I knitted these baby booties for my cousin, Lissa. I got the pattern from Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation, “One-Hour Baby Booties,” page 217. I used a chunky alpaca yarn (I don’t remember anymore what brand) I’ve had left over from last winter. Less than a skein was just perfect. I had only about 6 inches left of the yarn after I was done.
The pattern called for loops at the ends of the straps and buttons for closure on the sides, but buttons pose such a safety risk for the little ones. I wouldn’t want the buttons to come loose from kicking and suddenly become a choking hazard for the little infant. So I just crocheted the straps to the booties on both sides and sewed flowers onto the straps for accents.
At two years old, she was Max from her favorite book, Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are. I scoured the internet for photos of this costume. I found a pattern for a body suit for toddlers and added the feet, tail and headdress. 
At three years old, she was infatuated with Disney’s Cinderella movie. She loved the Fairy Godmother, so I thought that would make a magical costume for Halloween. I never got a picture of the whole ensemble. The cloak always manages to be whipped off before I can get a photo, but here is the inner gown, a classic bell-sleeve dress, lined of course, for added comfort and warmth.
This pink dress on the right, for instance, I am so embarrassed by. It was the first dress I made that year, sort of a trial run before I attempted to make her Fairy Godmother costume. The stitches are messy, the zipper looks hideous, some seams are not well tucked resulting in frays, and worst of all, I sewed the sleeves on upside down. (See how the sleeves bell out like she belongs in a sci-fi movie? It’s not supposed to be that way.)
Regardless of all that, she wore that dress everyday since I made it. I would hide it under other clothes in her drawer, and she would dig it out. I love her. She is teaching me everyday to love myself too.
has a pattern for the Roll-Your-Own Needle Case on page 234. I knew I eventually had to have something similar before I go insane.
I also made myself a pair of arm warmers using the same Debbie Bliss alpaca silk yarn, the same 2×2 rib pattern with double-pointed needles.
For Christmas, I made my mother-in-law a pair of these luxuriously soft armwarmers using Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran. Cashmerino Aran is thicker than Alpaca Silk, containing 55% merino wool, 33% microfiber and 12% cashmere. Knitting them in 2×2 rib pattern thickens the fabric even more, but the vertical lines are slimming.
matching earwarmers for the little one and me. I based mine on the Head Huggers pattern in 
, page 59, but left out the decorative flowers and leaves. I just wanted a simple and classic look, not too many floral frills. For the smaller earwarmer, I started out using the neckwarmer pattern, then just carried on as it made sense to fit my little girl.
One more project using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran is my 3-year-old’s mittens. I originally tried making up my own pattern, but failed miserably. Look at this pathetic-looking mitten on the right. At first I thought I’d make arm-warmers-cum-mittens, thin in the arm part, tapering off in the wrist, ribbed for elasticity. It was really a bad idea, but I just had to see it come to fruition before I realized I needed to humble myself and look to the master knitters for complicated projects like mittens.
has a pattern for mittens for 3-year-olds. In fact, you can see the pattern in its entirety in the “Search Inside” function for this book on Amazon. The pattern is called Nell mittens.
I mentioned to my husband once while passing the yarn aisle at a craft store that I had never knitted before. It was more of a wistful sigh than a real wish. At that time I was balancing working at home and taking care of a two-year-old. I had no time to pick up a new hobby.
Pompom Hat
Space Invaders hat and tank top
Orange and green bikini
Hammock Pillow
Hoppy Hoppy
Space Invaders Arm Warmers
I couldn’t pass up the yarn they had for sale. The wool is raised and spun right there at Ellsfarm. The dark yarn is all natural, no dyes, just bare dark wool straight from the sheep. The light cream colored yarn is dyed with all natural henna. No harsh chemicals or synthetic dyes.
The color scheme matched Jay’s wardrobe perfectly, so I decided I would make him something. Since 100% wool tends to be heavy and itchy I thought something that had limited exposure to bare skin, like a hat, would be best.
I was right, though. It fit!
Cornelia was born in Manhattan on the 18th of February, 1928. She attended Yale University School of Art in New Haven, CT, taking courses in painting and sculpture. Aside from her oil paintings, Cornelia also created marionettes. She wrote and illustrated “Seventeen Poems of Fairyland” in 1952. Cornelia Schwarz Stefatos was a Democratic Party Chairwoman for 15 years. In 1973, Cornelia retreated to a Victorian Mansion in New Brighton, Staten Island, where she lived with her old dog Shempie and fellow artists. She died on the 16th of January, 1998.
