From SouleMama: {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Share your own moment in the comments or at SouleMama.com.
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Joining Ginny for the Yarn Along.
I’m a little bit in love with this wee little dress. It was fast, fun and turned out so adorably that my desire to meet this little one – and put her in this – was just turned up about ten notches (and it was already pretty high). I used the leftover cotton from Ani’s Easter Shirt so hopefully it’ll keep little Rainbow (our nickname for her) nice and cool during the hot weather she’ll likely be born into. I’m still looking for the perfect button, but just had to show it off a bit. Ravelry notes here.
I’m not really reading anything at the moment except happy, encouraging birth stories. Send me your favorites, won’t you?
For the second year in a row, we visited Ticonderoga Farms for the Easter Egg Roll. We typically visit in the fall, too, as they have a great pumpkin patch and we always have a blast. This time was no exception. Keith and the girls both went down the huge slides and on the big bouncy balloon, and we all got to enjoy walking (or waddling, as the case may be) around the farm and seeing the animals.
Aria wore her Easter shirt. Ani’s shirt was still in production until late that night so she wore hers Easter Sunday. Though the two tops came out pretty differently, I really like them both. If I had it to do again I would alter Aria’s shirt a bit so that the sleeves wouldn’t roll so much and add about an inch, but when I mentioned doing this after I’d given it to her she said she likes it the way it is and that the sleeves make her feel like a princess. Can’t really argue with that, so I’m officially calling it done. Ravelry notes here.
I was pleasantly surprised with how Ani’s turned out; the cotton knitted up very well, was really a pleasure to work with and it looks great on her. Most importantly, it doesn’t aggravate her sensitive skin. She loves it. Ravelry notes here.
I’m a bit obsessed with the baby knits right now. Does knitting qualify as nesting? I think so. First up was this quick little soaker, which I really enjoyed making. We use mostly cloth diapers and this time around I want to use some wool covers, so what better than hand knits? It looks a bit big for a newborn to me, though it measures smaller than the pattern measurements for that size, so we’ll see. Maybe it’ll work well over a fitted diaper. I still need to weave in those pesky ends, but my yarn needle went missing, and I’ve only just gotten a new one. Hopefully I can get them sewn in in the next few days. Then, I must start on another of these little lovelies. Ravelry notes here.
I’m also working on a newborn Emma Tunic with the leftover cotton yarn from Ani’s shirt. I’m almost done and if it turns out like I think it’s going to, I may cry happy pregnancy tears of love. Check back for Wednesday’s Yarn Along post and pictures of a (hopefully) finished object.
I’ve got to get some other handmades done in the coming weeks (there’s a 6th birthday fast approaching that this mama is not ready for), but whenever I can I’ll be working on more baby knits; they are easy, portable and quick – great (almost) instant gratification pieces. That – and these – make me happy.
A couple weeks ago Aria came up with the idea to sew every Tuesday. She’s been wanting to implement more of the Waldorf-style rhythm into our home lives, inspired, I believe, by both school and the Little House books, and has been assigning herself activities/tasks for each day of the week, mostly during her playtime.
That first Tuesday, Aria decided she wanted to sew a stuffed bunny. I found a bunny template online and cut out two pieces from a felted wool sweater (the thick fabric is easier for little hands to handle than thin cotton and holds up well to larger needles and beginner stitching), hooked her up with some embroidery thread and a needle, gave a brief lesson on how to anchor her thread and she was off. She’s done a bit of hand sewing before – the girls each have embroidery hoops that are most always accessible and she’s done some sewing in school. This was the first project she’s come up with on her own, though.
She sewed on the bunny for hours that day and inspired her sis to do the same (I cut hers smaller), then promptly declared Wednesday to also be
sewing day and worked diligently then as well. She got to the point she was ready to stuff and stayed interested – and relatively patient – when both I and my fave local yarn store ran out of batting and I had to order some. She worked hard to sew around the whole bunny a second time when the stuffing began coming out of some gaps in her stitches and even spent time adding decorative stitches when all sewn and stuffed. She’s quite pleased with the finished result and says it’s going to go to Rainbow (the girls’ name for the baby) when she’s born.
This week, she and Ani worked on Easter eggs (I eyeballed the pattern) cut from a brightly colored and patterned felted wool sweater. I gave Aria a quick tutorial on blanket stitch and she’s picked it up really well. Her stitches look pretty good and I think it will hold well when she stuffs it with the beans she wants to use for this one.
Ani has fun with sewing but does yet not have the attention span or stamina to complete a project like this quickly. She works on it in short spurts and doesn’t have a lot of control over where her stitches end up – all of which is totally to be expected at this age. She gets excited, though, when she gets the stitches close together or when she gets a good amount done in one sitting and she seems to enjoy the process.
We’ll be adding more creative rhythm to our days, over the summer, especially (I’m hoping to implement a few things before Rainbow arrives) and I’ll share as we go. I’m excited to see how these little changes will inspire the girls (and me).
Joining Seasons of Joy a little late for Waldorf Wednesday.
From SouleMama: {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Share your own moment in the comments or at SouleMama.com.
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Joining Ginny for the Yarn Along.
Recently I’ve been working on Aria’s Easter shirt, made from this pattern. I still need to block it, but other than it’s done. It’s a quick, easy pattern and makes up a cute little shirt that can be worn now, when the weather’s still cool, and in the next few weeks as it (hopefully) warms. I only wish I’d made it a bit longer, but I’m hoping it’ll grow a bit when blocked. I made several mods. Ravelry notes here.
Now, I am working on Ani’s Easter shirt, using the same pattern. You would think that would make it super simple, but getting ready for this project took a bit of research, as well as a Mama-Ani trip to the local yarn store. You see, I am finally admitting to myself that Ani’s skin is just too sensitive for most wools and any other not-so-soft fibers, with the exception of a few superwash wools or wool/cotton combos (Spud & Chloe Sweater is one). Anything remotely rough brings with it an onslaught of tears and screams until the offending garment is removed, from the loveliest wool in the sweetest handknits to novelty fibers in shimmery, store-bought socks to tags in shirts. Super soft Manos has even been deemed too “scratchy”. Slowly she’s been shying away more and more from the handknits she once loved, something I just couldn’t let go on. She’s always treasured whatever I make for her and I hated for that to end so soon. So, when planning this particular project, I wanted to give her a chance to pick out something special that she knew would be extra soft to her sensitive skin. The wonderful people at fibre space recommended Rowan Softknit Cotton and she picked out the colors on a Mama-Ani outing. I love the pink, blue and purple she chose and so far this seems the perfect yarn for her. The other day she asked to hold up the little I have done to her neck to feel the softness, which quickly brought smiles and an exclamation of “not scratchy!”, which is a very good sign.
I wanted to make matching skirts for the girls for Easter, too, but I think I’ll be lucky at this point to get both shirts done. I have lots of items on my “to make” list at the moment and it seems like a case of my eyes being bigger than my sizable belly. There’s just only so much this pregnant mama can get done. Consequently, these are not surprises; I’m working on them mostly during the girl’s playtime in the afternoons.
As for reading, I’m doing a lot of research on a new project we’ll be undertaking in the next several months (no, I don’t mean the baby, though there is undoubtedly research also being done on how to incorporate her into this little venture). I’ll share more soon, but for now, I’ll leave you with a pic of the possibly life-changing yarn being used in Ani’s shirt. Though I will forever love wool, I’m very grateful for the cotton and other super soft processed yarns out there that will allow this mama to continue to dress her super-sensitive little one in handknits. She is too.
From SouleMama: {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Share your own moment in the comments or at SouleMama.com.
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