first attempt at strapping it to a car (thanks bungee cords!) and set it up just in time to head to the third almost-annual ornament swap with my knitting group. I made the needle-felted winter scene and took home the snowman head, which went perfectly with my non-breakable/no-hooks-needed theme for this year's tree. Once again, I was super impressed with all the ornament makings (though I still can't get my brain around how the pom-pom ones work).  Our timing was also perfect since we got about a foot of snow the next day. We did make a first attempt at sledding with Little Miss C, and while the snow was tasty, the cold and snowsuit and the dog in her face was all a little too much and big tears were shed about .05 seconds after that last shot was taken.  Good thing there's a cozy warm house and pretty lighted tree to return to.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Introducing: Zienna

Over a year ago, my cousin was having a baby. I asked what kind of stuffed animal she would like for her little girl. She said something jungle-ly. And so, Zienna was born.

This softie is made for babies.

The high-contrast black and white grabs their attention, but the slightly antique tones of the Berocco Remix yarn, keep it looking classic. The zebra is seamlessly knit from head to tail, meaning that it can stand up to all those babies can dish out. I know my little one is a fan.

The pattern is available from the shop or Ravelry for $5 USD

Introducing: Honeymaker

I'm pleased to announce the release of Honeymaker, my newest design for Quince & Co. A feminine take on the traditional aran sweater, with a bee-inspired twist, the Honeymaker pullover features stitch patterns inspired by netting, hives, and, of course, the honeycomb. It also comes with directions to include an optional bee inset into your honeycomb, if you like.

The cables really pop when knit in Quince's Osprey aran-weight yarn, particularly in the less saturated shades, like the faded brick-colored Clay used here. The collar can be worn popped for a face framing effect, or folded for a more-traditional shawl-collar look.

The pattern is knit in the round from the bottom up, with subtle waist shaping. The collar/shoulders are knit back and forth (cabling on right side only) with raglan shaping and the collar ribbing is picked up and knit back and forth for a seamless garment.

The pattern is available for download for $6 USD from the the shop or you can queue it up on Ravelry.

Modeled photos courtesy of Quince & Co.

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.

Introducing: Longitude

Longitude was the first design in the collection I came up with and the last one I actually made.

Long before Bristol came to me with the idea for a stripe-themed collection, I had the idea for a short-row shaped striped bonnet banging around in my head as by product of a zebra I had knit for my cousin. (Incidentally, that’s another pattern that I intend to release soonish).

In making that zebra I learned a few things about the possibilities of short rows and thought it would make a great hat. Add in some i-cord edging and a couple of pom-poms and you’re all set!

The yarn for the sample features the wonderfully subtle Berroco Black Tweed in Narragansett (Navy Blue) and Clover Honey (off-white). I’d wanted to try this yarn out for a while, so when it showed up in my LYS’s clearance bin in colors I loved, it seemed like fate.

It’s a wonderfully soft yarn, but my one caveat is that I has no issues knitting with it, but the yarn did tend to break when I tried to use it to tie off the center of the pom-poms, so I ended up using a sturdier thread for that purpose.

Longitude is available for download as a solo pattern for $4.00 USD or can be purchased from my Ravelry store with my other two designs from the collection, Latitude and Lamina for a discounted $12 with the coupon code LINE.

Longitude $4 USD

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

Introducing: Lamina

For the first of three posts about my designs for the Strata and Line Collection, I decided to start with Lamina.

I wanted Lamina to be one a simple, very wearable sweater . The original idea was do to an all-over stripe (below), but after some design tweaking, I went with a solid body and striped sleeves and collar.

The decision to keep the body solid makes for a slightly interesting, though not difficult construction.

At its most basic, Lamina is knit in the round from bottom up with saddle-shoulder shaping and some gentle waist shaping. The saddles themselves are knit back and forth and seamed from underarm to shoulder and then rejoined to work the cowl neck in the round. Because the stripes are contained to the arms, it’s also a relatively quick knit.

It was also a huge pleasure to work with the yarn on this pattern. The yarn is the Woolen Rabbit’s  Grace in Myrtle and Straw. Grace is a beautiful merino yarn that comes in sizable 525 yard skeins. There are few yarns I think I’ve enjoyed knitting with more – it was just so pretty, lovely to work with, and the colors really make this design pop. Tea Leaves/Forever in Blue Jeans would be another fabulous color combo. I just picked up some more Woolen Rabbit yarn at a recent local fiber event so I can work more with her yarns.

Lamina 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, Latitude and Longitude for a discounted $12 with the coupon code LINE.

Lamina

$6 USD

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

Introducing: Strata and Line

I'm pleased to announce the release of my first collaboration with Bristol Ivy: Strata and Line

a collection of four sweaters and three accessories exploring stripes in all their varieties.

Click here to view a lookbook of the collection or you can download the lookbook PDF here.

The patterns are available for purchase individually on Ravelry for $6 USD/Sweater, $4 USD/Accessory or you can use the following codes to get the complete individual designer collections for $12:

For the four Bristol Ivy patterns: STRATA

For my three patterns: LINE

I hope you enjoy the collection and I'll be posting more about the inspiration behind my patterns in the coming days!