Just in Time for Summer

I finally finished the BBO mei tai I've had cut out forever. I love it! I put T in it and walked around the yard for a while, and it felt pretty good. Then I put it on again to show hubby when he got home, and it felt even better. I think I tied it just a bit diferently, and it felt more secure and the weight was distributed better.

Here it is in all it's rumpled glory (I couldn't get a decent shot of it all spread out, and this actually shows the fabric better.)

Just in time for summer trips to the zoo and hiking. Hope it works for hiking! We shall see . . .

My First Kwik Sew

I got my Kwik Sew's Sewing for Toddlers in the mail yesterday, so I promptly traced the pattern for the T-shirt, hacked into my favorite old long-sleeve T-shirt that's too well-loved for me to wear any longer, and made this little number for T.



I messed up the neckline, but other than that I'm fairly happy. I even salvaged the wrist cuffs from the original T-shirt and cut the body pieces so that I kept the original cover-stitched hems (my regular sewing machine doesn't have stretch stitch and doesn't handle knits well at all.) I tried to do a neck band of self-fabric, but even with the addititonal length that they suggest for self-fabric neckbands, there was no way I could get it to stretch all the way around the neck hole. So I trimmed off the offending fabric and used some gray ribbing from my stash (not really a matching gray, but not too bad). So the neck is pretty saggy baggy. My next try will be better, I'm sure! Really, Kwik Sew must be pretty idiot proof. If I, with my newbie serger skills and a recycled T-shirt, can make something cute and wearable . . . ? I'm sold!

I just bought a bunch of cute interlock at Joann's to make him some more T-shirts for his birthday. I think I'll try the raglan pattern next.

Almost There . . .

Here's how I looked a year ago today. Only a few more days until T's first birthday!

(Wow, is our dining room in need of a facelift. I didn't really realize how sad it was until I saw this picture online. )

Tough Decisions

I've finished the body and sleeves on T's birthday sweater and am all ready to join the pieces and start knitting the yoke. But . . . (are you sitting down?) I've decided to rip back and reknit the body. I don't like how much the edge is curling. A fellow member of Zimmermania pointed out that you can do a single purl row a little ways up from the edge, and that will stop the roll. I tried that on the sleeves (see photo below--sorry it's a bit fuzzy), and I like the effect. I purled on the fifth row. I think on future projects, I'll put the purl row quite a bit further in, but the tiny roll doesn't bother me enough on this sweater to rip and reknit both the body and the sleeves.



Also, I've decided to keep on knitting without buying any more yarn unless I know I'm going to need it. I think that if I'm careful and place the stripes on the yoke strategically, I might be okay. Ripping and reknitting the body to reduce the roll will give me some extra yarn for the yoke too. (Fingers crossed.)

Now I just have to decide if I want to make this a yoke sweater or a raglan sweater. I'm thinking raglan would probably take less yarn. Yes? No? Anyone?

Last Camping Trip of the Year

Just got back from our last camping trip of the year. We spent a long weekend with my parents at the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area on Lake Michigan. It was chilly and rainy the whole time--that's the chance you take camping in September, I guess. It was still nice to get away. At least we arranged to stay in the trailer with Mom and Dad instead of taking the tent! The baby did pretty well, considering the monotony of the rain, and the lack of mobility, being stuck inside the trailer a lot, etc. Poor little guy is teething and has an ear full of fluid (eustacian tubes are a bit flat, so they're not draining right yet). He seems a little more fussy than usual but not too much. What a sweetie! I'll post pictures soon. We just got everything put away, and I need to put up my feet for a bit. It'll be back to knitting tomorrow. I'm ready! :-)