Life With The Crew

Tickled Pink

I decided to take the plunge and knit an actual sweater with long sleeves for the little babe.  Everything I have made to date has been sleeveless vests or short sleeve.  I've knitted a couple of patterns that had the option of long sleeves, but by the time I got to that point in the project, I just wanted to be done and see the finished product, so I chose the short sleeve option.  For someone who appreciates the "slow life" and tries to keep techy time saving gizmos to a minimum, I don't have a lot of patience when it comes to my crafting projects.  Last year I picked up two skeins of lovely Peace Fleece that looked perfect for my pink loving little babe.  I started one sweater with it last summer, but it just wasn't working.  So I frogged the whole front side and moved onto something else.  Since we're halfway through the Summer season (even though Summer technically only just started), I'm thinking about what she'll need for the coming cold weather.  I found this Pipit Sweater Coat pattern and it was just what I was looking for.  However, it calls for Super Bulky yarn and a needle size that I did not have, so I pulled a Katie and just went for it.  LUCKILY, it turned out perfectly, because I really was just guesstimating when I upped all the stitch amounts.  The arm length amounts totally went out the window and I just kept knitting and holding it up to the little babe to judge if I was there yet.

If you look at the pattern, you'll notice that I altered it quite a bit.  I decided to not make the funnel collar (too impatient), I added a pocket (because I wanted to see my little babe smile), and I only have one button band on the front.  I somehow managed to not even see that it called for button bands until I thought I was all done, so then it was, "Shoot - I just want to be done with it!"  Since I had already worked in the button holes, I couldn't add a band on that side.  The sweater did look a bit narrow, so I added it to the other edge, which was something new for me.  I've never had to pick up all of those stitches before and it isn't the neatest.  Yeah, the knit edge rolls and is a bit wonky, but oh well.  It isn't a work of art, it is a sturdy, warm, handmade sweater to cover that little toddler belly that will be almost three years old by the time she needs to wear this.  Though with the ridiculous wet and dreary weather that we're having, she can almost wear it now and not worry about sweating.

 The buttons are seven different styles from my vintage button stash.  Wood buttons would have looked nice, but I didn't want to spend the money.  And in case you were wondering, Moosey is not handmade.  She is a stuffed animal from my childhood that was stolen out of the Goodwill bag by a little thief with chubby fingers and wild curls.  Moosey gets a lot of love.

Weather Fit for Slugs and Snails

"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day."  That has become the daily chant in our house lately.  Come again another day, sometime not too soon.  It seems like we have not had a day without rain in WEEKS.  Seeing the sun is now cause for excitement.  "I see the sun peeking through Momma!"  "Yes, honey, it is up there somewhere!"  My raspberries are starting to mold (it is a miracle that they are even ripening at all), my duck pen is turning into a stinky pond (I knew it would eventually happen, but not so soon), and I am getting really tired of lugging my huge drying rack outside, then inside, outside, then inside, three times a day as multiple showers pass through.  Cloth diapers take a REALLY long time to dry without a blazing wood stove or full hot sun.  

We woke up to the sound of rain yesterday morning, but by 8am, it had stopped.  We dropped my husband off at work and I decided we'd try a quick trip to the nature center before the rain started back up.  It seems that at least some species are happy for the wet weather.

There were snails and slugs everywhere!!  Shredding the Skunk Cabbage, decimating the Garlic Mustard (no loss there), and sliming up the boardwalks.  Luckily the little babe isn't prissy and wanted to touch all of them.  More power to her - I just kept my hands on the camera.  After staring at several hundred snails and slugs, I wondered what the difference is between the two.  They look the same except that slugs don't have shells.  And after doing a little research, I discovered that the shell is the only real difference.  

Since snails and slugs have a bad reputation, especially among gardeners, it is refreshing to see them through a toddler's eyes.  The world is a clean slate.  There are no negative connotations associated with things.  Snail slime isn't yucky, spiders aren't scary, animal scat isn't gross.  All of those negative thoughts are planted later - by parents, other kids, the media.  I've talked about this before, but it is something that I think is important.  Kids need to be able to explore, discover, marvel at nature, and form their own opinions about what they see and experience.