April’s FO’s

How is it May already?

With the semester coming to a close and the normal chaos of life and work I feel like April has zoomed right on by me. Add in travel for my husband, double dog duty by myself and getting bit by the tiniest of ticks the other day (and yes, I’m on precautionary antibiotics for 2 weeks) I’m happy to see April and its showers go away. Bring on May, vacations, Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and my 14th wedding anniversary (I think May might be my favorite month). But before we say goodbye to April, let’s talk about what I was able to finish last month. And I noticed a pattern when I was pulling this together. April was all about repeats for me.

• HATS!!!: I finished not 1, not 2 but 3 of the slouchy beanies this month for guy friends. Travis got 2, a black and a grey one (he’s pictured in the black one in the middle) and Marc got a navy blue one as a thank you for always being an awesome presenter for my class. He was so funny when I gave him the hat last week because he knew I could knit but people only ever think of grandmas and horrible itchy sweaters so when it turned out to be a really nice hat he was super impressed. I still want to make one of these for myself but since it’s fairly warm that may wait until September.
• Little Women cardigan: This was my version of the Lillian cardigan but for spring and summer. I tried a new to me yarn and fell in love so much I had to find a way to use the leftovers for another sweater.
• Saddle Shoulder Striped Tee: Um…this top makes me happy in so many ways. A different than my normal construction, big bold stripes, lots of color and Pima cotton make it the perfection summer top.
• Spring Tee: Since I had enough leftover yarn from the Little Women cardigan I figured if I used big needles I could make myself an easy breezy tunic. I was right!

Now on tap for May…I’ve got some baby knitting to do! I started a dress for my goddaughter a month ago, twisted the 188 stitches when I joined in the round and finally cast it back on and worked on the hem over the weekend. Now I’ve just got 10 inches of stockinette stitch before I can work on my first box pleat. Updates to come. In addition to that I cast on a Cosette tee for myself last night because why not? It’s constructed from cuff

And as if I didn’t already have enough that I want to do I’ve decided to join in with the Summer of Basics Make-along. You just have to make a basic item a month, sewn or knit, and basic can be defined in anyway you want. I’m always inspired by what I see people making on Instagram all the time and have been itching to pull my sewing machine back out. In the summer I typically wear sleeveless a line dresses, clogs and a cotton sweater and I thought why not make one for myself? This make-along gives me the perfect excuse. I popped over to the fairly new Stitch Sew Shop in Alexandria (they’re in Fibre Space’s old location around the corner) and I picked up the Grainline Studios Willow tank/dress pattern and some Rifle Paper Co rayon fabric. It’s a gorgeous red-orange floral with bright pink roses. I think my neon pink clogs will be absolute perfection when paired with this dress. The instructions are pretty basic and simple but I may need to do a few test runs first since I haven’t pulled my machine out in about 2 years (I made Cher some blankets…and actually still have fabric to make one more so maybe Jellybean needs a blanket of her own). And if anyone can give me suggestions on how to pre-treat rayon dryclean only fabric I’d appreciate it. I didn’t think about that when I picked the fabric. Oops!