Happy Easter!

I have a few projects going on right now, but nothing nearly ready to post about. My sad WIPs are crying with neglect, I'm sure, but MORE PRESSING THINGS ARE AT HAND!!

Most importantly - EASTER~!

Every year my extended family gets together for Easter and Thanksgiving. And this year, for the first time...(drumroll please)...we are hosting!

I have wanted to host for ages, much to the chagrin of my husband. The major thing holding us back has been our teeny, tiny home. It is about 750 square feet, and there is only one bathroom. We are expecting around 25 people to come over (and that's a small gathering).

Fortunately, Easter means lots of outdoor time! We are firing up the BBQ and of course, doing an egg hunt. (A new BBQ was actually all it took to get my husband to sign on to this.) The forecast was a little dodgy but I'm pulling for some of that dependable Los Angeles sun.

My family is all awesome so I'm not worried about having enough food (we potluck) the house being a disaster (people help clean) or being bored (8 kids and lots to catch up on with the cousins). Naturally, having a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old usually makes hosting such a large gathering scary - but my cousin pointed out a huge perk: this means we don't have to pack anything for the baby. Everything will be at hand. Score!

So although I'm looking at a fantastic, low-impact weekend, of course I had to find something to occupy the kids "just in case." It is also the perfect chance for me to try out the no-sew tutu I have been dying to try out.

My mom shared the idea with me, and it was easy to find a few, great tutorials. I didn't see the headband idea until too late - that seems like such a perfect waistband! Fortunately I have scads of elastic and tulle ribbon already - as well as scrap fabric. So the only prep I did was cutting and sewing elastic into waist-sized bands, and throwing everything in a bag. I plan on just handing it to the oldest, with a sheet of instructions, and telling them to go to town.

Other project I love I'm doing all by myself - papier mache eggs! (Try reading that blog post and NOT instantly wanting to do them.) Since this is something that needs to be done in advance it's going to be all me. I've prepped the tissue paper and pull strings, the only thing ruining my day now is that stupid liquid starch. I can't find it anywhere! I'll try a few more places on my way home today before I give in a make a binding agent (flour + water).

That's all for now...sorry for the lack of photos. I will have plenty to put up soon. Happy Easter to you!

Knitspiration: Knitting octopus

A friend shared this with me recently. I think she puts it best:

1. It is a knit octopus
2. Wearing a top hat (obviously!)
3. WHO IS KNITTING

HOLY COW!! 

Even more amazing is that there is a pattern for this guy! Check it out, and a cool blog, {here}.

WIP: Can you guess?

I'm working on something pretty amazing, and can't WAIT to share finished product photos.

But first, can you guess what it is based on materials?

There is a clue in this picture that should tip off the biggest nerds.

C'mon! Take a guess!

Giants Kouki Cardi Update: Elbow Patches!

My cousin sent a picture of the finished work!

Amazing!!

Moss stitch with the contrast stitching...beautiful!

She also managed to make excellent use of some leftover orange yarn:

Go Sharks!

So proud of our genetic crafting skills, and shared joy of embarrassing our children.

Sewing FO: Bib Round 2

MORE BIBS!! 

Those burp clothes weren't enough - but they were great inspiration! I wanted to try out the hemming style I did on those with something more complex, like, a bib. 

Presto Bib-o

These bibs (like the cloths) are terry on top and linen on bottom. Since I'm terrible at pinning my new method is great because it completely avoids that. 

Basically, I sew the three layers with the patterned fabric strip on top, facing down. Then I fold that over the edge (revealing the pretty pattern!) and use a pretty stitch over what is now four layers to complete the hem and make it cute. (I will take process photos another time...this happened too fast!)

New sewing machine magic - pretty stitch pattern.

See? So pretty. 

I love it! My new favorite. 

Jute knee patches

Here we go, round two!

Some jute patches - that's more durable, right? They make carpets outta that stuff. 

Potato sack looking, eh. 

Don't worry, I didn't line them with jute! My son's knees are bruised plenty... Here's some soft felt and secret winter touches for your viewing pleasure. 

(Confession: I love inappropriately placed holiday attire. I met a new mommy-friend just a few weeks ago because she was wearing Halloween socks in public - and I was wearing Christmas ones! KISMET.) 

(Kismet doesn't insinuate anything romantic, does it? That would be wrong.) 

(Just checked, phew! We're safe. No romance needed.)

Let's see how long these suckers last. 

Sewing FO: Wet Dry Bag

So, I'm going back to work.

I am conditioned to insert a sad face after that statement, but I've decided there's no point in being prematurely dramatic so I'll save my moaning for when I actually have something to moan about. Who knows, maybe it'll be flawless? Knock on winking wood. :)

Anyway, as part of my return I'll be pumping milk. We've been exclusively breastfeeding ("WE?" Why did I type "we" when obviously I'm the only one with boobs. "I" have been exclusively breastfeeding.) and although I'm a bit nervous about the bottle transfer, we did a test run this week and so far silicon has replaced Mommy no problem.

(Another declined opportunity for sad face.)

The Medela I got is super cool - much better than the Lansinoh I used last time and so far, much more comfortable and productive. Only downer is I need a place to put the parts in between pumping. Tra-la! Perfect opportunity to make a wet-dry bag!

I've been dying to make one because they seem so ridiculously easy, and they are grossly over-priced. Since I have a ton of PUL (polyurethane) fabric courtesy of my diaper-making binge (tbb soon, promise) it's a no brainer. If you're previously unfamiliar with wet-dry bags, they are: waterproof zippered pouches for all sorts of things. Small ones are great as reusable snack bags, big ones for for swimsuits, and best of all they are great for dirty cloth diapers (how I came familiar with them). Since they run around $10-$30 and can be made for, oh, $5...it's a great project.

I found this amazing tutorial that gives step by step instructions with pictures (which I found via this incredible collection of resources for cloth diapering - GOLD MINE). Funnily, it was posted on one of my other favorite sewing blogs but I must have missed it. SO GLAD for that resource.

Not too bad, eh!

Now I'm all set to go. Now to find a private place to pump...!

WIP - Kouki Cardigan for Her!

A quick glimpse at the Kouki Cardigan - in girl colors!

Never confidant with my color choices but I think this is pretty swell.

This is one of those projects that I am itching to knit, all the time. And it's crushing me that I can't just sit and finish the whole thing....crushing. Me.

I mean come on...look at that fair isle!

It's fun and quick this second time around (I'm doing a few sizes down - 12 months instead of 24 months). Only downer is doing fair isle flat. It's challenging enough to do it in the round (especially with four colors!) and doing it flat is serious thumbs down.

Hoping to have this done by Easter for Baby Q to wear while she hunts those eggs like Lara Croft. 

Yarn Geek

If you're familiar with our family, you'll know that my husband is obsessed with Batman. Which (fortunately?) has previously had no place in my knitting world...

Until now?

Check out this amazing crochet Bane mask (a la Christopher Nolan incarnation):

You can read more here and perhaps even buy one for yourself.
(Meanwhile, I will be deleting my browser history so Reed has no chance of seeing this.)

(And no, he doesn't read my blog....too boring for him!)

Monster Face Pull-over

Another fun project with the kid!

A few weeks ago I saw this on my Tumblr feed:

SAKUN cat sweater with zipper mouth

AMAZING! (Also, I am now in love with Korean fashion blog seoulrhythm. check it out.)

I showed the pictures to the kid and it was a hit. So, naturally, we made our own.

with a few changes...

A few things I learned about doing a project with your kid:

• Plans go out the window I don't know about you, but my kid changes his mind every 5 seconds. I cut out the exact same shape of the cat eyes (in the same color!) only to have him ultimately decide to flip them upside down. He also decided that he wanted a giant brown nose. And then he didn't. Then he decided it was going to be a monster. The choices are endless - and I let him have free reign with creative choices so he feels like it is 'his' project. Ultimately, though, I have to cut it off so that we can actually finish the project. The key is trying to gauge that point correctly.
• It will never be 'perfect' And it shouldn't be! Perfection usually comes at the price of many tears and your kid not getting to be as involved as s/he should be. I have to remind myself to not be worried about the end product - that kind of professionalism is lost on him anyway. 
• Keep it cheap We made this out of scrap fabric, scrap thread, and a pull-over he is on the verge of outgrowing that is no longer a staple of his wardrobe. The only thing I actually bought was the zipper - $1.99 at JoAnn's. Since it's a novelty item and I wasn't sure if it would be successful or worn often, I couldn't afford to put much money (or time) into it. 

We had SO MUCH FUN. I couldn't get it completely finished before bedtime, but we had it all cut and pinned and I promised when he woke up it would be completely sewn. All in all it took just one evening.

And he won't stop wearing it. :)

Bib Frenzy

I made bibs!

Clearly, I am still on a sewing kick. Sorry guys, I promise I am still knitting. (Sewing is just so....immediately gratifying!)

We loaned some housing supplies to a friend for a month, and upon their return somehow came out with a few extra towels. They were nice enough but since we are already overflowing with towels I decided to try and repurpose them.

So many ideas for old towels:

• bibs
• burp cloths
• door sweep
• boot leg stuffers
• scrub glove
• hot pad (rice filled)
• bean bag

...and who knows what else.

For my first go, I did bibs.

I just copied the shape from one of the baby's existing bibs and traced it onto the towels and some other stash fabric. Then I sewed on the hook and loop pieces in the appropriate places, and pinned the two pieces facing each other.  Sewed all around leaving a two inch gap, pulled the bib right-side-out, then seamed the gap.

For some reason I traced the bib a little large, and didn't end up sewing with as much seam allowance as I had planned (bad habits die hard). Consequently, the bibs came out larger than I planned. This made them a little awkward to wear, and the neck hole was too small on a few. Easy enough to remedy for next time.

Good thing I have an easy audience!

Destiny Fulfilled - Felted Knee Patch

Remember me joking about how this felt knee patch wouldn't last?

Here's the car after one wearing:

Little fingers love poking through little holes!

And predictably, this was the result:

Sad panda!

The patch tore off completely within one week of application.

Oh well!!

Working with the kid on projects like this is so fun. Creating something he asks for is like magic! But I guess the downside is there are a few extra tears when it is ruined. (Tears don't last too long though...he has already requested a 'purple house' for his next patch! This time I'll dig around for some more durable fabric, though.)

Knitspiration: MESMERIZED

I haven't been able to stop looking at this blanket:

So gorgeous.
Is it squares put together?
Did they plan the color ahead of time?
Is there a discernable pattern?
Sigh.