A Wee Hat

Just wanted to take a moment to share the details for the Striped Hat.  I made this recently for some friends, and I thought I would share before the deluge of Christmas knitting.

The original Baby's Striped Hat called for worsted yarn, but I really wanted to use some lovely bulky yarn I had on hand.  So I modified the pattern.  Details on ravelry.

This pattern was super simple (it's from Knit Simple, so that does make sense), and knit up quickly.  This was my first time modifying a pattern so I could use a completely different weight of yarn.  I was pretty proud of myself that it came out the right size!  Especially because there was, you know, math involved.

I used some Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush that I had in my stash from previous baby sweater projects.  I love this yarn for babies.  It's super soft, and comes in lovely colors that are perfect for children.

In other news, I finally finished Kev's Christmas stocking.  Details coming soon!

Olympic Knitting

Yes, I know the Olympics are over.  Sniff.  But I still want to share what I knit during the 2 weeks of awesomeness.  I put Bigger on the inside on hold because, let's face it, I simply cannot do complex knitting while doing much of anything else.  Besides, I have this completely geeky thing going where I only work on it while watching old episodes of Doctor Who.  But more on that later.

Friends of ours are having a baby in January, so I decided to use my Olympic tv watching time working on this:

It's the Umbilical Cord Hat from Stitch 'N Bitch, one of my very first knitting books.  It's a great pattern; it's easy to follow and creates an adorable hat with no seaming.

I received a free ball of Brava, the newish acrylic yarn from Knit Picks with my last order of wool.  It was some sort of promo where I got to pick a color and get a freebie with my order.  I'm not big on acrylic yarns, only because they are made from petroleum products.  Not even going to attempt to go into all that.  You're either with me on that one or you're not.  At any rate, despite my dislike of acrylic yarn, I really did enjoy using Brava.  It's super soft and not at all squeaky or scratchy, the way some acrylics can be.

This little hat only took a few days, so I started on Hoodsie for Evy.  I chose to work the 3-year-old size, because nothing is more irritating that working on something for a child and having them grow out of it before you're finished.  But now Hoodsie is on hold while I get back to Bigger on the inside and my beloved Doctor Who.

First FO of 2012

Some dear friends of ours are having a baby in February, so of course it was time to bust out the baby knitting!  I started this cardigan in August, as soon as I found out it was baby time.  After hours of searching through baby patterns, I chose Puerperium because of the side buttons.  The sweater is designed for newborns, and the side buttons make dressing baby so much easier.  The sleeves were supposed to be knit using the magic loop method.  I didn't have the needles required to pull off magic loop, so I stashed the sweater in my works-in-progress box, thinking that I would buy the needles at a later date.  Then of course, it was baby shower time and I was without a finished sweater!  I took another look at the pattern and realized that I could easily complete the sleeves using two circulars. 

 I actually had 6 shank buttons that fit the button holes.  Amazing.

Now back to Iced!

September Morn

September already?  Well alright then.

So about a month later, I can actually post an update about a finished project!  Let's not kid ourselves that I will actually get around to updating things on ravelry.  Maybe later.

But for now, here they are:

I know, I know, not the best picture.  But hey, at least I remembered to take pictures of this project.  These adorable little booties are from this book.  I made them for a friend's baby.  And as she finally has them in her hands, I can post about them.  They were very fun to knit.  I used knit picks swish, which I love.  The yarn is a lovely wool, but it's very soft - perfect for babies.  My Little Miss has pretty much outgrown her sweater made from this wool, so I'll have to make her another.  Of course, by the time I get around to that...

Jumps

I swear time jumps around here.  You blink, and you're in mid-June.  Work is.  Yep, it is.  I've been able to truck along nicely on my latest knitting project while on my lunch break.  Can't really say much about it cause it's a gift for someone, but I'll post pictures later.  Scary storms last week, but thankfully, they hit after we were all home and safe in our little cave apartment.  I do love a basement apartment, despite all the bugs.  We had two spiders in the shower this week.  Bleh.

Our friends are coming in from out of town this weekend!  Actually, they're probably already here.  I'm very excited.  We wanted to hit up the zoo, and I think we still will, but it will have to be a short trip.  Ninety degree weather and little babies do not mix.  Actually, 90 degree weather and Brig don't really mix either.

Kev is a leeetle stressed these days.  Poor fellow.  Starting a practice is hard work.  But I know it will pay off for him in the end.  Oh why yes, I did say starting a practice.  Take a look.  I promise more later on this as well.  Once time stops jumping.

A Great Weekend and a Crummy Monday

"Mondays.  It's like the dementia grows by...I'm not even talking to anybody right now." - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

I had a lovely weekend with friends and family.  My family threw me a baby shower, and friends came in from out of town to celebrate with me.  I even got to see my brother-in-law, who's been in Seattle for a few weeks, for a moment.  So by Sunday afternoon I felt very lucky and content.

But then Sunday night came and I started to feel a little under-the-weather.  And then Monday morning came and I felt tired, with a runny nose and a scratchy throat.  And on top of this Monday crumminess, Kev has injured his neck, and is therefore also feeling crummy.

So we did what any dedicated parents-to-be would do.  We skipped our childbearing class and decided to relax for the evening instead.  A nice omelet, a little tea, and a bit of knitting is all I need.  Now if I could only fix Kev's neck for him...