Monday, February 28, 2011

Baby Sweater



I am really excited to knit for this new baby. The trouble is that s/he will be born in the next few weeks. Not the ideal season to begin wrapping a newborn in woolens - spring is right around the corner, no? And since we don't know if the babe is a 'he' or a 'she', I am shying away from knitting anything bigger, knowing there will be time to knit fall/winter items later in the summer.

However, a nice set of coincidences headed my way over the last week and I was able to knit up this little newborn-ish size sweater out of a lovely un-dyed organic cotton. Kristen Kapur - the famous knitwear desinger from Through the Loops - was having a blog-based de-stash sale and I was able to purchase some lovely skeins of organic cotton by Blue Sky Alpacas at a deep discount. I love this yarn! It knit up very quickly and is super soft. I also love that it is undyed and organic - perfect for a little baby sweater.

I found the buttons on a special trip to the yarn store with one of my older girls - she loves dogs (look here for one of her dog-themed holiday gifts) and my LYS has a life-sized stuffed animal dalmation in the store that she can snuggle up with while I browse. Arn't these buttons just the greatest? I was hoping to find something unique, like little fish, but a little fish in a fishbowl with air bubbles? Oh my. That exceeded every hope I had!

So this may be the end of the baby knitting for a little while, and truth be told I should really get on making a light sweater for my youngest daughter. As she transitions into 'big sister' she is going to need some extra attention and snuggles. She is very independent, and at 3 yo she is a full year older than her sisters were when she arrived in our family. I am so grateful for the independence, but she is also old enough to sense the change that is happening; and young enough still to cling to being the baby when she feels she is not getting what she needs. I think a little tunic like this (the last sweater in the post) would be cute - and I'll let her pick out the yarn color(s) as an added treat.



Monday, February 21, 2011

Bring-me-home hat for baby



In between attending demonstrations and rallies at our state capitol (you can look here and here for why my family, and 60,000 other WI residents, are protesting) I wanted/needed to knit a little something for the baby. This little hospital hat was what I came up with. It also helped me slow down and put my feet up - something that I need to be doing as I enter these last weeks of pregnancy.

During my stash challenge year I knit a lot of baby items: sweaters, blankets, hats, etc. But nothing with this particular little peanut in mind. This the first hat that I made for our newest little one. It is sized to be the hat that we bring s/he home from the hospital in. In fact it is so small, and just the right size, that I bet it will only fit for about a week or so.

It is knit up in Misti Alpaca - an super-soft and cuddly fiber and the hand-painted colors are just gorgeous.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Valentines Hearts


In honor of Valentine's Day my youngest and I put together a small decoration for the dining room, the place we gather everyday as a family. I free-cut the hearts while she chose the contrasting fabrics, their placement and the order I sewed it together.

This is quite possibly the first heart-themed craft I have ever completed and while I am not totally sold or inspired to do something like it again it did fulfill February's Rumpelstiltskin Challenge: Red. We are not big into this 'Hallmark holiday,' but having these little hearts in the heart of our home is a nice reminder of how much love passes through here everyday.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Random

Natural Beauty

: when we pay our heating bills it bothers me that we don't have insulated windows. but when the ice forms inside the house on mornings like this one i don't mind as much.

Homemade Chicken Stock

: i've never made chicken stock from scratch before. i have been getting by on bouillon cubes and the the canned/boxed stuff on occasion. i gave it a whirl last week and am so happy that i did. our batch is fully organic, sodium free and frozen for easy use in 1/2 c. portions. i poured the cooled stock in muffin tins, left them in the freezer overnight, and then let them thaw just enough to pop them out the next morning. they are stored in a freezer bag for future use. now i have 12 cups of stock on hand and ready to go. i love it. and will do it again and again and again.

Sandwich Wraps and Snack Bags

: this past week i made a two more sets of re-usable snack bags and coordinating sandwich wraps. they are used daily around here. i especially love seeing them full and lined up in the mornings for the family. not pictured are a set for me, and a new extra set which is handy for when one of the girls forgets her lunchbox at school. you can never be too prepared can you? and i'll take any excuse to sew more.

: it was my 34th birthday this week. it was also my husband's 34th birthday. we are celebrating early next week with a mini-getaway. i hope to do lots of knitting. i know i will do lots of swimming and sleeping - 32 weeks has found me slowing down a bit, and more sleepy than usual. my birthday present to myself was a new fiber adventure. after seeing these mittens i thought i would give it a try. i may also purchase yarn to make a FLS. it is february after all isn't it?