Drew in his Green Zebra Sweater

Thanks to Jim for the beautiful photos!

Make It Work

I think it's fitting that on the night of the premiere of the new season of Project Runway, I am "making it work" with my own project.  This sweater has been a challenge...it has seen many revisions, and I am happy to say that I didn't unravel the whole thing in the process.  I kept working at it.

It's not perfect.  But neither am I!  I'm proud of it.  And I'm glad that I have a little boy to wear it who can make just about anything look good.  Photos of him in it to come...

Sweater Surgery

I finished Drew's blue/green zebra sweater back in late February, but I wasn't totally happy with it.  I thought the seed stitched collar and cuffs looked a little feminine, as well as the long length.  Well, I tried it on him this past weekend, and it fits a lot better!  He has grown into the length so it won't need much shortening.  The sleeve length looks good, and I think it will get a little wider in the chest once I block it.  After some encouragement from a nice knitter at my LYS, I decided to try making some changes to it.  I did some research on ravelry, and learned that it wouldn't be too hard to insert a lifeline, cut a stitch, and rip out the collar and cuffs.  Cutting that stitch was a little scary but I didn't unravel the whole sweater--it worked out just fine!

New collar, knit in 2x2 rib

New cuff, knit in 2x2 rib

Next I'm going to block the sweater to see how much wider and longer it gets, and then I will rip out the bottom and shorten it a little, and make a 2 x 2 rib border on the bottom instead of seed stitch.  I'm looking forward to Drew wearing his sweater this fall!!  (And SO looking forward to sweater weather--I'm sick of 100 degree weather!)

Football Hat--Take 2

I just finished another football hat for my friends' new baby, Brady.  This one came out a little better than the one I made for Drew!  The football and stitching look neater.  It took me awhile to get going on this hat because I hadn't made notes for the first one I did, so I was trying to figure out how many stitches I cast on and what size needles I used, etc. I wanted it to be pretty close to the size I made for Drew since he was also a June baby.  This hat came out a little smaller but I think it should be a good fit!

Drew's hat on left; Brady's hat on right

Cupcake Pin Cushion

This pin cushion is anything but "regular" ;)

Fabric Snob

A couple days ago I went to Hancock Fabrics to look for some cotton fabrics for baby blankets.  After looking around for about a half hour with my 25 pounder perched hoisted up on my hip (he likes to feel the fabrics too), I decided that I was, in fact, already a fabric snob and couldn't bring myself to buy just any fabric if I didn't love the pattern and feel of it.

So, off I went today to a local sewing shop in hopes of finding some better supplies.  I put Drew in the Ergo this time and headed in, hopeful to find some cute fabric and a basic pincushion (I am making the cupcake pincushion for myself and need an ordinary pin cushion with which to stuff it).  Well, despite the fact that I was the only one in the store, the saleslady didn't show any interest in helping me.  I looked around for a bit on my own and after only finding magnetic pin cushions, I inquired if they had any regular "tomato" pin cushions (in retrospect, I could have gotten this at Hancock, but I thought I might kill two birds with one stone and get some better fabric at this shop, too).  She responded that they "didn't carry anything REGULAR."  Argh!  Was it the baby in the carrier that made me seem like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman in a fancy store?  I then asked if they offered any classes (she told me to look online), and we exited quickly without buying anything.

It really got me thinking...why aren't the people who work in craft stores a little friendlier?  I feel like if I worked there, I would be interested to hear what people are working on, show them items that could help them improve their projects, etc.  I think that a little enthusiasm goes a long way--especially in retail!  If she had shown me around and asked a few questions, etc., I probably would have walked out with a bag full of stuff and signed up for classes, too.  I've found this at some other yarn shops back in E-town too.  It's just kind of mind-boggling.  I feel like I have to win them over!  I guess it's probably just people who don't like their jobs, but it's just a little disappointing.  Oh well, good thing I have family and friends with whom to share my love of yarn and fabrics and all things creative... :)