Things done, doing things.

A little kimono vest for a baby. And the baby wearing the vest. How lovely it is to knit something that provides almost instant gratification! This is a very easy knit. It's the Sachiko Kimono Sweater turned into a Sachiko Kimono vest for a hot climate baby. What I would do in future - and I think I've thought of this in the past, as well, is to make it as seamless as possible.


Sewing has happened as well. This is an unironed Vogue 8876, complete with slightly wonky collar - although not as wonky as the photo suggests. I do like the different panels and seams in this.

 
I'm making another one as soon as I finish the Motherships replacement RattyOld Dress. I have buttonholes and handsewing to go on that and, who knows, today might be the day!

I feel that my sewing skills are improving and I'm determined, this year, to buy only the clothes I simply don't feel I can make. Given that I have two still serviceable swimsuits and quite enough jeans, this should add up to zero clothes bought this year.

On the knitting needles is another Lanesplitter skirt. I get so much wear out of my Noro Silk Garden version of this skirt that when I saw this Rowan
Tapestry for sale on Ravelry, I snaffled it up. I adore pinks but can't often 

wear them next to my face. So this is a perfect solution. It's a discontinued yarn made of 70% wool and 30% soybean protein. It may be a bit prickly but I intend to wear it with tights or leggings. Who knows, I may even line it. I have quite a bit of a plum coloured very thin stretch fabric which would

be okay with this, I think.

Next item for show and tell? The plyed yarn on the left. It's some bright bright roving I've had for yonks, dyed by Ewe Give Me the Knits which I've plyed with some natural grey.  Who knows what I will eventually do with it? The grey yarn could be Corriedale? And it's not particularly soft, so you wouldn't want it next to your skin.

Finally, more spinning. This is a batt from Ixchel Fibre dyed by the wonderful Charly. It's absolutely beautiful - the colours and the fibre

 mix make it a dream to spin. I'm a little late for the February spinalong with this but made a start last night while watching the end of Death Comes to Pemberly. Note that I tried to do that wrapping around a coin thing to show off the yarn's width but it didn't quite work. I'm really happy with the way this is spinning, however.

I have two batts of this and I don't particularly want to ply them with each other, so I'm wondering what I can do about that. I haven't really anything in my fibre stash that would suit the colours. So, I may end up simply plying it on itself and using it for a small shawl, or even as striping in a larger shawl.

Despite so much making, writing continues. I am about to begin Chapter Sixteen of the young adult love story! So delighted by that.

And of course, reading continues. I do recommend Hilary Mantel's collection of short stories. Brilliant. I'm trying to borrow as many books from my local library as I possibly can this year and using the 'Hold' system with alacrity.  What a lovely sentence this is:

Buried in the grass we talked: myself monosyllabic, guarded, eight years old, wearing too-small shorts of black-and-white check, that had fitted me last year; Mary with her scrawny arms, her kneecaps like saucers of bone, her bruised legs, her snigger and her cackle and her snort.

from Hilary Mantel, 'Comma', The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher,  Fourth Estate, 2014.

Read it aloud - there is that lovely moment of poetry 'kneecaps like saucers of bone' and then the bold  rhythm of those sound nouns at the end.