Well it’s valentine’s day and I woke up to some lovely roses and a card before ducking out early to mass with the baby. When I got home (after my coffee, of course), I remembered that I just had to sew the button on a kina that I finished early in the week and thought I’d get my model in a pretty dress and get her outside for some photos.
And that lasted about 2 minutes before she wanted the cardigan off and to play. I’m a bit nervous that she’s not going to wear it so will try it when we are leaving the house for church or for the next birthday party she goes to otherwise I might be giving this one away.
Thankfully we have a few more willing models in the house so I asked who else would like to model it…I figured I could put it on a 2 year old boy or a 6 year old girl so went with the girl option, quickly brushed her hair for the photo and asked her to look away into the distance.
I also realised that I made this dress about a year or two ago and hadn’t shared it on the blog. Just a Simplicity pattern (2241) and some sweet fabric I picked up at Spotlight. When I make dresses I’m not too fussed on sizes because there are 3 girls and it will generally fit someone…whether it’s this year or the next. But my girls love this dress and I love a flutter sleeve so it’s win win and the dress probably came in under $10 which is always nice. I know I need to make more dresses for my girls…it’s just a little thing called time. And finding it.
Back to the kina, I used Bendigo Woollen Mills Spring Cotton which is sadly discontinued but check out ravelry to see if anyone is destashing (it will say ‘will trade or sell’) and Harmony is available in a couple of colours. I knit the size 2 pattern with 8 ply and size 4mm needles and knit to the size 4 lengths and the fit is perfect but I have a tiny 4 year old so you might want to add some length or go up a size if your little ones are a bit bigger than average. Not something we are in this house. And a vintage button from the stash. Ravelry details are here.
Hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day today………………
It looks lovely. I love the new Bendigo “bloom” yarn. Do you think that would knit up nicely into a Kina?
Gorgeous work Corrie! I’m sure it must be the day, I put my little princess in her kina this morning and it was off again in a matter of minutes!
Such a shame about the spring cotton, I hadn’t gotten around to purchasing any (figured I had heaps of time) and I love the feel of cotton! I have sensitive skin and find wool to be a bit itchy, and judging by the way princess piper scratched and scratched before she tugged the kina off over her head, I’m thinking she might have the same issue.
Looks like I’ll be knitting heaps in cotton for both of us! I’m just hoping the wallaby 8 ply I’ve started isn’t too itchy for her, because the colour is just gorgeous. It’s a BWM blend of wool/mohair/bamboo so fingers crossed!
Corrie, just read your facebook page and have to say I have no idea how you got everyone ready for church in half an hour
Rest of message…don’t know what went wrong. You are amazing!!! I wish I had quarter of your energy! I bet that coffee tasted good. Love the colour of the red yarn you have started work on. Hope the rest of your Sunday has been nice. Christine
Very clever chook. I have tried to understand where you find the time, but I can’t !?!?
(Ps must update your header to ‘family of 8’ 😉
Liv x
Corrie your children are lovely the Kina is great, the dress is sweet, they are all growing so fast.
Your story about Elodie and the Kina made me laugh from a memory I had of knitting a dress all acrylic as my daughter hated wool and when I put it on for her to wear to church, oh my, she stood there legs wide arms wide so none of the wool touched and she cried no way was that dress going to church, I put so much into that knitting and oh my just wasn’t going to happen. Elodie tickled my memory and sense of humour, thanks for the blog entry, everyone looks gorgeous.
Lyn Brisbane
Oh lovely
Have you been watching that sewing series based in London on TV lately
I’m
Addicted and you might like it
” The great sewing bee” on Lifestyle channel ….
I think it’s darling and there is one lady who has young children and is very creative when it comes to creating everyday things into something pretty
And another lady who
Sews traditional clothing and a perfectionist. They are all lovely and what I love about the program is that each pattern is sewn in their own unique way and their personalities are in both their fabrics and design
Sounds like the perfect Valentines Day
In the country. We have just moved to the Mornington Penininsula on my parents 250 acre farm and I love watching the children singing to the cows and making olive oil. Fresh air, thd beach. The sky is high and I can’t wait to have chickens and one day my dream is to have horses for my daughter, just like I did as a child
Bless
Ing x
What about changing the gorgeous red button for a “Frozen” one or having Miss E pick out a button? She might be more likely to wear it then.
Do you ever knit kinas in 10 ply Bendigo cotton. If so what pattern do you use for a 6 year old and 10 year old. Sue
No, but there is a similar pattern by the same designer which I love which is written in 10 ply called haimi – http://retromummy.com/2014/10/06/haimi-by-kids-tricots/
ravelry link is here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/haimi
Oh but in 10 ply cotton it’s really like an 8 ply so you could just use the instructions for 8 ply as I would use a 4mm needle. Let me find the instructions
Thanks for your quick response, Bendigo 10 ply ordered. ?