Looking Hip: TWO Modern Pixies!

This could very well be my last blog post as a mother of one...OUTSIDE of the uterus!  Dare I hope that it stays that way for a few more days????  I've been sewing up a storm this weekend, and I'm not yet done.  After some minor details are complete, I will have finished three dresses, a skirt, and a top.  In my wildest dreams, I will also have the chance to trace, cut and sew a couple more patterns, but let's not get hasty, eh?  ;)

All that aside, though...knitting is the point of this post!  Which project, you say?  Why, I did a KAL of sorts with a friend, Terri - the Modern Pixie by Elena Nodel.  I've been in suspense to share this sweater, and I chose the ONE insanely WINDY day on which to take pictures, so, take care to ignore Camden's windswept look.

Camden would love that horse!

The wee headband she received at a birthday party!

The pattern itself is SOOOO easy/such a basic, in terms of straight-up stockinette, but it has such a cool look about it.  Camden loves this sweater, and I don't know if wee Amelia does, but she should - hers looks awesome!  I'm glad we each went with a different striping method, so, it gives you the chance to see a couple versions.  My ONLY issue is that I honestly suck at striping.  I carried the yarn in this sweater, and it wouldn't have mattered if I'd NOT carried it.  End-weaving also leaves an un-pretty look for me.  If anyone knows of a better way to carry yarn and NOT have an ugly "seam" of sorts, let me know!  Terri apparently works magic, as hers is great.  I suppose you can't really tell in the pictures I chose to put up, but I promise the funny look is there.  Also, in the sweater link, you can see there is a belt option, but I chose not to add that, as it wouldn't look right, in my opinion.

For Camden's sweater, I used Colour Adventures Little Mermaids and Bleeding Heart colorways (list/pictures of colors HERE), and the yarn is fantastic.  Naturally, I had to go down a needle size, because I am a loose knitter - and I honestly think going down two needle sizes IS smarter (this is per an Elena sweater I just finished, by the way - more on that another day!), as with blocking, I think I'd be more on gauge.  (The smart person would just start wet-blocking...and I definitely plan to do that when I knit my OWN sweaters!)  The yarn was delightful, as always with CA yarns.  I have quite the stock pile of CA yarns to work through, actually ;)

Terri used Madelinetosh Tosh Chunky, which I've heard is awesome possum yarn but haven't yet used.  She used the colorways Vishnu and Button Jar Blue, which look super great together.  She also had no issues with the pattern, and it's lovely on Amelia.

These colorways are this lovely in PERSON!

The mean wall hurt Camden's hand a few minutes into the photo shoot, so, she went from silly to sad; thank goodness her dad was there to give kisses.

Ouch!!

Don't mind his crazy sword-fighting glove ;)

The unknown count-down to el bebe's appearance continues....But here is one last shot of the big sister!

Wearing those Nozky leg warmers by Monika Sirna!

Figgy's...Once Again! (But Kicking it Old School)

So, gosh....these are my baby girl's (I know, I know...a BIG GIRL!) third and fourth Jane dresses (though one is clearly a Jane top).  This pattern is from back in the ye olde days from Figgy's Patterns.  So, I hate to say it, but it's no longer available, unless you can find that crazy, sneaky copy still left in your local fabric store - not sure if Bolt in Portland would have it, but it's always worth checking!

I had done the size 2/3 many moons ago, when Camden was just over 1, and you can see how big it was on her then - and she can STILL squeeze into it!  Silly me, though:  Last year (maybe summer 2012), I decided that since the other one WAS getting a big shorter, I'd upsize...to the 4/5, and it didn't fit THEN and doesn't fit NOW.  It is so excessively long, though I can't wait for her to wear it, because I did the cutest machine embroidery on it, LOL.  My computer ate the pictures of the green dress, but here is a progression of her getting older in the linen one with Liberty contrast:

This time around, I decided to do the size 2/3 and lengthen the dress - and naturally, I thought I'd lengthen the shirt, though I wonder if next time, I would only lengthen half the amount between a 2/3 and a 4/5...and also shorten the waistband, as I find it a bit long on the vertical (and while we're at it, I should have lengthened the sleeves, but ah, well...)  I still love it!  I'd been holding onto this fabric for a year or so, and it was perfect for this blouse!  You will find in the pictures that I used shot cotton for the green dress version - and for the waistband, etc. on the blouse, which is one of my FAVORITE lining fabrics for children's wear.   The color has a nice depth, and the fabric is pretty lightweight (definitely pull out the size 70 needle for this stuff - and be ready to use your straight stitch plate, if your machine has one, as my wide stitch plate loves to suck this stuff down into its gullet).  It does clearly wrinkle a bit, but no mind!  I can handle that.

What is going on here???

Reading 100 Angelina Ballerina books, LOL

Anywho - the blouse is constructed with French seams, which are so super easy.  I'm a bit nutty about making them look good, so, after I do my first 1/4 inch stitching of wrong sides together, I press the seams open THEN together.  I then trim that seam allowance down and flip the fabric out so it's right sides together, and I press it again before doing the next 1/4 inch stitching.  For French seams, it's usually best to have a lighter weight fabric, as it can get HIGHLY annoying to stitch them if the fabric is heavier.  The directions for this pattern are great (again, I apologize that I'm doing an old pattern, but it's worth it if you can find it!) - and the dress is a quick sew, which is nice!  Also, the dress has pockets, which Camden always finds fun!

Clearly, these are octopus hats!

You'll also note in the photo above that she's been getting some wear out of those leg warmers, aha!

Lastly, a couple randoms - at the park on Sunday afternoon....it was such a NICENICE day!  She is wearing a mish-mash of things, LOL.  Her Celestial top by Figgy's, her Color Me Pretty sweater by Elena Nodel and her Nozky leg warmers.  The second picture is from today - we like to LAYER whenever we head out on the bike now, so, her Pepper sweater is peaking out from under her Molly jacket, along with a random scarf - my second I ever knit.

knitting, knitting.....and a LONG scarf

I'm settling in after a fun early-birthday surprise evening with my husband!  We had great Peruvian food for dinner and finally caught "We Are the Millers" - great flick....and so happy it was still out that we old fuddy duddies could catch the LATE showing of 7 :)

As for a new finished project - presenting the Color Me Pretty Scarf, designed by Elena Nodel:

For the speedy knitter - and the knitter who doesn't dink around on-line in sewing and knitting groups on Facebook and Ravelry, this could have probably been finished a WHOLE lot faster.  I, however, want to apparently prove that I'm as slow as they come....and it took me a good month or more to work on it.  People often think sweaters are a lot of work, and they can take on that whole "Will I EVER finish this????" train of thought, but scarves are a whole other story for me.  I love the result, and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed it (and not just for looks, for realz...she was in the bike trailer for two different trips, and people, Bend, OR, hasn't exactly been sunshine and sweaty days lately!) and received compliments on it while we were out and about today, admired at both the chiropractor and the library, aha!

Elena Nodel designs some of my most favorite patterns for children  - she does great work in writing them and designing them.  She is honestly so super nice, too.  I have worked with her on several occasions, between choosing yarn and asking pattern questions.  She has her hand in many crafting pots, so, she's a busy lady, but she takes time out to help out!  Also, she has enlisted the help of another woman, Jan Harvey, who helps with her blog and answering pattern questions in the Ravelry group, Colour Adventures.  

As for this particular pattern, it's written super well, and it's an easy one, relatively speaking.  If one can get past thinking color work is HARD work, THEN it's easy cheese cream pie.  It does get tedious when I have to untwist two balls of yarn every other round, and I'm not great at knitting continental/picking my yarn, so, I only did that in particular rounds - where the color change was every other stitch.  

As for my happiness with my final product, I do wish I hadn't sized up two needle sizes for the color work; I wish I'd only gone up one, as the width difference is too much for me.  I'm a looser knitter, so, I had to size down two sizes for the main scarf, in the first place - to a size 4 needle.  That seems to be the needle size for me to get about 5.5 spi with worsted/DK weight yarn.  Also, I used Colour Adventures yarn for my project, and Elena, besides being awesome at pattern designing, also does great work with yarn dyeing.  The overall outcome is great, though, and it should grace her neck for a few years.

I used her yarn in these other projects, too, one being the sweater to match the lovely scarf (hat to come later, aha!) and one being her Magical sweater:

Anyway, it's a lovely pattern, but I'm glad it's done - it was the never-ending scarf, and I've now happily moved on to a new project, the Sweet Poppy sweater - for this, I will use Colour Adventures in the colorway Watercolours.  The orange yarn in the picture is Madelinetosh - for some Nozky leg warmers I will also soon knit up.

A last few glimpses of her CMP scarf, which she just loves and doesn't have to hound me about finishing any longer, LOL: