Yarn Along -- Fern's Fall Sweater

I have been slow to start knitting on Fern's Fall sweater this year. The yarn and pattern have been chosen for a long time -- I've been anxious to try the Sunday Sweater pattern for a while now; all of the finished projects look great. My mind, however, has been many other places. First and foremost, on knitting small things for our sweet baby #2, due around the Winter Solstice this year! We have another huge change coming up as well. We are all moving back to Austin, TX to be near my family at the beginning of October. I am so looking forward to this change, but change can certainly be stressful!

Anyway, I am making Fern's sweater to be about an 18-24 month size, and so far it is going well! My time for reading is sparse, but I have been reading back over much of Ina May Gaskin's "Spiritual Midwifery" for inspiration. We are planning another homebirth, hopefully as smooth as Fern's was!

Lallazione Cards!

I've been thinking a lot about packaging. When you order something online, you don't get the sensory experience of walking into a shop -- how does it smell? what is the lighting like? is the inventory crowding the shop, or is it sparsely curated? is there music playing? So much satisfaction comes from browsing in person. With online shopping, you place the order, wait an agonizing few days for the mail, then, finally, its time to open your package. Is there anything more disappointing than a messily wrapped item?!

Its been neat, as a customer, to watch the packaging of small businesses, on the Etsy scale and just slightly larger, evolve over time. Branding is key -- the closest online shopping can come to the physical experience of walking into a store. Tags, cards, etc. are essential. I know that I also love when little branded extras are thrown in. It makes everything feel like a special gift. For example, I have been ordering from Texture Clothing for about three years now. Just this week I was delighted to pull out of the padded envelope not only the shirt I was waiting for, but a sweet little sticky-note sized pad of paper with the saying 'enjoy the process' on it! I know that my own shop's packaging will evolve over time.

Front and back view of my new cards!

Today my new mini-cards came, and I can't wait to use them. I ordered them through Moo last week during their Spring Sale, but even without the discount they are very affordable. I am planning them as little hang tags for when my items are for sale at the local Waldorf school's store, and eventually at their Christmas fair as well. I will use them for my etsy sales as part of the wrapping, tied with twine over crisp white tissue.

Spring and Sewing

WOW, it had been a long time since I blogged. Fern Amelia is now 14 months old, and every single day I am in awe of her beautiful self, and am so thankful she came to us. My mama pride is huge. 

(top from this pattern)

She wears a very high percentage of Mama-made clothes -- amazingly, they are almost all handknits though! She is always wearing knitted longies over her cloth diapers, and usually has either a knitted vest, sweater, or hat on...Or some crazy combination of all of those since we have just braved our very first New England winter.

   

 (bonnet notes on ravelry)

Now that Fern is walking though, I have been just loving to put her in dresses. I have made a couple, and we have a few hand-me-downs, but her 12-18m wardrobe is pretty slim. A few new pairs of leggings, a couple plain t-shirts for layering, and some new tunics and dresses would round things out... 

 I am looking forward to sewing for her (and hopefully keeping up with posting!) during the Spring Kids Clothes Week challenge, hosted by Elsie Marley. I have been following the challenge for years now, but I've missed out on the past two challenges. Last spring I was swamped in new-mamahood, and last fall we were busy planning and packing for our big move from Oregon to Massachusetts. This time though, I am ready!

 

pants and booties

hi there! i have been frantically knitting away for this baby! my work is so difficult and stressful these days that when i get home i am just helplessly exhausted. all i want to do is make baby things, and standing to cut fabric just isn't as appealing recently as sitting in a comfy chair and knitting! :) i have about 12 more weeks to make everything and to prepare myself! amazing!

also, i feel like my knitting skills are rapidly increasing...at least my confidence about them is! i recently made my first pair of knitted longies for the baby. we will be using cotton pre-fold diapers, and wool soakers/covers. i have some commercially made wool covers from a great baby consignment store here in town, but new ones are painfully expensive! so, i have been sewing and knitting away. i will have to do an update later on to talk more about wool for diapering and our stash.




these longies, aside from their ridiculous cuteness, are the home of my first kitchener graft. the crotch gusset looks amazing to me! also, this was the first i-cord i've knitted, and i am not sure why i ever thought it would be hard. the yarn (malabrigo twist) is so very very soft, and the color is amazing. it is much more green-blue than these photos read. oh well.




another pair of tiny booties was made, and i love the gold yarn (leftover manos silk-blend) so much.

ravelry notes here and here.

booties for the baby

Today's project was full of firsts: first footwear for the baby, first time knitting short rows (for the toe shaping), and these are officially the smallest item of clothing I've ever made!







The pattern and my notes can be found here on ravelry. Although these are absurdly small and cute, I am just not super thrilled with them. It probably has to do with not being crazy about the color combination. But, they used up scraps and will certainly keep some tiny feet very warm! I can see many more pairs being made in the near future...