The Handmade Dress

For the last several days I've been working on this sweet little set for Penny. She was in desperate need of a wee woolen hat and a wee woolen cardigan. :)  I finished this set last night and this morning snow started to fall on Alabama. We didn't get much, not really even enough for it to be pretty, but the kids had a good time scraping it off the cars and throwing it around. It made me feel like I finished just in time for Winter.   I used free patterns for both the bonnet and cardigan. You can see my Ravelry notes HERE and HERE . The cardigan is a very modified version of the Five Hour Baby Sweater, so I included all of my notes on my Ravelry page.  I added the gold band to the bottom of the sweater, because I was running low on beige yarn, and now that's one of my favorite parts! I finished this with just inches of yarn left!  Penny likes her new winter get-up, and she looks adorable in it, so mama's happy. Now on to the ...

For sleepy smiles, baby smells, adoring siblings, a two week babymoon with daddy home... ....for bitty wrinkly fingers and toes, for finally getting to see a baby in those wee hand knits, for a clean bill of health at the doctor today (her heart murmur is gone and the jaundice is almost gone), oh my, there is just so much to be thankful for. God has richly blessed us! I pray that all of you have a wonderful holiday! xo, Sam

(Ravelry notes HERE )  Look how tiny! EEEEK! Now I need some booties to match! I'll start on that right away! I have a go-to bootie pattern (that is free) that I have worked out to fit a newborn perfectly. This vest was super fast and easy, but not at all boring. I did change the pattern up a bit because when I first cast on it looked more like a preemie pattern to me. With the changes, compared to a newborn t-shirt it looks like it will just fit. The Cascade yarn I used is as soft as butter!! It's kind of sheddy (Yeah, that's my made up word for it) but oh my it's so soft.  This is all of my woolen knitted baby things so far, I hope to add at least two more things to this layette (because that would mean being pregnant for longer!). If it were not for knitting I might have gone crazy by now! But I'm powering through! Knit, knit, knit..... xo, Sam

(Ravelry notes HERE , the pattern is free!) I started on the little vest, oh my it's so tiny! It looks like the start of a hat! I worked on it yesterday in the doctors office as we waited.....it doesn't look like we will be waiting much longer though. My stats as of yesterday were 34 weeks and 4 days, 2 cm dilated, 70% thinned out, baby is locked and loaded, and mama is still contracting. I've found that with the mix of medicines that I've been juggling I can only keep the contractions at 10-15 minutes apart now (most of the time, at night they get a little worse).   My body and this baby are in God's hands, I'm done worrying about it and I can't do more than what I'm doing now. It's nice to finally be able to be at peace with that. So my doctor says that he hopes we can "eek out another week", and I say "Lord, if it's your will, let me make it to 36 weeks!"  My earliest baby came today. I was at this exact stage ...

I finished the hat and I couldn't resist putting this little outfit together for a picture. The quilt was made for baby Caffee by my sweet neighbor. The light outside today is very yellowish-green and it really sets these colors off and makes them pop. It reminds me of the way everything looks just before a storm. I still can't believe we are going to have a little person in these duds soon! Maybe I should recruit some help to pack a hospital bag and get the baby clothes washed up? Or get Ben to bring down the cradle and have the kids pack a bag.... Nah, I'll just knit. It will all work out! I found a super cute vest pattern to start on tonight! The hat is a free pattern from Ravelry, it's very simple, and the only modifications I made was the ribbed brim. You can see my notes HERE . It called for a rolled brim but I wanted baby to get lots of wear out of it. It will be cute in the beginning with the ribbed section folded up. If baby is a girl I will proba...

(You can find my Ravelry notes and the free pattern HERE ) The soaker (diaper cover) turned out so cute! I can't wait to see a newborn tooshie in it! I decided that it would make the sweetest picture ever, so I also started on a matching hat . :) The soaker matches up to my size 1 diaper covers perfectly except for the waist, the waistband is a little big because it doesn't have elastic, so I think I may weave in some elastic thread to make up the difference. I have a feeling that the elastic may help with holding in newborn explosions too. I should have the hat finished today and then I was thinking about maybe a vest? I don't know. I have some really pretty, off-white Cascade wool that would compliment the green nicely. I kinda want a sweater, but I'm not really in the mood for knitting sleeves right now so a vest sounded good, but then maybe I could find a flat sleeve pattern? Know of any?  I couldn't sign off today without saying thank you to all of ...

We had our first hospital run this weekend. Baby Caffee tried to make an appearance Friday afternoon. By the time we made it to the hospital I was contracting every 4 minutes, after a Brethine shot and another type of pill, they were every 2 minutes. I was scared. At one point my heart rate was in the 140's, I was seeing stars, I had a pounding headache, I was contracting almost constantly, and they couldn't give me anymore labor medicines. They tried one last thing, Demerol & Phenergan to just knock me out. Thank God it worked! They started spacing out and by early morning they had me pretty calm. I need 3 1/2 more weeks to make it to my goal of 37 weeks, it's going to be hard! I'm dilated, thinned out, and I don't have the pump as back up this time. Another thing I run into around this time of pregnancy is that sometimes the risk of the medicines to baby outweigh the benefit in the case that they come early anyhow, so if I go in and I need help, and it doesn...

I started a wool soaker (diaper cover) for the new babe. This is such an adorable pattern, and it's free! It so interesting with the alternating stockinette, seed stitch and ribbed legs. You can see all of the pattern and yarn details HERE . This green yarn is perfect for a boy or girl. I think I my make a wee hat with the left over yarn. Now won't that be an adorable newborn picture? EEEEK!  I added this picture because it just has so many good things in it..... the yarn I bought with my birthday money from my Mom and Dad, my absolute favorite knitting needles, the new birthday pajamas from my mother-in-law, the recliner that I now LIVE in, my sweet baby that will be here soon, and my newest henna design. It's not very often that that many good things are crammed into a picture! Oh, I just can't wait to see this little soaker finished! xo, Sam

I finished it! The ends are woven in, the buttons are on, the Ravelry notes are updated, and the (not so great) pictures have been taken! I miss being able to spend time getting the perfect pictures, but in just a few more weeks I'll not only have all the time I want to stand, stoop, squat, and bend; I'll have a great subject too. :)  This was my second lace project (my first was posted HERE ) and I actually found this project to be much easier than the hat. This has only 1 repeat of a lace pattern which makes it much less confusing for beginners. This project keeps your interest, but isn't hard AT ALL. In fact I found that it was very easy to predict what would probably come next. If you happen to be looking for a first lace project, I would suggest this one first for sure! Just reverse what I did and do the cardi first and the hat next. :) You will feel like you can tackle anything after that!  So in other news, I'm 33 today! And guess what? I...

    There is a common myth that crafty friends and family are hard to give gifts to, it's not true!!! Today I'm going to prove it! People think "Well she can make anything she wants for herself, she doesn't want anything I make." People have actually told me this before, IT'S NOT TRUE! People who love handmade things, LOVE handmade things! Especially handmade things that they didn't make for themselves! That gives them time to make more handmade things! If anyone in this world can fully appreciate your handmade gift, it's going to be another crafter. They are the only ones that truly understand the love, time, and thought that goes into a handmade gift. Now that that myth has been busted, lets move on to a good example of crafty gift giving.   Crafty friends are so easy and fun to give gifts to! In the last couple of days I have gathered and made these little bits of things for a sweet neighbor. (By the way, have I told you that I have real...

All I have left to knit is the body and the sleeve bands! I'm thinking it looks more like a Spring Leaves Cardigan, or Winter Pink, this version doesn't really say autumn at all. I chose the softest pink that I could find it almost doesn't look pink unless it's next to white. I also added a cream colored band to the neckline that is just barely noticeable, but will go really well with the pearl buttons that I plan to use. I can't wait to see this blocked!! (You can find my Ravelry notes HERE .) This will be a baby gift for a very dear friend who has waited a very long time for a baby. We are actually due a week or so apart which is going to be a lot of fun! I'm trying to get all of my baby gifts caught up before I have to start my shaky medicine (brethine). I waited too late last time and I didn't get much done. I shake so bad on the brethine that I can't even write my name, much less knit. This time I'm planning ahead a little better....

The lace hat has been finished and blocked! And has now been turned over to it's new owner, my sweet little Madeline. Maddie loves it, I love it, and all in all it was well worth the work! I even got more adventurous by the end of the project and bound off with a picot edge (my first). I love the look of the picot edge, it goes with the lace so well. Maddie is only 6 and this was an adult pattern, so I did make a few small modifications, you can see those HERE on my Ravelry page.  I wasn't so sure about this hat until it was blocked. BOY does blocking make that lace look amazing and the picot points stand out. Before blocking the lace was bunched and undefined, and the picot points were barely visible. I pinned each point and it made them look so much more defined and lacy. As I expected I needed to jump right into another lace project, so I took the advice of several of you and went for the Autumn Leaves cardigan. I almost have th...

 I was ready for a knitting challenge this week! I have kinda been sticking to only what I know lately and not really trying to learn new things, that's no good! So, I cast on a lace hat. Oh my! I have spent almost as much time un-knitting as I have knitting, but I think I am finally past my learning curve. I hope Maddie loves this hat when I'm done! Ha! I think that this has given me the courage to go for one of those pretty lace yoke cardigans. You know the ones that have the leaf shapes coming down from the neckline? Ahhh....I've been admiring those since I started knitting, and now I know that I could do it! Have you come across a good pattern for one? If so PLEASE link me up!  I think Claire needs one for the fall. :) If you are interested in this free pattern, or the yarn I've used, you can check that out HERE . xo, Sam

I worked on a wee project this weekend for the new babe. My "if it's a boy" set is almost complete. I'm still missing something. What else would you add?  Aren't cables dressy looking? They are to me, they just make projects look complicated when they're really just not. If this baby decides to be a girl I think I'll just switch that pom-pom out for a hot pink one. :) I'm planning ahead! Here is a picture of a doll wearing the hat. I think it should fit a newborn quite nicely. Want to hear a (random) shocker? I'm not a huge fan of baby dolls. Rag dolls, I like; baby dolls, notsomuch. I didn't like them as a young girl either. My girls love them! And I love that they love them, but I've always found it weird that I have never been drawn to them. I've just always liked babies! Real, smelly (even stinky, I don't care), squishy, cooing, adorable babies. I have always had a big imagination too, but in my mind there ...

I wanted to make something to go with the cardigan I made for my coming niece, so I decided on a wee fairy bonnet. I didn't find a pattern online and what I had in mind was simple enough, so I knit this one up and jotted down the pattern to share. ( matching cardigan ) So here is what you will need to get started.... Worsted weight yarn Size 9 knitting needles Size H crochet hook Finished measurements before seaming is 12" x 5 1/2". Cast on 52 sts Row 1-4: k every st Row 5: k4, P to last 4 sts, k4 Row 6: k3, yo, k2tog, k to last 5 sts, k2tog, yo, k3 (This will make a little buttonhole for the strap to thread through later, see picture above.) Row 7: k4, p to last 4 sts, k4 Row 8: k every st Repeat until piece measures 5 1/2", BO leaving a 12" thread tail. Fold piece in half, with right sides facing, and seam up the back using the thread tail. Making the Ties: You will follow th...

  Isn't my new niece going to be sweet snuggled up in this?! I can't wait! She should be here in a couple of months! I made a few modifications to this pattern, but they were VERY easy to execute. You can see my notes HERE . I'm still a beginner so I can't venture too far from a pattern just yet. :) These few easy modifications made this a completely different cardigan! It was a fast knit, I could have finished in one day pretty easily. I made this sweet little fabric and tulle flower to finish it off. I really, really, REALLY wanted to make a dress to go under this, but my body said NO! If I'm going to make it to 37 weeks with this babe I've just got to listen, even when it keeps me from doing the things I love. I have had a couple of tricky days so I'm just going to sit and see if it passes. Maybe it will and I will still get a chance to sew! xo, Sam

Yes, it's true, we have more Caffee's on the way. I know that many of you remember Cristina and Daniel, who had little Zoe just hours after the devastating tornado last year, well they have another little girl on the way! Yes, all of the Caffee girls were pregnant together again this time. Who knew that I would get to be in this group again?! So now that little Levi is here and has his gift, it's time to knit for our new girly coming next. Cristina loves ruffles, pretty colors, and lace so the picture above was my vision for this little cardigan.  I'm using the In Threes pattern that I used for a cardi last year (for Claire). I changed it up a bit to make it a little more dressy/heirloom. Instead of the garter stitch rows that the pattern calls for, I knit those in 1x1 rib. I love the way it looks so far! (You can see all of the details of my pattern modifications HERE ) This pattern is a super fast top down knit, with only two ends to weave in! I think I ...

I will be starting my new if-it's-a-girl-blanket today. This blanket will have several colors so I decided to plan a little before diving in. First, I pulled out a basket for each side of my chair. I usually knit out of bags, but I thought this project will work much better out of a basket. I plan on doing a striping pattern like this... (Picture from Ravelry HERE ) ..so I made myself a little color guide so that I don't get confused. And last I made yarn-ball-socks to hopefully decrease the amount of tangles that comes with working with several skeins at once. These "socks" were a pair of well loved tights in another life. Now that they don't fit any of the girls, and they are obviously worn out and dingy, they will make nice little homes for my yarn.This was all very fast and easy prep work, but I think it will save me a lot of headache. It feels good to be prepared (sometimes).  Now it's time to knit! This is another free and...