Crochet Badass Baby Vest

The badass baby vest is my newest crochet project. The pattern comes from Garnituren and I am completely in love with it. The pattern is easy to follow and well written (though in Danish) and the finished item is simply so cute.

One of the best things about the vest is that, even with a 3 month old at home, it only took me about a week to make. 

Sweater is almost done. #badassbaby #crochet #handmadewithlove #hækling pattern via @garnituren

A photo posted by Maria Lind (@mariafurya) on Jun 28, 2016 at 8:37am PDT

This is the basic version of the vest. I followed the pattern and did not add any emballishments. However, following Garnituren's suggestions it is very easy to add a pocket, trimmings or buttons.

Also changing the pattern in the back shouldn't be difficult. I was tempted to make an anchor, fitting the color scheme, but it will have to wait till next time.

The website says that this is a size for a 9 months old but my 3 month old son fits pretty well into it. It is maybe a little loose and will serve him for a while but it is not too big to use.

 

I used Sandnes Garn - Tynn Merinoull yarn which has the prescribed weight (50g = 175m) and I am very happy with it. Sandnes makes great quality yarn.

Quick snacks that saved my sanity in the first weeks with a newborn

Our son, Maks, is 5 weeks old tomorrow and I couldn't be happier for my little bundle of joy. But being a new parent is not a piece of cake. 

And speaking of cake, here is a challenge I have not foreseen when preparing for my maternity leave: eating regular and healthy meals! 

I mean sure, I had prepared frozen dinners. And they are great for the evenings when your partner is home and can help.

But during the day, when you are all alone with your newborn who demands ALL of your attention and hands, making and eating a full meal (and by that I mean something as advanced as a sandwich) is a real challenge. 

So when you don't sleep enough and start your day at 5 or 6 am, use a lot of your body resources on breastfeeding and caring for your baby but your breakfast doesn't start til 10 and doesn't end til 12, having a quick snack solution is a life saver. 

Here are a couple of the recipes/ideas that really came in handy in the past few weeks:

Oatmeal cookies - recipe from my awesome Sister.

These cookies take 5 minutes to mix and 15 minutes to bake. They are packed with healthy calories to keep you going for a while. And you can easily control how sweet they are and "spice" them to your liking. They will also keep 4-5 days before starting to get a bit dry.

Ingredients (makes 12-15 cookies):

1. 2 bananas - mashed
2. About 12 spoons of oatmeal
3. A table spoon of flour
4. A teaspoon of honey (if the bananas are ripe and sweet, you can skip that)
5. 1 egg
6. A pinch of baking powder

Mix this basic ingredients in a bowl and then add anything you might like: dried or fresh fruits, nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, peanut butter, cinnamon etc. My personal favorite is fresh blueberries (although frozen would probably be as good), dried cranberries and a bit of dark chocolate chips.

Bake cookies for about 15 minutes in 200C hot air. And enjoy!

Pre-cut fruits and veggies

When you have time during an evening or weekend, peel and cut fruits and vegetables so you can easily grab a healthy snack when you are passing by the fridge.

Peeled carrots hold well in a cup filled with water. Bell peppers, watermelon, apples, radishes...cleaned and cut in small pieces are fantastic. If they are as easy to eat as a piece of chocolate, you are more likely to make the right choice.

I also like to pre-make a salad so I can eat it during the week for lunches. If you don't add any dressing, it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days without going bad.

Fried chicken and fish

Slice chicken or fish filet and fry it on the pan or bake in the oven, the way you like it (in breading, herbs or without anything). Keep it in the fridge and add to your salad or just eat as a quick snack during the week.

Don't forget the water!

It is easy to dehydrate and water is soooo important. The best way for me to remember about water is to have a couple of flasks standing around the house. This way, wherever I am, I can always quickly grab a couple of swallows - and the bottles remind me to do it.

The First of Many Onesies

The approaching arrival of Peanut (see post before) gives me a great excuse to throw myself into the whirlwind of crafting. After all newborns lack the ability to complain about the cutesy outfits with uneven seams you put them into.

So far I knitted a baby hat, a sweater (my first one!), a blanket and I'm in the process of crocheting another sweater.

But the item, I am most proud of is a baby onesie I sew this weekend during a sewing class. I was planning to also make baby harem pants that weekend but the original project took the entire class. I am just that good :D.

It was a challenge, as my sewing projects so far included pillow covers. You know, the one-square-and-two-rectangles-kind, the kind for which you only need one kind of fabric and straight seam. Onesies, on the other hand, have plenty of curvy lines, along which you need to sew the ribbing. It is also composed of a minimum of 4 elements that need to be put together and sew in a particular order. I will spare you the retelling of how many times I had to cut the seam and do it again, but it did take the entire weekend to make a onesie!

The pattern I used for the onesie was from Minikrea and I bought the fabric at CityStoffer shop in Aarhus. They have a great selection of children fabrics.

The fabric I chose for pants has a happy monkey pattern and I am going to use this pattern for it.

In any case, I had great fun and it will definitely lead to more onesies and baby clothes in the future.

My proud and glory: the onesie.

Operation Code Name: Peanut

A little time ago we found out that our family will become a bit bigger in March 2016. The working title is operation code name Peanut. Or, if I don't feel so well, code name Monster. We are, of course, exceptionally happy and excited about it. Part of my excitement shows, as it is easy to predict, in preparations.

I have already knitted a trial-hat and today I finished a play mat. It was intended as a cover, but it's knitted out of chunky wool/acrylic blend with cotton fabric sewed on so it is to heavy for a newborn.

It is my own design so I am very proud of it but there are a number of technical errors. The seams are not straight and the problem with acrylic and wool blend is that you can't entirely block it, so the knitted part stretches and contracts making the fabric bulge and fold at times.

But all in all it is a very decent first effort at this kind of project. I like that it is mixed media and mixed techniques. I will hopefully, if time allows it, play more with that and post the results here.

First came the knitted blanket itself. It was quick to make, thanks to how chunky the yarn was.

Then I washed, ironed and hemmed the fabric. That was probably the most bothersome part of the project. Straight lines and details are just not my strong suit. 

Once the fabric was ready, I packed the knitted blanket inside, fastened it with pins, making sure that the sides have a bit of a thicker border (think cheese crust in pizzas :)) and sewed it all together. 

I could have of course leave the blanket as it was but I used the fabric for two reasons. First of all, it makes sure that if the wool turns out to be to scratchy for baby's skin, I can use the fabric side instead. But even more so, the cotton with cute panda print makes the otherwise grey blanket much more child-friendly and joyful. 

The added benefit is of course that all the yarn tails and knots are just hidden between it and the fabric so I didn't have to sped time working them into the weave (you remember my dislike of details, right? :)).  

And here is the finished product. The light makes the fabric look grayish, but in fact it has a very pretty green/teal color.

I am a little nervous about how the blanket will behave in washing. Both elements were washed separately before combining but I am not sure if they won't continue to shrink and stretch independently of each other. And this could really mess up the shape of the finished project.