Something finished, something started

Exactly how long can it take to knit a pair of child-sized, thick socks? Apparently 16 days. (and obviously I can't even count.. If I started these on the 12th and finished them yesterday, on the 29th, that doesn't make 16 days, it makes 17. I shall go sit in the corner and hang my head in shame now.) Yes folks, it took me over two weeks to knit these socks! I'm actually a bit embarrassed about this. In my defence tho, after going back to work, I don't really have much time for anything, and my knitting time is cut down to a minimum. But still, 16 days! (nope, still 17, not 16..) Wow. But now they're finally finished, just in time too, as it's supposed to get a lot chillier soon.

I asked my 7yo to sit on the couch so I could get a pic of his feet, and this is what I got. Obviously the boy isn't that good at getting instructions.. The yarn is something I dyed with Kool-Aid ages ago, the pattern is a normal rib for the cuff and stockinette for the rest.
My something started is a pair of longies for the tiny one. I've knit a whopping two rows on these! Maybe I'll have them finished by Winter. Of 2010. Here's my huge progress
I also have something almost finished. Well, I finished the knitting, now I just have to get the spider in place. And since I didn't have any bright enough green yarn, I had to dye some. So now I'm just waiting for the yarn to dry, so that I can get started on the spider.
Finally, something completely unrelated. Here's what happens when you leave your 1yo alone with some yoghurt, and don't look at what she's doing for a few minutes

Sunday is for sewing

I've had a bunch of half-finished items of clothing lying about (and one that was just cut up) that I decided to finish today. Which means that I now have four finished items of clothing lying about. :) And I still have three or four half-finished ones left. Maybe I'll eventually finish those too. But now on to the finished ones. First off a tunic for the 5yo. It's a similar shape to the other one I did, the trick here is in the hem. I made this one so that the hem is longer on the sides than in the middle. This is the best pic I got of it
I think this is a fun shape, a little something different from the usual straight hems. :) Next we have a dress that was supposed to be for sale, but as it has gotten some light spots from the sun, it'll be for the tiny one instead. She'll just have to grow a bit, because it's too big for her now. See, it's huge on her. :) The flowery fabric is by Michael Miller again, it's Beatrice Bloom in Espresso, from fabricworm.
And next, more polka dots, another tiny tunic. This one will be up for sale on Etsy later on today. I think. Maybe.
Last we've got Matryoshka dolls. This one will definitely be up on Etsy later on today. :) The cutesy Japanese Matryoshka fabric is from Karaku.
I'm quite happy with what I've gotten done this Sunday (oh, I've also done four loads of laundry, filled the dishwasher and changed the sheets in four beds), and I think I've earned a nice cup of tea, don't you? :)

Yet more owls (and some flowers too)

I think it's highly possible that this is the final version of this dress, because now I can't think of a single thing I would want to change about it. I'm so, so happy with this. Plus I still love the fabric, it is quite possible that I need to get more of it. See, isn't this just too cute? :)
And here's a pic of the back, that is totally different from the dresses I've done before.
We went shopping today, and somebody had asked the husband where the dress was from. Stupid him only replied that I made it. Had he been smart, he would have told her that I can make more, if she wanted to buy one. Hmph.

Anyway, one last photo, to show you the tiny one's favorite place to sit. :D

Good thing we've got different sized heads around here

Because this hat was supposed to be for the 7yo. And it ended up fitting the husband. And since I'm lazy, I didn't feel like frogging the whole thing, so now the husband has a new hat. (not that he deserves it, the moron.)
That is all, thank you.

I finally finished something!

Wow, this working-full-time-crap is seriously disrupting my crafting. Pah. Maybe I'll have time to finish the four half-finished items I have lying about next week, when I have the morning shift, there's absolutely no time to do anything during the evening shift week. Ok, that's enough complaining for now, sorry 'bout that. It's just that I have not yet found the positive things about being back at work.

Anyway, this little owl top is what I have to show you this time.
I absolutely love this owl-fabric too. It's Night Owls by Michael Miller, from fabricworm. It's not as bright and cheerful as the other owl-fabric I have, but I really love this too. Have I happened to mention that I love owls? :) The top is a smaller version of the tunic I made my bigger girl. I wanted to try to make it in a smaller size, and I think it turned out just fine. I tried to get a pic of the fastening in the back, but that's not happening right now, the tiny one quit cooperating after I got the first photos taken. :) And now we have to start getting ready for the 7yo's next soccer tournament, I'll tell you later if they win any of their games today. :)

Long time, no blog

It's been a while since my last blog post. I blame it all on going back to working full-time. (Which sucks big-time btw.) I've been able to finish two knitted items tho, a jacket for my 5yo (a huuuge jacket) and a pair of tiny mittens for the babe. The jacket turned out so big that the girl will probably be able to wear it when she starts school in two years. Then again, I did knit it in size 122cm, so no wonder my 111cm tall child drowns in it. But like I've said before, she'll grow into it. :) Anyway, I still thinks it looks quite nice. (and it'll look even better when the girl grows a bit. :D ) I got lazy in the end tho, and skipped the pockets that you were supposed to knit according to the pattern.
I must say tho that I didn't like working with this yarn (Novita Mambo), I found it quite hard to get an even finish. Maybe I should block it, that might help.. The girl liked it, and it should keep her warm for several years to come. :)

Oh, the specs
Pattern: 57. Tytön takki, Novita Syksy 2008 (ravel it)
Size: 122cm
Yarn: Novita Mambo
Needles: 10mm

edited to add another pic of the jacket, the color is right in this one

My second finished item is the mittens I started a while back. I think they're just too cute. :) They fit the tiny one just perfectly, they're actually a tad tight, but at least they stay on well. The photos aren't great, you try to get a photo of a 1yo's hand. :D

Now I need to make another pair that are just a bit bigger. So basically I could use the same yarn, just go up a needlesize. I used 3mm for these, 3,5mm would probably work perfectly to make the mittens just a tiny bit bigger. Besides, little ones need more than one pair of mittens, right? Now that I've made one pair, I can make five more. :)

It's all in a weekends work

I'm just a tiny bit pleased with what I've done this weekend. I made a tunic, a dress and a pair of socks. And I started a pair of mittens for the tiny one. Ok, so I admit that I didn't knit the entire socks this weekend, but I did finish them yesterday. :) Now if somebody would just sew the seams on the 5yo's Fall jacket that I have lying about, so that I could finally call that an FO too..

Anyway, let's start with the tunic, a polka dot one. I'm test driving this pattern, as I'm thinking of making these to sell too. I think it turned out just fine, I just have to make the fastening at the back better, I was thinking of adding a clasp or something. Here's how it looks now
The color is just about right in this pic, who knew that orange was such a difficult color to photograph? Anyay, here's the whole tunic
My girl-child has a cold, if you're wondering why she's looking a bit pale and tired.

Next on the agenda we have a pairof woolly socks, made with the yarn that the 5yo Kool-Aid dyed a while back. I just love how these turned out, so bright and fun!
Oh, I only just now noticed that the color doesn't look right.. Here's a slightly better pic
And on to the mittens. I haven't made mittens in years, as my older kids refuse to wear them. But now I have the tiny one to make mittens for, yay! :) These look really tiny, but her hand isn't that big either. and white is of course the most practical color to use for a pair of baby mittens.
Last but not least, we have the for sale-stuff. :) As I've mentioned before, every baby should have skulls in their wardrobe, so that's why I made this dress.
Off to list it in my Etsy-shop now. :)

First two tops made to sell

After all the encouragement I've been getting left and right about selling my kiddie clothes (even my 5yo's dental hygienist told me that I need to start selling them), I've finally gotten the first two tops ready and listed in my Etsy-shop. Thanks to everybody for your kind words and encouragement! I'll be adding things as I finish them, but as I go back to work next week, I won't have that much time for sewing, but I'll try to make as much stuff I can in the following week and then add things as I have time to make them. :)

Here are the first two "out of the oven" :)
And now I need to go finish the tunic I'm making for the 5yo, so that I can see if it's something I can make to sell too. :)