Idle Hands Are the Devil's Tools

I ran out of granny square yarn on my trip to California. With time to fill and being so far away from my sewing machine, I went out and purchased colors in a different thickness and decided I would start a striped blanket loosely based off of the color combos in this cardigan. The smallest Target carries is a 12 month but I bought it for her anyway. I've learned the hard way to get what you love when you can and hold onto it until it works. AND if after five trips to the same store over a month, you STILL like it, it's probably safe to buy.

I'm using Lion's Brand yarn for the blanket and adding in a mustardy yellow and maybe a violet if I find a good shade. I haven't liked purples since I was too young to dress myself but Dwell's line at Target has changed all of that. It's all about the color combos.

I'd seen a few tutorials online for making your own baby leg warmers rather than paying $12-$20 for the officially licensed brands but wasn't finding a lot of information on how they actually fit a newborn rather than a chubbier, longer 3-6 month child. Instead of waiting around for Ruby to get here, I thought about standing at the entrance of the grocery store and harrassing the first tired Mama that walked in with her little bundle wrapped snugly in a Moby sling to see if I could 'take some measurements'. Instead I opted to walk into Sebastian's room, find a pair of 0-3 month pants, and use them as a guideline.

I have a feeling that they'll still be a little loose on her for the first few weeks but I've at least figured out the basics. I'm no longer fixated on making a pair and have decided to save the cutest socks for when I am more sure of their fit. I used adult socks for these and have only collected adult women socks so I may try out a child size tube sock and see how that goes. If you've got any tips on what worked for you, feel free to share in the comments section. I can't believe how easy and practical this little project is for keeping babies warm in the winter, protecting knees once they start wanting to crawl, and quick diaper changes!

There are a ton of Etsy sellers that can do the work for you if you're strapped for time or don't own a sewing machine. They all seem to fall within a $2 price difference and are still more affordable than the licensed brand. One of my favorites is KnottyBabyWear for their range of sizes and styles. Image borrowed from their Etsy site.

MamaRunsWithScissors also carries a range and has great styling in their photos. Aren't these outfits below perfect for Halloween? I can imagine these three are a little too cool for princess costumes this year.

It's terribly dark and pouring down rain at the moment. I'm celebrating this randomly wet last day of Summer with a hot bowl of chili and a quiet house since my son has been borrowed for the evening to watch his uncle's football game in another town and my husband is in class. I think it's time to watch last night's Mad Men before I tackle the rest of my to-do list.

xoxo,
Rachel