The Hunt Is On

The pattern hunt, that is. And it is occuring right here in this house. I'm trying to locate all my smocking patterns in sizes newborn-12 months. This is a major undertaking, due not so much to my slap-hazard housecleaning methods, but simply because things have been moved around so much since the sewing room was damaged. Oh, well. The end is near.





So far I have found this one, which is what The Princess wore home from the hospital (white batiste trimmed in cotton lace trim):

I made the one on the left, and I must say she looked absolutely divine. But yall already knew that, didn't you???

I have my eye on these two, from here.

The T-Yoke Dresses and....


The Baby Smocked Layette.

Yum. I need to send someone downstairs to get that credit card, ASAP. I could probably get away with blue smocked daygowns for a baby boy (or two) just once, couldn't I? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Here's a progress picture of the left front of the Minimalist Cardigan. I did most of this last night during the New Orleans/Tennessee ballgame on TV:




This is moving right along. I'm happy.

I have spent time (while knitting) during the last week, trying to decide why I like knitting so much.

Like I've said before, I love knitting with this particular yarn (Cherry Tree Hill). It is so soft, and so pretty, and shows off the stitches so well. I really am hoping for lots of cold weather so I can see if this wears as well as it knits.

But there is more to it than just the color and stitch definition. I'm a continental knitter, and it really surprises me that one of the things I enjoy about knitting is the feel of the yarn running through my fingers and over the back of my left hand as I work. And I've noticed the same thing with the As Yet Unidentified White Lace Item that I posted about yesterday. One of these yarns is 100% wool and the other one is 100% cotton. So it must be a tactile thing.

I love the process of knitting. I love seeing something grow in my hands. I look at every stitch, touch every stitch, admire every stitch (even the ones I end up ripping out and redoing).

The smocking process has the same effect on me. As does sewing. I take my time with all these handcrafts and enjoy each and every step, from beginning to end. It's nice to have a completed item to wear, use, or give away, but thinking about the process, doing the process, and being pleased with the results of the process is where the true reward lies.

And I guess that's why I spend so much time doing these things. Having darling babies to do it for just makes it all that more worthwhile.

A Litttle This, A Little That...

I came home from work today to find this in the sewing room:




Although it might upset you to come home and find one of your windows missing, it made me deliriously happy. That's because in the not-so-recent past there was a TREE sticking through the window. So this is real progress, as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, the house repairs from Tornado Time continue. Right this minute there's a Brick Guy working on the foundation for the front porch. It's been six months and I don't even notice the hammering and pounding anymore. Either the contractor dudes are s-l-o-w, or we are paying them too much money.

Me? I'm just glad they're here. Eventually I'll have a real house again. In the meantime, I think I'll sew, smock, knit, and shop for more stuff to sew, smock, and knit.

Here's the completed right front of the Mandarin Cardigan:



It's not that blue in real life. Here's an artsy shot for you:



I've started on the left front and have about four inches done already.


And while I've been rummaging around I found this book of vintage baby knits from the 50s:





And lookee here!




I don't know where this came from, because I would NEVER start another knitting project when I have one underway already. But here's a close up anyway:




This is Dolce Amore, simply the absolutely softest cotton baby yarn in the world.

And it might, just might, end up as something on this page:




Any guesses?

And I also found all this gorgeous Swiss batiste, 1728 lace, ribbon, entredeux, insertion, etc:




There's white, ivory, seafoam, blue, pink.....

I need to get busy, don't I?

Three For The Price Of One

I've been busy sorting through patterns, trying to locate all the infant ones, of course, and all the knitting things, too. I have an awful lot of things to show you!

I've also been knitting, too...I plan to post more on that later today. But I ran across a few golden oldies, and here's one:

Advance 8524, no copyright date, and no pattern instruction sheet with it, either:




I date this one in the fifties, of course. Look at it and you will see that it came with three distinctly different bodice styles. That means your 50 cents went a lot farther back then than it does now. Anyone seen three different styles in one envelope in the last 10 years? Nope, me either.

View 1, the red one, is my favorite. The neckline is pleated, and so is the skirt. This would make a killer little black cocktail dress, and with those center seams, you could have a great time with stripes and plaids, too.

View 2, the white one, has a fold back collar with a front band. I like it, too.

View 3, the yellow one, has a button-up bodice with the standard shirt waist look. The sleeves are cut in one with the bodice, kimono style, and the cuffs! I love the cuffs!

And they all have pockets, too.

The back view:





The pattern description:

YOUR CHOICE OF THREE TOPS--with a full skirt, gathered or pleated at waistline. DRESSY DRAPED TOP--sleeveless, but slightly covered at shoulders, with oval neckline lower at back. SLEEVELESS SHIRTWAIST--cut for stripes, convertible collar. Only two major pattern pieces for SHORT SHIRT TOP--with turn-back cuffs, button front.

I really want one of these. I will need to grade it up quite a bit, and I will also need to buy a pair of shoes, too. And if I make a red one as shown, I will also need a barbed wire necklace, just like hers.

Here's some of the vintage stuff all piled up in a corner:

More later.

Still Knitting

I have been so undecided about the stockinette stitch front edges on the Minimalist Cardigan that I put it down until I could decide whether to rip it out or keep on going. Thanks to Paula, the newest de-lurker, I think now that I will keep on going. She left a comment saying she had seen a couple of the MCs finished and thought the curl was part of the design feature. Since I do like the contrast of the stripe/pebble effect, I'm going to leave it as is. Thanks again, Paula, for helping me decide!

So I went back to the Noro sweater. I decided that the complicated lace pattern I wanted to use with the Noro yarn had gotten the best of me. It's a 29 row repeat, which is bad enough, but combined with the thickness and design of the Noro it was almost impossible for me to distinguish stitches and count properly. So I ripped it. After seven tries at it, I decided to choose another pattern. The fact that all I can think about is BABIES probably has something to do with it, don't cha think?

So after figuring out how many yards of Noro I had, I went to this issue of Interweave Knits:





And I found this, the Mandarin Blouse, designed by Annie Modesitt:




It's a fairly simple rib pattern that a half-witted person like I now am can actually follow without any trouble. And the neatest thing about it is something called a double knit slipped stitch edge on the front opening edges. It's worked over 5 stitches and is firm and doesn't curl at all. If you have this issue, look it up. I'm loving it.

Here's where I am after two skeins of Noro, where we are lolling around on the back porch where it is an amazing 80 degrees! That's sweater weather for us here!






Nice and blurry, isn't it? Here's a close up:




The yellow is not yellow, it's more limey chartreusey. The colors in the original post are more accurate than these.

And this yarn? Pricey. Stiff. Coarse. Like knitting with rope on size 7 needles. But I love the coloration and have $$$ invested in it, so I will end up wearing it with a t-shirt or something under it.

Next time I'll buy the Noro Silk Garden. And the blue bobble sweater on the cover above? I want it, too.....maybe in a nice burgundy or wine.....

Details!

The Pregnant One went to the doctor for the poking and prodding, only to discover that he said, "hmmmmmmmm....................". The belly measured for 9 weeks, which was pretty much ruled out as possible. So an ultrasound was done, just to see........

There are two. Two babies. Two sweet little babies. Two sweet little babies that will cry, smile, peepee, poopie, and love their grandmother.

But what will they be?

They are fraternal twins, not identical twins (there are two sacs, you see, so that means there were two eggs, therefore fraternal twins)....I learn something new every day. Isn't life wonderful?

So the possibilities are:

1. Two Baby Girls
2. Two Baby Boys
3. One Baby Boy and One Baby Girl
4. One Baby Girl and One Baby Boy
   

I threw those last two in there just to see if you all were paying attention.

I have a huge dilemma here. What do I make? White? Pink? Blue? Should it be smocked? Tucked? Lace? No Lace? Any way you look at it, the best odds at this point is 50/50. I'm open to suggestions here, please, because my mind is just blown away by the possibilities of Dresses! Bubbles! Short Overalls! If you know of a good pattern that would work well for a Baby Boy or a Baby Girl, please leave a comment or a link to it. Thanks in advance!

I have been doing some housework. And some knitting. I've been working on this design, from the Fall 2007 Interweave Knits. It's by Lily Chin:




It's a very simple cardigan type thingee, worked in moss stitch. Perfect knitting while watching Design Star. Or Tim Gunn's Guide To Style. Or when your mind is blown away by the idea of Twins.

This would be warm, but not overly so. Since we have only two weeks of fall here (late January) and only two weeks of winter (early February) this would be wearable. How I wish I lived in Vermont, where I could wear this in June and knit with wool all year long. I like the 3/4 length sleeves and the basic lines. My idea is that if it fits, I can make it again and use a pattern stitch on the body. Goodness knows it's high time I used all those Barbara Walker books lying around here. The bottom ribbing is K2, P1. Simple. Here's a picture of it sunning itself on the back porch:








And a close up:




This is the Cherry Tree Hill wool I got in Vermont this summer. I love how the purl stitches are all pebbly. This stitch really shows off the yarn colors.....compare the moss stitch section to the stockinette front band and you can see the striped band effect versus the pebbly moss stitch effect.

Speaking of that front band, I'm not so sure I like it. It curls (like I knew it would!) since it is stockinette. Even the inset photo in the magazine shows a bit of curl. I'm trying to decide whether to leave it and keep going or to rip it and use the bottom band rib up the front edges.

Any suggestions? Anyone out there made this yet?

Make Mine A Double, Please......

Oh. My. Goodness.!

It's TTTTTTTTWWWWWWWIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSS!

Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited?

More later!!!

Yippppppeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Yesterday was Grandparent's Day, and we received the very best news of all........another grandbaby is on the way.

The Princess will have a brand new playmate in the Spring! So exciting, so exciting!

Of course I said, "Is it A Girl?"

And The Pregnant One said, "But Mama, will you still sew for it if it's a Little Boy?"

Music to my ears......I have a lot of planning and sewing and smocking to do, now don't I? Perhaps an entire layette in pink (and another one in blue, just in case) is in the future.....

The Proud Daddy noted that It could be one of each, A Boy and A Girl.......or two of each! Wouldn't that be fun!

I didn't sleep at all last night.......