Sunday, March 4, 2012

Clothing the family in wonky craft

A visit from my US-living sister gave me the perfect excuse to knit up lots of wonky babywear for her to take back to her toddling and soon-to-be-born granddaughters.  Cap-sleeve tops and hats delivered today.  Tick.
 The In Threes cardi I started last week is still on the go.  It might be finished by the time the soon-to-be-born girl is toddling.  The super-chunky pure wool is more suited to a North-West-USA winter than to a Melbourne one - it's like a little winter coat!

 The smallest fashion designer in the house has contributed to the new bub's wardrobe, too.
Wild young thing that I am (not), I spent  Friday night with the knitting machine and a cone of linen-cotton yarn.... 2000-odd rows of stockingette and not a dropped stitch.  Loving it.
I'm particularly liking the wrong side of the fabric.  The texture and the depth of colour in the yarn is more apparent.  It's soon to be something for ME!
 And I played with a ball of Bendigo 'Highlands' yarn, using every second needle on the knitting machine.  I like the fisherman's jumper rib-effect.  I like the tweedy colours and texture.  I just have to work out what I can make with my one 200g ball of this yarn...?
I remembered today, that I hadn't blogged the bamboo yarn machine-knit socks I mentioned ages ago.  Here they are on the washing line, between two hand-knit pairs.   I think I have the hang of the process of machine-knit socks now, I just have to get over my left-right dyslexia.... or else live up to my reputation of having two left feet.

 In other machine-knitted-wonk news, the girl finally wore the vest that I made (badly) months ago.  Cotton 4-ply 'Amalfi' yarn from Lincraft....the machine hated it.  There was lots of coarse language, silicone spray and a complete re-working of one shoulder...  And then  I realised I'd put it back on the machine the wrong way to make a "design feature" of garter stitch on one shoulder.
 I gave up decided to make it 'unfinished edge' style.  I really, really love the colours and the texture of the knit, but the shape of the garment  isn't quite right.  The girl agreed to wear it around the house but "not in public."
She did, however, wear her self-made outfit of skirt and top (seen under the vest, above) to a large (in-laws) family gathering today.  Luckily, I was at my own large family gathering and was blissfully ignorant of the fact.

Had I been there, I would have denied all responsibility for her slap-dash approach to fashion.

10 comments:

Lotti said...

I love those two little tops at the beginning of your blog. They are so nice. What a cute pattern.

Fiona said...

Loving the toddler tops!! And the wee girl's fashion sense!!

And I'm still loving the idea of a knitting machine but I'm resisting the temptation to find out how much they cost (new or secondhand) or I'll start formulating plans and that could be dangerous!! Besides if I had a machine I's have to make things faster, need more yarn ... it's a very dangerous path to start on!!

Claire - Matching Pegs said...

I think it is a real milestone (and something to be proud of) when you realise that you don't have to control what your child wears, as long as they are dressed appropriately for the weather.

Michaela puts together some unusual ensembles, and now I mostly just go with it.

http://www.matchingpegs.com/2011/04/26/like-a-rainbow/

Katherine said...

Oooooh, look at all the fabulous knit craft you've been doing! Very inspiring, Nikki.

Hey, I think it's great that your wee girl has been boldly following her own creative heart and is proudly wearing her creations. Way to be yourself, R!

trudi@maudeandme said...

Your agreement with your daughter had me chuckling. I make those same agreements!
And I now have huge regrets over knocking back a sewing machine a few years ago.

CurlyPops said...

I'm loving the wee girl's sense of style. She's a trailblazer and a fashionista!

Jane said...

Oh my goodness I just LOVE your daughter's sewing!

A Peppermint Penguin said...

Your Wee Girl has a bullet proof sense of confidence. I admire her!

Nice bit of knitting there.

On the subject of the machine... if you knit a tube in undyed yarn. and dye it in graded stripes, and then knit from it... you get interesting colour change yarn.

just sayin.

Annie said...

The cool weather gets us all thinking about wool - hey! I'm looking forward to getting back to my crotcheting - if I remember the pattern I was making!! Mum coming for a visit tomorrow - and yes, May is perfectly fine for those selvedges. Loving the short hair!

Fer said...

I love watching your girl's adventures in sewing! But I don't blame you for wanting to disown her... ;)

I'm also glad the knitting machine is still going strong - that linen blend stuff is amazing!