Just a little knitting...

I've got to say, quick and easy projects are the best! This only took a couple days to finish off, and is a very simple knit. This sleep sack was made using the "Sheepy Sack" pattern, and was knit with Patons Merino in the Retro colorway. It is a gift for a special mama, so shh! Don't tell! ;) It is being modeled by a Cabbage Patch preemie doll I've had since I was a girl. I usually have funny issues with pooling when I use Patons, but I was quite pleased with how the colors distributed in this sack!


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Listening to: Alicia Keys - Karma
via FoxyTunes

Some WIPs

Here are a few WIPs to tide you all over. These are both knit using the LTK Picky Pants pattern. They have ribbed waistbands, and I'm doing increases and short rows for the rear shaping, with an extra short row added about halfway down.






This is 3ply Purewool in Fresh Blue. I love how the colors are coming out, and the yarn is so incredibly soft to work with! I really enjoy it. I've finished the body shaping, split for the legs, and just need to finish it up. These will become a pair of longies for K.










This yarn is Patons merino that I dyed a few months ago, along with matching trim. I had to add a couple extra increases to fix some wonky pooling, but I'm loving the effect now. These will become a pair of shorties, and with any luck will also fit him next summer!



Last but not least are some pillows I made (minus stuffing). My Gram gave me her sewing machine, along with a bunch of fabric. These don't match anything in the living room, but, I can't say no to pillows. Besides, it was a good way to use up the fabric!

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Listening to: Barenaked Ladies - Hidden Sun
via FoxyTunes

On the Needles - Skirty!

My first girly item! Woo! I dyed some more Patons merino to match my "Sweet Tarts", and decided to make a girly knit with it. It's a surprise for an online friend, and a very fun knit! I don't have a pattern for a skirty, but was able to get some help to figure it out.

Currently I'm ready to bind off the leg cuffs on the under-soaker, then I'll be picking up the stitches on the purl row near the waistband, and starting the skirt portion. I can't wait to see this finished! I tried it on K, so it should fit the recipient well. :)

Sweet Tarts and Blueberries...

After Easter, I bought a bunch of egg dye with the intention of dyeing some wool yarn. Friday night I finally got around to dyeing my two skeins of natural Patons Merino. The intention was to make a pair of shorts out of each skein, but the end result of one skein is too girly for Kaiden. I think I have a plan for it though. ;)

This first skein is "Sweet Tarts". I asked my baby brother and sister what to name them, and they came up with "Pickle Pumpkin", Mom and Nate came up with the final names for these skeins.

The first step was to soak the yarn in water and vinegar. I soaked it for about an hour, then squeezed out the excess liquid, and laid it out on top of plastic wrap. After mixing the egg dye, I painted it on with a sponge brush, then wrapped it up in the plastic wrap. To set the color, I used the microwave. Cook for two minutes, let cool for a couple minutes, repeat for a total cooking time of 10 minutes. After it cooled down completely, I spun it out (on gentle, of course!) in the washer, and hung it to dry. Saturday afternoon, when it was all dry, I reskeined it.

Pretty, no? Unfortunately, way too girly for Kaiden to wear!

Here it is in a center pull ball, and a swatch I knit up to see how the colors blend.


Next up is Blueberry Fields. Nate said he wanted something blue and green, so here it is! The bright blue and neon green are original egg dye tablets. The darker shades are ones I mixed out of various colors.

For this one, I followed the same steps as above. Here it is after painting and hanging to dry. Saturday it was all dry, so I reskeined it as well, then put it into a center pull ball and knit a swatch as well. This will become a pair of cargo shorts for Kaiden, though I'm not sure what color I'll use for trim yet. I love how the colors came out though, and I can't wait to see a FO from this yarn! Here it is in the skein, before I rewound it into a CPB.

Recent FO's!

Finally uploading pics of some of the items I've finished making lately! Here you go...

First up is a project gone wrong... First mistake, what I *thought* was normal merino wound up being superwash wool. For those that don't know, it means it's machine washable, but not waterproof, and therefore no good for a diaper cover! Mistake two, I messed up on the crotch. When I kitchenered the crotch seam, I did it inside out. Functional, but ugly. Mistake three... They're way too long! These were supposed to be a pair of shorties, but fit like highwaters on Kaiden. So, they may work as pants, but it doesn't look like we'll be getting much use out of them!



Nest up is a wool soaker. This came out pretty nice, and works great! I made it from the LTK Hybrid Rib pattern, but didn't bother adding the gussets. It's made from Paton's Merino I had leftover from Kaiden's longies. I finished this a while ago, but I'm just now showing it off.



And, not a finished object, BUT... Some incredibly yummy yarn! I purchased 5 skeins of Zen String through a recent co-op, and received them Friday. I can't wait to knit with it! It is a wonderfully smooth yarn, and smells wonderful. Angelina has so many gorgeous colorways, it was very hard to choose! In the end, I wound up getting Pumpkin Pie and Emperor, as well as a skein of Chick for a matching trim, all painted on her Nirvana worsted wool. There were many other colors I would love to own though! They're all gorgeous! Pumpkin Pie (now retired) will become a pair of longies, as well as the trim on a pair of shorts. Emperor will become a pair of longies with Chick for the trim, as well as a matching hat. It's my first luxury yarn, very exciting!! The pictures do NOT do it justice either, there are some beautiful color variations in the yarn, you just can't see how pretty it is through a computer screen.

Finally, longies are done...

I finished my first pair of Picky Pants tonight! All I had left to do was kitchener stitch the crotch closed, bind off the second leg cuff, and create an I-cord for the drawstring waistband. It's now been finished, washed, and dried. I made them a size larger, so they've got a TON of growing room! The legs are way too long, but they're still cute rolled up. Considering it's my first pair, I don't think I did too bad! Now I just need to remember to work from two skeins at a time when I use Paton's again - talk about long color repeats!




For those wondering specifics, I knit these in Paton's Merino, using Forest for the body, and Leaf Green for the trim. For the pattern, I used LTK Picky Pants, size large with a 1x1 ribbed waistband, backside increases, and the ribbed leg cuff options. Now I finally have another pair of longies I can use!



Here's the crotch with the kitchener grafting. Look Ma, no holes!