Wool Shorts

So I have finally finished knitting a pair of wool shorts for my son. And not too soon! He is fighting a cold and drinking lots of liquids, which means he is having accients at night and during nap-time.

The last pair of soakers I knit for him were shrunk by my mother when I was giving birth to my daughter. He was wearing them the night I went into labor, and my mother being the helpful person she is, did laundry and tossed them in. Needless to say, when I got home I was so happy to be greeted to a clean and laundered house, but the poor soakers that I had made will now fit my baby.

These soaker shorts I made out of wool I found really cheap. They didn't have 2 of the same color, so I decided to make them 2 toned. I knit them in the round (a first for me) and grafted the legs together (also a first). There were a lot of firsts on this pattern. I also added in short rows in the tush for added room. When working in the round it seems that my right side of the short rows came out great, but the left side is a little wonky. I'm sure it will not be noticeable when they are washed several times. I'll have to visit my local knit shop to see what I did wrong for the next time. I can't wait to start on some new longies for my daughter, but I think I might try and make little ruffled soakers first - as a smaller project.

Wool Longies

I have finally knit some wool longies. I wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It took me about 3 days (only knitting at night in front of the TV), because there is no way I can knit during the day when the kids are up.

I think they turned out super cute, and I am ready to knit some shorts for my son and another pair of longies (with a different pattern). These were knit with the Tiny Birds Organics Longies pattern. It was really easy and she has everything written out for you.

Right now, I am looking at knitting in the round (no seams to sew) but I am a little intimidated. They use words like grafting legs, short rows, double pointed needles, and magic loop! I have no idea how to do any of that, so I'm going to head over to my favorite knitting store ( The Stitch Cafe in Valley Village www.stitchcafe.com) and ask for some help. I'll have to figure out when I can do that, since it's probably not good to bring a baby and a 3 year old into a shop full of yarn balls. The baby I'm sure would not be the problem, but the other one... It would be like a play day for a giant cat!

When I finish, I'll have to post pictures. I'm also trying to get ready for the holidays, so I'll be making a lot of felt foods and toys, along with soaps and knitted washcloths. I even have a cute neck scarf to knit for someone special. Well here's to happy crafting!

Wool Knit Soakers

So I made my first pair of wool soakers. It took me about 2 days. I worked on them primarily when I put my son to bed at night or naps. I'm happy with how they look and fit. I did mess up on the waistband in the back. I forgot that I used size 9 needles to make the band, and when I got to the back just used the size 5 needles I was knitting the body with. Since knitted wool stretches, I am not concerned. I might try and make a newborn size, which should take me less time than these did. It would be a good cover for some of my non-waterproof diapers.

All in all I'm excited to try them out tonight. I should be able to let them air out in the mornings and use them again at night. I hear that they shouldn't need to be washed for about 2 weeks since wool is naturally anti-microbial and wicking.

I might try knitting a square next, felting it, and cutting a soaker pattern out to sew. We'll see how much time I have.