New Pillows

In an attempt to make our living room a little more colorful I decided to cover some pillows! I used left over fabric from my chair recovering project, as well as some new fabric to match. This was my first project with my brand new sewing machine that the Real Martha got me for my birthday! Definitely a learning curve, but I'm getting the hang of it!

Kate K's Baby Shower Gifts

First, Martha's second and wonderful attempt at a "Jug Jacket" modeled by the lovely Michael McCarthy! Using a purple, leafy batik and a light green batik to back it up the "Jug Jacket" is a great, stylish cover up for Mommy when baby is hungry! Also with a burp cloth to match.

The second home-made gift was my first attempt at crochet! I used a single and double crochet pattern with Sugar 'n Cream yarn in Hot Pink and In Motion. By the way, Meg was my amazing crochet teacher :)

Sweater Making Machine

I am a machine.  A baby sweater making machine.  

Observe:

Wind me up and watch me go.

Sister sweater to Baby Izzy's cardigan...

Crocheted Baby Cardigan, Part Dua

Collared crochet baby sweater, take dua (that's "two" in Bahasa Indonesia... one example of several words that are pretty easy to remember):

I had big plans to finish this sweater before I left the U.S. so Baby Andrew could wear it right away, but it got so crazy at the end that I didn't have a chance to finish it up.  I made quick work of it once I had a little bit more time on my hands.

I think it's pretty cute, although it does have somewhat of a Bert and Ernie feel to it due to the color scheme.  Eh, Andrew, tell your mom to pair it with some jeans and a white onesie and you'll be stylin'.

Now it's just a question of figuring out the best way to get stuff back to the U.S.!!

Crocheted Baby Cardigan

Now that I know the top down/seamless/ridiculously easy method for making baby sweaters, I am knocking these things out in a single afternoon!



I saw this "Every Day is a New Sweater Day" pattern from Rima Aranha at Yarny Days, the same woman who designed the cute kimono-style sweater I made a couple weeks ago... based on the same concept, but with a collar and evenly sized front panels, it was pretty cute and easily manipulated style-wise.

I crocheted this one for baby Izzy using Lily Sugar n' Cream cotton yarn in a variegated called "Moondance" and a solid purple called "Grape." Baby Andrew, yours is on the way and will be much manlier!

UPDATE:  Baby Izzy in her sweater! 
She's giving the camera a bit of the stink eye, but I think she likes the sweater, no?

Knitted Wrap Sweater for Zoe

Sorry for the delay in posting!  I've been packing, filling out forms, catching up with friends and  generally panicking in anticipation of our move to Jakarta, Indonesia.  Not a lot of time to cook or craft, but I hope to pick it back up once I am settled out there!  I've already scoped out some local yarn/craft stores.  Not that I don't have a pretty significant stash that needs to be busted...

Anywho, I've been knitting this wrap sweater for Zoe for months now... it went quickly at the beginning, but then I panicked when I started running out of yarn and realized that the yarn I am using (Bernat Satin Sport) is discontinued in the color I am using, Aqua.  Boooooo.  Ultimately it worked out- I decided to shorten the sleeves a bit to make them more like 3/4th length, and I think it turned out pretty cute.  

Martha helped me sew it together, which was another fear of mine... we ended up slip stitching it together with a crochet hook and chain stitching the tie closures.

Can't wait to see Baby Z in it!  It's probably big for this fall, but perhaps next year it will fit.  Lincoln didn't get a chance to try it on... he was too busy learning Bahasa Indonesia for his upcoming international move and travel blog: Lincoln Goes to Indonesia.*

* Ok, so Lincoln may not truly be the blogger or even the focus of the blog... but he's sure to contribute to it.  We'll post photos and stories from our adventures in Jakarta and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.  Follow it!  I'll start posting as soon as we hit the road next week!