Another Baby Romper

I have been working on the romper off & on all day. It is finished except for the elastic in the legs & the trim for the leg & sew the crotch up. After I get the leg openings done I am going to steam it very lightly. I don't want to kill the yarn. Just enough to smooth out the bands. I made my armhole bands & button bands shorter that the pattern stated because I did not want them to flare out like the ones in the picture. I want them to lie flat but close around the arm & front. The leg openings will be gathered some with the elastic & look really cute on baby I think.

It takes about 4-5 hours to make this romper. The pattern is from Machine Knitting News 1990 #5, patterns #24. It is made with Millor Andino in a size 12 months. I have lots more baby patterns & am going to be busy making them this summer for my 2 youngest g'kids. I have been so busy with orders & baby knitting that I have let my charity knitting get behind. I am going to get started on another scrappie as soon as I get this last order out.

   

More Summer Rompers

I have been going through some of my old Machine Knitting News magazines to find some more baby rompers to knit for the summer. I thought this one was cute so decided to make it. I am not going to do fairlisle as I think that would be too warm for summer in Southern California. I am going to make it in green with yellow trim using the Millor Andino. The picture of the romper with the fairisle is cute but looks like it has been over blocked & steamed to me. The armhole opening is flaring out & I don't like that look. I am going to make my armholes tighter. I only steam very lightly as I don't like a limp fabric for baby clothes. I want them stretchy & live. 
I was going to put buttons on it but then decided that snaps are so much easier with an active baby. The pattern calls for elastic in the legs & I think that will work out well. I am going to make the 12 month size.

I'm not sure what is wrong with blogger. Or it might be my computer, but nothing is working right. Other sites seem to be working okay. I can't get some of the features to work. It's weird.                        

                                  

Some Machine Knitting History

Here is a picture of an old Knitting Machine. If anyone has any information about this machine I would be glad to post it. A blogger sent it to me, possibly thinking that I might know something about it.

A couple of years ago I bought the 'Knifty Knitter Looms' & have been making hats with them for family & friends. Also, children's hats for charity. These are the warmest ski hats that I've ever had. I like to sit & watch TV while I knit them in the evenings. They don't require a lot of thought. No counting stitches or rows, & they knit up fairly quickly. I use a chunky yarn that washes up well, so they don't need any special care. I have had a couple of pegs come out, but I just poke them back into the loom & am ready to knit. I always make a brim on all my hats. They are twice as warm as the hats without one. A good place to find yarn is at 'Discount Yarn Sale'  They sell by the bag & carry a wide variety of yarns.   

 

Happy Little Customer

Here is one of my happy little customers. I enjoy it sooo much when Mom's send me pictures of their little ones wearing my product. I make 100% wool diaper covers that are used with cloth diapers.

 Before there was plastic, there was wool. Mom's used it for a diaper cover for hundreds of years. It absorbs moisture & doesn't transfer that moisture to baby's bedding or clothes. This is part of the green movement to prevent landfills from being filled with disposable diapers. It has gained a lot of momentum with more & more family's using cloth diapers.

This is my awesome little g'son. He has a bunch of woolies, but guess what?? He is allergic to wool!! So mom is using disposables for him. LOL

Baby Bunting Finished

Here is the finished baby bunting. It needs some blocking but my steamer went out so have ordered a new one. I put this in the washer & will see if it helps any. I might try a little steam when the new steamer comes, before I send the bunting off.

This bunting snaps down the front for a bag like bunting or can be snapped up a little differently to form legs so baby can wear it in a car seat. It is made from Millor Vellon, no longer produced, & takes about 4-5 hours to knit & sew up. The snaps are from Snap Source (their link is on the left side of the blog) in baby pink. The Vellon is a fuzzy yarn & a good fit for this project. Also, am making a baby blanket but haven't decided yet whether I am doing a tuck, slip or G-Carriage blanket. I plan on doing a romper with booties & mitts too. This is a little heavy for a romper but I think it will work out okay. 

I embroidered a little pink lamb on the front of the bunting & it turned out to be just what it needed. You can't see the lamb very well in the picture, but it made a cute addition.    

    

Some Info on KnitWare

I have had a couple of emails from people that have tried the KnitWare program because of my recommendation & are less than satisfied with it. I have been using the program for several years & am very happy with it. One thing I want to stress is that you must measure yourself & compare the measurements with the size data in the program. If I knit myself a sweater using the standard sizes, the sleeves are too short. If I knit a pair of children's pants using standard sizes, the legs are too long. You must measure. Have a friend come over, or get your husband(if he's willing) to help you measure yourself & input those measurements into the program under 'custom sizes' for a good fitting garment.

Also, you must make a swatch & launder it the same way you will the garment that you are making. Accurate measurements of the swatch are very important. If you don't measure your swatch correctly, your garment will not fit. The best way to measure is with a gauge ruler made for knitting. If you don't have one, use a  regular ruler. I don't have time right now, but will get into swatch making in a later post.  

I have been really busy today knitting up orders, but did manage to get the back & the hood of the bunting knitted up & sewn together. I know it doesn't look like much yet. I just need to make the bands now. I am volunteering again tomorrow so probably won't get this finished up for a couple of days.

G-Carriage Sweater

My grandson came over today to clean the moss out of my driveway. It is so damp & humid in Western Washington State that the moss grows every where. It was chilly so he looked for a sweater that would fit him, in the box for the shelter. This sweater fit, so he worn it while he worked.  & took it home with him.

I have been working on the bunting for the baby girl that is due in August. I have both fronts finished & am going to do the back & sleeves today.  I am volunteering at Catholic Services also & am taking a woman to the Dr. in Olympia WA & want to be able to sew it up while I wait. I am going to put pink snaps on it & trim it in white.  I'm using the Millor yarn Vellon. It is a lighter yarn, but I thought since they live in southern California that is will work out for them. I am making a blanket in tuck stitch to go with  it. Also, booties & mitts. The baby bunting snaps up the front to make a bunting sack, or you can snap it in a different way to form legs to fit into a car seat. 

I have orders to work on & am trying to get them out so I can work on other things. I don't make alot with my store, but it    does give me pin money.  I like to keep busy too & so I try to fill my day with positive experiences. This week I had an order come in from Australia. I am still amazed with the way the Internet has opened up the world.

Still doing Scrappies!!

This is another scrappie for the women's shelter. I made it from half a skein of leftover variegated brown yarn & several  partial skeins of the solid brown. I was going to give it to my step-g'son but they have moved out of the area so stuck it in the box for the shelter. It is a size 4. Someone will hopefully love it.

I bought 6 cones of Millor Vellon in baby pink for a baby blanket & hooded bunting. This is a wonderful yarn for baby things. If I have enough I will make a romper  too. This is going to be for my new g'baby due in August. It will be her coming home set. Vellon is a great yarn, but unfortunately Millor Yarns are no longer produced. It is kinda fuzzy, but I like that. I will get started on it when I get the chance.  I can't wait to get to work on it.

I have had a slew of orders come in so will be working on them for a while. Also, I am going to make some baby size cardigans for my store out of wool. I have been meaning to get some made but it seems like I am always doing something else.  

When I am not knitting I like to volunteer at Catholic Community Services. I usually go a couple of days a week. Yesterday I had to take a lady that is 78 go to the Dr. She had a walker with wheels on it. I took it out of the car & set it by the back of the car so I could help her out. When I turned around the walker was halfway down the hill & gaining speed very quickly. I ran(?) down the hill as fast as I could, which isn't very fast, & yelling 'hey, mister...........hey, mister' to a man that was getting in his car. He ran down the errant walker & brought it back to us. I was so embarrassed I could have died. But all turned out well, Thx to God, & we had a good laugh about it.

 

Our bundle of love.

Smaller Romper......................Bigger Socks

This romper is a 9-12 month size & I am hoping for a better fit. I tried to pick some bright colors this time. Babies love bright colors!! This romper takes about 5-6 hours to make & about 7 oz of Millor Andino. It is fairly light weight for a knit & comfortable for the summer weather. I plan to make more of these for J.R. & also for the new baby girl we are expecting. I'm going to look for some pink yarn in the Andino. I am not sure that I have any & the yarn is no longer produced. I am going to email Charlene Schaffer at the KnitKnack Shop & see what a comparable yarn in the Tamm line is available.

My son said the socks fit the baby but were a little tight so have made larger socks. If I could get one of them to measure JR's foot that would certainly help. I get promises but they never seem to get the time in their busy schedules to actually do it.

I want to tell you about these awesome pound on snaps that I found on the Internet. The company is called 'Snap Source' They have all kinds of different packages of snaps. Pastels & bright colors too. All different sizes. They have a funny little purple applicator to attach the snaps.  I bought a small hammer from them just for pounding on the snaps. Believe me, if you get them on right, they will never come off. I have been using them on baby clothes for years. They are the only snaps I've found that are worth the money I paid for them.

I use the snaps for decorative purposes as well as a functional additions to my garment.

http://www.snapsource.com/

Romper Waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Too Big

The romper turned out to be sooo big on J.R. that I am embarrassed to admit it. It is hard to remember just how small babies can be when you don't have one around for a while. The socks fit though. LOL  This is an 12-18 month size & he is 10 months so I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised that I was off by sooo much. He will grow into it.

I am working on a smaller size now. I am glad that I checked for size before I went off & knit a bunch of them & have them all be too big. I really wanted a picture of him standing up so I could see it better, but my son said they had been out to the lake all day & baby was tired & wanted to nap so they didn't push it.

We are having a GIRL in August. We are all so excited. My Dil is from a large family & wanted several children. The reality of what it costs to raise a child has hit them now & they say that they will settle for 2. At least for the time being. My DIL is a school teacher but is off work to have babies for a couple of years. She plans to go back to work when the new arrival is 2. Right now they are living on one income & are keeping to a strict budget.

I have been dieting & want to lose at least 30 pounds.  I seem to do okay during the day, but when night comes & I am not busy I start to think FOOD!!! Nothing special, just food in general. But I have lost 4 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks so maybe this time it will work out. I think this is the first time I have ever been so determined to lose. When I get the urge to eat I go into my knitting room & knit for awhile & that seems to take my mind off it for a while.  

Using Wax on Hand Knitting yarns to Machine Knit

When knitting hand knitting yarns on my SR 860 I have found that using wax makes all the difference in how well they knit up. Years ago I bought wax holders for my machines. I still have them, but wax for knitting machines is no longer produced, so I decided to make my own.

I bought a mold from a Candle supply store. It is the size to make tea candles. It worked out to be a perfect fit for my wax holders. Then, I bought some canning wax at the grocery store. I used a screwdriver & small hammer to break off pieces of wax & melted it in the microwave using a small Pyrex container. (be careful, wax does have a flash point) When it was completely melted I poured it into the mold & put in a small metal rod for the hole. Then I let it sit over night.  The hole wasn't quite big enough for the wax holder so I  used a Phillips screwdriver to enlarge it. It has worked out perfectly.

Wax Holder for knitting machine.

I knitted up this scrappie yesterday while the repairman was here. He was fascinated by my knitting machines. & He only charged me $50 to repair the dryer. LOL

Orders Finished .... Back to Scrappies

Finished my orders until some more come in. I decided to knit a scrappie for the women's shelter while I had the time. It's made with more of the Red Heart Soft Baby that I knitted up on my SR 860, size 2. I did my usual with the short rowed, grafted neckband. The sleeves are also grafted with the loop through loop bind off.

My clothes dryer is misbehaving. I am having the repairman come in on Monday to see if it can be repaired. I hope that I don't need to buy a new one, altho this one is 22 years old so it isn't like I didn't get my money out of it. LOL

I bought the original washer & dryer set when I bought this house & have replaced the washer once already. I am very limited as to the style I can buy. My washer & dryer are the front loader stacking kind & fit into a small closet in the hall way of my home. They were outside in the garage when I bought the house but I didn't like going out there to wash clothes as it is cold in the winter time. This works much better for me. 

I mailed the Romper to my g'son & am waiting for a picture. I will post it when I get it.