Friday, June 28, 2013

Antique - A Baptism Gown

Last weekend, our beautiful girl (who is now 6 months old) was baptized. I knitted her gown, and one of her godmothers knitted her bonnet. Both turned out beautifully, and received many compliments. I've vacuum-sealed the gown, bonnet, extra ribbon, and the rest of the last skein of yarn used in this project all together for future generations.


Here are the specs:

Project: Antique

For: Kinsye's baptism

Pattern: Isla - A Seamless Modern Baptism / Christening Dress 
                       (which can be seen here)
Yarn: Baby Alpaca Indiecita
Color: 100

Modifications: I followed the pattern exactly as written, but I used a lace weight yarn instead of DK. I wanted a softer, lighter fabric because St. Louis in summer can be hot and muggy.

Thoughts: This was a pretty easy, quick, and fun knit! I loved that there was no seaming, and that the slight flair of the skirt was achieved by increasing needle size, instead of increasing the number of stitches.

The yarn I used made it look vintage, which is exactly what I was going for. Because I used the lace weight yarn, I ended up with a more sheer fabric, which meant that I had to sew a slip to go under it. I'm not at all good with my sewing machine [yet], but it wasn't too hard to come up with something simple to keep the gown modest.

Here are a few more pictures:


I have to say a huge thank you to my sister, Katie, from River City Images. She took fantastic photos of Kinsye in her gown!





Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Try it Out Tuesday: Coconut Oil

This Try it Out Tuesday entry comes from Becca, over at A Long and Winding Road. She pinned it and suggested it, and actually tried it out with good results. I wanted to see if I could do the same.

Here's my Pin for Whipped Coconut Oil, and here is the original article.

I've been hearing a lot about the virtues of cocnut oil lately, how it's healthy, can be used for cooking, beauty products, etc. The thing that really hooked my interest, though, is that it is recommended as a... "backside balm" for cloth diapered babies.

We are not exclusively cloth diapering (Kinsye wears a disposable to sleep at night, when we will be out and running around for a long day, and when we go camping). But when we are home or just visiting relatives, she's in a cloth diaper.

You can't use regular diaper creams with cloth diapers. (Actually, you can't use a lot of regular products with cloth diapers.)

So, I bought the coconut oil (which doesn't really resemble an oil at all). It's very solid, and I had my doubts.


 I measured out about a half cup and put it into my bowl.

It was sort of solid, but gloppy, and did not look like something I wanted to smear on my baby girl's backside (or Hubby's hands, or my heels).

But, I had faith. Armed with my trusty hand mixer, I started whipping.

I whipped.

And whipped.

And whipped.

And after a couple of minutes, it started to look quite smooth. 

I think I maybe could have whipped it a little longer, but here is my finished product:

So far, I have used it on chapped lips, an irritated baby-bum, and a dry patch on my elbow, all with good results. A very small amount goes a very long way, and it practically turns to liquid with a little warmth from your fingers.

So here are my thoughts:

Modifications:
None. It's pretty straightforward, so there's not much room for mods. I will say that I did not add the optional vitamin E or essential oil for fragrance. Since SugarPlum has sensitive skin, I am trying to use as few products on her as possible.

#Fail Factors:
None!

FTW!
This was really easy and quick to do. I think it took longer to find a container to keep it in than it did to complete the project. It takes a little getting used to because of the consistency, but I think we will be using this for a long time. Speaking of a long time, since a little goes a long way, this small container will likely last us a month or more.

Will I Do This Pin Again?
Absolutely. It's clean, healthy, and since a little goes a long way, it's pretty cost-effective.

Got a Pin you'd like me to try? Let me know in the comments section below!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Baby Knits!

We welcomed our newest little one on Christmas morning! As every knitter knows, there's no better reason to knit than a baby.

Here are a few of my recent baby knits: