Clean.

Mama made.

It has been ages since I've shared a finished knitting project with you. There has been plenty of casting off, but for some reason I just don't get around to photographing those projects very often.

This spring I cast off my Lupine's shawl.

I've had it in my Ravelry favorites for ages. But I didn't cast it on until a friend (who found it in my favorites) knit one. Hers was stunning so I decided to go for it.

As it turns out I am not a fan of knitting lace on size two needles. (Who knew?)

It was quiet torture for me, by no fault of the lovely (and truly simple) design. But every few rows I'd count my stitches and be off by several on one side. And always the same side! I'm not a perfectionist (thank goodness or I'd have given up on this project just a few days in) so I'd throw a few stitches in here and there to bring it back up the the right number.

But then a few rows later I was off again.

I gave up on the lace one repeat short of what the pattern dictated and called it good enough. I think it looks great as is, albeit shorter (and less perfect) than it was intended. I won't be knitting another one. I just can't do tiny lace.

Oh, and the color! Remember my desire to bust through my yarn stash? This was the project I cast on after this post. An unobtrusive grey sock yarn, varagated with light blue, white, and dark grey.

We dyed it with two packs of kool aid (cherry and raspberry I believe). I had no idea what color it would turn out which was risky/fun. (I know what you're thinking. "She's so crazy!" Okay. Maybe not. Yeah, that's about as wild as I get over here.)

As it turns out, we got a muted cranberry-raspberry color. I like it enough, but didn't go gaga for it.

Lupine, however, did. As soon as it came out of the dye pot she fell in love with it, so I gave it to her. I did make her promise to share it with me, but 9 out of 10 days she wears it, not me.

The pattern is here and my project is over here.

As for the rest of her outfit (in case you were wondering), it's homemade too.

I sewed these last year when I was on an Etsy kick, selling kids clothes and Waldorf dolls. This was my prototype in fabric that I kind of hated. I was just using it so as to not waste any fabric that I liked.

But somehow that dusty blue and rose has grown on me so much since then then. And now I love it. Truly love it. (The floral print came from my mom's 1980's stash, from something ruffly she made for my sister.)

Unfortunately (for those who are wondering) no there isn't a pattern. There is a slim chance that I could be convinced (someday) to work one up for you but I don't want to promise that quite yet.

The top was inspired by this one and the skirt was inspired by her obsession with twirling when she was four. It is two full circles, connected at the waist and trimmed with vintage thrift-store cotton lace.

Because of the generous sizing she's going into her second year of it fitting beautifully. Two years for one mama made makes me very happy.

What else makes me very happy? That she loves it so much that she squealed when we took it out of the summer clothes box in the basement last week. That's the best reward of mama-made.

And for the record, twirly or not, this skirt is great for wearing while catching barn kittens. I see one now. Run!

Stash Knitting. Using what I have.

I have. A lot. Of yarn. Two or three decent sized baskets of the stuff. Four years ago I don't think I remembered how to knit. I certainly didn't make anything with yarn. I doubt there were three skeins in my house back then. Today? There is an abundance. Observe:

A peek inside one of three bins of yarn in my craft room.

Soft and gorgeous hand-spun that I can't wait to use. I picked it up for me but Lupine has her eyes on it. Edited to say: Because I left it out after I took this phoot the kids just made the pretties trip line I've ever seen to capture Pete. I think its time to cast this one on before it all is used for mischief.

Four surprisingly soft, fine wools. The black is nice. I'm not sure about that '80's kelly green though. (Teal may be the only color I like less than this one for myself.)

Two small skeins of shiny cotton. Tank top or bodice of a dress for Lupine perhaps?

Three blues, one grey. Six big skeins. Sweater for Sage? (It's almost soft enough but not quite.) He just looked over my shoulder and vetoed that idea. Okay, maybe one for me. Overdyed with red to see what magentas/purples I could transform them into perhaps.

Another hand-spun that I love. Not sure why I hoard these. This one is baby soft. Cowl?

Four visually beautiful but texturally nightmarish hand-spun skeins. Like sandpaper on the neck I tell you.

And that's just the pretty stuff. There are dozens of half-skeins, plenty of my spinner-in-training yarn, and lots of other odds and ends.

I haven't been knitting for long. But in those few years I've become hopelessly addicted to yarn, knitting patterns, and the possibility they hold. This winter I've cast off nearly a dozen projects (many I have yet to share with you) and have more on the needles at any given time than I probably should. (I am not a linear project person. Five or six projects at a time suits me perfectly. It keeps things interesting.) Some of this winter's projects (my hat and cowl, Lulu's leg warmers) I bought soft new yummy yarn for, others (Pete's sweater, Sage's cowl, and my mittens) came straight from the stash.

Most of the yarns above I scrounged up second hand (rummage, thrift, various barters, and craigslist), a couple I have bartered for with hand-spinners at shows, and a few I've spun myself. I've lucked out and been able to build a stash for very little money. What a gift to have a box of useful yarn at my fingertips!

Which brings me to my dilemma.

I'm wanting to cast on a shawlette for myself this weekend and I was picturing something in a variegated pea green or perhaps a purple/magenta combination (my favorite colors for the past couple of years).

But, um, I don't have those colors in my stash.

Do I go to the knitting store? Or do I work with what I have?

This is what my sister would refer to as a "first world problem". And it is. For goodness sake I'm not unraveling my children's outgrown sweaters to make them a new one for next year. But oddly somehow that abundance is a bummer in and of itself. Because I don't feel like it's appropritae to buy yarn, yet I really want to. Because I have a magenta hat. A magenta scarf. And I thought: oooh! Magenta mittens. But then I paused. Because if I have dozens of skeins of suitable wool in the craft room, why exactly am I buying new? Damn ethics.

So I found two skeins of single ply black wool in the bin and cast on my mittens. Black is almost as good as magenta, right? And in fact, I love them - largely becasue these pretty mitts were essentially free and this season I'm trying to stay mindful of my budget. (The yarn came with many of the others pictured above from a rummage sale - $25 for a heaping large laundry basket full of wool yarn and roving. For you non-knitters - if you've somehow stuck with me this long - it's not unusual for a single skein of nice yarn to run close to that.)

So I've made myself a promise. I'm not buying new yarn for a bit. (I know. That was non committal. I'm going to try it on for a few weeks and see how I do. This is a big leap you see.) I'm going to work my way through a bit more of what I have first, even if that means changing the projects on my to-do list.

And to you I ask: what would you do with a milk crate full of scratchy wool? I'm open to suggestions.

What's on your needles? Do you buy new for every project or are you a frugal/thrifty stash builder? I'm all ears.

A Tiny Sweater.

This weekend was time for putting away the to-do list and finding our center again as a family. I decided to put the Man Sweater away (again) and dig into something tiny and satisfying. (I've had Pete's sweater on the needles since November. 2010. I should have probably been casting that one off, but somehow this tiny sweater seemed to take precedence.)

I'm slowly working my way through my yarn stash and this was the third quick stash-buster of the week. (The others, two very different cowls for the kids, I'll be sure to show you some day soon.)

As for this little sweater for Lupine's friend Mimi-Mama, I had help picking out the yarn. And wow. Who knew I had such punchy colors in my stash? Lupine did, evidently. In hindsight I'd have chosen something a bit more mellow, but who cares. It's a doll sweater. (Incidentally the pants Mimi Mama is sporting are made out of some sort of stretchy polyester circa 1977. They must have been for one of my dolls. Amazingly, they match the sweater perfectly. Whoa.)

I think the usual button stand-off has ended, and Mimi and Lupine have picked some bright pink buttons to sew on in the morning. And then Lupine says in a very squeaky voice (that of Mimi Mama), "I love my new sweater so much!" And the doll proceeds to kiss me like two million times.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Some Notes~

The sweater pattern: I used the Poppy Cardigan, a free pattern on Ravelry. My notes are here, the pattern is here.

The doll pattern: Mimi Mama is my own design. Her nose is made using the technique I mentioned here. (Yes, the nose makes her technically not a Waldorf Doll but I'm all about the noses.) I blogged about making here here.

Doll hair technique: Her hair is a mix of thrifted and hand-spun wool yarn, attached by a brilliant/simple method explained in this book. (And oh, my. Why that book is listed at $280 on Amazon I can not say. I paid $2 at a rummage sale for it two years ago. So sorry. If you need me to paraphrase the technique let me know. I'll save you the hundreds.)

Happy crafting, friends!

Lupine's Birthday Sweater.

 

I saw Lupine coming through the living room with tea cups for a celebration she was organizing in the other room. She was wearing a party dress and the sweater I made her this fall. The sweater!

And I realized that I haven't shared any recent knitting projects with you for ages. There has been a lot of casting off happening around here, including Lupine's birthday sweater. (Yes, from November.) I cast it off the evening before her birthday but never photographed it. Something about that hotel lighting... 

And as with all the other finished-but-not-yet-shared projects, finding time to photograph them when both the clothing and the wearer are clean has been, um, challenging. Ahem.

The sweater pattern is Kina, and my project details are here. I knit the size 6-7 (she's a solid 5) because I couldn't make myself knit a size 4-5 (fear of smallness) so it's a bit big still, but I think she'll get at least a year or two out of it. The yarn was silky cotton, something I never knit with. So dreamy. (I normally knit with wool.)

I plan to share more of the completed projects in the coming weeks. There are many. (Oh, and if someone would call Pete and ask him to photograph my hat, cowl, and sweater that would be awesome. This bathroom mirror camera trick just ain't cutting it.)

And thank you to my mom who is responsible for Lupine's unusually clean hair. Hooray for Nanny. She insists of baths and improves my photographs.

A Tiny Tea Leaves for My Girl.

 

I set a goal to knit four sweaters this fall. One for each of us. (Thank goodness my family is small!) I started with the smallest and quickest knit to ease myself in to this process with a fast one. Also, Lupine is the only person in the family without a sweater that fits for these first cool days.

She chose the yarn (sparkles!) from our local yarn shop and we picked the pattern together off of Ravelry. It was quick and satisfying to knit up, and was technically my first sweater (with sleeves anyway). I enjoyed every stitch.

The buttons are antique mother of pearl from my stash. They belonged to my great-grandmother. There was something magical about sewing on the buttons that belonged my grandma's mom. (My grandma was the one who taught me to knit and kept me - and eventually my kids - warm with her prolific knitting.)

Lupine's mother's mother's mother's mother's buttons. On my first little sweater.

It warms my heart.

As for Lupine, she loves it. She's worn it everyday since I cast it off. It doesn't get better than that.

Project details can be found here.

I'll be away tomorrow, so have a wonderful weekend, friends! xo Rachel