By Brienne

Kids Clothes Week: Days Two and Three

These guys and I had the very good fortune this past weekend to have a grandmother visiting from out-of-town who was eager to entertain her grandkids off-site. My own mom is always eager to have the grandkids and she picked up the slack the minute my mother-in-law pulled out of town. This equalled  long blocks of time for me in the sewing room and even with the paint plus crayon mishap that I had early in the week, I've really been able to kick out some new clothes for these growing kids. 

First, a second school bus tee. Nothing fancy here except this fabric. I'm really just going for it this time with the good stuff. I'm confident at this point that the kids will wear the handmades until they are threadbare and I might as well enjoy the quarterly marathon-sewing that gets them back into clothes that fit. This good stuff is, perhaps, the most squishy, beautiful fabric that I've ever sewn with. It's from Simplifi. I added two inches to the tee and I drafted a quick pocket. I tarted the whole thing up with a little rainbow tab made from foldover elastic that I've had for ages.  

The shorts are Dana Made It's Shorts pattern, released last summer. The fit is great, they are a no brainer - which is just what I was looking for. I think that using poly/blend bias tape from the big box store is a mistake. He's not complaining but boy, it felt so crispy and uncomfortable. I'll make my own the next time around. The sewing is super quick and satisfying. 

 I made a Flashback Tee for her, (of course). I used the ruffle sleeves from the Geranium pattern and I really like the effect except that the sleeves like to flip up and over, exposing the seam. I have to figure out how to get them to stay down. Any ideas???

The skirt is my fourth make from Happy Homemade. I am totally smitten with this little skirt and with the fabric. Will definitely make this one again.   

Usually, at the midpoint, I start to repeat the patterns that I liked that worked best but there's still a couple of things that I want to try, namely a swimsuit, the wide-leg pants from Happy Homemade and a second pair of Kudzu's. I just downloaded an audio version Prodigal Summer (an old favorite book of mine) and the kids are hooked on the Mouse and the Motorcyle  and Toys Go Out (also in audio-versions) so I think that I can continue the marathon if need be:)

How is the sewing going for you?

Lucky

To celebrate the season with the long days we are running through the wet woods. We are building with the stones on the beach. We are eating all things fried and sweet. We are not weeding our garden. 

At night, I've been fretting about the jungled garden. About all of the fresh, homemade meals that I did not make. About the time that they'll spend away from me come fall. 

But our ordinary scattered, summer ramblings are extraordinarily joyful. I am lucky. 

Our romp on the beach early this week was unexpectedly chilly. So, when my daughter asked if she could use the sweater that I was knitting, in the spirit of this summer of no structure, I agreed. I tore the yarn that would tangle it and looped up the ends so that they wouldn't slow her down. Can you spy the circulars still dangling from the half finished sleeve?

Earlier in the month, I had the good fortune of winning a giveaway on the Gypsy Forest blog. It included Heather Ross's new book and a precious little bundle of her fabrics.

I'm hoping to finish up my daughter's Livie Sweater and to begin this book. Have you read it?

Joining Small Things readers today over here:)

Cold-style Reading and Knitting the Child Placket Sweater

I'm reading Children of the North Lights with the kids. The story, about the Sami people reminded me of something that I read when I was first pregnant with my son, almost five years ago: Vendela Vida's Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. There is nothing profound about the writing but I finished it in a couple of nights and enjoyed the escape to Northern Europe. It's even colder there than it is here (minus 11 right now). Primarily, it's a coming of age story about a woman and her mother but it's woven together a bit mysteriously - keeping it interesting. I would recommend it as a quick holiday escape novel.

On to the Child Placket Sweater. My son wanted a dance coverup like his sister's.
The good news is that I found some black, sparkly tights in response to his request for flashier duds. And I produced this sweater.The bad news is that I could only find one of his ballet shoes. Does anyone else feel like they spend fifty percent of their lives tidying up and the other half searching for lost items?


This pattern is an old one that I've made before and I knew that it'd be a good one for knitting on while I was working with the kids because there's lots of stockinette.
Here we are - he's in the sweater here although you can't really see it. We were in Montana at a wedding. He was just over a year old and I was about six months pregnant with his sister. That trip was rough. I remember somehow scraping his little head with my boot buckle on the plane ride home while I was trying to nurse his little fussy self, getting into an argument with my husband, then the flight attendant, who didn't want me to rock him in the aisle - finally realizing that all the while we'd been sitting next to a member from a band that we loved. It was humbling:)






My favorite part was the buttons. They are blue stones - beads that I got from another life and I love how they bring out the little blue flecks in the yarn and in the little guys eyes. The sweater was a bit tough to photograph but you get the gist. The hat he's wearing can be found here.

My ravelry notes are here. Head over here for lots of good reading recommendations and some lovely knitting.