Monthly Archives: May 2008

Baby Knitting: (Ruffle-butt soaker)

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I can’t help myself. Even though I’m up to my eyeballs in projects (writing, designing, co-ordinating) I still just can’t stop making baby clothes.

They’re so fast. And it’s so much fun to knit something that’s so truly over-the-top. Here’s a soaker that I made for Mazie. The structure is based on the “Down Under Soaker” pattern… but very heavily modified.

new pink soaker

reading

This is knit from 100Purewool, dyed with Wilton’s cake dye, and then hand knit (duh.)

I love this pink Wilton’s…it gives a really neon result. It’s the same pink as the one I used for the pink and black sock yarn.

Today Mazie had her first play group date! I know three other new moms and we decided to start a New Mom group. Our babies range in age from 4 months to 13 months. It was interesting to hear the other moms’ birth stories, and to share experiences that we’ve had with the kids. We have a lot in common, it turns out. I also really enjoyed watching the babies together. The other 3 kids are all boys, all crawling already. I’m hoping that Mazie will find them inspiring…sitting up, crawling, talking.

She’s doing great, actually, and I’m completely pleased with where she is, but it can’t hurt for her to see babies that are at that next stage.

Sock yarn dyeing, better weather, and happier baby!

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(eek! Incredibly picture-heavy post today…I guess that’s what you get when I take a few days off from posting!)

Dye Class

Saturday, I taught a dye workshop at the Las Cruces Museum of Art. We dyed sock yarn using non-toxic dyes. I taught how to dye solid, variegated, and self-striping yarns.
Everyone had a good time, and I really enjoyed it, too. We made some pretty cool yarns.

Here’s one that I dyed as a class example:
Pink and black tweed

pink and black

Here’s Mazie modeling her Las Vegas Tee from SweetPepita:
Happier Baby

In other news: Our weather is officially back to normal!

We’ve got 97 degrees and bright sun today…and we LOVE it.

Mazie and I put the sun shade back up over the patio, since the winds have died down and it won’t blow away. It’s perfect weather to sit in the shade. We had lunch outside today with Grandma and Daddy. I planted a couple of rosebushes last week, and one died. So yesterday I dug it up and exchanged it for a live one. Mazie and I put that one in the ground this morning. It’s so nice to be able to hang outside!!

Ugly weather and unhappy baby

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The last few days have been cloudy and pretty cool, with highs only in the 70s. There’s also an evil wind that’s been blowing. We’re used to cloudless skies, balmy temps, and just pretty perfect days. It’s not just a little breezy, it’s WINDY. The sky is gray, and we can’t see the mountains from all the dust in the air, and there’s a fine layer of grit that settles on every surface (and inside our noses and ears.) It feels like it’s going to rain, but it doesn’t, and that pressure just stays in the air. When it’s like this, people are just on edge. A lot of people have worse allergies, I, personally, get headaches and my eyes itch. So. You can imagine what it does to a baby.

Mazie had her 4-month doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. She got some shots and that in itself makes her cranky. Combine it with this dusty windy crappy weather, and you’ve got a VERY unhappy little girl. She seems like she’s just unable to get comfortable.

I decided to space out her shots, so she didn’t get ALL of them on Tuesday, but even so, it was a lot for her. The last few nights, she hasn’t been willing to go to bed without a big fight. Tuesday night, Mom even had to come over and use the Grandma-magic on her. Normally, I’d put her in the stroller and go for a long walk until she quieted down, but it’s SO cold and windy…too much for Baby.

Mazie’s stats at 4 months:

Height: 26.25 inches
Weight: 17 lbs, 12.5 oz

That puts her in the 95th percentile for height and off the chart for weight.

What I did Mother's Day weekend

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What *didn’t* I do?!

(kidding!)

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Saturday we goofed around the house. I cut out a bunch of things to sew for Mazie. I’m on this new kick where I think I can really sew. (I’ll show you the fruits of my delusion later…) I heard from some old friends (Geoff and Shannon.) They have a 20-month-old baby now, and Shannon is the brains and brawn behind Sweet Pepita Clothing. She combines organic cotton and repurposed T-shirts to make the most darling baby clothes. I ordered this Las Vegas tee for The Mazer. I think she’ll LOVE it.

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Speaking of Mazie, there’s been a demand for new pics and an update. She’s 4 months old now! Mazie’s smiling, giggling (especially at Daddy.) She LOVES to be outside. If she’s ever cranky, we just take out for a walk and she quiets right down. She babbles a LOT. She loves standing. We bought her an exersaucer. She really likes it, but it overwhelms her in abot 10 – 15 minutes. She’s still pretty bald, but her peachfuzz is definitely RED.

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I also finished The Stevie Nicks Series of 12 new diapers. These are sewn from the Little Starter pattern. They’ve all got hand-dyed (by me) outers made of either cotton interlock or bamboo velour. The inners are animal (either leopard or snake) print panne, and soakers are quad-folded microfiber towelling. They all have applique, too.

new diapers

Sunday, we had a great Mother’s day, we went for a long walk, hung out together, and BBQed in the evening.

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