Tag Archive | baby gifts

Just a hat

Yesterday was Yarn Store Day here in the U.S. and I did not celebrate the traditional way, i.e. by going to a yarn store and buying more yarn. I wanted to, don’t get me wrong! But I’d already bought yarn this month, most recently last weekend at a LYS, so my budget said I didn’t need more. (Budget lied but whatever.) Instead I celebrated in my closest little LYS, my craft room, poking through all my yarn treasures, reminding myself what perfect little pretties I already have. I picked out one gorgeous skein intending to cast on something new and fun just for me. Then I remembered that I wanted to make a baby hat for a pregnant friend. And then the SIL texted about my niece’s birthday in two weeks: she wants to collect donations in stead of gifts. So cool, right?? So cool that I decided I needed to make her a present to go along with our donation to support her generosity. Pretty multicolored skein went back in the stash…for now.

fullsizeoutput_20c2 The hat was quick enough to make, using leftover Blue Sky organic cotton from my blanket. It’s KU Jayhawks colors, just FYI. I hope it is, at least. The pattern is Long-Tail Hat and it’s one of my favorite baby hats to make. And yesterday was Grace’s birthday (she’s FIVE now!) so I made her wear it for a brief moment.

fullsizeoutput_20c3 She was thrilled, clearly. Anyway, gift #1 is done and now I’m on to some Rose City Rollers for the niece.

Time to switch things up

Jan19

Monogamy is boring, guys. Seriously. I’ve been working on one project for the last week, at least, and I’m getting a little tired of it, especially since it’s not even done yet! It makes for good progress but not good blogging, really. This is my Boho Baby Blanket with Appalachian Baby Organic Cotton.

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According to the pattern, I’m a little past the halfway point, but according to the yarn I’m close to 3/4 done. No, I didn’t check my gauge. It’s a blanket, it’s all good. At this point it covers Jack pretty well, so that must mean it will soon be baby blanket sized. (Also, can I just say: my next couch will definitely be leather. The dog hair doesn’t stick to that!)

I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by my nine WIPs and needed to counter that with some sense of accomplishment, and since the blanket is my only WIP with a deadline, it’s been my focus. I feel good about it now; I have plenty of time to get it finished. And that’s a good thing because I got some new needles in the mail today that I’m desperate to test, so despite having those nine WIPs that are looming over my head, I’m going to cast on a new project today. I know. It’s crazy. What can I say? Knitters are crazy. At least it will be a hat, so it’ll be a quick project.

Also, today is Jack’s birthday and he is five! I’m so glad we picked him out at the shelter four and a half years ago!

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He’s a good boy. I like him.

Socks, Hats, Dogs.

Sep3

Remember how I finished two baby blankets for a friend with twins, and they just needed to be blocked? Well, they were washed and laid out to dry last weekend and looked great. Then I woke up Monday morning and spotted this in my craft room:

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Naughty pupper! But still cute. Thankfully, he didn’t damage it at all, just left some dirty spots so that I need to rewash it. And now I know to close my craft room door when things are blocking on the floor!

After finishing all my WIPs recently, I got to cast on a couple of new projects. The first is a sock, of course, since one must have a sock on the needles. I chose The Theory of Relativity socks and my new Cherry Tree Hill amethyst sock yarn, but pulled out a bit of leftover hot pink for contrasting bits. I have to pay attention to the pattern, but so far I love how it’s turning out.

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I’m just a little scared of the size. The pattern strongly recommends casting on more stitches because the pattern isn’t as stretchy as most, so I went with the size I needed per their measurements, but it seems like a lot! I really hope they don’t come out too big.

My other new WIP is a hat, which I’m loving because I haven’t done a hat in so long! This one is a donation for a silent auction. At first I thought I’d do this Zig Zag Chevron hat. I love how it looks and thought it would be a good way to try colorwork. HA! It did not go well and I hated every moment of the attempt. I do know that if I spent more time feeling comfortable with English style, it would be easier, and I could watch videos and blah blah blah. Bottom line, I didn’t like it enough to spend that much time on it yet. I’ll learn how to do colorwork someday, and that’s enough for me.

I still wanted to do two colors, though, and I still wanted to do something other than basic stripes. I decided to do my own thing based on a cowl I’ve made and loved called the Twinkly Lights cowl. This is what I’ve got so far:

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Just decreases and a big pompom left to do. Then I’ll make a pair of matching fingerless gloves to go with it, and hope someone likes the set enough to bid on it. And with it being a long weekend, plus jury duty on Tuesday, I should have time to make good progress.

Oh! And today we’re going to look at puppers! All the shelters are running specials to make room for dogs coming up from Texas (they’re bringing up dogs that were already in shelters, leaving room in the Texas shelters for dogs displaced by Harvey in hopes that they’ll be reclaimed by owners). That’s a good time to adopt a third dog, right? Haha! Yes, I’m probably crazy. But I’m okay with it, if it means I get to have lots of dogs!

Finishing Everything

Aug27

This has been a very productive week, friends. I decided I needed to make a big push to finish the second baby blanket, as it is nearing fall and the babies are two months old now. I finished it Thursday and it is currently being prepped for blocking. Here it is unblocked:

This one made for easy, mindless knitting, which also made for boring knitting. Nevertheless, it is lovely and should be nice and cozy for the little boy who will be receiving it. Now I’m only hoping that the two blankets are roughly the same size after they are blocked. We shall see. This pattern is the Garter Rib Baby Blanket and the yarn is KnitPicks Swish Worsted Brights in Razzleberry.

With the blanket done, I could turn back to socks, and I quickly finished the second sock I had on my needles.

I ran out of the blue and only had the gray with me to finish the toe, so the second sock had the contrast toe as well (which is what I’d intended in the beginning anyway). So they don’t match that way, but they’re the same size! Almost exactly! I believe that’s the first time I’ve done that with socks. These are Blueberry Waffle Socks in KnitPicks Stroll Glimmer in Peacock and Chrome. I quite like this yarn; it’s lovely and soft and sparkly.

Well, finishing those two things felt so good, I decided to keep finishing. I had my Harvest cardigan that had been sitting around for four months, waiting only for sleeves. Again, fall is coming. Wouldn’t I rather have a cardigan to wear than one to stare at? Yes. Yes, I would. I started knitting sleeves, and discovered that sleeves are also very boring to knit. But I had a little movie marathon and knit around and around and around and finally by 6:30, I had a complete cardigan! YAYYYYY! Sadly, I also had approximately twenty million ends to weave in. Still, I conquered those in time to have the husband take a photo before daylight was gone.

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It’s too big (I was between sizes and opted for the larger one) and there’s a faint stripe from before I started alternating skeins from different dye lots, but it’s a wearable sweater. It’s warm and cozy, and full of satisfaction. I MADE that. With my own two hands! And that feels pretty damn good. Mind you, I don’t know that I’ll ever do it again, given that it took forever and wasn’t the most interesting project at times, but who knows. Never say never, right?

This yarn (Universal Yarn Cotton Supreme Splash in Plum Blanket) and I have a long history. I bought the first few skeins back in April of 2014 to make a cardigan. I cast on for a Lilas Cardigan but too soon succumbed to the boredom of endless stockinette and set it aside. I had a couple more short bouts with it before finally frogging it early last year. I decided it would become a new sweater, and I chose the Harvest cardigan by Tin Can Knits for its simplicity to make and ease to wear. I cast on over six months ago and all went smoothly for a bit, until I moved into a skein purchased after the first batch. Yes, a noticeable difference. It went in timeout while I ordered more yarn. I knew it would be a different dye lot, and I would have to alternate skeins. I couldn’t bring myself to frog all the way back, though, and I think I can leave with that pale stripe. So here it is, over three years after first trying to become a cardigan, something I can wear! I’ve learned a lot, mostly to buy a sweater quantity all at once. That whole alternating skein thing was a pain in the butt.

Whew! Three FOs in one week! That left me with three WIPs. One is another blanket, which I moved to Hibernation until it gets cooler. One is my lace Zuzu’s Petals, which I’m eager to get back to. And the last one is Miss Winkle, which I started at the end of December. 8 months ago. I didn’t really enjoy the knitting, but it’s such a cute pattern, and the loops truly are adorable.

But. OMG. Making those loops?? I found it really tedious. Much like short rows, I liked the look but found myself getting annoyed at having to stop my knitting groove to make these long strips that made a loop. This morning, while I was lying in bed trying to decide whether to get up, I realized I was dreading having to go back to Miss Winkle, and I remembered what the son had said last night while I was finishing my cardigan: “I think next you should make something you like to knit!” Indeed. Why should I spend my precious knitting time on something I didn’t enjoy? Further, why would I waste yarn I love as much as this? So, this morning found me frogging.

It was a relief. Quite liberating, to be honest. Now I can happily finish Zuzu, and cast on for some new lunch-time knitting, and not have to look at all those lingering WIPs any longer!

I know Start-itis is a common thing; what about Finish-itis? Do you go through that as well?

Raishan Blanket

Aug6

Yesterday was rainy and cool, and I was able to spend it all indoors doing whatever I chose. And mostly I chose to knit and cuddle with puppers, especially Jack.

I watched Southside With You (good movie, man who played Barack was especially great) and The Green Mile (one of our favorites, but the boy watched it for the first time) and Supernatural (not my choice, the girl’s). By the end of day, I was weaving in ends!

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This project took a month and three days, but because I’m not a huge fan of making blankets, it felt like longer. Still, I’m delighted with the finished piece. The photos don’t show how neon-bright the green really is!

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Pattern is Raishan by Laura Cameron, and it was well-written, interesting, and fun to knit. Yarn is Knit Picks Swish Worsted Brights in Sour Apple. I used almost all of seven skeins after making some modifications to the pattern. You can see my Rav page here.

And now, because this is for one twin, I need to knit another baby blanket. I’m doing the same yarn in Razzleberry, a bright blue, but a different pattern. This time I’m doing a garter rib blanket, something simple enough I can take to work for lunch-time knitting, and maybe it will go faster. A girl can dream, right?

Today, the girl is at work and the boys are off getting haircuts, so I have a rare morning with the house to myself. I’m off to knit in peace and quiet!

A Good Week

Jul29

Guys, it’s been a pretty good week. My most recent post, Changing Direction, might have been my one of my most popular, with 93 views and 18 likes! And that’s even with me forgetting to add any categories or tags. I mean, sure, it’s not like I’m going viral or anything, but it’s encouraging for me. And looking at the stats made me realize that I have over 400 followers on my blog! That’s so cool, that over 400 people like what I have to say enough to follow me. I am always grateful that you’re reading, so thank you!

I got a couple of nice comments at work this week, one a vote of confidence from my boss, which is always encouraging. The other was from someone in another department who said I’m “one of the best AAs” she works with. Well! How about that? Made me feel pretty good, especially after all the times where I felt like I was at a disadvantage because I have no science knowledge or background.

And we went to see Wonder Woman again. Still amazing. Want to see it again. And again. If you haven’t seen it yet, GO. Go now, while it’s still in theaters. Seriously.

This week was a good mail week too. I got some cute earrings I ordered from Etsy, a new shop with a young maker. I was her first sale and she included an awesome note thanking me, complete with kitty sketch. The shop is So Crafty Kitten.

My other delivery was my wrist ruler from I Love Handles. I saw it on Instagram and ordered on immediately. Mine is the black 15″ and I want one of every color. This is the 15″; next time I think I’ll get the 16″. Perfect for on the go sock knitting! Or any knitting, really. Get your own here.

So, yeah, not a terrible week. And I promised some knitting in the next post, so here’s the sock I finished last night.

Pattern is Blueberry Waffle Socks, kind of. The pattern called for DK weight and I had fingering, so I just took the waffle stitch pattern and applied it to the same basic sock recipe I’ve been using. I’m quite tickled with myself, that I’m comfortable enough with socks to just kind of make one up based on what I’ve done in the past! Just wait until I know more heels to choose from!

The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Glimmer, which is dreamy to work with. It’s super soft, which I love, and the sparkly thread isn’t scratchy at all. It is splitty when you have to tink back to fix mistakes, but manageable. However, once I got the sock done and on my foot, either the yarn or the pattern doesn’t feel snug and elastic. Definitely soft, but slightly looser than some of my other socks. I used the same needles and stitch count, so either my gauge has changed slightly or it’s the yarn. But they’ll be fine, and I’m looking forward to having the second sock done. However, it wasn’t until I got this one on my foot that I realized: I forgot to do the contrast toe in gray! Darn it all. It’s fine, though, who sees the toes anyway, right? And it leaves more gray for other pairs of socks.

That’s kind of all the knitting I’ve been doing. I seem to be on a strange little knitting hiatus. I’ve been so tired in the evenings that knitting makes me sleepy, so I’ve been watching more TV. I’ve also been re-reading Furiously Happy for our work book club, and loving it just as much as I did the first time. (Funny stories about mental illness. Can’t go wrong.) My goal is to work a bit more on my baby blanket this weekend. I have about two skeins of yarn left, out of seven. SO close!

It’s going to be Fabulous when it’s done. (Pattern is Raishan by Laura Cameron.) Now I just need to do my chores and errands so I can get to the needles!

Bonus: Baby Knits

Jul4

Thanks to the holiday, I can make an extra post today and show you the wee baby knits I’m working on. This is the preemie-sized Yoda hat from last week:

I finished a tiny rolled-brim beanie too, and it’s so very tiny that I’m a bit worried it won’t even fit his little head! But as we all know, handknits are forgivingly stretchy, so I’m remaining optimistic.

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I used leftover sock yarn, the Frolicking Feet by Done Roving in color Dancing Leprechaun, and it only took about 17 grams so I’ve got enough left to make another, slightly bigger version too. That one might be for another new baby I know, one of a set of twins. But first I’m determined to make them each a blanket, because I’m crazy like that. Before they were born, I said I wouldn’t make blankets because I always get bored making blankets and take forever to finish them, and to make two would drive me batty. Then the babies came and they’re adorable of course and they deserve pretty handknit blankets. I took advantage of the Knit Picks summer sale to get some Swish Worsted and have cast on the first blanket.

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This pattern is Raishan and it’s going well so far, with a pattern that’s intricate enough to keep my interested. It won’t be a travel project, but if I keep on track in the evenings, I should be able to get both blankets done before it gets cool. I’m aiming for small blankets, ones that will fit nicely in a car seat or stroller. And hopefully if I balance it with sock knitting on my lunch breaks, I won’t completely lose interested in the blankets! Anybody else get bored with blankets?

Striped Socks

May13

This week’s FO is my newest pair of socks, and I’m in love! This was my first adventure with self-striping sock yarn, as well as my first adventure with a contrast cuff/heel/toe. Can you say “Obsession”? OMG I get it now, like, I really really understand all those sock addicts now. I put these socks on to take photos this morning and didn’t want to take them off, ever!

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It helped that I have figured out how to make them fit the way I like. I like snug socks with negative ease, so I use size 1 needles regardless of what the pattern says. I make the foot shorter than the pattern usually calls for (about 7.5″ for my size 9 1/2 foot). I also like shorter socks, so I knit 6.25″ of cuff. I think I might do around 5″ next time.

The pattern is Vanilla Latte Socks and I really enjoyed knitting it. It was perfect for my lunchtime knitting, given how much I like knitting ribbing. I adore the contrasting bits, even if it did mean struggling a bit with the stripe pattern and weaving in more ends.

And I LOVED this yarn and will absolutely be getting more. It’s Aurora Fingering Weight by Tumbleweed Yarn. This colorway is called Confetti, and it was a kit with the mini-skein of purple. I bought mine at Loopy Ewe.

I immediately cast on for my next pair of socks, this time grabbing some Serenity Sock Weight from my stash in a color called Paprika. This time I’m trying a pattern called Petty Harbor and so far both yarn and pattern are delightful.

But alas, I must now set aside the sock knitting for a short time! I need gifts for a baby shower by next Friday, for someone having TWINS. Yes. Two babies. ACK. I’m only slightly panicking and wishing I’d planned better. But I’m not going to get too crazy here; my current mental state just won’t stand for that. I’ve got fun colors of cotton in my stash so I’m going to knit as many washcloths as I can, and wrap them up with some baby soap, and call it good for now. I will have many opportunities to knit these babies hats when the weather actually calls for things like hats, and I know how much I love my knitted washcloths. Wish me luck! How many washcloths do you think I can knit in six days??

Back to the Blanket

Jan30

I picked up my blanket WIP again this weekend! I needed something completely mindless while I watched the finals of the Australian Open, and knitting on my sock was hurting hand. So I pulled out the blanket and decided to switch out the needles. I’d been using my Knitter’s Pride Spectra Acrylic tips, but they didn’t slide well against the cotton yarn. I put on my Knitter’s Pride Nova tips instead (nope, not getting paid for this, they’re just my favorite needles) and discovered it was indeed speedier knitting! I know there might be a difference in gauge, but it’s worth it if it means I can finish the blanket sooner. I really do want to see the finished project! It’s going to be quite large, I believe.

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Now, I have a question: I will be needing a special baby gift this year, and I think this blanket would be a lovely option…but I don’t know the sex of the baby yet. Think this is unisex enough?

What do you make for a Spring craft show?

Mar26

How often can I write about baby hats and you’ll keep reading? For that matter, how often can I knit baby hats and still like it? I guess we’ll find out, because I don’t see an end anytime soon. I’m prepping for a craft show at the end of April and all I want to make is baby hats. Because it’s spring, I don’t think people will be tempted by warm cowls, hats or scarves. But babies are always being born, and a handknit hat makes such a delightful gift, doesn’t it? Like this little cutie:
I love this style! I may have made the long tail a bit too long, but since this is a newborn size I’m not concerned about the baby being able to grab it or get it in his/her mouth. And I am loving the gray/white color combo, so cute for either a boy or a girl! See, here’s another one:This is probably a 6-9 month size. I’m so proud of how it turned out. The stitches are so neat and tight, and I wish I’d taken a picture of the join edge, because I have to say, it’s the best I’ve ever done. You can hardly tell it’s there. I carried the yarns up, twisting them around each other with each row, and it’s practically invisible! How about that?? I love it when I can see improvement in my knitting skills.

This is the kind of stuff I want to make going forward, classic styles in good yarn with quality workmanship. And hats like this are a bit quicker, too, so I can build my inventory faster. I made the striped hat yesterday, all in one day. I did have to take a break in the middle because the tip of my middle finger went numb. It does that every once in a while, and I’m sure it has something to do with the nerves going from my wrist to my fingers. I should probably wear my wrist support when I knit for a long time. I won’t need to today, though, because today I have 50 million errands to run for my daughter. Okay, only three. And one for my mother. At least my son is still low-maintenance!