knitting and weaving update

Esme and I had a nice day out in the 'world' today, looking at rocks and plants and visiting her Grandma up the road. I have been working a bit more on knitting Esme's blue sweater and thinking more about weaving again.



I am down to one sleeve to finish making, sew the sleeves on, then to make the extra ribbing around the bottom and the cuffs. I have already done the collar and buttonbands. I think it is coming alnog nicely and the part that is done fits her well on the try-on.



This can be a loom. I know it can. I rescued it from a pile of display items set to be thrown away - it used to hold sprinkler wands for garden spraying. I know there is some way for it to hold a very long warp wound up. That is why I have not woven anything in a while - I have graduated from 'placemat' size to not wanting to start anything that doesn't have the potentiality to be larger than 18 inches by 3 feet long. This may be another project that will come up soon - or it may have to wait until after our planting is done.

I am oogling the kilims at marla mallett's site with awe. There is even one there called 'Esme' on the small kilims page... how odd! Sometimes I think my heritage must have a bit of nomad in it - but the Native American heritage I do know about is actually more agrarian ;). My grandmother was born on the Turtle Mountain reservation in the 1920s (only to be shipped to an orphanage in Blue Earth Owatanna, where all other family records except the actual birth certificate were lost or are 'unavailable'). Her father's surname 'Lipe' was told to me to be Russian, but I think I have found it in Ellis Island research as German (not him, just others sharing the name). That is about as far as I get into genealogy... bits and pieces, here and there. My grandfather (her husband)'s family actually has a very long record going back very far in England and Germany. Someone in our family has a very thick heavy book about it. In any regard - weaving strikes a tone with something in me, whether it be genetic or simply a found kindred relationship with the yarn itself ;)

Finished Sweater and Truck Ninja Kid

I posted the other week about Esme getting up into our truck bed all by herself, and being so surprised about it. Here is some of the act, in action. Also--> click on this linked animated gif to see my photo montage of the action.


Our Ninja kid, in the back of the truck
Those are the 'gaucho' pants I made last week.

There was only just enough of the leaf pattern fabric to make this length and that width of pattern - made up the rest with some green fabric I had stashed and it worked out very very well!


The 'pivot moment' when she hauls herself up over the edge
She might get up here ten or more times in just a few hours... Doing that she is going to get some muscles on her, like her mama has, too. I caught the entire process on the camera but haven't strung them together into a 'video' yet.


Realizing I'm taking pictures and yelling about it


diving into the back of the truck to get something


I let her try on my new finished sweater
She was asking me where the rest of the buttons were as I snapped this picture.


a view of the side and some of the back pattern


Outside looking in
Trying to catch the sweater on me in the reflection, it fits me much better!

It is made of JoJoLand Rhythm merino 100% wool yarn, in the colorway 'Winter Ice', and knitted on size 6 and 7 needles. I have saved this yarn for several years and there was just enough to make this 'vest' out of, which had no pattern used for it. There are no sleeves and the buttonhole edging is wavy, but it is still very nice!


Pogo, taking her closeup

Purple Yellow Yarn Cardigan

handknit cardigan - 3 years

This is my first handmade completed sweater, ever! I've learned a lot in my dressmaking adventures that has helped me to make this one fit pretty well.

Esme's choice of yarn for part of her Christmas present from Nana in Minnesota - although she didn't know that :) She had a gift card from Nana and the toy she chose wasn't enough to use all of it - so I asked her to pick a yarn that wouldn't blind Daddy like the bright pink from her scarf. She picked this color and called it 'purple yellow yarn.' Eventually, I knew what I wanted to make for her out of it.

This is the 'seed stitch cardigan' from the Lion Brand Yarn website. But it is altered, of course, being me. The pattern has pattern pictures and measurements in it instead of just 'k1p1' type instructions all the way through. I am awful at following knitting instructions bit by bit - I want to look at the whole pattern like a dressmaking pattern... so that was perfect for me. I was able to knit to match the measurements with this yarn (Red Heart Melonberry multicolor) and make changes to it by treating it like a fabric pattern. I had size 10 needles, even though the pattern called for size 8... so I was further in 'No-Man's Land' to following the pattern at all. I had laid the front panel on top of her while she slept on our bed one night and it didn't even go up to her shoulder.... I added the 'peppered' seed stitch shoulder panels because I knew it wouldn't go over her handmade dresses. When I had done that altering the sleeve was not hard at all - and adding on two inches to the length of each sleeve because my measuring tape said their 10 inches was much too short for her! Seeing it on her I am very glad I did lengthen them - they are just right.

I would knit the collar on AFTER the buttonbands next time - not before. It is much too small for the rest of the sweater. In fact, it could be removed and redone. I am going to recast on and make some loose ribbing on the bottom for a few inches to keep it from flipping up like it is doing. I hope I'll get a good 'after' picture :) She does like it and put it on pretty readily after I had hidden her other coat at Grandma's *ha* Once she heard that was her 'new jacket' she put it on and didn't fuss looking for the one she had worn in. Mumum does things like that!

other note: The buttons are vintage somethings from a box of buttons Diana at work gave to us. I thought they were so pretty.. and so glad I could use them on something.


back of the cardigan
worn over handmade tieback 'Cinderella' dress and handmade pants


side and shoulder
Added more here so it would fit over handmade dresses

NOTE: While Esme watched Pinocchio tonight (and was entranced) I picked up the bottom edge on six double pointed needles and knit a 3-1 ribbing all around. It worked! It looks great and I hope it will still fit just as fine (it should). I don't think I'll mess with the collar - it is a functional garment and it will get a lot of good use :)

The whole cardigan took about a week of 'in-between' times, lunch hours and breaks at work and a few days off when I asked Esme to 'let Mumum work' during some parts of the day -- something I usually can't let myself do because I feel so guilty about it! She was giving me two of all of her toys today while I was trying to put the last row and bind-off on that ribbing... and I felt so guilty not playing with her - especially when she gave me the 'far-off sadness' look and THEN... of course... when I stopped knitting and gave her my full attention - she didn't want to play with ME, she was 'busy' with her lincoln logs throwing them between containers. ha. mirror child - what I give I get. She is sitting in bed now watching Cinderella and snuggling Daddy and nearly asleep.