Project...umm... "Monday" #8

you know, it's really hard to keep a public record of your WIPs when they are mostly secret.

cos you end up with posts like-

two almost used up balls of wool-
i can't show you what they've been used up with, cos it's secret.

pretty gripping stuff really.

but anyway, i'm still chugging along with the penguins, and another of my (unseen) secret projects, but i also snuck in some time to make eli some new nappies-
his ones (size small!!) were getting a bit low in the rise, but were still ok around the leg, whereas lexi's old ones are good for him in the rise, but much too big in the leg, which necessitated the drafting of an almost-medium skinny leg size pocket nappy lol... happy to say they fit perfectly!

the breeders

not us, my friends!

it started with needing to make the 2nd pair of booties for a friend who had just had twin girls-
then another had a gorgeous baby boy-
and paul's sister was having a baby girl, so for the baby shower i made a couple of pocket nappies-
and some bamboo & baby pink hemp inserts-
but then she came *before* the baby shower, 7 weeks early, so i had to whip up something fast!
thus, the tiny pink hat-
see, just for scale, here it is on top of the size small nappies!!
and another friend of mine had once mentioned that with prem babies it can be nice to have a pretty sign of their name for their incubator/bassinet, so lexi did a little watercolour painting and punched & glued some butterflies onto a picture for her-and then yet another friend, a passionate knitter, had a baby boy, so i knit him a fun little woven ball-

now i've just got a tiny bit of down time before i need to make something for four more babies on their way!

for alexis' baby..

'scuse the terrible night-time photo.. because i had to take it in secret!

cos... we decided to get alexis a baby as a surprise present from #2 :-)and naturally you need to accessorise!
So the last couple of nights i whipped up a super-cuddly blankie, a hooded towel & wash cloths, and three little nappies!
and all made from scraps & offcuts from my stash.. ;-)

#2's Nappy Stash!

First is our stash...

In the back are my trifold inserts, infant unbleached prefolds, regular coloured prefolds & assorted boosters...
then from top to bottom, left to right..
2x NB Kissaluvs, NB Designer Bums front-snap fitted, NB Rosies fitted & 2x NB Bummis wraps..
NB/sml sage Yoyo pocket, 2x sml Fuzzibunz, sml Ecobubs wool pocket, sml Designer Bums wool pocket & a 'Ditto's OSFM' pocket by my friend Megan!
4x sml homemade front-velcro pockets & 4x sml homemade side snap pockets...
8x sml homemade pocket-fitteds stuffed with matching inserts...
sml space print fitted by my friend sarah, sml Designer Bums fitted, sml Cutiebums fitted & 3x sz1 Snazzipants fitteds....
6x sml Bummis Super Whisper Wraps & 1 sml Designer Bums wool cover..
and a single lonely Snappi! :-D

Then add to that our Waitakere City Council hire kit (go WCC! great idea!!)

which has a big pile of inserts, prefolds & assorted boosters..
a Totsbots fleece cover, a Snazzipants fleece cover, NB & sml Bummis wraps & sml Polar Bummis...
NB Rosies fitteds & NB Designer Bums fitteds..
Sml Rosies fitteds, sz1 Totsbots Bamboozles & sz1 Snazzipants fitteds..
sml Happy Heiny pockets & sml Fuzzibunz pockets..
and a Snappi & wetbag! and it all comes in it's own chest of drawers.. :-)

do you think we'll cope?! ;-)

throwing caution to the wind...

despite financial constraints.. i replaced my useless brick. sorry, i mean my overlocker! ;-p

now i just have to sell our car to make up for it! lol... but the new one is *wonderful*! it is just SO nice to use, smooth running, beautiful stitching and nice & quiet for sewing when the kids are asleep :-D

So last night i whipped up these-

a big stack of tri-fold inserts for in our nappies!
from the top down-
3x baby pink hemp & snuggly cotton fleece for a friend who has just had triplet girls!
3x baby blue hemp & BKT for in our night nappies
3x Bamboo fleece for our night nappies
8x Tie-dyed hemp & microfibre for in our matching pocket fitteds
6x Bamboo fleece & recycled microfibre for overnight/long trips/misc. use

and also this-

it's a baby wearing wrap - approx 4.6m long & made from a stretchy cotton knit to hold a small bub nice & snug :-)
i added a patterned panel to mark the centre & for extra strength in the middle.. and made a wee pocket, that works which ever way up you tie the wrap on, for keeping little emergency things like tissues/a bib/wipes etc!
big thank you to our friend claire for the instructions & measurements!! :-D

Finished small pocket stash!

Four side snapped pockets - based on the Wee Weka sml/med side snap pattern,
and four front tabbed velcro pockets - based on the WW sml/med pocket pattern, adjusted to be a high rise small,
both patterns with added crotch room for extra stuffing! :-)

finished fitted stash!

ain't they cute?!

they're so little & soft & snuggly, but rather practical too ;-)
it'll be nice once i get the overlocker working and can make their matching inserts done!

and another...

just cos i can...

my 2nd snappi-able pocket-fitted! :-D
the first was grape & turquoise bkt, this one is the navy & turquoise..

unfortunately my overlocker pedal has broken so i can't make the matching inserts yet.. I'll just have to amuse myself sewing up the other 6 P-F's & the 8 pockets that i have mostly cut out! ;-)

1st snappi-able Pocket-Fitted!

Made with last night's bkt dyeing efforts :-)

my first snappi-able pocket-fitted!
size small, based on the wee weka serge-edged fitted pattern, but made into a pocket with microfleece inner.. oh and umm not serge-edged either! ;-)
SO easy!!

It's stuffed with an unbleached infant prefold, but of course for the photo i couldn't find our snappi anywhere!

Low-immersion dyeing experiment part two!

Ok so here's the finished results! :-)

the colours aren't exactly true unfortunately, the pitfall of night-time photography..

Batch OneGrape & Baby Blue - Navy & Turquoise
Navy & Baby Blue - Grape & Turquoise

Batch Two
Grape & Baby Blue - Navy & Turquoise
Navy & Baby Blue - Grape & Turquoise
The fabrics are burley knit terry and hemp fleece..
and yes, because i am that stingy i cut out the nappy pattern then overlocked them (badly) before dyeing! lol... they will be made into snappiable pocket-fitteds with matching hemp & microfibre boosters :-D

Oh and a final warning - if you do decide to try this technique be prepared to put up with comments about 'freaking out' and Stairway To Heaven from unenlightened types! ;-)

on the needles...

My super-chunky scarf! :-) knitted with 14ply (i think) 30% wool, 30% mohair, 30% acrylic & evidently 10% mystery... modeled by the rather unwilling alexis.

And i'm currently knitting a teeny-tiny (well they're NB-small, but compared to alexis' ones they're tiny!) pair of longies, with the cool wool that the extremely cool karen gave me! :-D

Also have a whole stack of crocheted dishcloths on the go at the mo.. pic will come when finished, i just couldn't wait for the wee longies! lol

Recent stuff

Last night i whipped up these little pants for my mid-winter secret santa present! :-D they are lovely chunky cord, with a cotton print trim & an adjustable waist... i'm going to decorate a t-shirt to match & knit up a little hat too hopefully... i hope the recipient likes them!

My first pair of socks!! using wool i had dyed, that didn't come out as expected & i didn't know what else to do with it.. heh heh.... they are the knitty universal toe-up sock pattern with short row toe & heel...
Yes, they are very different, but that was kind of on purpose.. i knitted the right one first, but it is slightly baggy around the ball of my foot & the ankle, so when i did the second i cast on two less stitches. but i forgot that when you join up the toe that would mean that there are 4 less stitches in total! *sigh* so it fits really nicely at the ball of the foot, but is slightly too tight at the top of the foot.. plus because the wool had been hand wound, the ball i used for the second sock was stretched slightly more than the first, so the wool is skinner.. which means if you make the rows the same like i did, you end up with a shorter sock! *sigh* but they are comfy & warm & i like the idiosyncrasies.. oh well, i have learnt plenty for next time! :-D

Our stroller didn't have any storage on it, so i made this basic bag that snaps on to the back & can fold up with the stroller.. its just the right size for holding alexis' raincape, our abc, and a little something else like a drink :-)

Finally made a little bag for storing our abc! Really basic, just a snap-down flap, and a strap that snaps into a loop so that you can attach it to things if necessary... perfect for keeping all the straps contained!!

The world's brightest inserts! made using the pink & purple bamboo fleece i dyed, plus plain bamboo & microfibre... there are 4 pink/purple ones and 3 purple/un-dyed ones :-)

A big drawstring wetbag, to hold a second days nappies. made from PU Nylon & bonded fleece... made a miscalculation, so the sewing looks atrocious, and it doesn't close easily.. oh well, it works regardless! lol

my first circular longies finished!!

I have been doing plenty of stuff, and will update everything soonish, but for a start...

My first pair of circular longies are finished!!They are made from purple Tekapo 8ply, with stripes of pinky Cleckheaton, and cream mystery wool lol (that tie is only a temporary one... in theory anyway!)

They're a pretty great fit, but i was hoping they would be longer so that they will fit next year, but i can always pick up the stitches & add more if they don't :-)
They have a striped, ribbed waistband, slightly random stripes on the legs & seed stitch cuffs, because i prefer the bootleg look rather than ribbed cuffs... They seem to be pretty nice & snuggly too!

Purple dyeing

More prefolds, bamboo fleece, and a bamboo flat that i had made up with a panel of microfibre.. since the microfibre isn't a plant protein it hasn't really taken the dye properly, but instead has turned a medium pink colour (kinda muted in the photo)
I think i tried to cram too much fabric into the baby bath, so it has come out slightly mottled, but i quite like the effect :-D

pinkie goodness

Heh heh, this is last nights dyeing effort - 7 pink prefolds & some bamboo fleece :-D

The dye bath was an interesting fuschia colour until i added the soda ash... and then it turned a horrible blood red colour (like a blood bath, not cartoon fire-engine-red) and i spent the rest of the evening worrying that they would be ruined! But luckily after the final wash they've come out a bright pink as they were supposed to... but they're a LOT brighter than i was expecting!!

more busyness

Planted the little strawberry off-shoots into pots.. plus 6 into our vege patch inbetween the big ones :-D

Harvested my carrots.. a couple were nice, if a little small...
then there were the 'also ran's-

Shame that i planted 32 seeds tho *sigh* most died soon after sprouting...

My bamboo & microfibre flat-

One layer is totally bamboo fleece, the other is 3/4 bamboo & 1/4 microfibre, so when it is folded into four, the microfibre is closest to the skin for quick absorbtion & to spread the wetness along the length of the bamboo...

And a new cover for over her night-time fitteds, the other one was getting a bit short in the rise...

Have almost finished the first sleeve of the tigger cardi too, should be done tonight!!

My Productive Week

Monday morning - Cast on the first front panel of my Tigger Cardi.. knitted..

Tuesday evening - Knit... Cut out & sewed three taggie blankies, satin on one side & printed microfleece on the other, with ribbon tags sewn round the edges. Sooo snuggly... Cut out fabric for alexis' raincape....

Wednesday - Sewed Alexis' raincape, just need to add snaps..

Wednesday evening - Finished first front panel of tigger cardi (fastest knitting ever).. Cast on second panel...








Thursday - Added snaps to alexis' raincape, all finished.







It is nylon outer, with printed microfleece inner, for extra waterproofing and snuggliness..






It has a zip closure (my first try at sewing zips & it came out great) with a waterproof flap that snaps down over the top to stop rain coming through the zip






I added snaps at the 'wrists' and half-way up the arms, so that the sleeves can be shortened while alexis is still so little.. the sleeves fold under so they don't catch rain



As you can see it has plenty of growing room, especially if i sew some matching pants when she is older....








The hood is elasticated at the top, to help it stay on, but without the trouble (and danger with babies) of a drawstring :-)





It rolls up pretty small, but i'm going to sew a little cram-sack for keeping it in, like a sleeping bag





Friday - knit

Saturday - Whipped up a two layer bamboo fleece flat to trial.. highly exciting i know... but it is sooo soft & i'm hoping it will prove very absorbent....




also made up a bamboo fleece bib, backed with polar fleece, for a friends newborn baby who has reflux.. can't have too many bibs with reflux babies, and the fleece is just perfect, as it is so snuggly & gentle....


Sunday evening - finished the second front panel of my tigger cardi, i can't believe i managed to get them done in less than a week (just lol)