On stripey birthdays

I was watching an episode of Chef's Table the other day, in which someone talked about the correlation between big feelings and baking. Birthday? Bake a cake, obviously. But also, failed an exam? Bake a cake. Got an interview - bake a cake. Somebody died - bake a cake. Or something along those lines

I think I'm the same with knitting. It feels right, somehow, to try to weave a little extra "but I love you so" into the stitches. Or to let your own complex feelings unravel as the rows slowly grow. 

In the run-up to my smallest boy turning one a couple of weeks ago, I had all the feelings. There was nothing for it but to tip the box of oddments out onto the floor, watch the delight on his face as he tangled his little fingers into the soft fluff, and try to rescue a few balls for his first birthday jumper.

This is what came out of the box, in the end. A mix of cottons and cotton-wool blends, perfect for chilly mornings in spring. 

For the pattern I decided on a randomly striped, simple raglan jumper, based on Tin Can Knits' Flax. It's a very easy, well-written pattern that's perfect for quick kids' knits - I used it for The Bean's birthday jumper last year. 

Since I had DK weight yarn rather than aran, as the pattern called for, I cast on the size 2-4 yrs with 4.5mm needles and carried on working raglan increases until I had the dimensions instead of the row numbers stated. I left out the garter panel too, so as not to distract from the stripes. 

I tucked in the last end a week after The Bug's birthday. Which was perfectly on time, given he was a hot, itchy chickenpox mess on the big day itself. So I suppose he had a spotty, not a stripey birthday, really. But two weeks on he is back to his chirpy self, a little taller and with new walking skills to boot. Spring has burst into perfect bloom and we are so very ready to enjoy the garden in our new home for the first time. The jumper turned into just the sweet stripey number I was hoping for, with a little extra room to grow. 

Because grow, grow, grow they do. The little one starts nursery today. I think I'll go and cast him on some socks. 

Crochet speckle

I'm sure that, in between pondering what to cook for dinner yet again and hoovering up crumbly leaves and sand and whatever else the preschooler/dog/cat has stormed in with, you've wondered: what does a crochet speckle look like? Yes yes, me too, it's an important question. So here you are:

Did you spot it? That little dash of burgundy red? Lovely, isn't it.  

But it's also made me wonder, why aren't there more crochet speckles about? Why do speckled yarns seem to be mostly a knitterly thing, so much so that I've even heard mutterings of solid colours being "refreshing" in a "world of speckles and fades".  

As a new-ish knitter, I'm new-ish to speckles. I've decided I like speckles. I didn't really come to them entirely of my own accord; It was Petra, the indie dyer I'm collaborating with on a merino version of the Sea Glass Shawl who suggested it with such an air of "well why wouldn't you", that I thought, "well why not?" And now, I like them. 

Perhaps the reason you don't see so many crochet speckles is because they tend to feature on socks or fingering weight yarns (the very thin, light ones), and my impression is that crocheters prefer DK and above. Speckles are also a bit subtle - you need tiny stitches to show them off. Are we crocheters just a bit too impatient, a bit too used to our projects growing quickly, to really appreciate speckles? 

I hope not. Because I want to re-release the pattern for this shawl soon and more speckly ideas are forming in my head. So at some point (providing the baby ever learns to go without mama milk for more than two hours at a time, but that's a story for another day) there will be more crochet speckle. Just a little bit. It's just too pretty not to, isn't it?

Nikkim Milo

This summer the lovely Petra from Fru Valborg asked if I wanted to try some new cotton she'd be stocking in her webshop. Would I?! To justify yet more yarn parcels arriving when I'm not exactly small of stash, I asked whether she might be happy to provide enough for a couple of tops for the boys {altruism on my part, and all that}. She was, and this arrived:

Vinnis Colours Nikkim, a handdyed, hand-balled cotton produced by a fair trade, women's cooperative in South Africa. I've worked with this yarn before for a commission, and it's truly lovely. The colours are vibrant and enticing, while the cotton itself is much softer than you'd expect. Petra stocks lots of colours, and ships worldwide if you fancy giving it a try.

I decided to make another Sea Breeze Hoodie for the Bean in the "brick red" (because everything must be red at the moment) and "camel". Initially I had planned to make a mini Sea Breeze for the smallest boy in the "pacific blue" and "sand" shades for a bit of sibling non-matching matching, but my severe allergy to Making the Same Thing Twice put paid to that. 

I reached for a knitting pattern I had in my Ravelry Library but bollicksed up the first time: Milo by Georgie Hallam. I think it was the second thing I ever knit and as I don't fail gracefully, a second attempt seemed like a good idea. Luckily it went much better this time. It's a delight of a pattern, one I'd recommend to anyone with little people to knit for. The raglan increases are clever, the garter stitch is appropriately smooshy, the cables add interest. Best of all, there being no sleeves means it works up really fast. 

I had the whole thing done in about a week. The small boy looks so snazzy in it, in my completely biased opinion, that I might even be tempted to make him another in wool now the weather is beginning to turn. With a different cable, mind (the pattern provides no less than six). 

Disclosure: I was sent Nikkim yarn to try, free of charge. All images, words and opinions are my own.

The dreams of a 4.5-year-old boy

There was once a little boy, of a generally sunny but also pensive disposition, who often struggled with bad dreams. Sometimes it was them darn zombies. His mama told him there's no such thing but, what do mamas know about these things anyway? And sometimes he dreamed his mama herself would leave, which was altogether worse. No amount of night lights or cuddly toys or dolly friends would make those dreams go away.

His mama said, I won't leave, I'll always be here for you one way or another. But she knew that words are sometimes not enough. So they put their heads together, and both agreed: a dreamcatcher. Because both knew, deep down, that the best way to soothe another person's soul is to give them something your own hands have made. 

Two old embroidery hoops, leftover cotton yarn, some feathers pilfered from the Easter decorations box. New beads though, because, well... Shiny things. Irresistible. 

And here is the result.

If you want to make a similar dreamcatcher, I was inspired by this one.

The Fling-It Project

Some projects roll off the hook or needle. The swatch is true, the wool buttery, the colours just so. This kind of project is rare, and to date I think I've only had two: the Floss scarf and the Flax sweater.

Most projects seem to have to involve at least a few hiccups. Perhaps the colours don't quite sing in the way you expected, or maybe you dropped a stitch somewhere and have to go back a bit. You might have to spend a few evenings pouring over blogs and YouTube tutorials, having been a little too optimistic about your own abilities. This is okay. I don't mind hiccups - you always learn something new. 

Sometimes, though, often when you least expect it, you get an absolute b****** of a project. Not so much a WIP (work in progress) as a FIP (fling-it project). Fling it across the bloody room. 

See this lovely, innocent-looking little cardie? It's my FIP. Oh my, am I glad Pinterest doesn't do audio, because the Bleeps and @*!Xs that are woven into those tiny fairisle stitches...

The pattern is from an Editions Marie Claire pattern book I've had for years. It has a bottom-up, seamed raglan construction, and is meant to be knit in 3mm needles. I knit quite tightly, so I went up to 3.5mm to get the right gauge. I picked the smallest size: 0-3 months. Although now that it's finished and finally on the Squidgy One I do think it's rather lovely, but unusually for me, I didn't enjoy making it one bit. Sheer stubbornness to avoid wasting the beautiful yarn (more details below), as well as a looming "oh look mum, I'm about to bust out of this before you've even finished it" situation are the only reasons I didn't abandon it halfway through. 

The thing about baby knits is that they are meant to be quick, satisfying makes but despite its diminutive size this was anything but. I started it before we even knew whether the wriggly baby in my belly would be a girl or a boy, and didn't finish until our Bug had already been with us for good month. This was mostly my own fault, owing to a series of spectacular misjudgments.

No matter how small the cardie, fine 2-ply is never going to knit up fast. 

No matter how small the cardie, trying your hand at fairisle for the second time in your life is never going to be fast. 

No matter how small the cardie, itty bitty pieces with itty bitty stitches are never going to be fast to seam. 

D'oh. 

The yarn probably didn't make things easier either. It is utterly lovely, don't get me wrong - a blend of 50% cotton and 50% merino, both organic, by Hjerte Garn. It's soft and strong, and will probably pill very little. But it's also very fine and kinda sticky, so with all the colour changes it tangled like nobody's business. The stickiness does make the little fairisle Vs stand out and hold their shape very nicely, but an inexperienced knitter like me was always bound to want to Fling It. Lesson learned. 

Part of my frustration was down to the pattern itself, too. As I knitted, blocked and laid out each piece, frowned over them, held them up, put them next to the Bug, frowned again, it became clear that the dimensions were turning out very odd. The body is very wide, but the sleeves and hem line both come up short on my average-sized boy. There are no pictures in the book of the finished cardigan worn by a baby, just of pretty flatlays.  It goes to show how important it is to understand body measurements as well as construction methods - my Bug happens to be long in the body, and (since I wasn't able to measure him when I started this knit) I could have adjusted the pattern as I went had it been a top-down one. So an oddly three-quarter length thingy it is. 

About halfway through I did start cheating a bit to speed things up. To do the raglan shaping I decreased stitches rather than binding them off. The button band and the neckline are meant to be knitted separately and sewn on but, just no. I picked up the stitches along the selvedge edge instead and called it done.

So there it is. A wee FIP cardie finished off with little clear buttons from my stash. And doesn't he look cute as a button in it? Phew. Just don't ask me to make another one.

The best laid plans

... don't involve babies. Or maybe they do, in a roundabout way; When I set out to MAKE ALL THE THINGS before Bug's arrival I assumed I'd only get a fraction done. Turns out that this baby is indeed snug as a bug. 

The Bean was nine days overdue, and back then the waiting drove me nuts. This time around I feel quite stoic about it, really. Yes, I'm aching and tired, I'm excited about meeting this little person, and I don't want to be clucking about for too much longer. But at the same time, when will I next get another chance to just potter, make stuff, snooze, snack to my heart's content? In about 2 years??

So I've been knitting/crocheting/sewing/sowing/nibbling all the things. 

I finished the Bean's Popcorn Vest and made a tiny Harem Romper. I made a Divided Basket for Bug's nappies.

I finally got around to sowing for this year's balcony garden. I started, and to my complete surprise, have almost finished a scrappy baby blanket. I've also started on a Benedetta Cardigan for myself but as it's in sock yarn (AM I MAD??) it is not almost finished. But fun. 

Then there's this one and his Daddy. We've been making the most of our last days as a Three, even managed to get out for our first beach trip last Sunday. It happened to be the day before my birthday too, and the perfect opportunity to celebrate. Sunshine, burgers, ice cream. It was a lovely day, and everyone was happy. 

And now we wait. 

Tiny Things

I can now count the number of weeks until the Bug arrives on one hand. It's gone so very fast, this time around. There are still a bajillion Emmy + LIEN-related things I want to get finished, and then there is the baby bed linen to get ready, the nappies to wash, the meals to freeze, the Bean to give my undivided attention to, the friends to catch up with while I'm still capable of holding a conversation, the ripped jeans to mend. 

I know, I know. I will be lucky to even achieve a tenth of those things, and the undone things won't ultimately matter anyway (mostly - I do worry about the thing with the Bean. Mothers shall worry). 

What I really need to be doing is to sit. And just be. This time around it's gone faster, but it's also been much more difficult. I feel like there is an earthquake going on in my belly, while in my head there is nothing but fog. My sleep is erratic, my moods even more so. I wake up in the morning feeling sore but alright, happy, positive about what is to come. By 2PM I'm so thoroughly p+ssed off with the muddled thoughts, the screaming hips, the lack of breath and the angry fireball lemons charging up my oesophagus, the general exhaustion and sheer hurtiness that I want nothing more than to press fast forward and get. this baby. out.

But fast forwarding children will never do and, in any case, as a wise friend of mine pointed out: they cause less trouble while they're in. 

While it's still in, then. I'll try to sit and be. My desk is a happy mess of beads and things. I'll knit a little, dream of tiny outfits for those even foggier first weeks. Maybe, IF I get the time, I'll plan ahead for summer and make a dent in the stack of fabrics that's been singing to me for months. The Bug will need rompers and popper vests and teensy leggings, while the Bean could do with some tank tops as well as a new sunhat. He's been asking for a bobble vest for weeks, so I've made a start on that. And I would love a lightweight cardigan for myself, so I'm itching to get the winder out. 

Again, I know. Realism will be required. But a girl can sit and day dream. 

Dribble bib (self-drafted) in Birch Organic | Lil Shepherd vest in Pickles Summer Wool | Teether toy in Birch Organic 

Barley Hat in Pickles Summer wool

A little, as yet unnamed experiment in de rerum nature Ulysse. Nope, I couldn't help myself...

Popcorn Vest in Onion no.4 Organic Wool + Nettle

Mine, all mine:  Malabrigo Sock

when Ruby met Maeve

About a year ago I decided to try being a little less random with my personal makes. Less impulse buying of yarn, more looking at what would go with what is already in my wardrobe, planning a season ahead, that sort of thing. It hasn't come easy to me; I've still ended up with some very last-minute makes (I'm looking at you, 10-day birthday jumper) and many more unfinished ones. My wild optimism about the correlation between the outfits in my head and the ones my hands can actually produce has not been cured or even dampened, I would say.

Still, by the middle of last summer I did have one outfit that ticked all the boxes, that followed all the rules. Well, almost. I had impulse bought the fabric without the faintest notion of what I was going to do with it. But, once I'd spotted both Ruby and Maeve and thought, yes: I planned. I bought the patterns and the yarn.

I made both as per the instructions as opposed to winging it. I properly finished every last seam and tucked in every end, and then I WORE THEM. Now we've seen the last of the snow (I hope) and Spring seems to finally be around the corner (oh, I hope!), I plan on wearing them LOTS MORE. 

Ruby
Ruby is a combined top and dress pattern by Made by Rae. I like her modern aesthetic, and the instructions are extremely well-written with lots of tips. I'd never sewn an adult garment to a pattern before so I was nervous initially, but I didn't have any issues at all. The little gathers at the bust were just enough of a challenge to be interesting, without having me tear my hair out.

You'll have to take my word for it that it does fit me, even though I can't show you now - 7 months pregnant! Stupidly I didn't ask anyone to take pictures when it did, actually, still fit. Next summer! 

The fabrics are both organic cottons - the mustard one being woven and the flowery one voile - by Art Gallery Fabrics, and I love them. I want piles and piles more (but, time and money). 

Maeve

The Maeve shrug is a design by Carie Bostick Hoge at Madder. As a knitwear designer she seem ubiquitous, and with good reason; her work has a classic, timeless feel to it without being stuffy. It is all just so, so wearable. 
This shrug is a good one if you're new to garment knitting. Super-simple shaping on the arms, and then loads of mindless knit stitch for the back and garter stitch for the collar. That collar, that collar... The whole thingis drapey, comforting, and very easy to throw on over pretty much anything.
The yarn is Summer Wool by Pickles Oslo: a blend of 70% organic cotton and 30% merino wool. It's unbelievably soft and smooshy, without either the stiffness of cotton or the overly-processed feel merino can have. Despite the name "Summer Wool" it saw me through most of autumn as well. It's pilling a little bit now, but nothing outrageous. 

So there you have it. When Ruby met Maeve I threw on my favourite old jeans and, of course, of course some mustard yellow shoes. I think they got on rather well, don't you?

On woolly birthdays

Ten days before his fourth birthday I decided to make the Bean a celebratory jumper. Because seeing all of Carie's beautiful knits for her three children gave me itchy fingers, and because ten days for a new jumper didn't sound at all unreasonable. Minus three, once I'd factored in the time it took to pick a yarn, order it and have it delivered. 

With six days to go I cast on Flax, a top-down, seamless raglan sweater with a garter stitch panel on the sleeves. It's a free pattern from the "learn to knit" Simple Collection by Tin Can Knits, and makes the perfect piece for those who lack experience or time, or both. Who suffer from boundless optimism and endless casting-on fever... It did take me longer than those six days, but it does fly off the needles, causes minimal headaches, and is ever so cosy on. 

So twelve days later and approximately three seconds after I'd sewn in the last ends, the Bean got to put on his birthday jumper. That was Thursday, five days ago, and he's worn it every day since apart from the one I hid it to get a chance to actually block the thing while he was at school. I think he likes it. 

The yarn I chose is Big Merino Hug by Rosie Green Wool, which made it as much a treat for mum as for the kiddo, really. 100% organic, ethically produced merino in "Ruby". It's buttery soft to knit with, doesn't split and blocks well. Yes, it costs a fair amount, but I've written about this before: in the spirit of leaving a lovely planet for the ones I love, there are some things worth paying for.

My Love: a freshly minted four-year-old who refuses to get a haircut, in some rare January sunshine, wrapped in a squishy merino knit. With crocheted dog ears for extra bonus cuddle factor. 

Oh and then for an extra bonus bonus: Daddy got involved in the posing. Because if you're going to sport a 70s bowl hairdo in 70s decor, well then you need the moves too, don't you?

On my to-do list || November

I'm okay with it being November already. Totally cool and not at all panicking about having only 6 weeks left before the Christmas holidays. Really. 

Harharhar. If it'd help me get more shit done, I might even try to crochet with my toes too.

Commissions

I've got a huge deadline at the end of this month. I can't show you yet what it's for (although did you see my last two magazine features? I wrote about them here and here - it is so cool to finally see them appearing), but I can probably let you have a little sneaky peak at the yarn. 

Ulysse by de rerum natura. 100% European merino, but unlike any merino I've ever used before. It's ethically produced, using as few harmful chemicals as possible. It feels crunchy and sheepy and absolutely wonderful. The Thing I'm Making with it will be released in February, and you can be sure I'll be shouting about it everywhere. 

Emmy + LIEN designs

• Playing Catch-up - While we still have some natural daylight left, I'm snapping away with my camera like a woman possessed. Re-shooting old tutorials, prepping for new ones. The next one I have lined up is a re-release of the Anemone Square. It's gone a bit bonkers over on Pinterest lately so I really need to move it over from my old blog. 

• Death by ends - I've had a few enquiries about the Window into Winter shawl recently, and it's nearly finished. I just have a few ends to weave in (it will be worth it, it will!)... I've bought a lovely mustard yellow for the border, which I can't wait to get started on. The yarn is a 100% alpaca by iloyarn, another company that uses ethical production practices. They're right on my doorstep too, which I didn't even realise until this week! If you want to be in the know when it goes live, have a look at my facebook, twitter or instagram pages, or join the E+L Ravelry group.

Just me (and baby)

I remember how my first pregnancy seemed to take forever, but this time around I feel like we're on fast forward. Soon I'll be at 20 weeks. I guess I should be resting, but sleep is not working out all that well (heartburn/insomnia/freaked-out 3yo) and from next Monday I'll be going to Swedish class for 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. Somehow, somewhere, if I'm not to get completely overwhelmed by general adulting duties, I will need to allow myself to just be me. Which does mean drooling over tiny baby patterns, I'll admit. And eating lots of cake without feeling guilty about it, going out for walks whenever I don't feel like death warmed up, and curling up under a blanket when I do.

Keep warm, lovely people - it was -3 on the school run this morning! - and have a cracking November.