Girly Hat

I have a 3-yr-old son, so pink isn't a color you see on my needles very often. Actually, this may be the first time ever! But I had some Sugar 'n Cream in front of me, and a cute pattern to try, and it just happened! If my estimations are correct, this would fit a one-year-old. If only I knew a one-year-old girl to give it to!!! I'll think of someone!

It's all about the dipes!

Somebody stop me because I can't stop knitting wool soakers. These are from a pattern by Little Turtle Knits, knit in Rowan Wool. I can't wait to lanolize them so they will be ready to use. I'm finishing up a second pair knit from a multi-color green yarn from the Rhinebeck, NY Sheep and Wool Festival. Next up -- wool soaker longies!

Hoodie Cuteness

So, knitting rules most of my time. It is that thing that makes me sane, it brightens my day, it alleviates the pain of bad local programming, and it distracts me from the various aspects of my life that are starting to grate on me. I finished a lovely piece for a bean…little hoodie. It is sized up. I am not sure of the ‘when’ it will fit, but it will eventually fit. I loved working with this yarn, it is cotton and lacking any stretch, which can be a bit rough on the fingers, but it has some synthetic in it which seems to soften its hand. It has a great sheen, little bit glossy, just that little bit of special. Initially I intended to use it for an adorable knit in The Knit Café book, but the pattern looks a bit femme to me, and neither of the beans are female, so I used this great pattern from Knitty. I did not embellish it yet; I am contemplating some embroidered animal…stick figure in nature. We will see. I do recommend this pattern as it is simple and fun. As with all little items, it knits up quickly and provides that rush of satisfaction that accompanies completion. It is currently modeled by Clyde, my orangutan. He is a bit scruffy, but beloved. I inherited him from my little brother about 13 years ago. Clyde was intended as a gift for Ricky, then 4 years old. Except when he pulled him out of the wrapping paper, he ended up screaming in fright and throwing him across the room. The primate has been mine ever since and followed me cross country and up and down the West Coast. He cuddled with me on long solitary nights in NY and weathered a few bouts of storage. Now I plan on gracing the beans’ room with his watchful presence…hope he does not frighten them. Hoodie #2 will be of the same yarn, but a lovely greeny sagey color…I am not really keen on dressing them identical, just dressing them well.

* I found out that tencel is actually a natural product, not a synthetic, so the yarn is even more yummy now.

Also, this post continues at my blog with a little non-baby crochet stuff if you are interested. And there is some chocolate too. Mmmmmmmmmmm, chocolate.

102 days and counting

With my newest due date, I have 102 days left til Baby M is due to show up.

I decided to pull out my stash and found a few skeins of Shine (knitpicks, cotton)

Having seen the super popular "Mason Dixon" dishcloth around the blogs for months now, I looked through my collection and found the original pattern from around 1992 (it was a free hand out at a store I shopped at once) Changing it a bit so both my yellow and blue skeins would be used equally I came up with Baby M's first burp cloth. (I made about 10 of these type of blankets back in 1994 for Christmas)

Instead of crocheting around the edges I picked up stitches with the yellow and knitted a few rows with it then changed to blue and did some seed stitch. I increased a bit at the corners each time around, maybe a bit to much... it seems a bit wavy, but it's going to work and is nice and soft and baby friendly patterned.



To see more of my knitting: Visit Pieceful Creations

Is Anyone Size-Wise?

These are my latest FO's, intended to be given at a baby shower next weekend. However, I have some concerns. The cabled baby hat is soooo tiny. It is sized for a newborn, but I'm still worried.

Also, the "Suede" baby booties are cute, but the "leg" of the bootie is really, really wide. I know they'll never stay on. I like the style of them, so I hate to replace the decorative "seams" with an eyelet row. I need some suggestions. Has anyone out there ever rigged baby bootie ankles from the inside?

More details? See my blog.

debbie bliss hoodie! for chloe

Well here it is! the debbie bliss hoodie made for Keira's little friend Chloe!!!!!!!! Its very cute and looked adorable modelled by keira (I took a photo without the photocard which was not smart!). I actually knitted it up in Spotlight's own brand pure wool called dashing and am very impressed with it!

The only hard part was adding the hood and trying to make stitches look neat on both sides at the same time as easing in the stitches as there were a lot more stitches on the hood!

but it was loved by chloe's mummy and will be perfect this winter!

I've just treated myself to the new Debbie Bliss simply baby and love its little hooded cardigan so might do that for keira this winter!

It's a Jungle out there

Randle, The Giraffe
Originally uploaded by islandj.

Here is the lastest in a line of little fiber animals for the babies in my life. Randle, the Giraffe, is made from 100% cotton yarn, and was a real joy to make - and pretty cute to hold to. I'm smitten with his horns!

More on my blog, here.

HELP with Pea Pod

I drooled over all the Pea Pod entries on this blog and finally found the perfect yarn for me in my stash. I had bought a single ball of Rowan Calmer in Kiwi on sale at a LYS last summer. I swatched it after having tried tons of other things and instantly I was in love. I had bought that ball of yarn just to see what all the hooplaa was about and if it might ever actually be worth it to spend THAT much money on yarn for a project, like a sweater for me. Well, it makes my Pea Pod a little more expensive, which is all the sillier for a newborn sweater, but knitting this thing has been pure bliss. First I used the ball I had and knitted 2 hats from the pattern. I know I didn't have enough to knit the sweater from that one ball, but I couldnt' wait to get started so I made the hat unplanned. :) Then at next chance I went back to that yarn store and found beyond all odds that they had 2 more balls in the same dye lot, no longer on sale, but that was okay. So I started the sweater immediately and have knit the whole body. Loved knitting it. Love that yarn.

Anyway, where I need help is the sleeves. I read about sleeve issues in some of the other Pea Pod entries, so I was kind of prepared for this, but thought I'd give a go at just following the pattern (highly unusual for me). Well, I've knitted one sleeve and it seems to small to me. Oh, did I say I followed the pattern? Well, sort of. I knitted it cuff up according to pattern, but did it in the round instead of flat. And when I measure it is slightly smaller than the schematic. Like a 1/4 inch at the cuff, in diameter, no worries, but maybe 1/2 to 3/4 an inch at the shoulder. Doesn't seem like it will be to small for baby, but I'm not sure about how to make it fit with the armhole opening. I don't think I actually checked my row gauge. silly me. stitch gauge is fine. Still, even looking at the schematic, the armhole and the top of the sleeve are not the same size. Sleeve is actually supposed to be a bit smaller than armhole. Did I mention that I have never knitted a sweater with set in sleeves before? Only top down raglan style. Still, this shouldn't be that hard, should it? I'm just wondering, after I seam this booger at the shoulders and try to sew in the sleeve, how do you manage the differing number of stitches in hole and sleeve? Do I just grab 2 stitches of the arm hole every now and then when it feels right? I'm almost tempted to just seam the shoulders, frog this sleeve and pick up stitches and knit sleeves top down. Experienced knitting advice needed!!! Thanks for any suggestions.

Deborah in NC, due April 18th

Baby's Got Socks

I had been looking at these socks since forever and last week I finally cast on. I really think they are the most adorable little socks ever.

Pattern: Baby's Bootikin from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (color 411) and Lang Jawol (color 0033).

I'm now thinking about adjusting the pattern (a la Anny) so that I can have a matching pair. More pictures and details on the blog.

Happy knitting,
Laura

Socks!

Pattern by Nancy Bush from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Icehouse - 1 hank

Lu

Long time no post..

I have been busy with the little man..well, that's my excuse anyway.

I haven't knitted much for him as the weather is so HOT at the moment and he is growing faster than I thought possible. At 11wks, he has nearly doubled his birth weight! the only thing I have made him are these pants:



I think they are so cute. I am actually considering making another pair for him.

The pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and it's the "drawstring pants". I used about 1 3/4 balls of Hayfields Cotton Rich from my stash to knit it in the second size. It's in a neutral tan/beige-ish sort of colour.

I am now thinking of knitting a pair for him in wool for the coming winter.

Celia

Teeny, Tiny Socks

Here are the socks to match the hat previously posted on this blog, as well as my own blog. I just love the bright colours! The socks & hat are knit from Elann Espirit Print, in the Indigo Gold shade. I used 3.00mm dpn and cast on 36 stitches. Both the hat and socks came from one tiny ball, and there's a chestnut sized ball left over.

Lil' Green

I hope it's Ok to post what is more or less a toddler project. M is almost 2. I just finished another neckdown cardigan for her and loved knitting it so much. More details here.

Joining The Club

I know a lot of you have been making these, but I thought I'd add my Upside-Down Daisy hat from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Hats to the pile. I think this is the cutest hat it the book, hence the number of them that are showing up here. Anyway, I used some leftover Debbie Bliss wool/cotton, knit up on U.S. 6 needles, making for a rather loose fabric which I think will be more comfortable for the baby come springtime (the ball band recommends U.S. 3). The petals turned out a little more blobby than expected, in retrospect I think I would have only sewn five on rather than six. Still, I think it turned out pretty cute and it kind of reminds me of a cupcake, which is a nice look. Anyway, there's more blabbing about it over at my blog if you're interested.

A First for a First

Top Down Baby Raglan completed
Originally uploaded by islandj.

Finally - a finished baby sweater! It's been some time since I've had a sweater to complete. My dear friend is having a first baby, gender unknown, so this is for the wee one, still inside.

And for me - a first - along with my knitting group, I made this as a top-down raglan sweater - working on circular and dpn. It was a challenge, which I like. And I think it came out so darling!

More on my blog, here.

Hi All...

I just wanted to say Hello to everyone who visits this site...and Congrats to all the new moms and baby bumpers. My name is Heather I am currently on the "baby bumpers" list. Due in August with our 3rd Child and this will be our First Girl. I have been visiting this site for a few months now but haven't contributed to the content, I decided to show you all the baby projects that I have finished in recent months. Alot of the project that I have made have been for friends and family. Nothing for our Baby yet, I waited to see what we were going to have. Now I can knit and sew everything in Pink :) Hope that you enjoy. More info is on my blog.

Pinwheel Sweater for my Niece Sadie....Thanks Anny Purls for the color inspiration

My very First Quilt....for my Niece Sadie

Baby beanie for my friends new Son.

Mittens for friends son....so he wont scratch his face

A Quilt for my friends new son

Stay tuned for fun stuff knit in Girly colors...

Finished!

Ta-da! I'm done with the baby Yoda sweater from dogstealyarn's blog. It was incredibly fun and easy to make. I've added on an orange crocheted edge, which I'm unsure about (not about the color, but about my crocheting expertise). I can't wait to see it on baby Sammy! On to the sampler blanket...

At Last!

I'm so glad this is finished! I thought it would never end! The recipient will turn ONE next week, so I'm relieved to be able to mail it off early! And hopefully her mommy will take pictures so I can brag a little! I'm pleased with how it turned out, although I was tempted to quit after the first half was completed. The pattern comes from Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss. So many stitches, such tiny needles! See my blog for details!

Another Baby!

Anastasia Marie
Friday, March 16th, 2007, 7:31pm
7lbs, 8oz

Birth story will be posted on my blog soon. First, a nap!

Buttons

Where do you buy buttons online? I'm looking for cherry buttons for a child's sweater.

Thank you!

Laura
Anya's mom

another lil' hat

i have had a ball of donated yarn sitting on my stash shelf forever. yesterday i
swatched a bit, it is of the baubly variety of yarn and made a nice soft fabric...so i cast on for a lil' hat. no real pattern, i thought to experiment a bit. i used a carter's beanie for rough measurement, cast on a multiple of 6 to ease the crown decreases and made a row of yarn overs (K1, YO, K2TOG) for the ribbon trim. i like it and lacking the model, placed the finished product on the yarn ball. have you ever seen the Dark Crystal, a puppetish movie. my stand-in model resembles the funny little creatures enslaved by the evil sketsies. anyone feeling me on that one? sorry, digression. now the challenge comes with duplicating it for bean 2. the second one is shaping up so far. i am hoping they fit...though twins are usually a little premature, our boys have heads measuring about 2 weeks larger than EGA. i can thank my husband for that one. if they are instantly outgrown i will donate them to the NICU at our hospital. 31 weeks and counting.....

Baby Bolero

Today, I finished blocking the Baby Bolero from One Skein. It was, indeed, knit out of only one skein of my handspun. I had spun up 200 yards of 3-ply, light worsted weight merino/organic brown cotton (50/50 blend called Golden Fleece by New World Textiles), and was a little concerned that I might not have enough. No worries -- I still had maybe 10 yards left when I had cast off. (The pattern calls for a 250 yard skein of Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton in the same color.)

To create this yarn, I spun from the fold, which was the only way I was able to keep a relatively consistent singles. Spinning from the fold is rather easy and almost magical, like it's drafting itself, but the trouble is, you have to keep wrapping new little bits around your finger over and over. I streamlined it a little by ripping off thumb-sized chunks of the roving ahead of time, and keeping them stacked next to me while I spun. I've found that my spinning is much more even when I can keep my rhythm going, and this helped with that some.

Since there is no baby yet to model the knit, I've called upon Purple Bear, who probably has similar measurements to the little person, although certainly better posture.
I loved the squishy feel of the three-ply, but the garment softened even more with blocking. Now I want to knit everything out of this blend. If only it wasn't so time consuming to spin!

PROJECT SPECS
Pattern: Baby Bolero from One Skein by Leigh Radford
Needles: Knit Picks Options sizes #6 (for the body) and #7 (for ribbed edges)
Yarn: My own three-ply cotton/merino handspun
Notes: This was a simple and satisfying knit. Unfortunately, I made my brain work a little more by insisting that first I spin the yarn myself, and secondly that I exchange the eyelet motif on the back for an embossed snowflake instead (modification of stitch pattern from Vogue Stitchionary Volume 1). Normally I love tweaking projects to my own specs, but my brain is feeling like so much pudding at this point in the pregnancy. (Three weeks to go!)

Let's go ahead and have one more look at the back, shall we?
Ah yes, this little sweater pleases me much.

Note to baby: Remember what I said about all the projects I was trying to accomplish before you show up? Never mind about all that. You can feel free to say hello to everyone at your earliest convenience. And anyway, your sweater's ready.

More on my blog: The Needle And The Damage Done

Baby girl knitting!

So, i haven't posted in a while but i have been baby knitting! There have been quite a few new babies around me but they have all been boys, but i just found out that a friend from college had a little girl about 2 weeks ago! We met at the Wesley Foundation at college and her husband is currently in seminary, so i thought the Jesus loves me blanket was appropriate. It is cotton flannel that i crocheted a really cute edging on. To the left is the Upside Down Daisy hat from the Itty Bitty Baby Hats book. I just love it! I am not sure it is going to make it in the box with the blanket. I am not sure I can part with it! I guess we'll see! The baby bib is from the Mason Dixon Knitting book and is made out of Sugar N'Cream, pretty pasetels. I am currently working on a crocheted ripple baby blanket that i will hopefully post pics of soon! Congratulations to all the new moms!!!!

I'm a New Grandma

A few posts ago my daughter introduced you to her new baby girl, Kaylen. With Kaylen's birth I became a Grandma and I couldn't be more thrilled. She is such a little sweetie. It's a Grandma's duty to post another picture, right?



Little Kaylen is surrounded by knitters. Her Mommy knits. Her Grandma knits. Her Auntie knits. Her Great Grandma knits. She also has second cousins and Great Aunts that knit. I hope Kaylen grows up to love knitting too.

This particular over-the-top-girly set was knitted by Great Grandma. It's the "Harebell Set for 3 Months" from an old pattern book "Nursery Styles for 3 to 12 Months" by Beehive.

Presenting baby Lolo...

He's here! He's here!

Our little Logan Henry was born on Tuesday morning, March 13th, at 11:22am weighing in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches. The delivery was short, but very intense! My labour started at 10am and I delivered him naturally (there was no time for the pain relief I coveted ;0) just 82 minutes later!

We are both doing splendidly and are back home today getting to know each other. Dada is bursting with pride. Big brother Julian is tentative and curious. My heart is full.

Snuggly Bubbly Shrug

This little cutey is the "Snuggly Bubbly" shrug from Sirdar, Pattern #1652 and comes with either short or long sleeves. I made the size 2, intending it for my cousin's daughter's 2nd birthday in February ... however, I didn't quite get it in the mail yet :( !

Anyway, it only took 2 balls of Sirdar Snuggly Bubbly yarn, which has the texture of soft, bumpy chenille and is very reminiscent of a bedspread I once had ... hmmm. While the yarn felt soft to work with, it was a bit of a pain as there was a sizable 'bump' every inch (with thin yarn in between) creating challenges in maneuvering around 'make 1 stitch' instructions. Not to mention the 'mind numbing' stocking stitch pattern ... I was thankful it was only baby sized (and short sleeved). I would probably make this pattern again, using perhaps a textured organic type cotton.

I'm a Mom!!!

Welcome Kaylen Marie
Born Monday, March 12 @ 3:45am
8lbs 14oz!

Looks even better on a baby

Like everybody else, I caved and bought a copy of Itty Bitty Hats. I started with the Upside Down Daisy, for a little girl who's due in April. I knitted it over the weekend. I bought some Rowan Handknit Cotton (from the lovely Jannette on eBay) in pink, as instructed, but I did the white and green with some Rowan 4 Ply Cotton that I already had: I'm really glad I did, because working with the Handknit on 4mm needles with just a few stitches was really uncomfortable and the 4 Ply was lot more manageable.

If I knit it again, I think I will use a wool or a blend, as I find cotton so tiring to work with; maybe some All Seasons Cotton, that would be good.

But this looks so cute, I just want to make another one straightaway, and I don't care whether it's tiring or not :)

Hi everyone, I'm Kerry and while I have been reading your blogs for sometime, this is my first time contributing. Thanks, Alison, for inviting me!

Our step-daughter recently popped in and said to me, 'get knitting, grandma', which was her way of letting me know that the happy event will be in October! You'll find what I've been working on at my blog, here.

The pattern for this hat was provided free, by my LYS, and actually calls for Cascade Fixation yarn, but the Elann Esprit works equally well, and I actually prefer their interesting colour ways. One ball goes a long way ... I'll get both a hat and teeny, tiny socks from it. This yarn is fantastic for socks ... the elastic in it helps keep the socks on, and they don't stretch out of shape ... bonus! When I need a 'take-along project', this is the one you'll find in my purse, along with my 12" circular addi's. Make a great baby-shower gift, too!

More Socks

Another pair of baby socks, this pair is a little smaller than the last two. I'm still playing with the size and I think that 36 stitches around is just right for now. Maybe not for the brand new born, but sure to fit everyone sometime. More stashed Trekking.


Congratulations to all the new moms! I'm feeling jealous in my 22 week as the leg cramps and lack of sleep start up.

Ready...set...knit!

A realization came to me today. Third trimester is around the corner. How is this possible? Didn't I JUST find out I was pregnant??? Now, for some knitters, three months may seem like an eternity and plenty o'time to finish your baby projects. For a knitter like me, it is like cram-time. You see, I'm not a knitting "closer." I can't close the deal, folks. Around my house are many knitting carcasses, multiple pieces that need to "just be finished." But do they? Um, what do you think? I have the Einstein Coat waiting for me since 2003. The yellow sweater above is ALMOST THERE. It needs buttons. I think I can do that. I don't want to talk about how I didn't get gauge and that's why it's not a baby sweater, but instead, a CHILD'S sweater. The strips are waiting to be finished into a sampler cotton blanket for the nursery. Three more strips to go...Then, I just started the baby yoda sweater in red. This time, I got gauge and it should work out.

Wear Test: Cotton-Ease

Oh Cotton-Ease, how sad I was to see your misguided manufacturer chose to discontinue you - such a wonderful cotton - only to promote its excess of crappy yarns. We knitters pleaded with said manufacturer to bring you back and voila! You've returned in better, less eye-searing colors.

Nothing beats Cotton-Ease for hard-wearing children's knits. Cascade 220 is great for outerwear but Cotton-Ease needs no qualifiers: it is the perfect choice anytime. It feels like cotton, washes like acrylic sans pills, softens like denim and offers a stunningly low cost per yard. I'm tempted to buy a few cases of this yarn before Lion Brand realizes that it actually makes a good product and decides to triple the price.

These were two hastily knit sweaters from my last fortnight of pregnancy (ah, nesting...) They have both seen quite a bit of wear and look just as good as the day they were finished.


Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease
Pattern: Debbie Bliss Special Knits
Needles: US 7

Pattern: My Seed Stitch Baby Hoodie
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease
Needles: US 7

-Elinor

Almost FO, and Copycat Socks

I'm almost finished with the Harvey Kimono sweater from Natural Knits. All I need to do is find the perfect buttons and block the sweater again (I blocked the pieces before seaming...) and it'll be all ready for my baby bunny #2, due in 45 days - ack!

I'm also copying Anny and knitting some Delivery Room socks, using the cable twist pattern from Hello yarn (another copycat!) Time and baby willing, we'll have some toasty preppy toes come April! Details on my blog.

Rhonda

Finally back to baby knitting

This stupid sock took forever to finish. It didn't help that I was a knitting school dropout and didn't finish sock class. It's a nice sock, but I can see every place that my toddler pulled out the needles and unraveled a bit. It's not going to get a mate.

Anyway, this is how I have to knit now: around the baby in the sling. I'm working on a pair of longies for her brother. She's wearing the waistband from the first attempt which was too small as a crown because I got bored! You can see the one I'm knitting now on the chair behind her. This is what I do when I'm reading knitting blogs, because she always wants to be held, and the sling calms her down enough to sleep.