You Are My Sunshine baby Vest

Thanks for visiting!  You might also be interested in visiting my new blog, www.threadandladle.blogspot.com for this baby sweater pattern:

Introducing... my first ever knitting pattern.  While I often 'wing it' with knitting, this is the first time I've actually written one down to share.  Please send me edits, photos, comments, etc.!

You Are My Sunshine Baby Vest Pattern

Finished Size: 6 month 20" chest, 10" tall at shoulder strap
Gauge: 4.5 stitches per inch on size 8 needles in stockinette stitch
Yarn: Quince & Company Lark
Needles: Size 8 circular needle, 16 " (or size needed to obtain guage)

Body
Cast on 96 stitches.  Place marker and join to knit in the round.  Work in pattern:
Rows 1-3: *pearl 1, knit 1, pearl 2, knit 4, pearl 2, knit 1, pearl 1. Repeat from * 8 times.
Row 4: pearl 1, knit 1, pearl 2, k2tog, yo, yo, skpo, pearl 2, knit 1, pearl 1.
Repeat rows 1-4 until piece measures 7 inches.

Armholes-Back
At marker, place 48 stitches on stitch holder. 
Begin pearl 6 stitches both sides of right side rows, working in pattern in between.
Cast off 4 stitches next 2 rows.
Cast off 3 stitches beginning of next 2 rows.
K2tog both sides next 2 right side rows.  30 stitches remain on needles.
Knit remaining rows in garter stitch.  Knit 8 rows, casting off on right side row.

Armholes & Shoulder Strap-Front
Pick up stitches from stitch holder.
Begin pearl 6 stitches both sides of right side rows, working in pattern in between.
Cast off 4 stitches next 2 rows.
Cast off 3 stitches beginning of next 2 rows.
K2tog both sides next 2 right side rows.  30 stitches remain on needles.
Knit remaining rows in garter stitch.  Knit 6 rows.
On the right side, knit 6 stitches onto stitch holder, cast off 18 stitches, knit 6. 
6 stitches make up each shoulder strap.  Work each strap separately in garter stitch for 14 rows.  Work a 3 needle bind off with last 6 stitches of each side of back of vest (or cast off and sew straps to back of vest). 

Finishing
Weave in ends.  Wash with baby friendly detergent or soap and block.

Picnic & Quilts

After a summer of feeling fairly productive in the studio, I'm afraid I've slowed down- way down... but that may be what happens when you go to Iceland, start a new job, do a craft fair- all in one month.  So, no new work, BUT I did want to share these pictures from Picnic where I shared a booth with my very talented wood-creatin' friend Marc McCabe.  Thanks to everyone who visited our booth!  (My etchings, woodcuts and hand-bound books from Picnic will be posted in my Etsy shop- just as soon as I have a little time to post them!)

And, though I haven't been super productive in the studio, my sewing machine has been super busy... with this baby quilt among other things!

Fun with Woodcuts...

Taking a break from more serious prints to work on some woodcuts... the theme... things that make me say, "I love summer..."

New series...

 Recently I was talking to a friend about the whole growing up thing.  We agree that it's hard to grow up; to decide want you want to do and can do, figure out how to do it well, how to pay for learning how to do it AND how to get paid for doing it, but more than that, how to set reasonable expectations for yourself.  We both agree that the new culture around making all children feel equal is ridiculous- ie. sports teams not having a team captain so nobody's feelings get hurt, or giving everyone the same expectations or everyone a turn to do something... it creates a culture where children (and 20 and 30 something year olds) don't acknowledge that we all have strengths AND weaknesses.  How can you grow up and be successful when you've never gotten honest feedback, and you've been taught that the world is fair and equal all the time?  Why didn't I get hired for that job?  I'm awesome, and good at everything... just like everyone else?  This is not a competition-less world, and instead of teaching children that competitiveness is bad, perhaps we should teach them how to be better, kinder, more humane and realistic players (and how to learn from losing.)

 

As she said "You CAN be anything you want, but you can't be everything."  Well, thank you Abby, for perfectly summing up my thoughts on my new body of work, which is all about the expectations I set for myself... which aren't always realistic and reasonable... (ie. I will never be patient- like, really NEVER, and I will probably never have perfect balance, flexibility, harmony, and, oh, a QUIET MIND, like those amazing yogis who teach my class.  If you were in my brain, you'd understand why meditation is so, so, so hard for me...)

Speaking of realistic and reasonable, above is the first draft of a print that I started last week... and this week, when someone smashed into my car (and did about $4,000 of damages), I began to think about how I need to work on forgiveness.  Let's just say this print is me working on forgiveness.  Remember, I can't be EVERYTHING... but I'm working on being forgiving... oh and that still mind thing... still working on that too...

Two Color Edition

My first edition-ed print at Pickwick- or ever for that matter!  A two color etching.  For those of you non-printers, an edition is when there are only __ number of prints made, ever, of that image.  Now that I've edition-ed this print I can never use the plate as it is again.  Typically this makes your copy of the print more valuable, because you know there are only ever __ of them in the world.  There are 25 of this print in the final edition and you could be the lucky owner of one...