Knits for an Italian Honeymoon

Well, a pregnant Italian honeymoon. If you've known me since the early days of blogging, you know that our honeymoon was supposed to happen four years ago in Italy. Time and money have gotten in the way, but as soon as I got knocked up I was determined to go to Italy this spring, even if it meant waddling through Rome! Happily, I am not nearly as large as I envisioned at this point, so if the kid can manage not to balloon me out for another month, it should be a pretty easy trip, pregnancy-wise. In preparation for the trip I've been going through my closet to find things that fit with room to spare, because I have a feeling that all that wonderful Italian food will aid in the expansion campaign. Happily, I have much more than I thought because, wonderful things that they are, knits stretch! I'm so glad I tried things on rather than assuming I didn't have anything. The shopping can be confined to Italian shopping - the best kind.

Knits In Action!
Top to Bottom, Left to Right: River, Birch, After Dark Nightie, Pia (top) & Daktari (skirt), Japanese Motif Skirt (Marnie), Nautical, Deciduous (Marnie), After Dark Nightie ('cause it shows off the bump)

Now I realize that it's no big shocker that the shawls fit, but it is nice to have them to accessorize the cute little empire waist dresses that have over-run my closet. (This one is from J-Crew, and may technically be a beach cover-up. Ask me if I care.) I have a little snippet of lingerie that I've been stuffing myself into, but it's short, so the belly makes it looks ever more ridiculous. The after dark nightie is much more forgiving. The skirts were a bit of a surprise. Marnie lent me the Japanese motif skirt when I visited her in March, and lamented the 40 inch waistline - how fortuitous was that? Fabulous and tons of room. The Daktari skirt still has a lot of play, too. The tops were probably the biggest surprise. Pia is still a little big on me without a blouse underneath it - a testament to how off the sizing was in the first place - and nautical fits perfectly with the aid of that fabulous invention, the yoga skirt. (Seriously back-ordered, but worth the wait if it appeals to you. I have two!) Deciduous is probably pushing it, but with a bella band I could probably manage that, too. Absolutely nothing I'm wearing is maternity. (And I'm showing more than in these pictures - my waist is 7" greater in circumference than it was when this all started.) Between yoga-wear and those adorable waistless dresses everyone is wearing, I've only gone to maternity for things like jeans and shorts. Normally I can't get anywhere near one of those empire waist dresses that pouf out below the bust because they make me look pregnant. Now that I am pregnant, they rock. Comfy, too.

The next time you see these knits of yesteryear they'll be in front of Italian architecture. Yay!

New Life for an Old Knit

Pia makes her fall debut.Those of you who have been reading my blog for a really, really long time, might just remember that I knit Pia from Rowan's Magazine 35. I loved knitting Pia, but once it was all done it was a bit roomy. I always intended to do something about this - either rip and revise or attempt to shrink it a bit in the dryer - but for some reason it never happened, which was quite sad given how much I had enjoyed making this top.

Then fall rolled around this year and I really, really wanted a cool vest to layer over tops and blouses. I have one vest prototype in the works and another in sketches and in my head, but both of those have been shelved to make way for Christmas items and a few things for publication, so it will be a while before those vests take woolen form.

Pia loves Townes.Just by chance I was straightening up my closet and ran across Pia, which is knit in a wonderfully autumnal shade of green called "Fern". It was like a lightbulb went off in my head and I wondered aloud how it would look over one of my blouses with jeans. Viola! What a great combination! I am loving it, and suddenly a knit that has only rarely seen the light of day is getting worn about once a week. It's a favorite!

The best part is that I think there are several summer tops in my closet that can probably be worn this way. My citrus moon is more fitted, but the colors are the right palette, and I think it could work well over a more fitted long-sleeved shirt. I just had to share, because I'm guessing that many of you have made a knitted summer top that is just a little too big - it's almost a rite of passage in the knitting world. Why not re-purpose it and get something you really love?