Ada

Mustang Sally

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My favorite sewing pattern in the world, Made by Rae’s Geranium dress, worked up in size 5 (oh, how did she get this big?) in Melody Miller’s most excellent mustang fabric for Cotton + Steel. Can you tell from the photos that the little star clusters are gold foil? Ada and I had some discussion about what those shiny plus signs might signify. Exes? Crosses? “But not like the cross for Jesus, right? Then it would be like Jesus riding on all these horses. Wait, did God or Jesus ever ride on a horse when they were alive?” Thank you, genetic lottery, for giving me a daughter with a busy mind and also the coloring to pull off mustard yellow, since I cannot.

I made the same version I sewed for my girl the last time, except that I skipped the notched neckline so as not to cut into the head of that mustang I tried so carefully to center on the bodice. Ada, who has excellent instincts when it comes to such things, chose the perfect vintage buttons herself. (Seriously, I let the kid pick our carpet and counter top colors. She’s that good. And she’s really firm about her choices. There was to be no question of substituting “wild rice” for “shiitake” Caesarstone. I had five or six carpet samples to consider, but she went straight for the Acadia “Flint” on the argument that it was best against the bathroom tiles, and she was dead right.) Since these have a shank, I added backing buttons inside to protect her from bruising when she lies down. We were lucky enough to find some in the random jar at Modern Domestic that precisely match the pale blue in the fabric.

It’s really hard to believe I’m going to be printing out that top photo to put on the bulletin board introducing all the new children who’ve been admitted at my school. My school that will now be her school. She’s not five until the end of July and will be one of the youngest in her K-1 class, but this kid was born ready. Ride on, sweetheart.

Lalita

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Don’t everybody keel over from all the excitement, but it’s another WGK blog post and another new design in the same week! Let me tell you how Lalita, aka The Rainbow Sweatshirt, was born. Back in early March I started to get a design itch. My Instagram feed was overflowing with handknits in black and white marled wool, and I wanted a piece of that action. I knew exactly the shape of pullover I wanted to make and just what its features and proportions would be, and I wanted to make something that could work for a little girl or a grown woman. I figured I’d begin with the little girl version, since the sample would practically knit itself and since I’m possessed of a little girl to try it on. Happy Knits had just enough black-and-white Cascade Duo on sale. I was all set to pull the trigger when I realized what I was doing.

My kid is four and a half. She doesn’t want a black-and-white pullover. That’s what I want. What Ada wants is the loudest yarn in the store. The yarn that’s as bright and madcap as her personality.

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So there you have it. Instead of the Duo, I brought home this Madeline Tosh Vintage in the Holi Festival colorway. If you’ve never lived on the Subcontinent or somewhere with a big Hindu population, Holi is a spring festival, the festival of colors. It’s a day of joy and fun that you can’t possibly miss because of rang khelne (that’s Nepali, I’m not sure about the Hindi), color play. Everyone has packets of brightly colored powders, water balloons, squirt guns, etc., and the ambushing and merriment proceeds from there. (The water makes the powder stick better, you see.) Everybody is fair game—old people, little kids, total strangers, tall white exchange students.

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I was right on the mark. My daughter fell on that bag of yarn like a pirate on booty, complete with lustful chortling. When she saw the sweater taking shape on the needles, she exclaimed, “Rainbow sweatshirt!!! Just looking at it makes me want to wear it right now!” You can’t ask for better enthusiasm about Mama’s handknits than that, so I knew I’d done right.

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Lalita is a Sanskrit girls’ name meaning “playful,” because this is a pullover built for play. It’s got lots of positive ease, a swingy high-low hem (shaped with short rows but also by the garter-stitch panel at the center front), and pockets for treasures. It’s got modified drop shoulders that don’t add bulk at the underarm and comfortable sleeves, neither too slim nor too baggy. Slipped stitches at the sides produce a faux seam for visual interest and to add a fold in the fabric. The worsted-weight yarn is worked a little over gauge for plenty of stretchy drape. In short, I love everything about it.

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And about this terrific growing girl, who offered up all these (and many more) silly poses without any coaching. Glad you like your sweater, kiddo.

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The pattern is in the grading stage, where I work out the numbers for larger and smaller sizes. I’m thinking 2-12, but chime in if you have other ideas! A women’s version will be on the way, too.

Respite

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The last two weeks have been drywall weeks. If you’ve ever lived through drywall construction or, heaven forfend, had to hang-mud-sand the stuff yourself, you know that this is one of the messy parts. Insulation was messy, too, and smelly, but didn’t last for two weeks. When I thought about the children having to vacate their room for five days, when I thought about the last remaining floor space in our pretend kitchen being entirely covered by their mattresses, I knew we could do it if we had to. But there was a more attractive option: head somewhere inviting, somewhere with doting grandparents and beautiful scenery and no sheetrock dust. So I packed up the kids and the dog and we went, leaving poor Mr. G to fend for himself since he couldn’t take the time off work. It was a good decision.

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Family walks are still something of a challenge, and I foolishly left the baby carrier at home. So in between piggybacks from me and his willing Granny, Jolyon studied bryology and learned to eat sheep sorrel and avoid the rabbit turds. Sometimes we opted to stay home while the others exercised the dogs, because Granddad’s mighty fine swing set needed attention.

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And we stayed indoors sometimes, too, playing the kids’ favorite board game. My grandfather devised it and painted the board when my mother was a child. It’s called “Hit the Hay,” or “Hippa Hay,” as it’s rendered by the under-fives. I’m no longer sure of the rules, having played so many simplified versions, but it’s always a good time.

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We came home to a handsome new ceiling in the kids’ room and a lot of plastic and dust and more dust everywhere else. I’m chipping away at the clean-up, wiping down one surface or another any time I glimpse the sponge lying idle. Flooring starts this week. It’s exciting to arrive home and view the progress every evening. I’m still enjoying this a lot. But oh, was it nice to have a shower and a kitchen sink for a few days! Thanks, Mum and Dad. It’s so good to be able to go home.