We’ve lived in this house for about a year and a half, now. It’s adequate for our family of four, it’s in a quiet neighborhood, where we know our neighbors (and aren’t afraid of them), and the price is right. The problem with this house is it’s been an abused and neglected rental for years. The doors are patched around the doorknobs, where someone must have kicked them in. There are large dents and poor patches in the walls. The last time the interior was painted, huge patches of wall and ceiling got missed, and paint was rolled onto the windows and spilled on the carpet. The trim work has separated from the walls in many places. Even the kitchen cabinets (which must have been taken from other houses, as they are quite mismatched) are sagging from the cieling, and the lower cabinets wobble from side to side. Nobody ever loved this house.

My hope is that over the next few months this house can come to be a reflection of the love I have for my family, and the appreciation I have for my husband, who makes it possible for me to stay home with our children.

My stepmom’s mother, Katherine Myers, was a prolific knitter in her lifetime. She provided my three brothers and me, and her six other grandchildren, with numerous sweaters and hats, and even in her late years, with her eyesight gone, and feeble lungs, she used her fingers to see as she knit my new daughter a baby blanket. She passed on last year, leaving one project unfinished–a blanket for my brother, Sam. My brothers have long outgrown their sweaters and hats, so Lenie, my stepmom, passed them on to my children. This hat is especially clever, as it has "growth ribs" knit into it that alow the hat to expand when needed, but otherwise keep it snug around a smaller head.

Made in worsted weight yarn with appropriately sized double pointed needles. With a stretchy cast on (original hat uses long-tail method), cast on 72 stitches, placing 24 stitches on each needle (if using a circular needle, place a marker after stitch 24, 48, and at the beginning of the round). Knit 2, Purl 2 around for 2.5 inches. Next round, knit to last 2 stitches on needle (or knit to last 2 stitches before marker), purl 2. Repeat 2 times. Repeat this round for the entire body of the hat, or about 5 inches. Work knit 2 together decreases at top of hat, and finish off. Add pompon if desired.

  Plenty of wiggle room.

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Perfect for lounging. You can see that the sleeves are a bit long. I’ll re-hem them tomorrow. She won’t let me have the shirt back today.

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Detail pictures of corduroy pants:

Button fly. Pockets are lined with horse fabric.

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Since I made a larger size for Olga, I shortened the cuff by about 1/2. This pattern has enough ease that I really didn’t need to make a bigger size, I should have just made the crotch a little deeper.

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I inserted elastic in the back of the waistband. I can remove it as she grows. You can also see the dart, to give a little extra diaper room.

Here is the first pair of pants I made for Olga. The pattern is from Ottobre 1/2004. The fabric is a stretch velour from Fabric.com. I made size 104, which fits over a cloth diaper, but they were too long. I chopped off about 3 inches, then hemmed them. The pattern calls for a drawstring with a cordlock, in addition to the elastic, but I don’t have one at the moment. The elastic keeps them on just fine.