babies need red shoes too

I was incredibly slow to discover the wonder of Japanese crafting books, but wow, how inspiring they are! One in the Handmade Zakka series arrived at my door last week and the very same day I heard that Nadine had had her baby. So, eager to sew for a little baby girl I started picking fabric for the baby shoe pattern. The construction was surprising, and the hand sewing intense, but I should have known that to make something so tiny and sweet requires special processes. Now I just have to get my act together and deliver the little package before baby Lucine's feet get too big! Three years down the road and I have no idea what size newborn feet are. I may already be too late.

P.S. Nadine - if you're reading this pretend that by "Nadine" I mean Georgette. And if you find a wee package hanging on your door, it's from the Baby Shoe Faery. But most of all, congratulations and I can't wait to meet your little lady.

starting over

Once upon a time, sewing was the love of my life. In the past 3 years I have been neglecting my needles and thread (though knitting has filled some of the void, to be sure) but lately I have really been missing this part of my world. And today at a very poignant psychic reading I was told just this - I have walked too far away from this love.

Of course, times have been a little tough lately. One night when Jay was staying at the hospital I escaped into our shared studio and started making pants. Made one sketch and just grabbed fabric. I had been inspired by Little Red Caboose and since Sadie has been adding inches to her legs, I figured pants were a gentle and practical project to take on. Among the tears and heavy heart, the night spent sewing was wonderful. As usual, my little girl dislikes what I made her, but I'd be happy to even give these away; making them was what I needed most. And yesterday I received these fantastic books in the mail so I think I may be able to keep up the sewing energy. Sadie is more likely to appreciate the dolls I stitch together, so I may just start there.

I may even make the psychic proud.

for Margie, with love

My mother in law -
your laugh, loud and so sincere
left us all too soon.

(P. S. Our garden will always have purple flowers for you.)

purple goodness

It feels as though this sweater took a long time to get through, even though it's toddler-sized. Perhaps it's the weather, or maybe the fact that every summer seems to get packed with things to do (and lately, not the happiest of things), but it sure felt great to weave in the very last end and convince Sadie to try it on.

The pattern was very simple to follow; I had knit the collar much longer but ripped it out to make the sweater feel balanced. I made a cleaner selvage for the edges, but it rolls inward anyway so I don't know if it mattered much. The one funny thing I found out is that when I transferred the sleeves to DPNs my knitting became too regular and looked totally different than the body. I switched to knitting them flat and it matched again, so I just had to endure more seaming. Unfortunately Sadie dislikes the sweater entirely - I had to promise she could wear polka-dotted sneakers that are still too big for her just to get a few photos. She was more than happy to tear the sweater off...I sure hope she changes her mind in the fall.

Pattern: Girlfriend Swingcoat Sweater by Wendy Bernard

Wool: Misti Pima Cotton/Silk, 3 skeins

Needles: 5mm bamboo circulars

A couple more shots on Flickr.

the birth house

Even though the premise interested me, I wasn't expecting to love The Birth House nearly half as much as I did. I took Friday afternoon off and sat in our quiet backyard - by myself - for hours, savouring every word and every scene. The characters were charming and real, the midwifery perspective respectful and fascinating, the story simply over too soon. I can't do a book review justice (I'll leave that to Ragdoll) but I certainly can gush. I loved, loved, loved this novel.

Photo courtesy of our local thrift store - when Sadie was about the same age we found this beauty framed. It's quite large, about 22" x 30". He/she has been hanging in our bedroom ever since.

have fabric, will sew...maybe

I've been itching to sew. Once, that was all I ever did, but these days my shelves of fabric stand untouched and my sewing machine mainly stitches gift cards. The wall hanging above is one of the last non-softie projects I completed soon after Sadie moved into her own room. Small quilting projects are so rewarding - I love sifting through scraps and randomly sewing pieces together, although my choice of black may be a bit macabre for a little girl (I tell myself this everytime I dress her in black too, yet I never really pay attention to my internal scolding).

Months, and I mean MONTHS ago I picked up these two floral prints and two polka dot ribbons at Designer Fabric to make a curtain for Sadie's window. Still unmade, I'm trying to muster the energy to get it done this week. And seeing as I'm breaking the rule about similar sized patterns together - twice! - I really should finish my rebellion and just do it already. This time, I'm crossing my toes.

The other shot is just context - a little vignette in Sadie's room. My Mom won the lamp in a raffle and the old toy is from when I was a baby, along with some other odds and ends.

And in a "small" aside, the wonderful folks at small magazine were kind enough to include my Trampy Bunny in their latest edition. It's pretty cool to be in such great company and Jay thinks Dawn's bunny rocks.

who knew?

Finally I finished a book. Not a book of patterns, not a magazine, but a novel. I have started about three, no four, books over the past few months (Everything is Illuminated, On Beauty, The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters and The Trick is to Keep Breathing) and nothing stuck. I did finish The Actual by Saul Bellow but that's classified as a novella so I didn't feel the same accomplishment. But why am I even talking about this boring fact of finishing a novel? Well, I heard myself telling friends about it all week, and then tonight I looked it up and the first search result was the movie listing at IMDB. So the film will also be titled Revolutionary Road, and the novel is by Richard Yates, about a suburban couple in the 1950's coming to terms with their relationship while raising two children. Funny thing is that I felt like I chose to read the 1950's version of Little Children and IMDB tells me that Kate Winslet is playing the lead character in this film too. Huh. But I'm still staying away from Little Children for the time being.

To keep with the momentum I'm re-reading A Room of One's Own. Ah Virginia Woolf, how I love thee. I don't know if I'll ever get back to any of the other four I started, but at least I broke the reading rut. Finishing my tally for 1001 Books You Must Read may have provided an extra push too - I'll never be Ragdoll, but I hope I can stretch beyond my 64.

Oh, and the flowers (or shall I say cabbage) have no direct meaning - I just like to have flowers out for guests.

big grrr

Sadie has informed me that she isn't a little grrr anymore, but a big grrr. And big grrrs like fairy wings, smoked salmon and capers. They also love to go on road trips to Chicago and stay in motels staying up late with Daddy to watch basketball. Every day with a big grrr brings a new word, new song, new catch phrase (today for instance, it's "I don't think so.") Big grrrs also love to garden with "glubs" on, and fight any polite request to come indoors. Big grrrs rock.

On an unrelated note, a colleague yesterday stated that folks who lean far to the left are often the ones who only have one child. Being 100% sure that I haven't decided where I stand on the second child decision, it was a curious thought. It was only an opinion of course, but still intriguing. All I do know for now is that I'm going to enjoy every little big grrr moment I can. This whole growing up thing happens way too fast.

tulip

Tulip will only garden with her apron on - she's fussy that way.

I have taken giant liberties with the Month of Softies theme. It's "Plant Life" but somehow I couldn't get bunnies out of my mind (thanks to a certain trampy bunny I know). To her credit, Tulip is all about flowers and even though she's pink, I believe she has a genuine green thumb.

These days I'd rather show the seams of my softies because I can get a little stuck in the finishing details and at this point it's simply about making. The less I worry about, the more fun I have. Oddly enough it's the clothing (if my last bunny's stockings count as clothing) that I'm taking the most care with. Phases will be phases I guess.

Note to self: I must get more of that polka dot ribbon.

sahara

First of all - please, please know that I'm not really fond of pictures of myself (and especially POSTING pictures of myself). I do however appreciate when I see finished garments on a real person and not a headless torso. So for this reason I had Jay take a photo for anyone and everyone to see (gulp). Please mind the early morning bedhead.

My Sahara is done, and aside from the wild colour I'm pretty happy with it. The pattern really was easy, and I learned once again to read instructions carefully...I had this puffy sleeve at one point because I didn't realize I was supposed to wrap the next stitch two stitches past the last one. I skim, I admit it. But what I love about knitting is that you can correct your mistakes, plus I no longer fear ripping out nights of work. It's so worth it in the end because you'll have a sweater you will actually wear! (Though I do think the sweater would suit someone with an actual bust better, but I'll wear it nonetheless.)

And on another note, I just loved this wool. It's so soft and not as heavy as other cottons. Sadie and I already walked to Knitomatic today for more: black for Something Red, and purple for Girlfriend's Swing Coat (for a deserving little girl). Suddenly I'm a huge Knit and Tonic fan!

Pattern: Sahara by Wendy Jo Bernard

Wool: Misti Pima Cotton/Silk, 4 skeins

Needles: 4.25 /3.25 circulars, 4.25/3.25 DPNs

Modifications: I did the XS size until the waist and then made more frequent waist increases to end up with a S/M bottom. I didn't do the shirttail hem for no better reason than I thought I would prefer it straight. And I spent forever stitching the collar ribbing to the body. I couldn't get a mattress stitch seam I was happy with so in the end I used a crochet hook and made a really lumpy seam, but it mimics the ribbing and suits me just fine.