Sock Arms!

It is hard to explain how fun my job is. I mom by day and knit by night. I like to think of myself as a wooly superhero. My favorite thing about my job is collaborating with other fiber artists, particularly yarn dyers. Today I have a new pattern out that very clearly demonstrates why my job ROCKS. Meet SOCK ARMS!

This pattern has been an incredible collaboration with one of my favorite yarn dyers: Must Stash Yarn. I got hooked on her yarn during a killer KAL last year that featured Star Wars self-striping yarn. I knit a pair of 3-CPO/R2-D2 socks.

I had the idea for the Sock Arms sweater jangling around in my head for months before I approached Stacie about it. I couldn't picture the project in anyone else's yarn, but I was nervous she might say no. I can handle no. I'm a mom. No is practically my first name: "No, Mom!" But I didn't want a no from Stacie. I really wanted this sweater to be in her yarn. Can't you see why?

Luckily, Stacie was up for an out-of-the-box sock yarn project! AAND...she had ideas of her own. Now, Stacie says that she was inspired by the incredible scrappy monster sock craze, but I think she had a different inspiration. I think she must have peered into my nerdy sock-loving, comic book-obsessed, yarny soul. She wanted to create a Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-inspired palette, using both GOOD guys and BAD guys. Seriously, this girl gets me. I did a MEGA happy dance, cracked into the yarn (which Stacie sent in a box wrapped up like Christmas), and set to work.

Mind you, I am excited about all of my projects, but sometimes, I get ridiculously excited, with emphasis on the ridiculous. I am a silly person. Goofy to my very core, so I could hardly contain my silliness once the sweaters were finished. I did a few serious photos...

And then, Telly and I got ridiculous. We rocked our best 80's hairdos.

We put on our favorite Guardians of the Galaxy accessories.

We broke out the comic books.

We had a Good Guys vs. Bad Guys showdown (Telly is on the side of the angels, btw. Moms are always the bad guys.)

And we totally rocked that photoshoot. Awesome-mix-style!

Welcome Newbie!

The Newbie Vest is now available on Ravelry! Come join me for a KAL with Leading Men Fiber Arts!

I designed this little vest in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. About a week before my due date, I started having contractions. I panicked, but not for the reasons you might expect. I did not think, "Oh no, the baby is coming!" I thought, "Oh no, I haven't knit enough for the baby that's coming." I should have packed my hospital bag, but instead I started knitting this vest. 

 A few months after Dea was born, I was putting away her littlest clothes and I decided I wanted publish her newborn vest as a knitting pattern. It had been such a handy little knit. I put buttons all over it, so I never needed to pull it over her head. I made the front and the back the same, so Daddy couldn't put it on backwards (he's famous for that). And, it knit up so quickly (I knit my newborn size in a day and a half). I added a cabled version for the fellas and voila!

I was lucky to work with Leading Men Fiber Arts on this project. They have some of the happiest colors in their collection of yarn, perfect for baby wear. I knit two new vests for Dea in "Poison Apple" and "Imperial" using the their sport weight yarn, Callback. Aren't these colors fantastic?

Starting in June, I will be co-hosting a knit-a-long with Leading Men Fiber Arts to celebrate the launch of the Newbie Vest. There are more babies in my future (friends' babies...calm down), so I'm excited to cast on another tiny Newbie Vest. It's baby shower season, after all. Time to get ready. THE BABIES ARE COMING!