Step Into My Thimble

I made up a double-sided apron for Maeve for a Christmas gift.

It was great for scrap usage plus some cute fabric I got in the remnant bin at Stitches Seattle this summer. I also got a giant bag of assorted bias tapes from my grandparents’ senior center sale. I like the 1/4″ double-fold bias tape for edging the apron.

A while ago I also ordered Clover yo-yo makers from Superbuzzy. The three on the “plain” side of this apron are 30mm or just over an inch in diameter. They made the greenish-yellow chambray look a little more exciting. My homage to Angela Keslar, ha ha.

Anyway I made up this pattern. It will fit most toddlers of walking age up to about age 3 or 4. Do you want a copy of it? If so, send me your name and mailing address. I’ll probably get them out close to the end of the year. For free!

The last several days have been a blur of childhood mystery, or really misery. What’s making my child cry late at night? Why is her nose so stuffy? Why won’t she sleep? Why is she mostly cheerful all day? It could be any number of things, with the top contenders being teething (incisors are next), a cold, and/or some kind of developmental phase. At any rate it is frustrating and I am totally fried, just in time for a holiday that involves a lot of driving. Yeah, with that out-of-sorts kid.

It’s been 18 days since my last post here. I have wanted to make a list of good things I’m thankful for, or show off some kind of craft progress. But there hasn’t been time to concentrate on any of that. I did, however, with the help of my bread machine for the first stage (cheating I know), make a very delicious cinnamon bread that was all eaten up within a day.

In the craft department, I’m working my way through a shop sample Everyday Cardigan for Briar Rose Fibers, finishing a second sock for Rodney, and working on some little girl sewing that would be nice to finish before Christmas gets here. So there’s things, but nothing really photo worthy at the moment.

I want to blame all this funk on daylight savings time and the general shortening of days. None of the photos I do take turn out very well due to low light (get a better lens right?), we’re all out of order with sleeping (take a nap right?), and the grey Michigan skies are making us depressed (get a full spectrum bulb right?). I’m still struggling with the fact that my life as a mother is really no longer my own, and when Maeve acts weird for whatever reason, it just gets harder. I don’t like thinking about how this is only the beginning of the shorter-day season. There better be some cheer around the holidays or else.

Oh and I just joined Facebook, primarily for work-related purposes. I need another social networking tool like I need a hole in the head (hello, blog, Ravelry, LibraryThing, etc. etc.) Right now my boss is my only friend so add me if you wish.

For a long time I’ve had the need for a basic baby/toddler sock pattern simmering just under the surface. When I saw Nova’s pictures I knew I had to act! And Nova generously pointed me to the pattern from Mimknits. Though I am not sure I will be able to manage 12 pairs so quickly, I have finished one sock in five days and I’m quite proud of it. Proud enough that I might actually start and finish the second one!

Anyway I brought the first one into the office today.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all the collections looked so neat and tidy like this?

This is how things really look.

The yarn is Gypsy Girl Creations’ “Ice Cream Sundae” fingering weight wool, which I picked up at the Michigan Fiber Festival earlier this year. That and the size 2 short DPNs were my only two purchases this year.