My Nanook

This post has been a long time coming.  Two years ago when I had my daughter and spent many wee hours of breastfeeding reading through the Archives over at SouleMama, I came across this beautiful sweater.  I knew I had to make one and wasted no time in ordering some yarn from Knit Picks.  At the time I didn’t really know what characteristics made up a quality garment yarn so I ordered some Wool of the Andes, Knit Picks’ workhorse wool yarn.  I fudged my measurements because I was barely postpartum with my daughter, didn’t do a gauge swatch, then proceeded to spend almost two years knitting this pattern.  After spending six months on the lace collar I knew the yarn was going to be too itchy to be the cuddly sweater I was yearning for, but I just couldn’t give up.

After two baths (one in lanolin and the other in hair conditioner) the sweater is wearably soft but still just itchy enough to make it a small relief to take off at the end of the day.  I did take a nap in it the other day but I’m very pregnant and have a toddler so there was a healthy dose of exhaustion in that mix.  Either way, I love the color, the fit is snug but functional, and the pattern is lovely.  It also has the bonus of being incredibly warm and the perfect layering sweater in this very cold autumn we’re having in Germany.

So, first sweater? Check! Onto something else!

Happy crafting.

April WIPs and Vintage Finds

Hello my lovelies.  I hope you’re having a fabulous weekend full of tea and crafting.  I’ve been enjoying lots of time with Mr. Pickle and Toddler Pickle.  Yesterday we went to our monthly flea market for some treasure hunting. The mister got some electronic doodads to fiddle with and the little one got a new book of German songs.  I came home with a few tablecloths (one of which is destined to become a Mei Tai or Onbu), vintage buttons, a lovely little painting that looks so familiar, and a load of vintage linens that I’ll be using for sewing projects this week.  I’m very excited to show you what I’ll be making, so please watch this space!

As I was stashing my new treasures away I started rifling through my WIP basket.  The pile of yarn has been growing and when that happens I start to feel a little disconnected from what I’m making.  The obvious solution to this problem was to drag my projects out into the sunlight and take some photos.  My logic is that if I show you what I’m making I’ll be accountable for finishing them!

On the hook I’ve got a granny square cowl from Knit Picks Chroma in Smoothie Fingering (a discontinued colorway) and some fuzzy fingerless gloves in a mix of vintage acrylic yarns.  It’s a bit too warm to think about working on any sort of gloves, which is unfortunate because I’m also knitting a pair of wristwarmers that were supposed to be a Christmas present last year (oops). Also on the needles is my Lonely Tree Shawl in double stranded Tosca Light and my Stripemania socks which are determined not to fall prey to SSS (Second Sock Syndrome)!  Oh, and the pièce de résistance in crochet, my Lace Lux Maia Shawl.  I have less than a week to finish, block, and string a set of pearls to match.  Eek.  Here’s a little sneak peek….Happy Crafting!

Hedgehog Christmas

I’ve always been a huge procrastinator and this Christmas was no different.  Though we don’t do gifts for friends and family, I think there is always an exception to be made for children.  The magic and anticipation for that morning when you can finally open your gifts is a special experience I’d like to keep around for baby’s first few years at least. Unfortunately I spent so long knitting a stocking that I barely had any time to knit a gift to go inside!

I knew that I wanted to knit some kind of doll, something whimsical to inspire creative play.  Purl Bee came to the rescue with their cute little hedgehog pattern.  Hedgehogs are such interesting little characters and hold a special place in my heart.  On my 13th birthday my parents let me choose between going ice skating or a surprise (what would you choose?).  The surprise ended up being a pet hedgehog who my little sister very creatively named Pokey.  I wasn’t the best hedgehog owner, though I did feed him live crickets (more like allowed a bag of live crickets to escape into my parents’ house…oops) and take him outside to run his little heart out when the weather was nice.  He had a nice, red wheel to play on all night and I think he lived a pretty good life.  Hmm…I think I may have gotten a little sidetracked here…

What I was trying to say is that hedgehogs are pretty sweet.  Knitted hedgehogs are significantly easier to care for and also very sweet so I whipped this little guy up for my little girl and she seems to like him just fine.  I love the woolly fibers he’s made of and I selfishly hope he finds a place of honor amongst his plushy compatriots.

Pattern is Knit Hedgehogs by Purl Soho. Yarn is misc. Wool of the Andes by Knit Picks for face and belly, and Creative Melange chunky by Rico Design in the color Partie for the back and eyes/nose.