Knitting @ Lunch

Slightly bigger hats and more

2012-01-24T21:32:00.005-05:00

I had originally written my Basic Toddler Hat pattern while making some hats for a friend's 2 young boys. Ultimately I decided the hats were a bit too small for the recipients, because the hats seemed to fit Norah and her friends pretty well (and the recipients were older).

Anyway I decided to try them again with an extra inch of width. I am going to go ahead and send them off and see if they fit... if not I will report back and try AGAIN! Good thing I know lots of little boys being born this year I can send them too!

Modification: CO 72 sts

Right now I'm working on a hat for my friend's little boy... she had started working on it last year but never got it done, so I told her as a christmas gift THIS year I'd knit it for her!

Coming eventually: a blanket project that I am co-knitting with my SIL! Wound up the yarn today:

Yarn: Biggo from Knitpicks

It's super soft and squishy and I am very excited to knit with it! Anyway hope you all are having a great week! I had fun going out to lunch today with Cynthia for her 28th birthday! ;-)

Oops... blogiversary and Allie's hat

2012-01-23T20:37:00.007-05:00

I'm almost 2 months late, but Dec 2nd was my 7TH blogiversary! Wow! Thanks to anyone who reads here. I am horrible about updating, and kind of boring, so thanks for clicking over anyway. And please comment.... I always feel special when I get a comment!!!

My friend Sarah and I decided to do a hat swap where we each would make a hat for eachothers' daughters! She sent this beautiful crocheted cap with an awesome fabric flower on it:

Isn't it awesome???? I love it!

In return, I sent her this hat:

Pattern: Cheery Scrap Cap
Yarn: Various worsted wool or wool blend yarns
Size: Toddler, but it seems fairly large, so maybe more of a 2T-ish size.

It went quicker than I expected, AND used up a lot of misc partial skeins of yarn! Highly recommend it. I might try a ribbing along the brim next time to keep it from rolling. For full disclosure, here is the inside of the hat:

I carried the yarn as much as I could, so it wasn't as bad as you think to weave in all the ends!

Here's hoping I can keep up all this posting... it's easy when I have so much knitting flying off the needles! That might not be sustainable because a certain daughter of mine seems to not like napping so much lately.... yikes!

R.I.P. Pom pom

2012-01-22T08:20:00.005-05:00

I made this cute striped toddler hat back in 2007 out of some buttery soft Rowan RYC Cashsoft:

I didn't really have a recipient to give it to, so I hung onto it. Well now that I have a daughter, I got it out this past fall and lo and behold it fit great! We've been using it a lot since it's so soft and stretchy. Unfortunately though, Norah discovered that I am a poor pom-pom maker, and that she could pull bits of yarn out of the pom pom. She still is in the phase where she likes to put little bits of things in her mouth, so this was getting frustrating! :-) The other day I finally did some surgery and removed the sad, falling apart little pom pom.

Anyone think I should try and replace it? I'd have to use a different yarn since I no longer have the original stuff. Or is it fine as is? Thanks!

Dellie sweater - test knit

2012-01-21T19:18:00.006-05:00

Finally I shall post about the Dellie sweater I made! My SIL's awesome friend (and my friend too) Courtney wrote up this pattern and was nice enough to let me test knit it!!!!

Pattern: Dellie sweater, size 2T
Yarn: Recycled from an ancient Old Navy sweater

I think she will be releasing it soon, it's a great pattern and I love how it drapes. I modified it to have short sleeves because I wanted it to be more of a layering piece than a full sweater, but I love the look of the long ones! The neck is wide and accomodating for little ones with giant noggins! The stitch pattern for the body was simple enough to memorize so this made for some perfect TV knitting. All in all a great pattern.

Sorry I couldn't get the best pics, my little model was being a bit cranky :) Please visit the pattern page on ravelry to see some better pics with Courtney's cute daughter!

Yarn of the Month: January

2012-01-20T21:10:00.001-05:00

The other day I got a package in the mail.... it was from my MIL and guess what it was? My yarn of the month!!! YAHOO! To officially kick off the year of yarn, I received:

Rowan Felted Tweed. YUMMY. How gorgeous is that green? I am such a lucky knitter!!!!

Well, crap

2012-01-12T15:08:00.002-05:00

I was only feeling a little worried about the ever-growing list of things I want to knit this year, and then this happened:

http://www.purlbee.com/easy-baby-pullover/

Ahh! I want to knit that for every one year old I know :D

P.S. Almost done with my test knit toddler sweater for courtney... post coming soon!

New yarn!

2012-01-10T14:51:00.005-05:00

I got a wonderful gift from my MIL for christmas... a gift certificate to the yarn store, AND some super soft amazing yarn!!!! Cascade Eco Duo - I've never owned any before and it feels like butter!

On top of that, she said she is going to buy me another skein of yarn EVERY MONTH of 2012!!!! WHAT? It's like being in the yarn of the month club!!!!!! I mean how crazy is that. I think I won the Mother In Law Lottery!!!! (Well, and husband lottery... hehe)

Anyway today Norah and I hit the yarn store and I bought a sweater's worth of Encore worsted to make the owl sweater for one of my good friends. I am excited and I love the bluish grey color!

Getting excited about my 2012 projects!!!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T21:47:00.004-05:00

We celebrated the new year at 7pm with our little cutie :)

Anyone have knitting goals for 2012? I'd like to attempt an intarsia project.... and besides that nothing crazy! Maybe knit a big project? Or a zillion little projects? There are a lot of babies coming this year, many of whom I have already knit for but want to knit something else (since the gender was revealed, etc). I have a small list going of things I want to cast on soon/this year:

Test knitting a pattern for Courtney
Hat for my friend Sarah's daughter - we are doing a hat exchange and she crocheted Norah the CUTEST hat!
Something for Greg's cousin who we found out on Christmas is having a boy
Something for Greg's close friends who are also having a boy (a big theme this year!)
Hats for the sons of my friend who baked me those awesome knitting cookies
Tie sweaters for several friends' little boys
Something for my friend's 2.5 yr old daughter... just for fun!
Sweater for me??????? This is a long shot :)

Of course I know more things will pop up as the year goes along, especially things for my parents on their birthdays, etc... but we will see how it goes!

Anyone else have a wishlist/queue/knitting resolution for this year?

My SIL rocks!

2011-12-30T11:54:00.007-05:00

Just got some amazing photos of the projects I had neglected to document in the last post!!!

Here are the "mario mushrooms" I knit for my nephews (who are obsessed with all things mario):

Pattern: Super Mario Mushroom Knitted Toy
Yarn: Misc acrylic/wool blends

Next we have the hat/glove set I made for my SIL:

Pattern: To Norway With Love (hat)
Yarn: Ella Rae classic heathers (worsted)

I had some trouble with this hat. The first time I knitted it, my floats were too tight (even with trying to keep them loose) and I couldn't even get it over my head. *sigh* I cast it on again, only this time adding an extra couple hearts to the pattern repeat (some other Rav knitter had posted about doing this in their project page too - I'd recommend browsing people's notes if you want to knit this hat). I think it would have been fine just adding one heart, but it makes for a comfortable fit on your head (not too tight). As far as the length I also skipped knitting the last row of hearts because I thought it looked odd with all that length. It's still a little "slouchy" (not formed to the head like a beanie).

Pattern: Mobile Mittens (using color pattern from the To Norway With Love mittens)
Yarn: Ella Rae classic heathers (worsted)

I didn't knit the glove pattern that matched the hat because I wanted something where you could still use your fingers. I know I hardly ever wear gloves because I want to be able to answer my phone, or in my SIL's case, use her camera on a photoshoot! I hope she enjoys them.

Christmas Catch-up!

2011-12-29T19:31:00.006-05:00

OK let's see what I've been doing these past few weeks!

I finished that monkey and gave it and the bear to my friend's little boys... they seemed to like them! Yay :)

I knit a hat and gloves for my SIL and some plush "Mario bros" mushrooms for my nephews, but pics will have to wait because I'm dumb and didn't take any before I gifted them! Luckily my SIL is an amazing photographer and has agreed to get pics to send to me. Yay!

My husband's friend has emailed me a link to a "beard hat" website, where they were selling knitted hat/beard things... for a primo price! He said if anyone could knit him one it would be me :) Well unbeknownst to him, his wife also emailed me and asked if I could knit it for him for christmas and she would pay me. I'm always up for a commission! It was a fun pattern, although the hat definitely needed the extra repeat in the length (and probably could have used an additional one for large man heads). I like it though!

Pattern: Lumberjack
Yarn: Patons wool or some other 100% wool yarn.

For a close friend of Greg's family (who is basically like our Aunt now), I knit some basic worsted weight house socks/boot socks. I think she liked them!

Pattern: Basic sock formula from Cynthia
Yarn: Patons wool

Finally I crammed in one silly little project for my dear husband. He's an architect so I thought this may appeal to him... it's just a fun little toy, plus I hadn't yet knitted anything from this book! (Knitting Mochimochi) I adapted it to be smaller, knitting only 4 buildings and making the "base" of it smaller. I also tethered some of the buildings together/to the base to keep them more upright... they tended to want to lean in random directions. That's probably due to my unskilled sewing job though!

Pattern: Shyscrapers
yarn: Misc worsted wool or wool blends

Merry everything!

2011-12-27T19:21:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy month and I am way behind on posting about projects, so can I just start by saying I hope everyone is/was having a wonderful holiday and spending time with family and friends! We had a busy but fun christmas eve and christmas day making the rounds, and Norah thoroughly enjoyed opening presents this year!

(Wearing her new legwarmers knit by Auntie Mare!!!)

Merry christmas and happy new yarn! ;-)

Quick and easy

2011-12-07T21:26:00.003-05:00

Whipped out a hat for my brother for a christmas present. I had made him this hat in grey for Christmas 2009... so I thought since he loved it so much I'd make a new one. It might be getting worn out too. It only took me a few days!

Pattern: Bulky Knitted Hat

Wild kingdom

2011-12-02T08:47:00.006-05:00

I made a bear :-)

Pattern: Baby bear from Itty Bitty Toys
Yarn: Knitivity Merino Fingering, a gift from Cynthia (awhile ago!)

I decided not to embroider a nose or mouth on him since the coloring of the yarn made it look like he already has a blue nose. Plus my embroidery leaves a LOT to be desired (see: his weird eyes). The scarf is just 1x1 ribbing with some random green worsted yarn I had lying about!

I also am making a monkey!

Pattern: A New Sock Monkey from Itty Bitty Toys
Yarn: Unwind Yarn Company Superwash Merino Sock - this is the only yarn I've ever bought from etsy, I'm pretty sure! It's really nice to knit with.

He does have one leg right now, but needs another. And a face!

These will be going to 2 little boys that are friends with Norah. I hope they like them!!!!

Linky Tuesday

2011-11-29T09:57:00.004-05:00

I'm totally copying Courtney on this, but I thought I'd do a post of pretty things I've found on Ravelry recently.

Mountain man bearded hat
Look for this soon as a WIP :-)

Vinculum cardigan
That is GORGEOUS!!! Might have to think about buying that next year to make for myself???

Woobie Zebra
Super cute for a baby gift!

Rachael Scarf
Chevron patterns are so "in" right now.

Open work Infinity Scarf
I bet that would knit up really quick!

Oslo Anorak
OMG That is friggen adorable! I wish the bigger sizes were free. Norah would be the cutest little elf baby!

Hope you are all having a nice week... we're all fighting colds in our house and it's been rainy and chilly out. Makes it nice to stay inside with hot chocolate and blankets though (and coffee lol).

Jewelry and Vikings

2011-11-23T20:42:00.006-05:00

What do those things have in common? I knitted them!

1. Jewelry:
I was trying to think of something to make my mom for Christmas... something I haven't knitted her yet (see: 2 sweaters, scarves, gloves, slippers, dishcloths, felted bowl, etc etc). Mom always wears really nice jewelry that matches her outfit. I thought... maybe I could knit a necklace???

Pattern: Knit Your Pearls
Yarn: Wilkinson Fancy Yarn Lustre (gifted from a UK friend)

I still need to find a button or clasp to close it up, but I like it! I think having the shiny metallic yarn helps it feel more like jewelry.

2. Vikings
A friend and coworker of my husband is expecting his first child. He is a fan of Lord of the Rings and dwarves and such. I was trying to come up with a cute geeky baby gift to knit for them, and this is what I ended up with:

It's technically a viking hat, but I think its close enough to something dwarvish. The horns are kind of huge compared to the hat/baby head size, but I think it's going to be extra adorable that way!

Pattern: Viking hat, followed some mods for a newborn size and horn mods (see rav page)
Yarn: Various basic wools, I think mostly patons!

Coming soon: a bear!

P.S. Check out Courtney's blog... she did her "Ravelry links" post and included some of my favorites :)

Norah's sweater

2011-11-17T11:00:00.005-05:00

Norah is a lucky girl... she has a very talented Auntie who knit her this AMAZING sweater!

And it fits like a dream. Thanks so much Auntie Mare!!!!!!!! xoxo

(yes she tried to eat everything on the ground lol)

Pants Saga

2011-11-04T22:43:00.004-04:00

Weeeelllll I might have posted a bit too soon about being "done" with the baby pants yesterday. After binding them off and going about adding elastic and sewing down the waistband, I stepped back to admire my work

Hmmm, wait a minute.

Crap. One leg is like 1/2 inch wider than the other. I followed the pattern! Didn't I??? What the heck? Oooook fine. Rip out the large leg, reknit. kitchner the new "crotch" stitches. Add a button.

NOW I'm done. Jeez. Baby shower is tomorrow!!!!!!

Kanoko

2011-11-03T19:23:00.003-04:00

This is an old picture already, considering I just bound these off and am sewing down the waistband! I cant decide if I should use elastic or make a drawstring per the pattern. I better decide in the next hour because all my baby shower gifts are getting a wash tonight in preparation for Saturday! Also: YES I MADE IT IN TIME!!!! :D

Round 2

2011-10-31T09:24:00.004-04:00

After finishing up the baby legwarmers and hat for my hubby's pregnant cousin #1 (having a girl), I moved onto the second couple, who are having a boy! I thought this pattern would make him look like a cute little baby elf boy:

I am missing the button in the photo, but it's a cute little brown one!
Pattern: Vintage Pixie Cap from Vintage Knits for Modern Babies
I used worsted yarn so I only cast on 60 sts (trying to make a 0-3 month size)

And I whipped up some bootie/socks to match:

That is probably one of my fav baby sock patterns. (Link: Layette from Itty Bitty Nursery)
It's constructed just like a regular sock, but on worsted yarn and in the tiny baby size it goes SO fast! I knit the foot a little shorter than the pattern specifies (probably like 2.5 inches long instead of three before the toe).

Now for pregnant cousin #3.... I have cast on these pants: Kanoko Pants
We will see if I can get them done by Saturday! Go go go!

My little helper

2011-10-27T10:59:00.002-04:00

She's sooooo helpful when mommy is trying to knit :-) You may recognize that project as the striped baby hat I posted about yesterday. Mmmm circulars!

Knitting: a strenuous sport at times

2011-10-26T20:38:00.004-04:00

Not this weekend but NEXT weekend I am attending a baby shower for THREE of Greg's cousins who are expecting. THREE! Yikes... let's just say it is full on baby knitting time!!!! Luckily Norah took a really long nap this afternoon and that combined with time in the evenings I whipped these out this week:

Baby legwarmers and a hat, my own design. 2x2 ribbing and then 2 rows of each color. Quick and hopefully cute! The hat came out a tad bigger than I planned, so I will call it a 6 month sized set.

Now... what's next!!!!

Anniversary

2011-10-26T13:49:00.005-04:00

Happy third anniversary (yesterday) to my handsome hubby! Here's to many more :-)

Birthday princess

2011-10-18T15:05:00.004-04:00

I would be remiss if I didn't celebrate on here the FIRST birthday of my beautiful baby girl!

Happy birthday Norah, we love you so much!

Now stop growing up so fast! :)

Twister

2011-10-12T11:34:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, when I have to rip out some rows, I take my project completely off the needles, rip it out, and then carefully put all the stitches back on the needles.

Am I the only one who ALWAYS puts the stitches back on twisted???? It doesn't seem to matter how careful I think I am, because when I go to knit the stitches they are ALWAYS TWISTED. Sheesh!!! :-)

Recoup

2011-10-07T22:38:00.006-04:00

After a rough week or so of knitting progress (See: ripping out EVERYTHING), I decided to take "time off" of my projects to knit something silly. Looking around, I noticed the antique doll cradle that my great-great grandfather made by hand for my great grandmother. It has been passed down through my mom to my daughter to play with. How cool is that? Also, why did I never get to play with it as a kid? MOM??? Ha! Well earlier today when I put Norah's cabbage patch doll in there, the doll's head went THUNK against the wood. I thought, "this thing needs a mattress!"... And so, I knit one:

I held some worsted white acrylic yarn I had lying around, held double on US10 needles. Knit for 5.5 inches, did a purl round, knit another 5.5 inches, and sewed up all sides. I was going to put some fiberfill inside, but that made it too pillowly. After sewing it up I realized it was a bit too small to fit in the space... so instead of screaming and throwing it across the room I did an applied i-cord. WHEW :)

Also, a week or two ago I whipped up this tiny little bib for Norah's dollies:

It's based on this garter stitch bib pattern (Rav link), but I just made it much smaller :) I think I CO 20sts, and cast off 10 for the strap part. Quick and fun. Norah tries to rip it off if I put it on her doll... oh well!

Sometimes the silly little projects are the best.

Ugh...

2011-10-05T22:35:00.002-04:00

Just finished a project, but I pulled my floats too tight and it won't fit an adult.

FAIL.

Should I just quit knitting???? Good lord!

Finished photo

2011-10-05T09:26:00.002-04:00

I realized I haven't gotten a nice "finished" photo of the green newborn sweater!

I really love it. I need to mail it off to its recipient!

In other news, that pretty teal yarn that I ripped out? Well let's just say I ripped it out, AGAIN. I finished the yoke of this sweater dress and it was huge, like 2T or so! Oopsies. Poor Norah, I am going to knit you a sweater for this winter if it kills me! :-)

Done but not done

2011-09-22T21:31:00.004-04:00

Well that newborn sweater flew off the needles! I've even washed/blocked it twice, because the first time I didn't use wool wash and the yarn had a bit of a smell to it. The second time I used some lavender SOAK that I got from Cynthia. :-)

I still need to add the buttons, which is why this isn't "DONE" done.... and the reason that hasn't happened is because they sell buttons in packs of 5 (which I had one), and this sweater needs 7! Sheesh! I hope I can get to JoAnns this weekend for some button shopping!

In other news, remember the cabled baby sweater I had started a couple weeks before Norah was born? (crazy me) Well I finally decided it wasn't worth the yarn to finish it (considering it would be too small for Norah) and also I just wasn't "feeling it" anymore. Soooo rip rip rip, and a soak:

And now I've cast on for a big girl sweater/dress for my big girl!

Pattern: Little sister's dress (rav link)

I'm knitting the 12 month size but using slightly larger yarn/needles... so we will see how this turns out!

Don't you love....

2011-09-17T12:46:00.004-04:00

...baby knitting??? There was a wave of people having babies last year. I enjoyed knitting lots of little tiny things, especially for my OWN wee one! Luckily the wave seems to keep on going, because we recently found out some friends of ours are expecting their first little one next year. Even though they JUST told us, I couldn't help but cast something on.....

Pattern: Puerperium Cardigan (rav link)

I am already casting off the body! I love how quick newborn knits are! Plus this yarn is gorgeous. I think Jessica sent it to me for a gift (if my brain serves me correctly). Thanks Jess!

Basic toddler hat

2011-09-14T13:54:00.007-04:00

A reader asked the particulars on the boys hats I finished the other day, so I thought I'd write down what I did. I'm sure there are a million patterns like this out there (it's pretty basic) but I know sometimes it's nice not to have to sort through them all!

(This pattern is the property of Lauren Estes and may not be reproduced except for personal use. Please do not otherwise print or distribute this pattern without Lauren Estes’ express written permission. Thanks!)

Yarn: Lion brand Wool Ease, or other worsted weight yarn (Patons would be fabulous). Can use one color or as many as you'd like!
Needles: US7 dpns or a long circular needle for magic loop.
Sizing: 12 months to 2 years, depending on head size. This fits my 11 month old surprisingly well, but her head is in the 98% range!

Pattern:

CO 64 sts.
If using dpns, divide evenly on needles. I used the magic loop technique on a long circular.

Join to begin working in the round and begin K2, P2 ribbing until piece measures one inch.
Switch to stockinette (knit every stitch). Here you can stripe your hat as you wish, using as many colors as you want. For my hats, I knit the following pattern using 2 colors:

Knit three rows with the main color - "MC" (the color you used for the ribbing)
Knit one row in a second color - "SC"
Knit one row MC
Knit 5 rows SC
Knit one row MC
Knit 1 row SC
Switch back to main color and knit every round until piece measures 6 inches from cast on edge.

Decreases:
*K2tog, K6* repeat till end of round.
K all stitches.
*K2tog, K5* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K4* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K3* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K2* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K1* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog* repeat till end of round.

Cut yarn and pull the tail tightly through the remaining stitches. Weave in all ends and block if desired.

What?!?

2011-09-13T10:05:00.005-04:00

UMMM Did I totally forget to blog about my completed "Hey Teach" sweater?!? I was just going back through my posts and I believe I did!!! WHOOPS.

Soooo let's backtrack to the end of April when I finished it.... got all the pieces blocked and sewed it up.

And voila!

I think it turned out very well and I like my buttons that I found. Only problem is I should have knitted one size larger (it was gifted to my mom for her bday in June), but I chose my size based on the fact that I had limited yarn - I was trying to use up the excess yarn from my FLS. Oops. Mom said that she would try and block it out since it was "close". I think it looks cute with only the top 2 buttons done up anyway! Oh well, live and learn... don't try and stretch your leftover yarn to make a too small sweater!!!

Boy Hats!

2011-09-13T09:52:00.002-04:00

After a week away from home (with almost NO knitting) I finally finished 2 simple hats to give to my cookie-baking friend:

I hope they fit her cute little guys... I made them the same size because I think I remember her posting that her younger son had a Norah-sized head. ;-) Now to get these mailed!

Oh my...

2011-08-29T12:51:00.003-04:00

Little stinker... she's lucky that I have a ball winder! :-)

I finished a sweater for my nephew but I'm waiting until I can give it to him before I post anything :) Then it's kind of a surprise! I am casting on some hats to give to my college roomate for her boys... she's the one I did the commissioned pink hat with flower for? Well let me just say, not only did she pay me for it (generously) but she made some exquisite cookies and sent them along as a gift! Check these things out:

AMAZING, right??? I told her she needs to start her own cookie business! They tasted delicious too. I did cave in and let Greg eat a couple... only because I didn't want to be a total pig. ;-)

Anyway have a great last few days of August everyone! (ALREADY????)

Preemie hats

2011-08-14T19:20:00.005-04:00

One of my good friends just started a new job working in the NICU at one of our local hospitals. She knew I was a knitter, and I jumped on the chance and asked if they needed any knitted preemie hats/etc. She said YES and that the hats they did have were a bit "ugly" looking. I think I knew what she meant (pastel red heart yarn, anyone?) and immediately set out to whip up some cute more modern hats. Of course I asked my designated knitter Cynthia to join, and she even got one of HER friends to knit up some as well!!! I just delivered the first batch of about 8 hats (i think) to my nurse friend!!!! Of course I forgot to get pics. Jeez.

I am still making more though, so here are a few of my "round 2" batch of hats!

Future knitter

2011-07-28T17:21:00.003-04:00

Norah demonstrates proper knitting technique: (click for bigger)

1. Checking your needles to make sure they are sound (using the bite technique)
2. Inspecting your yarn, checking the ballband to see what the gauge is (ha)
3. Casting on
4. Knitting (she's going so fast her needles are a blur!)

I'm so proud of my lil knitter ;-)

Attack of the flowers

2011-07-23T17:06:00.004-04:00

Finished the commissioned hat by adding another flower!

And I finished some slippers for my MIL.... by adding a flower! lol

Almost done!

2011-07-20T21:13:00.002-04:00

I have the pink hat done and a grey flower sewn on!

Last thing I need to do is make and add a smaller pink flower inside the grey one!

Swatchin'

2011-07-15T15:08:00.004-04:00

I was asked by a college friend of mine if I could knit her a hat for her almost one-year-old niece! So far I've knit a couple swatches to help us decide on the style and colors. Here is what we decided on:

It's just a simple ribbed brim hat but with a 4x4 cable thrown in for interest! To top it off we are going to add a flower. Most likely this grey one I knit up:

Still thinking about a smaller pink flower in the middle or maybe a button? I will keep you posted on how it turns out!

Celebrate!

2011-07-12T21:52:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th Ravelversary to me (hehe) and happy 9 months to my little princess!

Pear, done

2011-06-24T22:34:00.000-04:00

Finished :) It's huge, but pretty!

Now... to work on some other things!

Pear

2011-06-24T09:57:00.000-04:00

I'm whipping out a "Per Orla" dishcloth as a wedding gift for a friend... we are going to the ceremony on Sunday so I have a few days left, but I'm almost done! As with the original ballband dishcloth, this is HUGE. I'm thinking I will call it a trivet... or maybe a wall hanging. :-)

Lull

2011-06-19T10:44:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of exciting knitting content, but lately I've been in a bit of a knitting lull! I'm not sure if it is from the new lovely weather that makes me want to go outside, or from the extremely cute and ever-growing baby that I care for. :-) She isn't mobile yet, but I'm guessing in the next month or so I will be in trouble!!!

I have done some minor home decorating. I put some fabric in embroidery hoops (How easy is that? I never knew!). Some for our master bedroom, some for a hallway...

I have cast on and knitted the sole for a pair of slippers for my MIL! No rush on those as she won't need them till it's cold out again :) I'm doing the Mary Jane slippers that I had made a couple years ago for my mom.

One of my friends is having a wedding-ish party this weekend, and I'm just thinking about whipping something up for that... so we will see???

Dear knitting motivation, COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

R.I.P....

2011-05-03T22:14:00.003-04:00

No this is not a blog post about Bin Laden...

I have to say goodbye to my slippers that I just finished! It is time to RIP because after I washed them, they became wayyyy too big for womens feet! OOPS! My bad for using different weight yarn and needles.

OH well, I will rip and reknit and report back. I think i will try US5 needles and only make the foot 5 inches long. Stay tuned!

Francis Flats

2011-05-01T00:16:00.000-04:00

I just finished some super cute slippers! My SIL has a very talented friend named Courtney. She is a whirlwind of knitting, spinning, yarn-dyeing, pattern designing, knitted-item selling, gardening, mothering... pretty much everything you can think of! You can read about all her adventures HERE.

Courtney was nice enough to let me help test-knit one of her latest patterns! They are really pretty slippers that are sort of a slipper/legwarmer hybrid. The legwarmer portion really helps the slipper stay on your feet! The pattern is called Francis Flats. (Ravelry link)

They are super comfortable. I used Cascade Superwash (a worsted yarn) instead of the reccomended DK weight (because it is what I found in my stash lol). It ended up working out fine, I knit the "medium" size and used US6 and US7 needles. I wear a 9.5 or 10 size shoe, if that helps anyone else out there!

I made these as a gift, but it is going to be hard to let them go! Thanks again Courtney!!!!

Summer?

2011-04-10T22:04:00.000-04:00

Just checking in! I am still chugging along on my Hey Teach sweater. I have the back and both fronts done, and have cast on a sleeve! It is going pretty fast. It is funny how much faster I can knit a sweater for someone else but take a YEAR to make one for myself! Anyone else have that problem???

Today was sunny and like 80 degrees... it was LOVELY. Kind of weird jumping right into summer weather like that though! I know it won't last long, but it was fun to wear flip flops and open the windows for at least today. I think Norah enjoyed hanging around the house pantsless too (in a onesie). We took her on a walk which was great! I can't believe she will be 6 months on tuesday.

Anyway hope everyone else is getting some warm weather too!

Another sweater

2011-03-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

I guess I must have secretly LOVED knitting my February Lady Sweater, because I recently found myself casting on another sweater with the SAME yarn! LOL! I guess it is because I had so much leftover and wanted to find a good use for it, but it is still kind of amusing. Can't go very long without this stuff on the needles!

Pattern is Hey Teach! Just chugging along on the back for now! This is going to be a gift. I really hope I am knitting the right size, AND that I don't run out of yarn!!!! Wish me luck !

"Where did these come from?" Part 2

2011-03-20T15:13:00.000-04:00

Continuing our parade of unspeakable horrors, or as some would say "projects I threw aside in a fit of passion for some other knitting project that was WAY more important"...

Second in the 2-item lineup, we have a pair of socks I cast on in April of 2008.

Yes folks, 2008. Sheesh!!!!!!! Here is the amazing progress I made in 2008:

It started off so well... I was excited to make "real" socks.... I even took it with me when I went to meet the Yarn Harlot! (post: here)

What happened in 2009 and 2010? Who knows! I guess I just wasn't feeling the love for this, or something? NO idea. I wish I had thought about picking it back up, because it literally took me like a WEEK to finish knitting that half-sock above and then the OTHER ENTIRE SOCK.

Seriously people. DON'T be me. Finish knitting your socks before the years slip by! Ok I'm probably the only person who would fling a sock aside for YEARS thinking it wasn't fun, only to discover how quick and portable they are. And cute!

Yay socks! They fit my feet so well, it's nice. I originally went with this nice blue-black yarn thinking they would be great to wear to the office with my dress pants.... Oops! I guess that ship has sailed! (I'm rocking the SAHM thing!) Oh well, I think my 5 month old daughter will appreciate me wearing stylish handmade socks around the house, right???

This is my first "real" pair of socks too... I technically knit my first pair in 2007 (blog post here), but I used worsted weight yarn, so they are more like slipper socks. They fit nicely, but are just a little too thick to wear in "regular" shoes, if you know what I mean! This pair of socks seem more official to me, since I used sock weight yarn, and they should be fine in shoes!

I'm not sure if this is the end of my startitis binge, or if I will tackle this lace scarf from 500 BC. Just kidding, I started it in... 2007? Wait, WHAT? I guess I am working backwards here!)

"Where did these come from?" Part 1

2011-03-19T14:48:00.000-04:00

I don't know how it happened, but I somehow contracted a case of Finishitis! If you know what that is, then you know how lucky I am to have caught it!! Please don't be scared, but I am about to resurrect 2 projects from the GRAVE! (Ok, perhaps not the grave, but from the bottoms of baskets or containers tucked away in random hidden locations in my house)

First up: a hand towel I started in August of 2009. (LOL)

I think the stiff cotton (I used some sugar n cream kitchen cotton) and long slightly boring middle section caused me to toss this aside time and time again in favor of more "fun" projects.

But FINALLY.... finally I got up the gumption and FINISHED IT! It really wasn't so bad :-)

I knit the middle section longer than what the pattern called for, because I wanted it to be the size of an actual average hand towel (I used one as a template). My towel turned out almost EXACTLY the same length, but slightly WIDER! Go figure.

(tan hand towel laid on top of my knitted towel.. yikes, too much TAN)

I am very happy with it, and I have decided to gift it to some friends who have built a house in the last year... it will be a nice belated housewarming present methinks! :-)

Stay tuned for more HORRORS FROM THE GRAVE! Oops... I mean, projects I am unearthing from long, long ago!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (belated)

2011-03-18T23:01:00.003-04:00

From my little Irish gal to you all, hope you had a fun St. Paddy's!

(her shirt says "Slainté", which is the Gaelic equivalent for "Cheers!")

Quick hat for a growing boy...

2011-03-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

Our friends had a baby boy in late December. I had made him a cute little stripey hat and socks (post here), but it was definitely sized for a newborn! I thought since we surely would have a few more weeks of chilly weather (if not more) that he needed a slightly bigger boy hat :-) This was quick and easy, I love how it has the bold stripe in the middle of the hat!

Here is the adorable model (wearing it upside-down, but still cute!)

Shawl for Grandma

2011-03-18T22:50:00.007-04:00

This thing absolutely flew off the needles!

Pattern: Dandy Kerchief
Yarn: Caron Country (I had slightly less than 2 skeins, I just knit the shawl until I ran out of yarn!)

I am hoping to get out to Arizona to visit my grandparents and other family this year (at least for my cousin's wedding in November) and I really wanted something nice to give to my grandma! Last time I gave her something it was a ballband dishcloth (I had a brief addiction to those), but this time I wanted something a bit more complex and wearable. This scarf/shawl fit the bill!

FO: February Lady Sweater

2011-03-06T21:15:00.001-05:00

I finally got a chance to have Greg take some nice photos of me in my FINISHED February Lady Sweater!!!! YES that's right folks, FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!! It only took me (almost) an entire year... but I made it just in time. Done and done!

I was a bit worried that it would be too tight around the bust, but it blocked out beautifully! Actually I think I nearly blocked it out too large (have to remember when you wear a sweater it will "hang" (stretch) on your body), but it ended up fine.

An interesting thing is I ended up with a TON of leftover yarn! Like 7 skeins. Ridiculous, huh? That is like 700 extra yards I ordered. I really thought I carefully calculated the yardage using the pattern and ballband, but maybe it's a gauge thing. Oh well... I really can't complain about extra yarn! (Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Kettle Dyed)

Anyway I am pretty darn happy with it....I might sew up the buttonholes a little bit so they are "tighter". What's funny is I definitely felt a little "lost" without this thing on the needles!

Since I completed the sweater I've been working on a few little things I will post about soon, but right now let's all revel in a FINISHED OBJECT!!!!!!!! (Maybe someday I will be able to knit sweaters for myself a LITTLE faster!)

2nd pair of gloves, and FLS progress

2011-02-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

Here is another pair of fingerless gloves I made for that charity auction:

Pattern: Evangeline Mitts
Yarn: Patons Classic wool

Other than that I have been chugging along on my February Lady sweater!!!! I am on the 2nd sleeve and I hope I can get this done SOON! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

Fundraiser auction

2011-02-18T10:22:00.002-05:00

One of the blogs that I follow, Before the Morning, is about a family with a little boy who has a skin condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa. Recently, the sweet mama Patrice who writes the blog found out about another little boy with that same skin condition in Russia - only that little boy is an orphan! The orphanage in Russia won't even take him since he has the skin condition (link to a page with more information about all this: here). Anyway, Patrice felt moved to try and help out the little boy, so she started a blog (Hope for Anton) to try and raise money to offset the cost of his adoption if a family decides to adopt him!

The reason I am talking about this is I felt like I could do something to help raise money, so I am knitting some things to donate that she can auction off! First up, I made a pair of my fav fingerless glove pattern:

Pattern: 75-yd Malabrigo Mitts, modified to add a thumb
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool

They are up on the blog (here) and already getting bids!!!! I am so glad that people actually want to buy them!

Anyway just wanted to share what was going on. Let's raise some money!!!!

It's alive!

2011-02-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

Back from the dead, yes - it's my February Lady Sweater!!!!

I am SO horrible at knitting sweaters for myself in any sort of timely manner. I started this in March of 2010! It's almost been a year, and I am resolved to finish this SOON. I just cast off the body and it feels SO NICE! Like actual progress! Here's hoping the sleeves move quickly!

Something for... ME!

2011-02-08T11:08:00.000-05:00

Yes that's right folks, I actually knit something for myself! Try not and have a heart attack! It started at the onset of winter - I realized I owned some knitted scarves but NO fingerless gloves.... for shame! (my poor cold hands!)

Luckily for me, I have many skeins of beautiful yarn at my disposal. I went upstairs to peruse the stash and settled upon some GORGEOUS madelinetosh Tosh Vintage that Cynthia had picked up for me last year from STITCHES midwest!

Isn't it drool worthy? I wanted a pattern that would show off the beautiful mottled coloring, and I had done a pattern recently that I thought would be perfect. So I made my own pair of "Susie's Reading Mitts"! (Pattern here)

I love them sooooo much! When I wore them to the grocery store the other day it was DANGEROUS!!! Why? Because while holding the steering wheel I was tempted to stare at my gloves in the sunlight rather than watch the road! LOL! So there's a warning to anyone knitting gloves with MadelineTosh!

Lots of knitting!

2011-02-07T18:42:00.000-05:00

Whew, my needles have been busy lately. I keep getting distracted by small quick projects and procrastinating on my sweaters! Sheesh :)

First, I had a commissioned project for my friend Larissa. She had a mess of knitting gifts to get finished by a set date, and wasn't sure that she was going to make it, so I jumped in and knit up this "batman" mask on her behalf! She paid me for the yarn, and it knit up in 2 days!

Pattern: Zsa Mask (Rav link)

My friend Candace said her and her mom were knitting preemie hats for charity, and I wanted to help out. I just finished knocking out 4 teeny tiny hats to contribute!

Those are from my own pattern: Baby Cables Preemie Hats

These are modified versions of this hat: Pixie Hat. I CO 46 stitches to make it more of a preemie size!

I also got in the mood to make a little something for Norah. Well actually Greg saw the tiny pixie hats I was making and said Norah needed one too :) So here's the "big girl" version for her! (CO 66 sts)

I added an applied i-cord tie to keep it on her head. I also had to make matching mittens to go with the hat!!!

So cute :) I improvised the pattern, just some 1x1 ribbing, then some stockinette, then decreases like at the top of a hat.

Next post: I finally knit something for MYSELF!!!!!

Back in the groove

2011-01-31T16:14:00.000-05:00

It's nice to be back in the groove of knitting again! After getting Christmas stuff out of the way, I have had several baby items to make (so many friends having babies! Must be something in the water???)....

For my friend from high school Sarah, who is having a baby girl ANY DAY now, I sent her this hat and bootie set:

Pattern: Hat pattern Bootie pattern (Rav link)

Next up, one of my coworkers and his wife were also due to have a baby girl (she is born now!) so Cynthia and I collaborated to make a hat and booties (she did the booties) out of some fun orange yarn:

Pattern: Aston hat

Third in line is another one of my high school friends, Becca, who is having a baby boy in March! We just had her baby shower this last weekend, so I got these things together:

Booties: Garter stitch booties (used some mods from ravelry)
Sweater: Felix's cardigan

I also threw in a couple of bibs for Becca as well:

Pattern: Sideways Garter Stitch Bib (rav link)

Pattern: I love stockinette baby bib (rav link)

WHEW! I have a couple other bibs but I haven't gifted them yet (for 2 other friends who have already had their babies). It's the same garter stitch sideways bib as the solid blue one above, only I cast on less stitches and used small scraps of different colored cotton I had lying about. It makes for a cute bib and a good use for all the tiny balls of cotton I have!

Anyway I think that's enough for now! Will post again soon with some charity knitting and something I just cast on for Norah :)

Christmas recap!

2011-01-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Before we get any further into the new year, I finally recapping the Christmas knitting I squeaked in last minute! Mostly I ended up making things for my family, since they are the hardest to buy things for.

My brother has recently moved into a house with a friend, so as sort of a "housewarming" gift I knitted up a quick dishcloth (Ravelry link)

For my mom I wanted a "cowl" type scarf. I still need to add a button to it so she can wear it wrapped around her neck twice, and then fastened with the button, but I really like the open lacy feel of this pattern! (Ravelry link)

Finally I whipped up some quick simple slippers (almost like house socks) for my dad! I held 2 different yarns together and I think it turned out pretty well! (Ravelry link)

Here's to another great year of knitting!!!! I will leave you all with a picture of my 3 MONTH old baby girl... she's getting so big already :-)

Jess's gift

2010-12-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

I realized I can blog about the present I knit for my buddy Jess since I already gave it to her!

I made her a Krtek (rav link) scarf/cowl thing:

I love how the texture is so bumpy and fun :-) Yarn is Cascade Eco + leftover from a vest I made for my SIL. Hope you like it Jessica!!!!

Finish line

2010-12-30T15:58:00.000-05:00

I have to wait to post my Christmas knitting until after my family does our Christmas tomorrow, but in the meantime I finished these fingerless mitts I started in like september...

Pattern: Susie's Reading Mitts

They are for a friend battling leukemia, and they match a hat that I made her last year! I hope she likes them.

The funniest part is I BARELY had enough yarn to make these. I started getting worried about halfway though the second glove, and had to knit "really fast" to squeak out the second thumb, but I made it!!!! Here is how much I had leftover:

Wow! :-) Here's hoping I am inspired to work on my other UFOs... they are TOO many right now!

Comic

2010-12-28T15:39:00.001-05:00

Nataliedee.com - comic

That comic describes a lot of my knitting projects right now :-)

5

2010-12-02T21:25:00.000-05:00

Happy 5th blogiversary to me! Gosh has it been that long??? :-) I don't have any knitting to show you right now (infants sure do demand a lot of attention!), but here's a picture of my little pumpkin being super adorable. Again, thanks to anyone out there who actually reads this blog!

4 weeks and a return to knitting!

2010-11-09T17:09:00.000-05:00

My lil girl hit 4 weeks old today!
.

She's pretty much the cutest thing ever! Bib knit by Jess!

Annnnd in exciting news I have finally picked up the needles again!!!

This is for a friend's baby boy who is due to be born in Jan! I've cast on some baby socks to match!

Where I have I been?

2010-10-19T22:35:00.000-04:00

Why I was off having the cutest little baby in the world, of course!

Welcome Norah Jo <3 10-12-10 8lbs, 2oz & 21"

We love her and she already has been wearing her knitwear!!!! :-) (hat in above photo made by her Auntie Mare!)

Side project!

2010-10-06T23:11:00.000-04:00

Sometimes a girl has to take a break from making a cabled sweater for her baby to make a cute lil newborn hat for her baby! LOL!

Basically I wanted something that would fit her as soon as she came out... I had this sock weight yarn from Jessica that had lovely pink and brown shades (sorry the color in the picture is a little bit off), and I thought it'd be perfect for a delicate little hat! I started with 2x2 ribbing, and then decided to keep going with it so that the hat would be snug no matter what! Turned out pretty well :-)

Chugging along....

2010-10-03T21:51:00.000-04:00

I got some progress made today.... thanks to the Colts game (too bad they lost though)!!! Right front is done and left front has begun. Only 5 days until my official due date! haha!!!!

"Crazy" project update

2010-09-28T20:37:00.000-04:00

Complicated cabled baby sweater that I am making for my baby which is due in a week and a half?

Back is done! :-)

Knitted bridge cozy

2010-09-23T22:53:00.000-04:00

http://knittyblog.com/?p=282

That is SO awesome... I think it would be fun to do a much smaller knit "graffiti" project someplace in fort wayne sometime! Perhaps make legwarmers for the horse of the Gen. Anthony Wayne statue downtown... hmm!

Yep... I'm crazy!

2010-09-20T22:55:00.000-04:00

Just to confirm my decision on the question I posed in my last post....

Yep.... I'm nuts!

P.S. In case there was any confusion, I'm only making the sweater and NOT the matching blanket and booties!!!! Yikes :)

Crazy?

2010-09-15T23:10:00.000-04:00

Is it insane to start something like THIS:

http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=b17&d_id=2&lang=us

right now for my baby???? Reminder: I will be 37 weeks on friday :-)

Just checking!!!! Hahaha.

August round-up!

2010-08-29T10:17:00.002-04:00

Yeee haw, welcome to the August round-up! It's a hoedown of a hootenanny! OK, I will stop now... just trying to find a more exciting way to start a catch-up post on here!

This weekend I've felt super productive! Friday evening I finished Holden's tie sweater... yep, in the last post I had just cast it on, and here it is, all DONE! (Pattern is here: boys can wear pink)

Isn't it awesome??? I really loved the pattern. It was simple, but looks really cute. I want to order a bag of Swish and make these for all my friends' little boys now!!!

Another project I haven't even posted about is a baby bonnet and socks set I threw together for some friends who aren't finding out the sex of their baby due Nov 4th. I kept things neutral with a bright yellow and a non-frilly pattern (Aviatrix baby bonnet, and then the socks are from the Layette in Itty Bitty Nursery):

Turned out pretty cute... I haven't put a button on the hat yet, I can't decide to use a gender neutral one, or wait and put on a more cutesy-looking one if they have a girl! :-)

In stash enhancement news, Cynthia attended Stitches Midwest last weekend, and was kind enough to do my shopping for me! I gave her a little money and free reign to pick out whatever she thought I would like. Can I say that she did not dissapoint???? Check this beauty out!

Gorgeous, no???? It's Madeline Tosh "Tosh Vintage" in Baltic. I loooove the shades of blue in here. It's superwash too, which makes me want to make myself some fingerless gloves with this for the winter. Ooh I could even make matching baby mittens for my lil girl... wouldn't that be adorable? LOL!

I need to focus on her baby blanket first! That's my plan for today, so wish me luck. I've been unhappy with how the woven-in ends are looking. Due to the yarn being a cotton/acrylic blend, the yarn is not "grabby" enough to hold the ends down, and they keep popping out. I am trying something new - using sewing thread to secure the ends down instead of weaving them in! I think this is the best solution. Mare, if you are reading this (she is knitting the 2nd half of the blanket), I was thinking you could leave your ends "free" and I can sew them down myself!

Hope everyone has a lovely relaxing Sunday!!!! I can't believe August is almost OVER!!!???

Blankets and things

2010-08-02T23:09:00.000-04:00

On other "catching up" news, I did cast on my girl's baby blanket, and have made quite a bit more progress than this:

That pic gives you the general idea though! The pattern is just the "grandma's favorite" dishcloth pattern, just using bulky yarn! It's coming along nicely, although I think i am going to have to sew my ends down with sewing thread... I am not good at weaving ends in! (And there is a bunch!) I haven't been working on it much lately though, either because I have been too busy or not in the mood for knitting, or I've been distracted by other projects! For instance....

Baby booties for my coworker! His wife is expecting any day now, and Cynthia had already knit an adorable bonnet, (ahem, Cynthia, you need to blog!) so I decided to make matching booties and make it a set! They were well received, and I hope everything goes well with their (third!) little girl's arrival next week.

Pattern: Saartje's booties, a seamless version, Rav link here: Seamless Saartje's Booties
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull on US2 needles

I've also been shamed into finally casting on for my nephew Holden's tie sweater...

My SIL knit one ALREADY for Cash (we ordered all the yarn at the same time), so I can't let the poor kid go too long without his very own matching one! (Big brother Cash's is a tan sweater with a green tie, Holden's will be the dark blue above with a mossy green tie).

OK bedtime! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Baby pants!

2010-07-29T23:51:00.001-04:00

Whew... these pants have been sitting around, 95% done, for WEEKS! I finally got around to finishing them tonight and I had to share!

Pattern: Baby Bell Bottoms
Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK

These are soooo soft, I am not sure what size they came out to be, maybe 6 months? We will see I guess! I like them though :) I modified the pattern to knit the legs in the round using magic loop... my fav technique it seems lately!

Ravelversary!

2010-07-13T19:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my 3 year Ravelversary.... the anniversary of the day I got accepted to join Ravelry! (Back then there was a wait list to join, I'm sure most of you remember!

Anyway I just wanted a moment to thank Casey and Jess for starting the most useful knitting website I have ever known! As Cynthia and I discussed earlier today, we don't know what we would have been knitting these past few years without it! And it is such an easy and convenient way to track projects and yarn and everything.... whew!!!!

Are you all members of Ravelry, if you are a knitting reader? If not, what is wrong with you! Just kidding. When is YOUR Ravelversary??? :)

On handcrafting...

2010-07-10T08:20:00.000-04:00

This was posted previously on the Mason Dixon blog, but I loved it so I have to repost here!

Very cool :-)

Supa cute!

2010-07-01T18:04:00.000-04:00

The other weekend my SIL gave me an adorable outfit for my babe, and ALSO this really cute knitted HAT!

AND we got the yarn that we're going to use to jointly knit my baby girl a blankie!!!!!

I need to cast on soon because I love those colors! :)

Hope everyone else is having a good week and as beautiful weather as we are right now!

Knitted gifts so far

2010-06-18T18:51:00.005-04:00

I have already begun receiving the most adorable knitted things for my little girl, so I thought I would post them!

First off, the cutest most awesome little apple hat, hand knit by my MIL who did a fantastic job (with just a lil bit of finishing help from my SIL, hee hee)

Too bad peanut won't be born in time for the Johnny Appleseed festival!!!!

Second off, I just got these the other day as hand knit hand-me-downs from my friend Larissa! She made these for HER little girl, who just turned one today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIVIAN!!!!!!!!) and kindly has passed along her knits for my little girl to treasure as well! How awesome!!!!

Wasn't even worn, I get to find a button or closure also! So cute!

Little white rose buttons, adorable!

I am loving it so far, thank you ladies for contributing to my little girl. Maybe this winter I can take a picture of her every day in something handknit from someone.... wouldn't that be insane? Maybe not every day. How about every week??? :-)

For all you knitting friends...

2010-06-18T18:32:00.007-04:00

OK: Here's my comprehensive list of what I have knit for my baby. This is to show you that NO I have not knit her everything under the sun already, and I am not going to be able to! I am really excited to have anyone who wants to make something for my lil girl :-) Seriously! Please don't think it won't be welcome!!!!!

1. Peace Sign Bib

2. Cabled Baby Bib (Rav link)

3. "Leapfrog" cabled baby pants

4. Modern Baby Bonnet (Rav link)

still have to sew the buttons on:

5. Autumn Leaves sweater

And most recently:

6. Baby bell bottoms
I don't have a picture yet because I only have about an inch knit on these!!!! They are going to be a nice deep purple!

So ya see girls???? I am seriously slacking! My SIL and I have plans to knit a blankie for my girl, and I think another one of my friends said she is going to knit a blankie, but I am definitely missing some things! Can anyone say booties? Or dresses? or little gloves? or more hats? I mean sheesh! :) Soooooo if you are thinking about it, just keep in mind 0-6 months will be winter, and 6-12 months will be summer! I have to keep reminding myself that too :) Hopefully my girl won't be a giant and outgrow all this cute teeny little stuff I am gathering for her.

To do list....

2010-06-16T07:06:00.001-04:00

Don't worry, since we've found out we're having a girl, I haven't gone CRAZY with my new list of things I want to knit....

Nope, not me! Just a few things.... also that pic can't show my queue on Ravelry either.... LOL....

Baby news....

2010-06-01T18:26:00.003-04:00

It's a GIRL! Bring on the pink and purple yarn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(baby is facing you, head on the left, abdomen on the right! the blob by her head is her arm!)

BUTTONS!

2010-05-31T00:27:00.002-04:00

Soooooooooo today my mother in law came to visit and after getting a yummy lunch, we went shopping! JoAnns was one of our stops (yes!), and their buttons were all 50% off..... and I found some for my FLS!

What do you think?

A little fancy, not too busy?

I think they are winners! Hooray for buttons!

FLS: Progress!

2010-05-17T21:14:00.003-04:00

I haven't taken any pictures or mentioned my progress on my February Lady Sweater! I have been devotedly lugging it to work as my sole project in hopes that when I knit at lunch I'd be forced to work on it. (it works!) Getting through the first part was definitely a challenge, and involved some frustrated frogging, (and cursing) but I am happy to announce I have made it past the yoke and now am doing the lovely lace of the body!!!!!

Front:

Back:

I am happily surprised at how the yarn has turned out. When I first got the skeins, they looked almost perfectly SOLID. With a name like "Kettle-Dyed" I was hoping for some more varigation! However, now that I have a good swath of it knit into fabric, Cynthia and I both agree you can see the lovely striations in the color. Hooray for that!

Another thing I need to work on is finding buttons. I am leaning towards black, but I am keeping my mind open. I might have to head to JoAnns and lose myself in the button aisle for awhile!

Anyway hope everyone is having a nice May... it's been a bit rainy for my tastes, but I guess that's spring for ya!

Collaborative sweater?

2010-05-08T09:51:00.001-04:00

Anyone else seen this post???

http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/2010/05/exquisite-corpse-project-collaborative.html

That is a really really cool idea!!!! I have the urge to gather a group of friends and do something similar, only perhaps a little lower scale, like a scarf!!!! Seems like on a scarf you could get away using different yarn too.... could be really cool... Hmmmmmmm!!!!

Baby knitting so far...

2010-04-25T09:04:00.006-04:00

Wow where did April go??? I can't believe we're down to the last week already! I really haven't been doing that much knitting lately. I am guessing that will pick up a notch in a month or so when we find out the sex of our lil babe. Then I have a zillion things to knit!!!! I've been trying to do some unisex things, like a white bonnet and some bibs...

That last one still needs a button!

As far as what else I can do now, I am casting on for some baby pants, and maybe some booties next? I just can't wait to find out what our little one will be!!!! :-)

News!

2010-04-12T22:04:00.008-04:00

Sorry I havent been posting much lately. We found out that I'm knitting up a very important project this year.... knitting up our first BABY! He/she will be due this October and we are very excited!!!!!!

Speaking of babies....I went to a friend's baby shower yesterday and it was so much fun! For her gift I whipped up the baby jeans (finally finished those in time!)

And also since my friend's little boy-to-be is named Gus, I knitted him his very own AsparaGUS :-D get it? This was so much fun to make!!!! I probably should write the pattern out since I made it up on the fly:

Can you tell I had WAY too much fun with this photoshoot??? I actually had the real asparagus before I knit this, it was my inspiration :-)

Hope everyone is having a great spring! I will leave you with a picture of the gorgeous tree in our backyard. :)

Booties ahoy

2010-02-17T07:11:00.003-05:00

When my cousin had her baby the other week, we finally learned the sex (boy!) and so I commenced my knitting! I decided to do the Cabled Booties from Vintage Knits for Modern Babies.

Turned out pretty cute! I wish I had fabric covered buttons like in the book, but I had to work with my meager button stash because I want to get these mailed off! I actually had to restart them too after I had one bootie knit up.... I had started on 6's and didnt realize they were coming out too large. After I ripped it out I switched to a size 4 needle and it was MUCH better. :) Whew!

Matinee Jacket

2010-02-11T21:25:00.005-05:00

Greg's cousin is expecting his first kid, a baby girl, this year! The baby shower is this weekend and my SIL and I have been teaming up to work on some handknits. She agreed to do a hat and booties and I tackled a sweater. Thanks to my MIL, I had the awesome book "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies" to flip through, and I found a cute pattern - the Matinee Jacket!

It turned out pretty cute! Mare (my SIL) picked out the yarn color (vanna's choice brand), and I found the adorable ducky buttons at JoAnns. :) Can't wait to have their cousin open our gift!!!!!!!

(the extra 2 are for Mare to use on her booties!)

Hippo's pants

2010-01-24T10:56:00.005-05:00

Yes that's right folks, I had to make hippo some PANTS! The poor guy was running around all indecent!!! :-)

Again, I made this up as I went along.... I worked from the bottom up, knitting two tubes for the legs and then joining them with a couple increases for the body...I did one short row on the backside too. Then I did a foldover brim for the waist so I could do a drawstring waist (I thought that would look cooler than ribbing - and hippos need to be cool!) Oh and of COURSE a hole for his tail! Can't forget about that!

They were a lot of fun to make and now hippo can feel comfortable in public! ;-)

Hippo in the house!

2010-01-20T21:29:00.011-05:00

This is a long overdue post, but I'd like you all to meet Hippo :-)

He joined us not too long after Christmas, because I got the book Itty-Bitty Toys on xmas eve, and knew as soon as I saw the hippo pattern, that it would have to be my first proj! (My hubby is partial to hippos)

I had a ton of fun making him!!!! It really wasn't that hard, I just had to be careful sewing all the pieces together to make sure he didn't lose an arm or anything, hehe!

The ears are super adorable!!! And his big round hands and feet! I can't wait to make another animal from this book :)

Of course, I couldn't stop there! The poor hippo needed some ACCESSORIES! First thing I knew I had to make was a simple garter stitch scarf... with fringe of course!

Hmm what next, well I had some leftover green and tan from the scarf... oh I know! A matching hat to keep his head warm! (with ear holes for his cute hippo ears, duh!)

Put it all together...

One fine lookin' hippo!

Now, I'd love to give you all a "hippo hat" pattern, and I think I took a few scant notes, but I truly made that thing up on the fly and got extremely LUCKY that it fit! I just kept trying it on him and eyeballing where the holes should go for his ears! Glad it worked out and he looks super spiffy!

Up next.... hippo gets his DECENCY!

KAL, anyone?

2010-01-18T15:03:00.003-05:00

Guess what! There is a group of us getting organized to knit a February Lady Sweater for ourselves in 2010! Don't you love that sweater? I am so excited. Feel free to follow our progress on the KAL blog:

FLS Knitalong

And if anyone else wants to KAL with us, you are more than welcome! :-)

Haiti

2010-01-13T20:08:00.003-05:00

I made a donation, won't you too? Let's help out the people of Haiti in their time of need.

Christmas knitting 09

2010-01-01T13:27:00.017-05:00

Happy 2010! Before we look forward to the new year, let me recap my christmas knitting!

First and foremost, I can now reveal my secret project that I've been working on since JUNE.... it is the Estes Vest, and I knit it as a christmas gift for my sister in law!!!!!!

It was quite a project... cables, charts, POCKETS (never made those before!), and more! It was really a lot of fun though and I am very happy with the finished project.

And more importantly, so is Mare!!!! Woot. And it fits her, another plus! Apparently she even liked it enough to wear to her husband's family christmas party the next day... that was so awesome of her!

Next up was gifts for my family. We just had our christmas celebrations the other night since my mom was out of town! First up: I blogged about the "button gloves" I made for my mom earlier, and luckily she was very impressed when I gave them to her!

Also a big hit was the hat I made for my brother! He put it on right away and made comments like he thought it looked like something he'd see at abercrombie or something.... I'll take that as a compliment!!!!

(yes ladies, he's single!)

Finally, my other big project.... my dad's vest!!!!

For all the plain gray stockinette I had to slog through, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out... and also happy I was able to block a few extra inches into the width! :-)

Luckily dad indulged me and tried it on when I gave it to him.... and it fit! YEAH!

Finally, two small projects I whipped up in my "spare knitting time" before xmas.... Yes I actually had some! I know you will all hate me for that. Maybe next year I will be the one sweating it out and knitting into the wee hours of the night on something :-). I made a simple yellow dishcloth for some friends of ours (not anything photo worthy) and then I did some gloves. Simple fingerless ones for my Aunt: (one of my fav patterns: malabrigo mitts)

And lace up "opera gloves" (pattern) for my friend Shawn. I made them shorter than what the pattern specified, but I think they are plenty long enough!

Whew! So that sums up Christmas 09. I am very satisfied with what I got done, and am looking forward to what I can whip up in 2010!!!!

2009: A look back

2009-12-30T07:00:00.013-05:00

I guess since we're moving to a new DECADE I could be doing a look back on the decade, but considering I only started knitting about 4 years ago, I better just stick with this last year.

Overall I am pretty happy with my knitting progress this year! I made several things that were in a new category for me, such as an adult size vest (2 of them!), I made some really fun projects, and also in general got a good volume of knitting done for people!

The year started out with some baby knitting, as 2009 brought lots of wee ones to my friends and family members:

I made a cute keyhole scarf for my mom, and then I tackled my first big project and also a commissioned project (for megan), the turtleneck shrug from Scarf Style:

It turned out pretty cute, and megan says it has been keeping her warm this year! :-)

I made one of my favorite baby sets for a gift for my coworker's soon to arrive baby girl:

Totally "punk" baby, eh??? :-)

I made several baby and adult hats in general, and I did a cute owly vest for Holden for his first bday! One new technique I mastered this year was felting... my first and second projects were cute felted bowls like this:

I made some baby legwarmers, and this sweater is probably my fav baby girl sweater:

One of the funniest things I've ever knit was this finger mustache thing... LOL....

I knit a shrug for one of my friends in less than 2 weeks, that was crazy, but I got a delicious cake in exchange :)

And of course, I made a cardigan for my mom's birthday!!!! I am so glad she likes it :-)

Other new things... I knit a dog sweater, little bunnies, dishcloths, dishtowel, scarf, baby vest, baby mittens, lots more hats, its been fun!

I will post about my christmas knitting next, but for now, here's to another adventurous and fun year of knitting in 2010!!!!! Knit on!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T16:04:00.002-05:00

Hope you all have a lovely holiday season, whatever you celebrate!

What????

2009-12-21T22:27:00.002-05:00

Wait a second, we still have 4 days till christmas and I am all done with the Christmas knitting this year??? Wow.

Next year is probably going to come back and hit me hard for this one!!!! :-) Today I found ribbon for some lace-up fingerless gloves I made for my friend, and I cast off the last armhole ribbing on the vest for my dad! YEAH! Now I am going to block it and it will be DONE!!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad I decided to go ahead and knit it even though at the time I never thought I would make it :-).

Oh, and I whipped out a super fast bulky 1x1 ribbed beanie for my brother, that only took 2 days! Love those projects.

Anyway, I feel like I should offer my free hands up to anyone else who is pushing deadlines. I would offer Cynthia my services, but it looks like all she has to do is seam up her mom's sweater! Talk about fast knitting. Congrats on your hard work girl!!!!!

Pics coming soon, I promise!

Sometimes the simple things....

2009-12-10T07:51:00.002-05:00

... are the best! I whipped up a simple ribbed hat on large needles (holding some Patons yarn double) for my coworker Joe. I gave it to him the other day and he went NUTS over it! Wore it around the office the whole day, and he said he's been telling everyone about it! Its funny that it was such a quick and easy project! It's always awesome when someone loves something you've knit!!!!

Number 4

2009-12-02T08:25:00.003-05:00

Happy 4TH Blogiversary to me!!!! WOW! Have I been really dragging this thing on for 4 YEARS? I guess so! Thanks to anyone who has ever read a sentence here... or left a comment - It's nice to hear from you all!

Hope everyone is getting ready for Christmas.... it is getting CLOSE. I got to the point where I divided for the sleeves on my dad's vest, and I still need to buy something for my secret project... and then maybe squeak in a hat for my bro! Good luck to everyone else with your Christmas knitting (especially you, cynthia!!!)

Turkey Day

2009-11-26T19:43:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am so thankful to be healthy, have people that love me, and have money to buy yarn with :-) Hope you all find something to be thankful about too!!!!

(a family tradition, to serve your cranberry sauce in the shape of the can - hee hee!)

Official Christmas Knitting List

2009-11-21T23:29:00.004-05:00

OK folks, its almost Thanksgiving, so you know what that means..... its time for the 2009 Christmas Knitting List!!!!!!!!!!!! Time for me to list everything I am imagining I will finish in time to give as a Christmas present to some lucky recipient! Am I finally reasonable this year? Have I gone off the deep end with entrelac duvet covers? Let's find out!

1. Secret project - This is about 95% done and will definitely be ready on time! Probably because I started it back in JUNE. Apparently I knew it would take me awhile!

2. Vest for my dad - This one I have been trying to be good about working on, since its not even up to the armpits yet. Luckily its a VEST, so no sleeves. I am knitting it in the round also (original pattern is here: Peter Easy Vest) so I hope the rest will go quickly! Also... I hope my dad doesn't read this blog... hmm I should ask him sometime.

3. Gloves for mom - Done! As you saw in my last post, these are ready to go! Woot!

4. Kitchen towel - This is about 1/3 the way done, but I am not sure who I want to give it to yet.... so we will see about this project... hmmmmm

5. Hat for my brother maybe???? - still need to find a good pattern, something very plain and manly :-)

7. Another secret project that is not even close to done, and I probably am not going to even try.... buuuuut we will see. ;-)

Well thats not too bad. Hopefully dad's vest will go smoothly. I am also still working on some preemie hats for charity. I want to have at least 10 of them before I mail the package! They go so fast though!!!!

Hope everyone else's christmas knitting is going well! I am pretty good at helping other people (ahem, cynthia) at paring down their outrageous lists, so if you need any help, let me know ;-)