a tale of two hats

I'm on my third attempt at this qiviut hat for my husband (In the back).  First try was way too big, second try, sized down to smaller needles was looking like a newborn hat, and this third time around (after a year's intermission) I forgot some of the pattern notation and ended up ripping out a sizable portion of it. This hat and I, we are not best friends, to put it mildly.  It was slated for a Christmas present, then a birthday present, and now with only a few rows left to go, it's looking like it might be a good Valentines Day gift.  But for some reason, known to and understood only by knitters, I decided to start making another hat in the interim.  Because you know, with this really tough stretch of balmy winter temps we've been enjoying, I'm sure you can't have enough hats.  Maybe this spring-like weather just made me long for some colorful yarn... yes, that must be it.  All that qiviut knitting was starting to make my fingers sweat anyways. 

dyed in the wool

 I'm knitting a sweater right now.  This one.  I started it in April, and I am a little over half done with it.  Its slow going with garden season being in full swing, and thanks to all the hot weather it really hasn't been a knitting summer for me.  But I am loving that sweater, and I know I'll finish it, eventually.  In the meantime, I felt like I needed an instant gratification project that involved wool.   I read an article about dying wool with common garden plants, so I decided to dye up a couple skeins of natural wool I had lying around with some of the many marigolds that are growing in every raised bed I planted. August has brought us some much cooler weather and the idea of manning a boiling pot for several hours seemed more palatable than it did a few weeks ago.

I was expecting yellow, but what I ended up with was closer to chartreuse.  I'm not complaining... I love the greens.  The one on the right was the first dye batch, and the one on the left was using the same dye and doing a second dying (hence the lighter color.) I wonder if the resulting color is because my marigolds are mainly red? The dye bath looked very red.  I used alum as a mordant.  It was a simple process--one that I fully intend to repeat with some other plants...soon....but first I need to finish up that sweater.  I can see how fiber dying with found plant material could become an addictive habit. It has a certain alchemical element to it that is hard to resist.  The colors are so rich too... lovely lovely.  It's going to be hard to not start up another knitting project before that sweater is finished....hmmmm....maybe just a simple little shawl?  I'm sure that would be quick and easy to knit up between rounds of kid wrangling and laundry folding right?

give a hoot

Just put the final touches on this fun {and relatively quick} knit for a very sweet nephew who just turned one. It was my second attempt at cables, and I think I got em figured. I should probably knit this sweater one more time just to make sure though. 

Owls...Littles in handknit woolies... actually finishing a knitting project...

brown paper packages tied up with string...

These are a few of my favorite things!

summer sewing

This week I have been trying to balance our outside playtime with a little bit of inside sewing (and knitting).  It seems like Sadie has pretty much grown out of all of last summer's clothes, and its almost time to put away all the wool and fleece.  This year I have made it a goal to make most of Sadie's clothes--not only to save money, but because it makes it more meaningful to put love and time into things myself.  Not to mention quality control.  There is nothing more disappointing than cheaply made children's clothes--and it seems to be the norm more than the exception these days. If ever there was a population that could really put a garment to the test it must be kids ages 2-7.

I started out with this sweet little summer cardigan (pattern here on Ravelry) This should probably get a blog post all to itself, since it is only the third ever project I have finished knitting. I usually roll with the crochet--but after getting my stash of qiviut back from the mills I have made it my goal to become a more worthy knitter so I can tackle some big projects in the fall. Honestly, the sweater turned out super cute.  Sadie picked out the buttons herself, and it is just perfect to take the chill out of these not-quite-summer mornings. (knitted with superwash merino wool)

n

Next up, the "super easy linen shirt" pattern from Sewing for Boys--made out of quilting cotton scraps.  Notice Sadie accesorizing with her "Bow like Emmaline."  (Our neighbor's baby has an amazing collection of bow & flower headbands that have become a major fascination for Sadie) This one is made from braided, upcycled t-shirt material and a kansashi flower that my mom made.

And of course, no outfit would be complete without some pants.  These harem pants are made from upcycled shirt sleeves.

The best thing about these pants it they are ridiculously quick and easy to sew (like a 30 minute project--no joke) because all the sewing is pretty much done for you.  Plus, you can't beat the price.

up next... I plan to tackle some of these beautifully soft organic cotton knits that I procured from the amazing (and wallet-shrinking) Spoonflower.  When Sadie saw the one with the horses she points to my sewing machine and goes, "mama, sew."  So maybe she'll get a dress out of that--but I also have plans for some clothes for our newbie--I guess I better get a sewin' since the countdown is on.  30 weeks tomorrow--how the time does fly!