Stitching Status: Complex Little Things

Happy Friday! Oh I love the weekends. This weekend we’re thinking of taking Cher with us to a dog friendly winery and brewery in Virginia. Anytime I can get Cher out and about for the day and tucker her out means she will have an awesome weekend. But what I’m hoping to also do on the drive down to the winery is finish off this little blue dress.

I titled this post, complex little things because the Purl Soho Clean + Simple Dress pattern is soooo not simple. At least to me it isn’t. In my last Yarnbox delivery (I’m pausing until I whittle my stash down a bit) I got something out of my norm, sport weight linen yarn. I didn’t want to make a shawl with it and around that same time Purl Soho released this free pattern for a baby dress. Sport weight yarn + sport weight pattern + pattern with the word simple in the title = an easy option, right? I started this dress three times before I got it right and I still have a mistake line in the shoulder that drives me insane. In addition, the Louet Euroflax Linen yarn is killing my hands like Hempathy did on my first sweater. I read enough reviews to know that once I wash and dry this piece (which also made it a perfect yarn for a baby item) it will soften up considerably. Also please note in the pic below I had 3 different needles running through this bad boy. This one definitely had some interesting construction to it and I learned how to do a cable cast-on!

I know I’m complaining a lot about this one BUT I am down to the last inch on the body as of this morning!! And honestly, this piece is so adorable I cannot wait to wash it, put buttons on it and mail it off to Rachel. Her baby girl is still pretty tiny so I’m hoping she’ll get to wear it a few times before it gets chilly and perhaps I’ll have to send her a tiny cardigan to wear over it when it does get chillier in NYC.

Also, with all the sweater knitalongs going on, a lot of my favorite pattern designers are having sales. If you don’t, start following your favorites on Instagram! I have been going through my stash, figuring out what I want to make (the list is long but a lot of what I’ll be doing over the next 2 months are for all the little kids in my life) and I’ve picked up a few new patterns along the way. One that I think will be great for using up leftover skeins is Tea with Jam and Bread, it’s by the same designer who made my Mountain High sweater that I love and it’s $2 off and I learned about that sale via Instagram along with a few other good sales. I’m excited to do some fun colorblocking on this one and it comes in sizes kids 4 to XXL and is unisex! So my husband might be getting one too to wear on the weekends.

So are you getting ready for fall knitting? Anybody joining any of the knitalongs? Which ones?