The Summer of Baby Knits and Giveaways

Where did the summer go? I am actually not a fan of it and am more than ready for autumn, but it does seem like the last 2 1/2 months have flown by. As I often do, I stuck to knitting small cotton things during the hot weather. I have central AC but even so, I don't want some big piece of wool sitting on my lap when it's warm.

One of my coworkers had a baby in July, so I made him a bib and a burp cloth. 

I had made a hat for her first son when he was born, and she told me she was saving it for baby #2. So I decided that baby #1, who is 4 years old now, needed a new big-boy hat. She sent me a photo of him modeling it, and she said he absolutely loves it and can't wait to wear it this fall and winter.

I decided to make some more burp cloths and bibs to put on my gift pile. It's nice to have some ready to go when someone has a baby. 

My gift pile is pretty well stocked at this point, so moved on to a scarf for myself. The yarn is Atlas by Modern Daily Knitting, and the pattern is a broken rib stitch I found in an old Barbara Walker book. In retrospect, I wish I had done a garter stitch border on the sides to keep it from curling, but hopefully it will relax a little after I wash it. I will probably sew the ends together to turn it into a cowl.

My first fiber craft was cross-stitch. My mom taught me when I was 6 years old. I did it for decades, but now I can't pinch my thumb and forefinger together for long periods without pain. A woman at my church needed some crafts to do while laid up after a surgery, so I gave her all this embroidery floss and a sewing box I had been carrying around in hopes of picking up the hobby again.

I finally had to admit to myself that I'm never going to get back into it. I'm happy knowing that someone else will get to enjoy it.

I also gave away this old sewing machine that belonged to my mom. She was a professional seamstress and worked in a dress factory before she got married. When she left that job, she bought one of their machines, so hers was a big industrial Singer. Someone gave her this Mademoiselle one, but she didn't like it and handed it off to me.

She taught me how to use it and coached me through making some garments, but after she died, I never really used it, partly because I didn't feel confident using it on my own and partly because I always lived in small places where I didn't have space to set it up. Anyway, this family from church has a 9-year-old daughter who is learning to sew at her Montessori school, so I let her have it. I told them I haven't touched it in 30 years and I don't know if it works. I really hope they can find someone to fix it up and that the girl makes some beautiful things with it. It felt good to finally pass it on and get rid of the guilt over the fact that I never used it.

I guess now it's on to holiday knitting. I need to check in with the family and see who wants what and make a plan.