Ready for Winter?

I've been trying to get ready for our trip to Michigan this winter.  Since we live in California, there isn't much need for super warm pants.  But, that being said, in my house there is always a need for cute wool pants that can double as a cover for cloth diapers.  Well, here they are.  I am so happy with how they turned out.  I got the pattern from Itchy Fingers.  It is a pretty long pattern, but she really gives a great initial sheet to figure out how many stitches are needed for each section.  I had trouble with the short rows in the back, but on the last short row I discovered a post for Japanese short rows that worked perfectly with no hiccup.  I've included the link for the short rows here.  

I love the colors in these pants.  These are the same pants I made for my son a while back except longer (I made my son shorts).  Well, we'll see how they work in a day.  We're off to the snow.  I hope the wool will keep her warm and dry!  Happy holidays everyone.

Dress to "Impress"

I am so excited about this dress from Pickles.  It is called the Impress dress and I am definitely impressed with how it looks.  I did not use the suggested yarn.  I ended up using a yarn called "Corntastic" that was on sale at my local yarn store.  It's made out of 100% corn, which is excellent since it is eco-friendly and vegan.  It's a great alternative to wool and organic cotton yarns. Plus you can machine wash and dry it!

It feels so soft.  The one thing I will say is that it is a little thicker weight yarn than suggested in the pattern.  So, the size of the dress seems a little bit smaller.  My daughter is 9 months old and on the smaller size anyway (she's about 17 lbs), but it seems like it should fit her for a little while before I pass it down to a friend.

It took me a total of 4 nights in front of the television to knit it.  I like to knit small things for kids, because it takes me less time to finish.  Knitting is also a test for me to relinquish control.  I messed up the pattern at the beginning by over thinking it.  When they say do the same for the next side, you just do the SAME THING in the SAME ORDER.  I reversed it.  But was I going to pull out what I'd done.  NOOOO WAY!

One thing I didn't like was that they did not give you the knit and decrease numbers for the neck....but I figured it out - enough.  It is definitely not perfect, but if you're counting my stitches..... well :(

I can't wait for my daughter to wear it.  I guess I'll have to stop putting her in brother's hand me downs!

Sandwich Time

I have been continuing to make food for my son's kitchen.  My latest venture has been the Lilly Bean Market sandwich and chips.  I bought the pattern for the sandwich, but eye-balled the bag of chips.  I think they came out nicely.  We gave one for a Christmas present this year and my son started asking for his.  The most tedious part of the project in the bread crusts.  Other than that...it's pretty easy.  Delicious.

Knitted Summer Top

So I decided to knit again.  I have been taking a class online to become a lactation educator, and I needed an outlet on days in which the kids were not sleeping well.  It is easier to stop and start a knitting project than it is to stop and start an online assignment.

I found this cute top on Pickles.   It was super easy.  All knit stitches!  I used yarn I already had, which I think made for the smaller size.  I planned on knitting it for my daughter, but when it came out (ta dah) it was too small for her.  I was definitely disappointed since the pattern said fits 6-9 months, but it was my fault that I didn't use their yarn suggestion.  Oh well.  With this economy you gotta use yarn from the stash!

The great thing now is that it's an awesome handmade gift for a friend's baby.  It just so happened that my husband's friend had a baby in February.  So, there should be no fit problem there.  I'm sure it can start as a little dress and then be the top it was supposed to be.  I'm planning on knitting one for my little one soon.  I'll have to find some stash yarn that might be closer to the one in the pattern, or just add some stitches to the beginning.