Of Pilot and Pixie

"Despite what the thermometer says, autumn is coming!"  That's how I planned to begin this post, and then God blessed us with a suddenly cooler day which does feel like autumn!  It was the right kind of day to bake rice custard and actually wear Gemma in the Moby wrap for our walk.  (I make my custard with brown rice and only a little bit of brown sugar, so I offered some to baby, but she wasn't interested!)

Gemma and I were cozy together in the wrap, but I wished I'd put a hat on her.  Her new winter hat is still very much in the works, but I've finished two others!

I'm indebted to my friend Amy for inspiring me to grow in my knitting skills and for introducing me to Ravelry.  There is a world of free patterns to be had and so many pretty ones to try!  When I saw this pattern there last year, I knew I wanted to try it someday.  The author actually directs folks to her updated version, however, called the Lil' Midi Bean.  I loved how it is completely seamless!  It came together nicely.

I worked the first one up in Paton's Kroy sock yarn.  It was the prettiest color I could find at Michael's, but when it was finished, I decided it was still a bit too masculine for a girl.  It was also just a tad small for Gemma, and winter's not even here yet, so it will go to someone else. 

 In search of prettier colors in wool, I visited a local yarn shop and brought home this lovely fingering-weight superwash Merino.  The woman who had dyed it sold it to me, and it is soo pretty.

This hat is actually smaller than the first, but it's for a friend with a newborn.  I'm sure it will look much prettier on a little girl than on Gemma's monkey! 

The sweet pixie point was a large part of what sold me on the original pattern, but the author said the revised pattern eliminated "the awkward point to the top."  I decided to follow the revisions exactly in hat number one, and it is a bit more pilotish, but I followed a more gradual decrease pattern in hat number 2, hoping to get the sweet fairy look back.  :)

Just a little while, sweet baby, and yours will be next!

9 Months Old

Our sweet baby is nine months old!

Sometimes she likes to eat lots, and sometimes she just likes to play with her food!  So far, she's tried bananas, peaches, oatmeal, avocado, peas, scrambled eggs, strawberries, pizza crust, chicken, rice cereal, crackers, cauliflower, corn chips, tomato sauce, japanese fried rice with white sauce, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, green pepper, red pepper, beets, asparagas, homemade bread, waffles, cherries, mashed potato, tomato, french toast, green beans, pasta with bolognese sauce, and black beans.  So, she's tried almost everything, even though she hasn't eaten much of everything!  We've decided to take a Baby Led Weaning approach to solids and it's been fun for us all!

Gemma has one tooth! 

She's been to her first baseball game, although it meant staying up quite late.

For a while there, she would get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, like she was revving her engines!  But now she mostly gets around using the army crawl.  She can move pretty quickly!

Her most favorite game right now is "Where's the baby?!" which is our version of peek-a-boo.  :)  She loves helping to make the bed, because she loves to be buried under the billowing sheets, only to pull them off herself when she hears us ask, "Where's the baby?!"  

And of course she loves playing with toys, electrical cords, and just about anything she can get her hands on!  Gemma remains our happy girl and is starting to learn not to fuss when we say "all done!" and have to take something away.  O, next three months, pass slowly by!

  

Wedding Card Book

Source: simplemom.net via Gretchen on Pinterest

A few months ago, I found this image on pinterest! There was a gift bag full of wedding cards under one of the end tables in our living room, and this seemed like a great idea for them. They could be a browsable memento instead of a bag full of stuff. :)


After measuring the largest wedding card and deciding upon a 10" x 7" size book, I went to Michael's and bought a pack of white card stock, some more roll-on adhesive and the largest rings I could find, which were actually in the embroidery section!


We had around 200 people at our wedding. I still haven't finished my Ireland scrap-book from four years ago and haven't even started our wedding scrap book. In other words, I tend to let perfectionism stall me seriously, so I had to consciously avoid that in this project. One thing that helped was to work on the book while watching Simon Schama's A History of Britain documentary. Instead of spending a lot of time working on each page, I moved quickly, saving the hand-written parts first and the pretty parts second and using a paper cutter to make swift slices. I glued in ribbons left over from our pew decorations to divide the cards by family, church friends, school friends, and the like.


It's not exactly like the one on pinterest, but it's done! And I'm so glad. Perhaps I'll have our wedding album done by our third anniversary. :) But I should finish that Ireland album first. :)

Summer Drawstring Dress

I mentioned that I've been sewing a dress. Well, it's done!

As I was unpacking my summer clothes this past spring, I realized in dismay that I wouldn't be able to wear any of my dresses. There was no simple way to nurse without completely disrobing! I really wanted to make a dress, and though I've only made one before, I picked up a pattern and fabric . . . and it sat while our busy lives rolled on!


Suddenly it was August! Somehow I survived dressing for church with my skirts, and I realize that I could have just been content with those. Still, it was fun to do!

Since I still love everything Regency, I chose the Drawstring Dress from Sense & Sensibility Patterns "The Elegant Lady's Closet" pattern. The neckline opens up wide enough to allow for nursing access (not for discreet nursing, however, I might add!). The skirt is also gathered in front. I think it will actually flatter me more as a maternity dress in the unknown future. :) I simply shortened the hem so that it would look less costume-y.

The back details are my favorite

There's enough fabric left to make something more . . . perhaps a dress for a little girl who grows too fast, or perhaps a curtain for the guest room. We shall see!