White Wool Diaper Shorts

I'm not good at sitting still. So when I realized right before leaving that the drive to the Bible conference in Milwaukee would take over 5hr each way, AND that I didn't have any car-appropriate projects currently underway, I had a brief moment of panic. Then I remembered the random skein of white wool I'd purchased for some project I never got around to. A quick rearrangement of my knitting bag later, I was out to door and ready to knit these darling little shorts: For those of you who don't cloth diaper or use wool diapers, wool is pretty awesome. It is a natural fiber that is both breathable and water resistant. You use it over an absorbant diaper (I prefer fitteds, but prefolds or flats work well, too). Without a man-made fiber barrier, air is able to flow all the way to Baby's skin. Wool pushes pee back into the absorbant diaper as well as letting some evaporate. I always chose wool if Grace's skin is looking red or rashy. Any hint of issue clears up so quickly.

I knit these out of Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in "Natural," using the "Sheepy Pants" pattern. It knits up so simply! These are huge (I'm terrible with guage... maybe if I actually knit a guage swatch I'd do better...) but since she's only getting bigger they'll certainly work. I really love the Sheepy Pants pattern. I'll probably make up some more before the summer comes on full force.

The plan for these is to wear them under the sudden abundance of cute little sundresses we just recieved in a bag of hand-me-downs. But they work equally well with t shirts (and you can see them, then!). And yes... my little mover is essentially walking. She can if she wants, but usually isn't brave enough to let go. My how her nearly 11 months has just flown by!

Gracie's ZigZag Jumper

Did I mention I was having fun knitting? LOL. This is my latest creation for Miss Grace. I've been loving her in jumpers lately because I have yet to find pants that actually look good over cloth diapers. Even when she's wearing pants I tend to slip a dress over it to cover the fluff. I'm already concerned about what I might do when we have a boy...


This fun little number was all from scrap yarn I'd bought back when I was knitting teddy bears. Both yarns are acrylic, which I don't use much anymore, but hey... at least this can go in the wash unlike my more recent woolie projects. The pink has a silver strand wrapped around it which didn't photograph well but adds a special sparkle up close.

My unwilling model. Yes, those are tears...

I've been loving my new knitting books that Shaune bought for me. This pattern is a slipped-stitch technique, which means I was only working with one yarn at a time. It's a lot less bulky than the fair isle pants I made a couple weeks ago. I had to do a little bit of play to make the bodice work, but I think it turned out nicely.
I'm kind of in love <3 This is a really simple dress; I think I'll probably make bundles more for Grace, and I'm toying with the idea of restarting my Etsy shop. You see, I have a delima - I want to knit, but there's absolutely nothing that I, or anyone in my family, need! I want to pawn off my creations on others, haha!
I hope you're having a blessed Monday! It's cold and dreary here... perfect for curling up and watching Lord of the Rings with Hubby while I knit my next insane project (it's bright... fair warning).

Color Play

I've entered a brave new world in knitting: playing with color. Is it sad that in the many years I've been knitting, I can honestly say I've NEVER knit with more than one color at a time? The only 2-color project I made I knit in strips then sewed together. Definately time to build on my repitoire. And hey! Now I have a darling little Someone to knit for.

I started simple... on the wool soaker, I just held 2 strands of yarn together, and played with how I held them together. It made a difference (lol, surprise). I swapped yarn halfway down on the skirty.

Then I checked a great book out from the library and got brave... I tried the stranding, or Faire Isle, technique! I'm actually surprised at how well it turned out. I only had to rip out about 3 stitches when I caught myself following the wrong line on the chart. These are wool longies for Gracie's diapering, too.

Now I'm working on bubbles, another technique I've always been too afraid to try. I don't know why... it's actually quite simple when you've got clear directions. This is a cotton washcloth for the kitchen... my go-to project when I'm intimidated by a technique. Washcloths are how I taught myself... well.. pretty much everything. Scarves take too long :D

I don't know what I'm going to knit next, but I do know one thing! It will be colorful!

Idle Hands Love to Knirt

Do you remember that old saying, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop"? I'm not sure about the theological implications of that, but I do know that I'm happiest when my hands are busy.

Lately, I've spent a lot of evenings with my feet up. It's the product of a busy life plus being 23 weeks pregnant. Lots of feet-up time means lots of movie-watching time (gotta love my Austen classics, yum). That also means, lots of knitting time! Guess who benefits? BLUEBERRY!

I know, I know, she's a girl... but blue is really my favorite color and she IS our Blueberry... and I found this cone of varigated blue cotton on sale for reaaaaallly cheap at one of those big box stores. So, lo and behold, a bounty of beautiful blue (and white) baby goodies. The white is 100% cotton, too :)

This blanket kept growing. I guess it's something to do with the elasticity of the cotton, or the fact that I knit straight garter stitch on 8s, but it seems much larger than when I started. 3 strips of garter knit, sewn together, then decorated with a crocheted border. Simple and wonderful -- hours of car time during the holidays. It WAS going to be 5! strips, but Shaune made me stop :) It's got a lovely feel to it. I think I'm addicted to cotton :)

I still had a ton of blue left so I made a little hat and some shoes. The shoes, you can't see it, but they have a row of eyelets just below the top edge. I'm going to get some pretty white ribbon to do an ankle lace, kinda like ballet slippers. Can you picture it? The hat's all ruffly at the bottom edge. I LOVE this pattern and am probably going to make about a hundred more -- little cotton hats will be perfect for summer (if she'll keep them on, of course).

There's STILL blue left (but it is wearing down), so I think I'm going to make a little dress next. At least the bodice of one... I might do a cotton eyelet skirt. I have some in my stash that would look charming gathered on to a knit bodice.

Oh my... this little girl is going to have more stuff than she can feasibly wear before she outgrows it. She's not going to be spoiled... no, not at all... ;-)

Our "Tight Knit" Family

This is my 100th post! 100 posts ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I thought a blog might be a fun way to connect with people who share my interests and world-view -- a hard thing to find in the real world where I live. You've all become a huge blessing to me as you skim my rambling thoughts. So in honor of post #100, I'd like to summarize (in no particular order):

**takes a deep breath**

Sewed a lot of clothes, trained as a volunteer at New Salem, student taught, graduated from college, hubby ran the Chicago Marathon, we went to Liberia in Africa, sponsored a Liberian child, cooked a lot of yummy food, finally mastered baking bread, went on a spontaneous trip to Florida, learned phonics, moved, gardened on my balcony, tried to write essays about faith, AND even shared som sorrows.


I'm stilly "humbly beginning" this whole homemaking journey. I'm not sure what comes next but I am certain it will be interesting!

But the real reason I wanted to post today: I want to introduce you to our new family. No... we're not pregnant. Not yet. But our house is becoming packed full of little ones: Little knit teddy bears!

This project all started when we got back from Liberia and I cleaned out my craft closet. My yarn stash was more than a little overwhelming -- more than a full trash bag, which is a lot since I don't really work with yarn that often. I wanted to find a charity I could craft for to a) fill my time at home and b) not spend money. After several days of rejecting chemo caps and prayer shawls (a valuable service, but not my calling), I stumbled upon this:

The Mother Bear Project

They're so easy to knit up while I'm lost in Jane Austen movies most afternoons. I'm working on my fourth bear so far. Even Shaune's getting in on the fun! I love my husband so much for things just like this. He's so manly when he needs to be, but loves to curl up with me in the evenings to drink tea and knit. Of course, on those nights, he gets to choose the movie. ***sigh*** I just can't claim to be a fan of Conan the Barbarian. But isn't he cute?!