skinny minnie

Life got in the way of blogging last week so I missed including my last bit of sewing for KCWC. Truthfully, it wasn't the most exciting project but it was very practical. At 7 years old (umm, when did that happen?) Sadie has long enough legs for the size 6X, but her waist is teeny weeny. Not surprisingly, I've been having trouble getting pants that fit her because to make sure her ankles are covered means the waist - even if it's elasticized - is ginormous. I've had two pairs of cords sitting on the sewing table for ages and she needed them made wearable more than she needed a new sweatshirt (which would have been more fun, I mean look at how great Trula's hoodie is). But sometimes practical just has to win. I had some striped jersey that worked with both purple and pink, so after a little cutting and a few lines of serging, Sadie had two new pants to wear.

Verdict: easy solution, happy girl.

more for milo

Sadie has very distinct tastes these days, so sewing for Milo is much easier. Less to think about and the only pattern I ever have to consider is stripes. In the last KCWC I made Milo a hoodie and I dress him in it every chance I get. Making another seemed like a no-brainer decision. I was totally inspired by this awesome jumper in the Flickr pool so I added some graphic lines to the sweatshirt body for fun (they aren't ribbon though, just scraps of the grey jersey). I used the same pattern as last time which was drafted from a raglan sleeved hand-me-down (thanks Jill!). It's roomy enough without looking too big so he should be able to wear it for quite a while.

I also finished up a t-shirt that has been sitting on my table half done since July. The hold-up was choosing the colour for the bands. I probably could have decided on the red in my sleep, but I think making decisions this summer was a particular weakness for me. The black striped fabric is the very last of a thrifted man's t-shirt which has made two other pairs of shorts and various bands for things. It's such a good way to buy knit fabric - $3 ended up making 3 garments for the kids.

And I want to thank everyone for their super kind words about Milo in my last post. He's generally a very funny little guy but that photo just captured an image of him that makes my heart melt. In a hilarious contrast, here is the full photo of the image above. I've cropped it for the KCWC purpose, but his rockstar hair is so him I just had share. Happy Friday!

snappy cables

 

Anything that can be knit in one day certainly deserves to be called Snappy.

I was so excited when I came across this free, yes free, hat pattern (Ravelry link). It's perfect for someone new to cabling (like me) because you get just enough practice with the cable needle and a quick reward that is undoubtedly cabled. Oh, and amazingly cute. I mean, could a toddler look any cuter? For Milo's hat I used Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky which was pretty dreamy to knit with. The blue/gray colour is perfect for my little guy, though there have been some comments from the husband peanut gallery about me dressing Milo like a girl. Boys can pull off cables, right? This quick hat was well timed for KCWC too since there are very few garments that can be knit without dedicating the entire week (or month) to the endeavour. And Milo needed a hat for the fall...well, sort of. I think what I just wrote is called Knitter's Justification.

Before Milo's version, I did make one for myself using Malabrigo Chunky. This wasn't as dreamy to knit with (the Rialto just glides) but it was still pretty nice and I'm quite happy with the colour. After trying to add aqua or pink or purple to my life, I accepted that gray just works better for me. The wool was chunkier than the Rialto so I went up a needle size and used the same stitch count as Milo's which worked out and the fit is pretty good. And a great bonus to the whole project is that I now have a nice photo of me with Milo, as taken by the burgeoning photographer Sadie. (It's the unfortunate fate of the family photographer to never be in any photos with the kids.)

During this cable craze I have been reading Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay by Beverly Jensen. The first half was wonderful, but I'm not enjoying the second half as much. Perhaps I'm so addicted to Canadian East Coast stories that as soon as the characters left New Brunswick for Maine I just wasn't as keen to follow them. Oh well. I have another East Coast novel lined up next which gives me just enough impetus to finish.

For boatloads of knitting, reading and sewing inspiration visit today's Yarnalong and KCWC's Flickr group.

kcwc: fall edition

Thanks to Meg at Elsie Marley, yesterday marked the beginning of another Kids Clothing Week Challenge. Lucky for me I have just started a vacation - the kind that involves Jay and the kids doing their normal thing while I stay home all by myself and make stuff. It's selfish, but oh-so-heavenly. I'm trying very hard not to write a list of what I should make during my two weeks, but instead I hope to simply head downstairs and sew for a while until I've had enough and then move onto knitting. Like I said: heaven.

Hopefully knitting counts for the challenge though, because the first garment I've finished is another Girls Cap Sleeved Sweater for Sadie. I started this two weeks ago but actually finished and took photos yesterday (thank you Canadian Thanksgiving!), though the weather was far too warm for Sadie to wear wool. I used Araucania's Milodon which, while not great to physically knit, looks quite amazing when knit. Sadie seems really pleased with her new sweater and the flecks of purple. I did modify the sleeves by making 3 pairs of decreases and then adding a 6 row ribbed cuff. It makes a cute sleeve with more shape than the last version I knit. It's a great pattern overall and a really wearable sweater.

More sewing and knitting to come - but for now I'm off to see what great things have been added to Meg's Flickr group. Talk about inspiration!