I'm on a Vest Kick!

I have been loving making vests lately.  They are perfect for baby boys in the spring and cool summer days.  I've been designing my own.  Some are in the local Blooming Bellies, soon to be Little Locals, and some are in my Etsy store.

 My recent favorite is my Little Fishes vest.  This design has been rolling around in my head for a couple of years.  I finally got it out but now I need to get it written down.  That's the not-so-fun part, at least for me.  I prefer to start my next project rather than write down my finished one. 

This one is the same pattern as the orange stripey vest in my last post.  Again I used handmade wooden buttons from my cherry tree.  The yarn is Louisa Harding Amitola, a super yummy wool/silk blend. 

 

Then I have my two little tie vests. This was a new adventure for me. I've never done intarsia in the round before and it took me a several tries and several fails to finally figure out how to make my vision work.

These two are done with Cascade Pima Cotton and Wendy Supreme Cotton DK. Very nice yarn to work with.

Tell me what you think!

 

Big News!

I have completed one of my New Year Resolutions and I can cross it off my list!  I now have some of my products in a local boutique!  Blooming Bellies Boutique in Kalispell, Montana currently has four of my children's shirts.  The patterns are my own and I have actually gotten them written down this time.  I think that is the hardest part of designing after all.  Sometimes I'm not quite sure how to put into understandable language exactly what I did to make something look a certain way.  It's tricky! 

 This one is my favorite. The yarn is Louisa Harding's Amitola in Marmalade.  It is 80% wool and 20% silk.  The buttons are hand-made.  Yes, I actually cut a branch from my cherry tree, dried it, sliced it, sanded it, drilled holes, and varnished them.  A lot of work, but you can't deny the results. 

The flowers on this little tunic turned out so cute. I love the simplicity and the femininity.  This pattern is a combination of crochet and knitting which is actually my favorite type of pattern.  The yarn is Cascade Pima.  It steams beautifully and has a nice finished look to it. 

 This one needs to be touched!  Too bad you all can just look at it.  The yarn is Cascade Pima Tencel and it is just yummy.  Very soft.  When I got it, the colors were limited so I will have to seek out more in the future.  These cute buttons were made from polymer clay to match the yellow stripes perfectly.  I love the two-tone ribbing at the bottom.  This was my first time trying this technique!

Aah, classic argyle.  Have I ever said that I love argyle?  This is again the Cascade Pima.  I struggled a lot with this vest.  I had to look up videos on YouTube and ask friends how to do intarsia in the round.  I think next time I may just go back and forth and seam the sides.  It's more work but will probably be faster in the long run.  The buttons (which you can't see from this pic) are also argyle.  I made a cane in polymer clay to match the design.  Isn't it more fun to make your own buttons? 

Let me know what you think!  I am so excited and I can't wait to do more!