the yarn related update

Hi friends! How in the world has a month gone by? I wish I knew, but I guess all this getting up and going through the day has got to add up to something at some point. Anyway, here we are, and guess what! I have some awesome things to share!

The first thing is that I have been working right along on my cardigan sweater (the pattern is Grace by Jane Richmond). I am so excited about this one and I can't wait to wear it. It is a bit slower than I'd like since it is not knit in the round and back and forth takes longer for me with the purl rows in there, but I am down past separating the sleeves and I just have to soldier on. After I get the body and sleeves done I have to admit I am a little scared of the neck/button bands that I have to pick up and stitch, but I am really hoping it will be worth it in the end. This plucky yarn I am using (primo fingering in high cotton), it's just dreamy. Soft and light and wonderful.  So far I just have these instagram progress pictures, but oh man I am loving it!

I started it just about a month ago, and I am just a couple inches further now, but still have quite a ways to go. I may have gotten a bit excited and ordered the yarn for my next sweater, which will involved thicker yarn and should therefore be warmer and quicker. That, however, is a story for another day. One thing at a time.

In other knitting news, I wanted to quickly share the bag I made for my dad for his birthday. He taught me how to knit and does some really fantastic knitting himself, so I thought a project bag was quite appropriate. Some stencils and a sharpie and I had this beauty all ready to go!

Aside from knitting and organizing years of digital pictures (not my favorite thing, but I just keep telling myself if I can get it all caught up, it should be fairly easy to maintain), I have been sewing some great clothes for myself. I have revisited a couple favorite patterns and also tried a couple new so I will be sharing those over the coming week, and let me just say, I am very excited.

birthday outfit time!

So, my baby turns one this week. One of the many bittersweet milestones of motherhood, I suppose. It is so hard to believe that a year ago, she was about to come into this world, a squidgy little blob and now I have a little being who is trying to talk, close to walking, and is just so darn aware and intelligent. I am so proud of what she is becoming, but I still miss her little baby self. Naturally, this called for a new mama-made outfit.

I decided against a dress since crawling is still our primary mode of transportation these days, and opted for a cute little shirt and shorts combo. The top is a shortened piece of cake dress, and the shorts are a pair of bubble shorts. I am actually kind of surprised both pieces were things I've made before, but I am happy with the choices.

The top is the 12 month size again, which fits fine in this style, and I just cut at the 0-3 month size to make it a shirt. I have had this AMH print for a while, knowing it would be part of the birthday ensemble, and I used some leftover bias binding to finish the neck. This is such a cute, easy pattern, I wish it went up to higher sizes so I could make more! Thankfully, this should be pretty wearable and will look just as cute with some leggings or jeans and a sweater when it cools off.

The shorts are an 18 month size, and despite the fact that she is wearing that size in a lot of things at this point, these are a bit big. Wearable, but big. Sadly, I doubt they will fit by next summer, so she'll just have to wear them near constantly for the next month or two until it gets cold. The fabric is actually an old curtain that someone was getting rid of. I have lots left and will probably make them each another pair next summer. The high contrast of the white thread was a little nerve-wracking since mistakes are so, so obvious, but I love it. The button is non-functional since it really didn't seem necessary, and I also made them a bit less bubbly by trimming off about an inch on each side and left off the pockets.

I think she'll look really super cute in this little outfit for her party. Both sets of grandparents will be here this weekend to shower her with love and play whatever her 1-year-old heart desires, which should be lovely. Next week, when all is quiet once again, it will be time to regroup and figure out what is left to be done; I am starting to feel a bit lost again. I got quite a few things off the list, some of which I will be showing soon, but it somehow still feels like there is an awfully long way to go.

a dress for the birthday girl

I kind of love making dresses for my little girls, and birthday dresses are the very best kind. This is the 4th birthday dress for this little love of mine (others here, here, and here) and it is possibly my favorite yet. It is fun as she gets older to get more input from her about what she'd like. This year the requirement, once again, was a spinny dress. She first was going for something like this, but after I explained how freaking hot all those layers would be in the dead of summer, we decided maybe something a little lighter was in order. Enter the Scene VI dress.

It is perfect. I am not kidding when I say that I want one in my size. We looked through my voile scraps to pick fabrics for the top, opting to omit the piecing and just have one fabric triangles. She picked the fabric placements and chose the color for the skirt, and it is just awesome. And let me tell you, this dress can spin. I wish I had a picture of it, but my model was being uncooperative so I'll have to try again later.

I made her a 3T with the 4T length for my tall skinny girl and it fits perfectly. I probably could have gotten away with the 4 all around, but honestly, I won't mind making her another when she outgrows it. The hardest part was sewing around for the elastic casing (I don't really understand the elastic, but oh well) and I definitely had the skirt get a little wonky. Hemming was another headache, but worth it in the end....as long as you don't look too closely, it's fine. Also it called for 1.5" elastic and I used about half that width. The most exciting part was putting in the bra slider. It was simple and makes this so much easier. That is one of the main problems with kids dresses, the straps are either not adjustable or they tie and come undone.

Really, I hope she has a great time wearing this and spinning in it for her birthday. And I do honestly hope I get to make more of these beautiful dresses in the future.