Posts tagged shorties
Guest Vendor at Congfu
Jul 7th
I’m pretty darned excited. I’ m a guest vendor at Congfu on Hyena Cart this month. I’m a HUGE fan of Congfu and all the fabulous WAHMs that stock that congo each month. The talent is mind-boggling. And the mamas? Are sweet as honey. To be able to take part in a stocking is a huge honor and I feel quite humbled. In fact, seeing my works up there with some of theirs just seems to underscore how LUCKY I am.
I have two items plus two custom slots up for sale starting tomorrow afternoon at 4:00pm eastern time. The infamous bloomers skirty is a three-day auction, since I literally had no idea how to price it. I have had the idea to knit this for months now, and I originally began to knit it for Evie. Shoot, even now, if it doesn’t sell, I’ll happily keep it and use it for Evie. Either way, a lucky little girl will get this skirty because it is truly a unique and lovely item. If I do say so myself.
A lot of love and work and time went into this skirty. I had begun to knit the skirt in a more ‘a-line’ shape but the yarn, which is Western Sky Knits’ “Bella” on Gaia Organic Worsted, had begun to pool quite a bit. So I “frogged” it and reknit the skirt as a more “juliette” style. As you can see, it came out much nicer. The bloomers are knit with short rows and meant to have a full, baggy fit with a “cinched” cuff at the legs and a lacy ruffle with a picot edge. Wow. Just… wow. I almost can’t believe I knit it!
I’m also stocking a pair of board shorts knit in Mosaic Moon’s gorgeous “Woodland in Spring” colorway, on 3-ply merino.
These are super cute and if they don’t sell, I’ll be happy to use them on Liam! The legs are knit to be wide, very reminiscent of “board-shorts”, with the inseam reaching knee-length (or even a touch lower on my short-legged boy!). As always there are short rows in the back to allow for plenty of fluffy-cloth diaper bum room!
I’m excited and nervous all at the same time! It feels like playing in the big leagues. Wish me luck! And don’t forget, stocking is at 4pm tomorrow, July 8th!
Yet another game of catch-up
Jun 15th
I’ve been criminal about this crafty blog here. I have been SO busy knitting that I haven’t hardly had a chance to update it. And that is all my bad, mind you. It doesn’t take that long to post a finished project but here I am, I have a whole handful to post! BAD KNITTER!
First, check out this skirty, done in Sugar Bubbie’s “Silly Old Bear” colorway on Cestari Superfine. There was less than an ounce of trim yarn (on BFL, of all things!) so I had to dye some yarn for the trim myself. It came out a little more royal blue than the blue in the colorway but I think the contrast is striking and really brings out the reds and oranges.
Since I had extra trim available, I tried a lacey edge detail on the skirt and not only was it easy to do, but it looks so charming on the edge of the skirt! It requires some blocking when drying the skirt after washing but the end result is SO worth it!
Next up I have a pair of longies I made for a sweet mama who purchased a custom slot off my Hyena Cart. She had the colorway custom dyed on Cestari Superfine by Ewe Need Color and it’s called “Maverick”.
Striking, yes? I knit the body on size 8 circulars instead of my usual 7’s, because I felt the thicker yarn would behave nicer with it. I’m glad I did! It made for a quick knit.
I also have a custom knit soaker to share, which doesn’t happen that often. It’s knit with Mosaic Moon’s “Birthday Boy” also on Cestari Superfine. The trim is regular white Cascade 22o.
Such a pretty colorway! I tried a 2-stitch icord for the first time and was pleased with the results though it was more difficult to find a neat way to tie it off at the ends. I also tried a 1×1 ribbing on the leg cuffs which worked great and looked nice too.
Speaking of Mosaic Moon, I knit a pair of shorties with MM’s “Goblin” colorway (yep, Cestari Superfine… AGAIN). I completely adore the mama I knit these for and am incredibly honored that she asked me to knit them for her son. I only hope she enjoys them!
And I finish off with another skirty. This was also knit for a mama who purchased a custom slot from my HC and I had such a good time working with her. It was her first completely custom knitted item and she was nervous and excited. The yarn was custom dyed on BFL by a talented HC dyer (whose store name sadly escapes me at the moment) and it was named “Dryad’s Dance”. A perfect name for this ethereal colorway!
I did another 2 stitch icord!
I also did another lace edge detail on the skirt. I thought the colorway complimented it well.
I also put short rows in the back. I don’t usually do this for skirties as the pattern doesn’t really require it. But I’ve noticed that sometimes the skirt will hike up a little in the back so I thought the short rows might counter-act that.
And that gets me all caught up! I’m currently 2/3 of the way through a big custom outfit. It’s three pieces, including a top that I’ve never knit before. It’s coming along quite nicely though and I promise to post it as soon as I’m finished! I’m very proud of it! Then again, I’m proud of everything I knit.
Shorties Season
May 30th
I love knitting shorties. The pattern itself is very satisfying to knit and then the legs are several inches shorter than longies making them a relatively quick knit as well. Plus, they use less yarn so one 4 ounce skein of worsted yarn and a couple ounces of coordinating trim make for a cute, cute, CUTE pair of shorts to wear all summer long.
First up, we have a pair of shorts knit with Dashing Dachs’ “Oyster Rock” colorway on their Stallion Organic Merino (a bulkier weight yarn but oh so soft!).
The mama was hoping for board short length shorties which generall come to the knees or below. I fell about a half an inch short of the projected inseam since bulky yarn has less yardage than worsted. But they still came out longer than your average shorties and are definitely adorable on their new owner.
I also recently finished this pair of shorts which was knit with Western Sky Knits’ “Kelp Forest” colorway on their fabulous Rodeo BFL yarn. I just love BFL. I never get tired of knitting with it. This was a kettle dyed variation and completely reinforced my love of kettle dyed yarn. I just love the variations in the colors. And this colorway was very calm, soothing, cool and sweet. Perfect!
They came out super cute, don’t you think? I hope the mama that requested them loves them as much as I do. I may have to hunt down some of this yarn for my littlest boy. I think a pair of shorts like this would be perfect for him! (This of course assumes I ever have time to knit for my own children.)
I have my latest skirty that I need to share yet (it turned out FABULOUS) and I have even more pairs of longies (people are already looking ahead towards fall!) to share too. The fun never ends, I tell ya!
But most of all? I just love to knit. Why, oh why didn’t I start earlier in life? It is just a wonderful hobby. If you’ve ever considered starting, do it now!
The Infamous Rainbow Shine Capris
May 27th
This project has been MONTHS in the making. I remember when the mama who wanted these first PM’d me (I know her from a message board I frequent) asking if I would be interested in a) knitting her some shorties to match the Rainbow Shine diaper and b) willing to do it for Rainbow Shine yarn of my own. Uhm. YES! She didn’t even have to ask! Another mama on our board is also a proficient dyer of yarn (she has dyed the yarn for several of my projects thus far) and agreed to dye this yarn for us. There were many details to work out and we went back and forth on whether to do the yarn in stripes to more accurately reflect the fabric or not.
In the end, we went with the stripes for the custom shorties and I went with varigated yarn just to see what it would be like. I still haven’t had a chance to work with my varigated yarn, but the stripes? Were a success:
It was a lot of stripes. And a lot of ends to weave in when it was all said and done! The trim was a solid lavender and the stripes were two-toned colors to match the stripes in the fabric. The “white” was simply undyed yarn. The yarn base was Cestari Superfine which is always a pleasure to deal with and I know will hold up great for the mama who requested these amazing capris. They were going to be shorts initially, but she asked if I could make them a hair longer and have them be capris. No problem! I was actually having a good time refining my striping technique.
I have a few more customs I need to catch up on soon, which I will get to, I promise! I’ve just been so busy knitting that sometimes it’s hard to take the time out to come post these creations! I hope to get caught up and work on a few other kinds of posts as well. I’ll get to it… eventually!
The Sparrow projects
May 14th
These customs were a challenge as I had to try to make the yarn “stretch” over the span of two projects. It wasn’t terribly easy, unfortunately. And I did sweat it towards the end. BUT, it all worked out and I think both came out very nice!
First up is a pair of medium/large longies in the “Sparrow” colorway from Sugar Bubbie on Hyena Cart. The yarn is their Inspire BFL which is an aran weight BFL (meaning it’s more like heavy worsted). WONDERFULLY soft. A joy to knit with. Things went well until I got to the legs and the yarn started to pool something awful. I switched skeins every row and that seemed to help. The mama wanted long legs so her daughter could grow into them next winter but we both agreed after the fact that perhaps an 11 inch inseam was a bit too long. I’m doing another pair of longies for her soon and we’ve decided that 10 inches will be fine for the inseam.
The same mama also wanted me to do a pair of medium shorties with the leftover yarn. The problem was, due to the long legs on the longies, there wasn’t a whole lot of yarn left. But I vowed to give it a go. I used a dark brown Cascade 220 yarn for the trim for a different look (at the mama’s request).
It worked, but barely! I used size 8 needles for the colorway to try to help it last a little better and that worked. I also added several rows to the waistband to help toward the rise. They’re probably on the small side of medium for shorties, but they fit the little cutie they went to live with and I think they turned out nice regardless.
Coming up? More skirties, shorties and stripes! I’ve been a busy girl!
Custom Work Catchup
Apr 27th
Once again, I find myself terribly behind with showing my latest customs work! The good news is the reason I am so behind is that I have been so busy knitting! The jobs are very steady right now and that is a very good thing. I have enough yarn waiting in the wings to keep me busy for a long time to come:
See what I mean? So let’s get caught up, shall we? I have a lot to share!
First off, we have a trio of wee bitty small longies with ruffles on the cuffs for a sweet mama who contacted me on Etsy to do the job. She’s expecting a baby (she may have had it by now!) and wanted some wool, including a pair for the cherub to wear home from the hospital (the pink and brown pair above). I ordered the yarn from TIG (Three Irish Girls) on her request and though it did take a while to get the yarn in hand, I was able to knock out the longies quickly and in time to get them to her. They were all on Carys BFL yarn (with coordinating Cascade 220 trim) in the colorways Elsbeth, Kirsty and Isolde. Very pretty yarn! I can’t wait to work with more TIG yarn in the future!
Next up is the second skirt for a sweet mama. It was knit with Western Sky Knits “Saltwater Taffy – Kettle Dyed Variation” on their Rodeo BFL yarn, with coordinating trim in a peachy-pink color. This was a fun yarn to knit with as the color repeats were so random and small. You never knew how the finished product was going to look! It is very soft and just adorable. Kile was going to crochet a fancy edge on, but we ran out of yarn. Nuts!
These next two projects were fun because it was the first time I had worked with my friend Kira’s dyed yarn AND the first time I had worked with the Cestari Superfine Merino I have heard so much about. Both of these colorways were custom ordered by another lovely lady. The first pair (on top) was purple, pink, yellow and green. Very pastel and very pretty! The second pair is called “Fairy Catmother”, named after a Goodmama diaper of the same name. The yarn came out PERFECT and knitted up perfect too! I was also trying a new pattern with this pair and really like it! I added a row of trim to the top of the waistband and the cuff of the capri ruffles and it came out really sharp.
Lastly, I have a sweet pair of shorts for the gal I did my first custom job for several months ago. There was some drama regarding the yarn and I offered up this yarn in lieu of the intended yarn. It is Yarnoodles “Oh The Thinks You Can Think” colorway on Organic Worsted Merino with coordinating red trim. I bought it because I just love Yarnoodles yarn and how it is so wonderfully pool-resistant. It didn’t let me down here, either! I hope the new mama loves them as much as I do. I think they came out just gorgeous.
And now I am caught up! On the needles: another skirty! This time on Blackberry Ridge Merino, which I haven’t tried yet am interested to see how it turns out. I think I’ll be busy for a good while yet!
Saltwater Taffy Ruffle Shorties
Apr 13th
I love working with BFL (Blue Faced Leicester, for the uninitiated). I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before. It pretty much doesn’t even matter what the colorway is. As long as I feel that silky soft yarn run through my fingers as I knit, watching the stitches define so neatly and shine with a luster that one wouldn’t expect from wool yarn, well… that’s all I need.
I got to work with some Rodeo BFL from Western Sky Knits in the “Saltwater Taffy” colorway recently and the love was very, very much there. I was knitting a pair of ruffle cuffed shorties for a sweet mama, using a matching teal trim. These were a large size, alarming after working on so many small sizes and came out just darling.
The cuff ruffle was a challenge. There wasn’t a whole lot of trim yarn and I was unable to do either my standard “flat” ruffle or a nifty new “leaf” ruffle I’ve been wanting to try. I went ahead with a “lettuce” ruffle but was unhappy with how it looked. I asked my husband if he could do a single crochet around the edge. I was hoping for a fancier crochet finish, but again, there wasn’t enough yarn. Much to my pleasure though, the crochet caused the ruffle to lay flat, like my “flat” ruffle. Whew! Much better.
I’m finishing up the last of the three pairs of newborn longies I mentioned last week. All this bitty sized fluff is just adorable and I love how quick it knits up. I’ve been able to knock one pair every two days!
The knitting, it never ends!
Sea Urchin Handspun Shorties Custom
Apr 2nd
I’m a few days late in posting this because Monday was a busy day with family in town and then yesterday my husband was home from work and I had to go do grocery shopping and things were all out of whack. I get so distracted when my rhythm gets disrupted!
At any rate, I wanted to share these shorties! They were knit with 3.9 ounces of handspun Corridale (purchased from Eva at the Indie Dyers Cooperative on Hyena Cart) and I dyed the matching blue trim myself. This was my first time knitting with handspun and it really is an interesting look. It’s basically two plys of fiber that are spun together and sometimes the plys contrast. In fact, they contrast probably more than they match. The yarn also has a “thick thin” quality to it, which makes the knitting look very interesting.
The shorties also came out softer than I was expecting. They’re still stiffer than say, shorties knit with Gaia Organic or BFL, but they’re softer than they look and I can tell these will be sturdy and stand up to the rowdiest toddler. I hope their new owner loves them!
I’m already more than half done with my next project: another skirty! It’s looking very cute! I have a LOT of knitting on the horizon. I will be busy for months!
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In other news, I have some adorable stitch markers for sale up in my Hyena Cart shop. Definitely check them out if you’re needing (or wanting) some cute stitch markers for your next project. I know I couldn’t live without my stitch markers!
Time to play catch up
Mar 28th
It has been a very, very busy couple of weeks around here. Evie, my darling baby daughter, had the sheer audacity to turn 1 last week. We visited some relatives and things were in an uproar and, well, you know how it goes.
But admist it all, there was a lot of knitting! I have a LOT of customs to catch up on!
These were knit on Western Sky Knits’ “London” colorway, I believe dyed on Gaia Bulky but I could be wrong. See how soon I forget? I picked out Cascade to match for the trim and ended up with a dark gray that was just about a PERFECT match. These are SO soft and very striking. They pooled a little in the body but I don’t mind the look
These were knit for the same mama as the London shorties above. This heathered gray Cascade was originally chosen for the London shorties before it was determined that the gray for those should NOT be heathered. Still, the mama liked this gray. It wasn’t quite enough for an entire pair of shorties so when asked what color she might like for trim or a stripe, she chose orange. I got some Cascade but felt the orange was a touch too dark (these are supposed to be reminiscent of the “Electrolyte” goodmama diaper) so I dyed my own orange and it came out much brighter. Perfect!
I cut in line on my customs to knit this skirty using the Juliette pattern for Evie for her birthday. I used plain Paton’s natural for the waistband and soaker and the “Plumish” yarn I dyed (see the post below) for the rest. The skirt took a long time but I’m so pleased with how it came out!
It was intended to match a diaper and t-shirt I had on the way (it’s not goodmama’s Wine Country diaper, but it’s the same fabric). I think it matches WONDERFULLY and I couldn’t have planned that any better had I tried!
But that’s not all! Because after I finished those, I made these:
This was knit with the “Autumn Love” colorway on 2ply Blackberry Ridge Merino by Yarnoodles. And, can I say, this yarn was simply AMAZING. It did not and would not pool. At all. It was a little stiffer yarn than I normally prefer but it is excellent for the active toddler.
The mama who requested these wanted a ruffle on the cuff of the capris but preferred my flater style ruffle. I made it a little longer than I normally would and was really pleased with the results. I’m really proud of these capris, I think they came out beautiful.
So that is what I’ve been up to. Up next: shorties knit with handspun yarn! This is the first time I’ve worked with handspun and it is VERY interesting! Definitely a different look, but I can see why it has been so popular.
Happy knitting!
Catching up on Customs
Mar 10th
You know how it is over the weekend. Life interferes and blogging takes a backseat. But the knitting ever ends. I am always knitting. I have even taken to bringing along a current project when we go out and about on the weekends just so I can knit while we’re driving or if I ever have to wait in the car. If I’m watching TV, I’m knitting. If I’m watching the kids play, I’m knitting. I pretty much only stop knitting when I sleep, shower and eat. The rest of the time?
Knitting.
You suppose I’ll burn out eventually? Mayhap. But in the meantime, it’s fun. It keeps my fingers busy. I like having busy fingers.
Anyhow, here’s some of the customs I have finished since last week when last I posted. The first is the second pair of ruffle cuff capris that I blogged about before. This yarn was also dyed by Laines Magnifiques, whom I love more and more all the time. It is her “Butterfly Kisses” colorway on Royal Merino. Not as squishy and shiny as the lovely BFL, but sturdy and stretchy all the same. These came out beautiful.
Nice, huh? Very springy. I hope their new owner loves them as much as I did. These are, like hte Ladybug pair, a little short for capris but they’re also long for shorts. A standard pair of capris would be a couple of inches longer.
The next pair is a beautiful pair of shorties that I knit for another mama. This time, the yarn was from Micsknitz, a new favorite dyer of mine. The colorway is called “Sparkle” and it was dyed on Gaia Organic Merino and I truly fell in love with it. The color were vibrant and the yarn was shiny and oh, so soft. More of this yarn stocked just this morning in her shop but alas, I was neither awake when it became available nor did I have the funds in PayPal to purchase it. But someday! It will be mine!
In the meantime, here are the shorties I knit with it. I picked out the yarn for the trim myself, it is simple Cascade 220 and is a little darker than the purple in the colorway but I still think it looks sharp and makes the rest of the colors really pop. What do you think?
Beautiful, right? I could just die. It was painful to send these off to their new home.
Oh well! On to the next pair! Coming up is another pair of shorties, this time for a little boy in Western Sky Knit’s infamous “London” colorway. It is assuredly gorgeous. Stay tuned!
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