Tag Archives: soakers

January 17, 2009 · 8:48 am

Knits are not scary.

Wow, it’s been a week. We’ve had brutal cold, and I usually don’t mind cold. But this was a bit too much for me.(What does it say about me that -40 windchill is “a bit too much?” Must be the wool). How do we keep warm around here in this cold? Roasted apples, of course:

I love what they come up with. I hate having to use my flash.

Spinner’s been busy rolling over and has been working hard to roll across the living room. That’s good news. The other good news is that he is sporting some new soakers and longies due to the fact that I’ve finally gotten over my fear of sewing with knits. I’ve had 5 yards of gorgeous wool interlock hiding under the bed. Why this fabric was so scary to me, I don’t know, but here are the results:

I need to tweak the pattern I came up with. I started with a pajama pants pattern in six 6-12 months, modified the length and added the cuffs. I then added on a waistband. Unfortunately the top is still too big. Since the waistband is added on top and the original pattern requires you to fold over and use elastic, the measurements are still off, but not my much. I’ll keep playing with it.

I recycled a sweater too:

I used the Little Comet Tails pattern for this one. What a well written, excellent pattern! I can whip one of these out in 30 minutes. I made one other out of the interlock with some trim from another merino sweater I recycled. And to think all I needed was a ball tip needle on my sewing machine. Now if I only had a serger….

So my bad news? Poor Knittykid needs another attempt at having his cavities filled , as well as a crown. I’ve been busy sorting through the world of children’s dental work/sedation/anesthesia + dental insurance, medical insurance, three-tiered systems…Crap, it’s complicated and I just want my poor guy’s teeth fixed the in best way possible for him. It’s looking like the dentist with no patience who originally tried to fill his teeth is going to cost us a about $2500 and a lot worries for Knittykid.

So I’m hoping for a relaxing weekend. I’ve also been back at work now the last two weeks…thank god I only work part time and the Skeptic is home those days. I’d really be stressed if I actually had to get the kids out of the house too. But The Grandparents will be making an appearance later this morning and will be here ’till Sunday. Time to fold laundry, knit a bit by the fireplace, bake cupcakes and enjoy some good company. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

8 Comments

Filed under family, kids, pants, soakers, Uncategorized

Tagged as Little Comet Tails, longies, soakers, wool interlock

October 12, 2008 · 7:58 pm

You may want to cover your eyes

Remember these soakers???

Yeah, the cutest pair I ever knit, that not only were a perfect fit but made use of my many soaker scraps, saving me $30+ for yarn for a new pair? The same soakers that Knittykid actually danced around with happiness for?

Sit down. Here they are now:

Felted!!!!

The suspects?

The Skeptic
My Mom
My Grandma
Little Man
Knittykid (not that the last two do the laundry, but they do occasionally throw something in the basket)

This is what happens in the first weeks after you have your third baby and you are lucky enough to have people who love you doing all the laundry. My guess is that they got tossed in with the boys laundry by mistake, but ooooh, what an “ouch” this one was. At least Spinner will be able to grow into them!

Mom, if it was you, I still love ya’!!! 🙂

13 Comments

Filed under disasters

Tagged as soakers

August 3, 2008 · 10:14 am

Soaker, toddler style

The soaker love just doesn’t stop around here. I’ve never knit so many versions of the same two patterns.

Of course, Knittykid decided to grow out of his soakers this summer, so he got a new one too and has two more in the works. This one is also the Picky Pants (love this pattern!!) and is made up of various leftovers I’ve had around.

Here’s the modeling shot:

And the regular shot:

Knittykid is totally digging them, but with all the potty learning (or NOT learning) that’s going on these days the diapers don’t stay on too long. Of course, there has been zero actual success on the potty but you’ve got to start somewhere, right? He’s interested, he’s excited, he’s just totally making imaginary potty that he is quite proud of.

I’ve got more baby soakers to show off but it’s cleaning time before I go off for a blissful afternoon of prenatal yoga and my monthly spinning group. Can’t beat that! Then my mom and Grandma show up tonight to stay for a WEEK 🙂 of help so I can actually get ready for this baby. We’re on week 33 now, and the countdown is freaking me out a little bit. Between my lack of organization and the fact that our sunroom has no curtains (which is where the birth tub is going) I’ve got lots to do in the next few weeks!

5 Comments

Filed under finished objects, kids, knitting, soakers

Tagged as picky pants, soakers

June 25, 2008 · 9:56 pm

Soakermania!!

Chicago was fun, but wore me out! I did make it to Loopy Yarns and Nina and had a nice visit at both shops. I picked up some BFL Fleece Artist to make some longies for Knittykid and a skein of Malabrigo silk and merino to make a cowl for myself.

I promised more FO’s to show off, and I’ve got a heap of soakers that I’ve finished up.

The first two are all the Curly Purly pattern. I like this pattern for babies who are not on their toes yet. It relies on just ribbing to keep them up, so once you have a toddler they may fall down. But for newborns, you couldn’t have an easier pattern!

This first one is Knitpicks Wool of the Andes.

This next one is Blackberry Ridge Kaleidoscope in Firecracker. So nice and soft!

The next one isn’t finished but the trim is in what I think is a Cascade wool/llama blend (very soft) and the dark brown is a Classic Elite tweed.

Lastly, this one is a small size using the Little Turtle Knits Undersoaker pattern. See that bulge under the waistband? Yup, I messed up the elastic and have to go back and fix it. Bummer. But the yarn is to die for! It was dyed by Lia over at Fruity Sheep and is a super soft Peruvian. Very nice!

Believe it or not, I’ve got more FO’s but I promised myself I’d kick myself off the computer by 10:00. Don’t want to overwhelm you all anyway!

14 Comments

Filed under finished objects, knitting, soakers, travels

Tagged as finished objects, knitting, soakers

May 27, 2008 · 10:38 pm

(There is yarn content in here, I promise!!!)

I’m going to admit that my online attention has been elsewhere. I’ve barely read more than a handful of blogs in the last two weeks and rarely left a comment. And for what? My latest obsession, not yarn or fiber (although that’s always an obsession), but diapers.

A few of you will be in the know about this, but most of you will be thinking, “diapers?” How much time can a girl spend obsessing about diapers? Let me tell you, LOTS of time.

Because there is a lovely place called Hyenacart. Sort of like Etsy, but aimed more at families/natural living. There are gorgeous, gorgeous cloth diapers here. And while the Fuzzi Bunz and prefolds have served me well for the boys, they are old and worn and it’s time to step it up. This kid is getting handmade fitteds, such as my cute red monkey diaper I found this weekend.

The thing is, diaper shopping is as much work as yarn shopping when it comes to small, indie sellers. You basically need to stalk the sites and grab them when you have the chance. Plus, I’m trying to stick to some sort of budget. After all, cloth diapers are supposed to be saving me money, not break the bank. So I’ve been looking for a few nice splurges as well as the more budget friendly sellers as well. But wow, there is so much to choose from (if I can only get to them first!)

And of course, this is not just a post about buying diapers. This is a blog about making things, and that includes diapers. So I’m also obsessing about sewing diapers and of course, knitting soakers. (See, there is knitting in here!!) But I’ve never sewn a diaper, and it’s been two years since I’ve made a soaker, so I’m out of the loop. There are patterns to look at and yarn to obsess about. Amazingly, my stash is not very full of good soaker yarn, and this is the best part I have to share with all of YOU knitters out there.

You see, I thought I was pretty up on my internet yarn sources. I’ve haunted Etsy and most of the smaller yarn sellers online, so I was sure I’d seen it all. Nope. Because in all my soaker research/Hyenacart shopping, I’ve made a discovery. There is more yarn out there. Yarn I’ve never even heard of, dyers I’ve never run across, all that seem to lurk within the cloth diaper circuit. And this is nice stuff, beautiful colors, interesting yarns. A lot of very specific wools out there that would be nice for more than soakers. Lots of BFL, targhee, organic, rambouillet, handspun….a lot of beautiful yarn.

Want a peak? Go here. And here. Also here. And to see all of it, here. And don’t forget Spot’s Corner, where you can see who is selling off their stash (and you could sell yours!).

So hopefully, in exchange for some new yarn shopping for all of you, you’ll forgive my little blog-reading hiatus here. I promise I’ll be lurking around again soon, as soon as I’ve spent all my money:-)

13 Comments

Filed under shopping, stash, stuff to love

Tagged as diapers, soakers, yarn