Bow Tie, Baby!

Once again, I've neglected this blog for far too long; however, unlike in times past, I have a very valid reason this time: I've been suffering through the worst case of poison ivy imaginable! At least, I never imagined it would be this bad. As soon as the weather permitted, I began working in my backyard, thinking that this would be the year that I would finally get it under control. Though beautiful, my yard is very overgrown. I've never had poison ivy before and was not looking for it, but it certainly found me! I'm not one to go to the doctor or take any kind of medicine if I can help it, so at first, I decided to just tough it out, wear pants and long sleeves, and let it run its course. That was until it spread to my face. On my birthday. According to the doctor, I had a "very severe reaction". You know it's bad when you walk into the office and hear a collective gasp from everyone in the waiting room...even a man wearing a mask scooted away from me! Now, over three weeks, a shot, an oral steroid, and all manner of topical creams later, I'm still miserable and embarrassed to leave the house. So, while I am definitely not photographable right now, my little one certainly is, so here you go!

I made his knickers (or knicker-pants, as he calls them) with some herringbone wool from my stash. The bow tie was made from a scrap left over from a plaid vest that I made for my husband some time ago. I'd been wanting to make a bow tie for Henry but wasn't really sure how (or how to tie it). I found these wonderful instructions from Le Noeud Papillon, and discovered that a bow tie can be as simple as a straight strip of fabric, rather than the butterfly shape that I thought they all were. I tested the length and width with a ribbon, and then made it just like I would make a belt.

More pockets! Isn't he just the little gentleman? The rest of the outfit, including the sweater vest and cardigan, were found at a resale shop. This is one of my favorite outfits to put him in, and I'm sure you can see why my family cannot resist calling him "Bagger Vance" whenever he wears it!

Also, I wanted to thank you for your votes in the EvaDress contest; I won! I'm so excited and honored to have won this year, and I can't wait to start on those beautiful new patterns! Thank you for all of your lovely comments on my last post as well; please forgive me for taking so long, but I did go back and try to respond to those of you who had questions for me. I've gotten a few more projects completed, which I will be sharing in the near future (as soon as I no longer look like a leper)!