for the love of handwork

I once had the pleasure/honor of participating in a workshop led by Renate Hiller. I could not take my eyes off her hands while they worked and could have listened to her speak all day.

Just the other day, as I sat crocheting pool-side, I noticed several children watching me as they walked by. I love to catch the expression on their faces as they watch. (They usually just watch my hands so I can look at their faces without making them feeling self-conscious) Rarely do we make eye contact, although I know that there is a connection made and it puts a smile on my face and in my heart.

will knit for honey

Early in the spring, a friend asked me if I'd be interested in knitting a baby sweater for pay. I'd not knit for a fee before, and to be honest I wasn't sure if I wanted a knitting "job". So I asked her to tell me about whom I'd be knitting for. Well, to make a long story short, a friend of her husband has a friend who just had a baby boy. The baby's father is a musician (as is my friend's husband and the intermediary friend) and the baby's mother is a bee keeper. Right about there in the story is when I decided, "yes, I will knit the sweater," and that I would rather have honey in trade than money. Phew! - uncomfortable money-related situation avoided. Hooray! - a yummy feel-good tale to tell.I knew almost immediately which sweater I would knit: ribbon-tied wool vest from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. This sweater is an all-time favorite of mine. I have knitted solid versions and speckled Koigu versions. I love the way the sleeves cuddle a chubby baby bicep (can you call it a bicep on a baby?) and the way the baby's belly fills up the front. Since the front and back neck-shaping is the same, if one omits the ribbon at the neck, the sweater can be worn forward or backward (and the neck opening is wide enough for baby's head without shoulder buttons). The only design request was that the sweater be bee-striped. I used Dale of Norway Baby Ull which I ordered from Woolybaabaa.com. I'm especially happy with the yellow for its golden hue as opposed to a lemon-y shade; to me, it had to be a golden yellow to be bee-appropriate.
Part way through the project, a silly image of me sitting with the knitting and a sign propped up against me which read "Will knit for honey" popped into my head. I remember as a young girl, seeing people out of work, displaying signs which read "Will work for food". Thank goodness I do not need to knit for food (or money) and not intending to be insensitive here, of course, but the image of me with my sign did help me glide through my first knitting "job"!

[other details on my Ravelry page]
[oh, and the child's clothes hanger is from Small Object]

Are you having a good weekend? Except for a baseball-related black-eye, we are. Go Netherlands! Hup! Hup!

tip toe

Hi. This is me, tip toeing back into this "room", my happy blogging place. (I prefer, for myself, a quiet, unassuming entrance to a room.) So much has been happening around the woolnest, the good and the not so, as usual. Here's a bit of the good...These peppy little socks are Turkish Bed Socks by Faith Munson for Churchmouse Teas & Yarns. The yarn is from Twisted Hare Fibers and initially produced blocks of red, blue & green which would have been great in a regular sock but wasn't working for me in this anklet. So I did stripes of 3 rows except for the sole below the heel. I modified the pattern to avoid seaming (and wrote the mods on my Ravelry page). They are a happy pair of socks and make me smile. I've since knit another pair for a friend but did not take a photo before gifting. There will probably be more; they look great inside my clogs! :)Little Hana socks here, just for fun! I'm glad to be back. I hope things with you all are fine and as you like them. I'll see you again on Saturday, ok? xoxo

as promised

I am happy to present Hana's Jump Rope Dress!!! She loves it and wore it all day today! She reports that it does improve one's rope jumping "a lot, Mom!"Most of the time, when I choose clothes (to buy or to make) for Hana that are simple, stretchy, and colorful. However, when/if Hana chooses, she goes for buttons, belts, and bling (I can usually talk her down. ;) With this dress, we have found perfect compromise! There are many great details to this pattern, and they're all worth the extra work and time (and they're all explained beautifully in the instructions). Most important in Hana's view, the belt/sash; I think it makes her feel a bit grown up. The button tabs on the sleeves and pockets are just a sweet way to add detail and another yummy button!Here are one pair of the gauchos I made from an old t-shirt of mine. I turned an existing pair inside out and traced the silhouette of one whole leg/side onto the fabric. I used the hem of the t-shirt as the hem of the pants. This particular t-shirt was very boxy, so I was able to create a very full leg style without seams on the side (I love that for kid's clothes ~ I'm not sure why). I turned over the top to make a casing for elastic. Ta-da! Pants! I had two of these shirts, this pink and a dusty orange, so now Hana has two of these pants. Woo-hoo! She really likes to layer these (I like it too); she's got leggings on too in the picture below, and if you look closely at the first picture of her dress, you can see these pants peeking out. She wore all this all day today! She cracks me up! Hopefully, I'll have more to add tomorrow. There was no sewing today. Lots of playing and lots of sunshine though. :)

distraction

Ooooh, look! Knitting!This little dress is for our son's former teacher-of-eight-years' granddaughter's first birthday. (Is there a gramatically correct limit to the number of possessives one can use in a sentence?) It is a modified version of Magda by Tora Froseth (detail in my Ravelry). Now there is a serendipitous story about the yarn. I bought it from HandsandNotions, an Etsy store (suprise, suprise!) in February '09 thinking the colors would be sweet for the baby girl who was expected in May. When May rolled around and baby Isla (eye-la) arrived, I had been inspired to knit her a pair of booties and vest of other yarns; the inspiration for this yarn had not yet struck me. The skein of sweetness sat on the shelf waiting. One day I was looking at the tag with its details, wondering about yardage when I noticed that Faun, the artist behind the yarn, calls this colorway Isla! Isn't that a wild coincidence?! I guess it was meant to be!So, did I distract you? Did you forget for a moment that I'm supposed to be blogging about Kids Clothes Week Challenge? Kids Clothes Week Challenge?! What Kids Clothes Week Challenge?!

Just kidding! I've been sewing or performing sewing-relating tasks for at least one hour each day since Monday, however until today, the weather here has been dismal; rainy, grey, windy, and chilly. Not photo-shoot friendly by any means. (And the disassembled dress parts were not inspiring a photo-shoot just laying there on the table.) Today was a beautiful sunny day, but we were either busy away from home (picture day at dance class!) or working/watering the garden when we were home, and I simply did not think to bring the camera outside. Tomorrow promises to be another beauty, so I'll get some pictures for sure.

So far, I've finished the knit gauchos made from repurposed tees and the Jump Rope Dress. One of our errands today was to the fabric shop for buttons. {I feel very virtuous for not needing to stop at the fabric cutting table for new fabric acquisitions; it was hard.} I underestimated the amount of time the sewing would take; there are a lot of sweet details to the dress, and the details took a bit of focus and sometimes when I reach the end of the day which is when my sewing times fit in the schedule, my buckle-down-and-focus-energy eludes me. So it took me four evenings, but I'm very happy with the way the dress turned out. What else will I finish from my List? Time will tell, but since pj pants for the Boy are super quick and the Ice Cream Dress is already cut out, I have a fighting chance at those... Please, stay tuned!

kids clothes week challenge

I am participating in Kids Clothes Week Challenge! This should be fun. So far, I've made two pairs of knit pants for Hana from two t-shirts which I don't wear anymore. I used a pair of existing pants as the pattern, and I'm happy to report that they turned out well. I'll post pictures later this week.

I've cut out two new patterns from Oliver + S: the Ice Cream Dress and the Jump Rope Dress. I really enjoyed sewing the Birthday Party Dress for Hana over the winter, so I'm looking forward to these projects. Whenever I've used an Oliver + S pattern, I learn a new technique or tip. Did you know that I have a jig that I dance whenever I learn something new? It's called "The I Learned Something New Today Dance" and I sing the title to the tune of Camptown Races complete with "Doo dah! Doo dah!" Some of you may have been lucky enough (!) to have witnessed this. ;-)

Any way, here's the list for the Challenge:

* knit gauchos/pants for Hana

* the Ice Cream Dress for Hana

* the Jump Rope Dress for Hana

* pj pants for Koji (two pair if I can find "acceptable" prints in flannel ~ he's a teenager ~ tough
audience)

* a slip for Hana (if time allows)

All this thinking about sewing has really got me itching to sew for myself, but I'm going to try to focus on the kids stuff this week!

Are you sewing along? What are you making?

{this moment}

{this moment} - a Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A single, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor, and remember. This is my contribution to Amanda's {this moment} photo project.