hey sailor!

Navy double-breasted baby jacket - Knitted with baby bamboo yarn. Fitted for newborns - 6 months. Breaking hearts at every port.

troutwear

Baby-sized reversible legwarmers - Knitted with baby bamboo yarn in the unfortunately named "waterbaby" and "minky." Someone really needs to rethink how they market baby wools, because I won't be making anything Dungaree Denim or Rinky Dinky Pink on principle.

tuesday treats

random acts of birthday: part one

formalwear

loose ends

When I think of handcrafted baby wear, I always picture some white-haired woman rocking back in a spindly wooden chair, working the needles to the shape of some sock or sweater or relatively garment-looking object. But my own projects have shown me that knitting patterns are a lot like sewing patterns - only you're shaping the parts instead of cutting them out of a larger piece of fabric. Right now I'm in that mess of a phase, staring down at a handful of mangled swatches of navy and cursing the non-knitting steps of knitting a jacket.

from SilvaAzniv's photos of grandma

songs of spring/cut and paste

I'm a crafter, not a photographer.

tools of the trade

With the glorious weekend weather, I found it especially difficult to stay focused on upcoming projects. Concentrating on woolly garments, when the thermostat is reaching record highs, seems like a crime.

découpage

Coffee conglomerates and other dirty business

We all have our minor vices. My innocent, but costly habit, is the six dollar latte I treat myself to pre/post work whenever time permits. It’s a shameful choice - an overpriced espresso with steamed milk, made with beans shipped from halfway around the globe, paid for in pennies but branded with some corporate standard of fair-trade, and served in a tall non-recyclable paper cup. The guilt finally got to me, and I decided to go local – I found an adorable independent café, complete with spindly-legged tables, art, and chalkboard menu boards. It was perfect – except my coffee was terrible. It was burnt and overly sweet, and it sat on my desk at work, an angry reminder having cheated on my long faithful chain of coffee powerhouses. And now I’m stuck in caffeine limbo – hating my allegiances and unfulfilled by the alternatives.

since everyone I know is making babies

Baby cardigan, red, made with silk bamboo yarn.