Makes in the Wild and Exciting News

Some exciting news!:

First, my blog's gotten a couple shout-outs recently... my Comox trunks for Tim played a part in the Thread Theory Comox Trunk parade and my Lisette Attache peplum blouse wrangled its way into a spot in Made by Rae's Spring Top Sewalong wrapup!  Yay!

Second, I am a pattern tester for a brand new pants pattern by the stylish Kelli over at True Bias... the Hudson pant (check out her preview on Instagram)!  I am so excited!  Can you tell by the number of exclamation points I have used so far in this post (5 thus far)?

And, the cherry on top, I was chosen to be part of the blog tour for the next Perfect Pattern Parcel, a great project supporting two worthy causes: independent sewing pattern designers and Donorschoose.org.  Check out the new PPP blog here.  More on that project in a few weeks!!


This is how I feel about all of this news:

"I'm somebody now!"
"Things are going to start happening to me now!"




OK, back to makes in the wild:  I just wanted to show you some of my makes on their new owners... they always look better photographed on the intended recipient than on a hanger!

Colleen looking super cute in her under-the-sea themed Polly tank:

A blurry pic of the girls in their matching Skater Dresses, deep in a post-Easter egg hunt/Frozen-induced stupor:

A closer view of Zoe in her Skater dress, layered over a long-sleeved tee:

Zoe adores her scarf hat thingy I knit her last year.  This is her picking out a Christmas tree (way back in December) while wearing it, but she also frequently just wears it around the house on her own accord, just for kicks, which cracks me up:

Zoe this Mother's Day wearing her plaid patchwork jumper:

Sir Knits-a-Lot

 My latest knits:

Another Baby Sophisticate sweater, also known as the Grandpa or Old Man cardigan, this one for Baby Dos, knit in Lily Sugar n' Cream in Poppy with some buttons from the never-ending button walls of Toko Maju at Pasar Mayestik.

This super cute scarf-hat, based on this pattern.  I'm quite proud, this being my first knit-in-the-round project that required decreasing using the double-pointed needles.  Came out pretty cute!  One knitted in Lily Sugar n' Cream yarn in Violet Veil (phew, finally rid of this yarn- got 3 projects out of it, though!), one in Lily Sugar n' Cream in Poppy and one in Bernat Handicrafter in Love (for babies Izzy, Alex and Zoe, respectively).  I followed the pattern for the most part, but skipped the cable, as it is not centered on the scarves when you knit the larger size (weird) and it was just too much going on with the multi-colored yarn.

For the orange and pink ones, I kept the ribbing going all the way around the hat for several inches.  I added a pompom, like the one I put on Zoe's birthday hat, using this tutorial.   Also, as a side-note, I think that the largest size of the pattern may be a little off when it comes to the decreases.  You don't need to knit 3 stitches at the beginning and end of each decrease round... the stitch numbers are off.
 

This massive scarf/cowl/wrap thingy is made from some beautiful yarn that Jennifer gave me for my birthday last year, Cascade Magnum in Lake Chelan Heather, a nice teal color with an aura of bright green throughout.  I wanted to make this cowl I found via Ravelry, but didn't have circular needles big enough to handle this super fat yarn (my local craft store doesn't carry the tools to deal with heavy duty yarn like this), so I improvised and knit it flat.  This thing is like a blanket.  I love the texture of it, though- check out the close-up shot of the seed stitch:

I made Zoe some pink mittens (using this pattern) to match her hat, but forgot to take a photo. They came out a little bit big, but I like the pattern!

Finally, some baby legwarmers for Miss Zoe with the remainder of my pink Bernat Handicrafter yarn.  Followed this pattern:

Drop Stitch Scarf

Although I took a temporary break from my "Drop It Like It's Hot" top, I quickly knitted up this drop stitch scarf for my upcoming trip to Sydney. It'll be winter there (yay!), so I may actually get to wear it.

I had picked up 3 balls of this yarn last summer in upstate NY- it's cotton and hemp and has a nice flowy feel to it and hippies love it.

Crochet Spring Scarf

This scarf crocheted up really quickly and was super easy.  I like the hole-y look you get by skipping every other stitch. 

I really love the color of the yarn, too, and the fact that it's organic cotton.  My only complaint is that I don't love the lumpy texture of the yarn.  In the past I felt like lumpy yarn was helpful to cover up any mistakes I made, but now I don't really care for it... no stitch definition.  Apparently my crochet tastes have matured ;-)

Ruffly Crocheted Scarf

Sorry for the break in postings... just recently got back from a trip to sunny Florida where we lounged on the beach for a week. While on the beach, my constant crocheting of this ruffly scarf helped me to fit in with the aging crowd that hangs out down there. And the scarf got finished just in time for Mother's Day, although I'd put money on the fact that it won't be worn until at least October. Time for some cotton knitting projects!

For the scarf I used Lion Brand Yarn's "Homespun" in lagoon. This yarn is kinda "rustic" in texture (lumpy), which works out for me because it covers flaws pretty well. I followed one of their free patterns, which worked out quite well. I made only one change to the pattern, which was to add a 5th row of stitching- one single crochet in each of the double crochets in the previous row- both because I wanted to widen the piece a little bit and because I had extra yarn leftover.

Knitting: My First Scarf

The Real Martha always seemed fairly proud of me as I accomplished various goals in life... graduating high school, college, law school, etc. But I knew deep down inside she would never see me as a complete person until I learned how to knit. Thus, my quest to learning the old-lady art of knitting. Bam, Martha, check out this scarf. What's up now? ;-)

On a whim a few weeks ago I signed up for the Crash Course in Knitting at Stitch DC, a local yarn shop. The Crash Course gave me the very basics of knitting and set me on my way to making a big scarf using the garter stitch. Marie at Stitch DC is super patient and easy to learn from... plus the yarn at Stitch DC is to die for. I ended up using this beautiful merino wool yarn from Lorna's Laces in a variegated yellow, teal and grass green called "Daffodil."With some phone support from The Real Martha, some troubleshooting help from Ms. O'Brien, and a little help from the Lion Brand Yarn website (which has great step-by-step directions and videos, although you have to give your email address to access them), I was able to pull this big scarf together in a couple weeks with enough time to wear it a couple times before winter is (hopefully) over.

Next project: baby hats and learning to knit in the round!

Recycled T-shirt Scarf

I love the internets... what did we do before they existed?

Today's example of the bounty of the internets is this tutorial for a ridiculously easy fringey t-shirt scarf. Another way for me to use up more of those busted Chuck Norris Experiment t-shirts I've been holding onto for years now since the team disbanded! No sewing involved, just some scissors and a t-shirt. Sweet.
PS: Do you like my new glasses? I love the glasses from Warby Parker- they have the cutest frames. Plus, it's cheap and they give away a pair of glasses to a non-profit for someone in need every time you buy a pair.