My projects

I have many projects going on right now!
Felted Teddy Bear
-I have used bernat felting yarn (100% wool) to begin to knit my first teddy bear. I am more proficient at crochet, so this was a project to re-learn knitting as well before attempting my next project- a pair of shorties for Z. The bear so far is a heard, arms, body, and legs, stuffed. I still have to do the ears and nose, and embroider on facial features. Anyhow, after he's done I will list him for sale on Etsy.
-The next project I have going on is the recycling of several wool sweaters into longies and shorties (diaper covers). Wool is waterproof if lanolized and it does not smell like urine after using it a few times, so you only have to wash wool diaper covers once every two weeks or so. Anyhow, it is more natural than using plastic pants. SO I have made two pairs of longies and two shorties out of an old 100% merino wool sweater. I have one more sweater that I am still felting and cutting up that will be next in line, and the first four items are still drying after I lanolized them.
-My next project is refurbishment of 12 all in one diapers I got used online. I only paid shipping on them since the elastic and inner fabric was shot. So I am taking them apart (I love my seam ripper), cutting new fabric for the inner from soft turquoise fabric, then adding new elastic and stitching them back up. This is taking a while because 1) I don't get that much sewing time and 2) My sewing machine is in bad need of a tune up. My needles keep breaking and I think it is because there is something out of alignment and my needle is hitting the plate.
-Another project that I'm working on is making some diaper covers out of a bunch of fleece I got from the remnant bin at wal mart. This is fun and fast! I have already done two. Here is a picture of one of them- the other is a pair of longies.



I have lots of wonderful yarn that I got on sale at Joannes that I need to make into something, and I also got some beautiful alpaca yarm from my mom for christmas thet I am still trying to figure out what to do with. I love it an it's so soft, I want to make sure to use it for just the right project. I have done a little research and found that alpaca yarn is more "drapey" than wool, so it should be something that doesn't require stiff structure. Maybe that slouchy hat I wanted to make a while ago. Hmmm....

Videos

From

From videos

From videos

From videos

Play time and a new hat

PICTURE TIME!!!



Here are some great "freestlye" play time pictures:


And here are some of him in the newest hat I made him. It is very cute with a little rolled brim. It is still a little big, but he'll grow into it. It is made of peruvian wool (blue yarn) and baby alpaca/silk blend (red yarn-thanks Suki!), so it is super soft and warm.

And here is where he realized he was wearing a hat:
And here is where he decided to take it off:
And eat it.
\

And afterwards he dreamed peacefully of eating hats:

New Years

We had a nice insouciant New Years. We have joined the sanguine masses in a hopefully not-too-feckless ritual of creating a "New Years Resolution". Ours is probably among one of the most common, but our reasoning is probably fairly unique. We want to start living more healthfully for several reasons. One is that as Zach begins to consume more solid foods, he has quite expectedly started to want our food instead of baby food. In the hopes that he will develop eating habits that will help to ensure life long health, we have decided the best course of action is to lead by example. Another reason is that we would like to have another child someday, and although Preeclampsia has not been linked specifically to being overweight, I cannot get it out of my head that I would be less likely to get it again if I lost about 60lbs before getting pregnant. Even if research has not proved that being heavy plays a role in the course of the disease, I would feel like I had done my very best to prevent it if I had lost some weight before getting pregnant again. In addition, there are other benefits of reaching your optimal weight prior to conceiving. I haven't talked to a doctor about it, but if they were willing to let me try to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after Csection) despite my placental abruption, I tihnk the odds of it working out would be higher if I was lighter. Of course, there is the chance that since the placental abruption I had was so catastrophic, they will want to do a c section as soon as I am at 37 weeks. SO, to sum it all up, the benefits would be numerous in the next few years, as well as down the road some.
The real challenge for me will not be sticking to a diet, or motivating myself to exercise. Before I because pregnant with Zach, I was on a roll, I had lost 25-30 lbs and I was highly motivated. BUT I was also working a part time job, and I spent hours each week planning my meals, writing down every single thing I ate, going to weight watchers meetings and exercising a lot. NOW I barely have time to bruch my teeth at the end of the day. I am going to try my best though, to make the time for myself that I need. I got to go on a nice bike ride yesterday alone for almost an hour. It was great, especially since when I returned I learned that Zach only cried for about 2 minutes!! :)
There are some new things I am going to try. In an effort to increase the useablitly (is that a word?) of our prefold diapers I am going to make a pair of "longies" out of an old werino wool sweater. Longies, for those of you who don't speak cloth diapering slang, are a pair of wool pants that go directly over a cloth diaper and act as a cover. In the olden days, wool was often used as a cover because when properly lanolized, it is waterproof and antimicrobial. I found a pattern online that I am planning on using.
http://www.boiseclothdiapers.com/wool_longies_pattern.htm
I also crocheted my own diaper soaker, out of some pretty wool, that is a similar idea, but does not cover the legs like longies do. Another option I am looking into are fleece soakers, since I bought a large piece of fleece at the thrift store, and they are fairly easy to make since fleece does not have to be lanolized or washed a certain way, or hemmed when sewing. Now if only I had about 48 extra hours to do this all. I can dream right?
Pics will post at next nap!