The Sweatshop of Love Blog

PT and I were planning on driving to Michigan yesterday, over a week before my sister in law Emily’s due date, to hang out and wait for that baby to come, but things never really go as planned, do they?

Miss Ryenn Dykhuizen!

Miss Ryenn Dykhuizen was born on July 3rd at 9:15pm! All 9 lbs, 1oz and 22″ of her. And only 1 year and 17 days after her brother Baby Nolan. Crazy, right?! Babies abound!

Baby Nolan!

So we took off from Minneapolis when we got the word on July 3rd that she was going into labor and only missed Ryenn being born by about 3 hours. But that did mean we got to spend Independence Day in Allendale with my family.

Nolan and his Dad

We threw some lawn chairs in the car, drove about a mile down the street, and set up shop in a field next to my old high school.

Fireworks in the Field!

Everyone was setting off their own fireworks while we were waiting for the sun to set. It was a show within a show!

FIREWORKS!

Once the big show started, though, we were all eyes to the skies.

Me and Nolan

For a town of 17,000 they put on a pretty good show! I hope your Independence Day was full of family, friends, food, and babies, too.

When I’m in Michigan with the family, like I was this past week, I stay up late and get up early. I eat mostly crap. It’s pretty glorious. Unfortunately these habits leave me pretty susceptible to illness, so mix in a couple Amtrak trips, 4 days with a sick baby, AND my mom’s pretty bad head-cold… well you can see where this is going.

Cute Sick Baby!

I’m going to try entertaining you with a few more shots from my trip.

If, however, you’d like some actual content, I published the last 2 Knit and Crochet Blog Week posts over the weekend that you might have missed since, you know, it was over the weekend.

Day 6′s question was about projects and patterns I aspire to, and how my personality gets in the way of my knitting.

Big Baby Arnold

And Day 7′s question was about when I craft, and how the answer to that is when DON’T I craft?! Am I right?!

Barley, Looking Awesome

That gusto took a lot out of me. I promise to be much more interesting tomorrow.

I would love to fill this post with happy, smiling pictures of my family eating and carrying on at Thanksgiving, followed by more pictures of us acting crazy at 3am on BLACK FRIDAY, but I spent most of Thanksgiving with my head in a toilet.

That is right. On the one day a year you get to pig out like no other, I woke up with a raging stomach flu. I ate maybe 10 saltines, most of which my stomach promptly rejected, and a popsicle.

I couldn’t even knit. It. Sucked. And I’m still not better! I’m barely eating and have no energy.

Sick-Face and Package!

I did manage to leave the house on Friday to mail an important package. Where is it going?!

Interweave Summer 2011, Baby!

I’m going to have a sweater pattern in the Summer 2011 issue of Interweave Knits! That is why things have been a little slow around here. I had to knit an entire secret sweater in 3 weeks! During holiday knitting season!

But I did it, and it’s mailed off, and I’m putting the finishing touches on my pattern and will send that off to them tomorrow, too. To Interweave! No big deal.

I’ve been in Michigan with the family since Sunday and it’s been chill-central!

Baby Nolan as Dinosaur

Chilling with my nephew, Baby Nolan, mostly. He was styling his DinoSweater when we went to Robinette’s Apple Haus in Grand Rapids on Monday.

Me and Nolan at Robinettes

Robinette’s is everything I love about the Midwest rolled into one. Homemade donuts and treats…

Michigan Apples at Robinette's

… produce and treats from local farms …

Wine Tasting with a Baby!

… and $5 couples wine tastings! Nolan and I really loved the Robinette’s Riesling, so we bought a bottle.

Nolan and Dad Watching Madden

We’ve also been playing a lot of Madden. Or, my brothers and PT have been playing a lot of Madden while I play with Nolan, knit, and watch. Nolan, as you can see, is just SHOCKED that we can waste so much time playing video games. Or maybe he is just shocked that his dad made him wear a Lions tshirt.

I hope you are having an equally chill Thanksgiving week!

I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided a sweater dress was what I needed for my next ebook. A sweater dress. It’s such a simple little concept. Just a long sweater, right?

Bubble What the What?

Not when you think it would be cute to have a ribbed bottom with a bubble skirt. I can’t even think about how many inches of this dress got frogged along the way. 15? 25? It was ugly.

But with every restart I got more determined to finish it. Because I’m stupid.

Baby Cowl, Cute Sleeves

First of all, about the styling: I finished this last weekend in Michigan. Check out my mom’s kitchen! I brought with me a bag of yarn and a backpack of clothes. If I were home in Chicago I would not be wearing a gray wife beater under it. Also, it was H.O.T. so I didn’t want to put on leggings. In a perfect world I would be wearing a black tank with leggings or fun tights.

Striped Mini Cowl

I would also be able to take a picture of the back, which has crochet button bands and a yoke button up back. But (don’t tell!) there are no buttons on this dress because I couldn’t bring myself to making anymore fabric covered buttons after my button making weekend.

Check that cute skirt!

But, while perfect these pictures are not, I think this dress turned out pretty damn cute, if I do say so myself. I’m a little angry with it, so angry I dropped it off in Chicago before I left for New York. But I’m sure once I get back I’ll love it, and once the temps drop below 80 I’ll be rocking this dress often.

Roll Cowl Neck, Y'all!

When all was said and done it is a pretty quick knit. I used Knit Picks Swish Worsted and size 9 needles so you wouldn’t die of heat stroke every time you wore it. It’s a nice loose gauge, short, with short sleeves. It took me a lot to get through but it won’t take you nearly as much strife.

EDIT: Test knitters found!

So yes, it’s a sweater dress and yes, it’s August but who wants to be my test knitter?! Just think about how cute you are going to be once fall rolls in? Email me at allyson [at] thesweatshopoflove [dot] com or comment if you are interested!

Pattern: Coming soon!

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Copper and Bok Choy

Needles: Size 9 29″ Circular and size 9 DPNs

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