around the house…

 

 

Wishing I could be home, puttering about the house, working on little projects…

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back to it.

Well, hello! How is everyone? As you may have guessed, things have been pretty crazy around here. It’s hard to believe that it has been months since I’ve last posted…to say that I’ve missed being a part of the knitting community is a huge understatement. It feels good to be back.

My dear readers, we have quite a bit to catch up on, so I will start with this sweet little baby sweater:

I mean, how cute is this? This sweet grandpa-sweater was gifted to a lovely co-worker of mine expecting her first little boy. The yarn is a heathered cotton-wool, which will be the perfect weight for those first damp, chilly weeks of spring. I was a sucker for the garter-stitch shawl collar:

And the cozy, garter-stitch cuffs:

While in my local knitting store, I happened upon the cutest little wooden twig buttons. They add a charmingly-rustic touch, don’t you think?

Here are the details:

• Pattern: Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down
• Yarn: Coast by Tahki Yarns in #005 Fog (2 skeins)
• Needles: Size US 7 needles, 24″ circulars and set of 4 dpns.

This knit up very quickly, over the course of a few wintry afternoons. It’s the perfect little boy sweater.

{Thanks to Alana for the sweet inspiration!}

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just in time for Easter…

My second little bunny hat is finished and on its way to New York…I cut it a little close, but it should arrive to my friend’s sweet baby girl in time to wear for the Easter holiday.

When I arrived at the post office this afternoon, I realized that I hadn’t taken any pictures of the hat! Luckily, I had my camera with me, so I dexterously climbed into the back seat and staged an impromptu photo shoot. Thank goodness there was an old quilt stashed back there!

I didn’t take too many pictures, because I didn’t want to be labeled as ‘the crazy lady taking pictures of a baby hat in the back set of her mini-van.’  I’m sure you understand.

Here are the details:

• Pattern: Bunny Tail Hat, by Susan B. Anderson
• Source: Itty-Bitty Hats
• Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK in Pretty Pink – 2705 (body) and Chalk -2700 (tail)
• Needles: Size US 7 16″ circs. and set of US 7 dpns.
• Size Made: 0-6 months
• Ravelers: Click here for Project Page

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a little hooking…

I might take a tiny break from my shawl – yesterday, I had to rip over 3,000 stitches due to an errata in the pattern. So today, I think I’ll crochet a few stress-free granny squares. I have a lot of this Berroco Comfort acrylic yarn from when I first started knitting, and thought it would make a sweet little baby blanket.

The squares are from Lucy over at Attic24 – this is her Summer Garden Square. Her tutorials are really well done – she takes pictures of every step, so that you can visually see what you should be doing! This is perfect for someone just starting out with crochet…like me!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

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little bunny.

The other day, I finally cast on for a second bunny hat. The size 7 needles feel gigantic compared to the size 0 and 1 needles I am using for my socks.  I actually double-checked that I wasn’t using size 8 or 9’s! This will be my “knitting while sitting at my son’s baseball practice” project – quick and easy.  It will be a nice break from those tiny little sock needles…

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if there’s one thing we know about bunnies…

…it’s that they like to multiply.

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hippity-hoppity.

Oh my goodness, you guys – I cannot. stand. the cute.My mom has been in the hospital for two weeks now, and her main nurse, Angie, is due to have a baby girl early next month. Angie has been so sweet and helpful to my mom, that we thought it would be a nice gesture to knit her a little baby hat as a thank you. Since this will be a spring baby, my mind immediately went to Susan B. Anderson’s Bunny Tail hat. A few hours is all it takes to knit this bundle of cuteness. I mean, just look at these precious little ears, with their tiny yarn bows:Irresistible. And the furry little tail:Adorable.  Here are the details if you’d like to make your own little Bunny Tail in time for Spring or Easter (and you know you want to…):

• Pattern: Bunny Tail Hat, by Susan B. Anderson
• Source:Itty-Bitty Hats
• Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK in Pretty Pink – 2705 (body) and Chalk -2700 (tail)
• Needles: Size US 7 16″ circs. and set of US 7 dpns.
• Size Made: newborn
• Ravelers: Click here for Project Page

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pinky-salmon.

When  my friend Rebecca told everyone she was going to have a little girl – 10 years after having her son! – I was pretty excited to do some baby knitting.  I asked her what her favorite color was, because I wanted her to have a special connection to the knits.  Her reply? “Pinky-salmon.”

Pinky.  Salmon.

Knitters – you and I both know that this was no. easy. task.  So after combing the yarn stores – both virtual and brick-and-mortar – for pinky-salmon yarn, I finally settled on Filatura di Crosa’s superwash Italian wool in the 1741 colorway.  It is half-way between a pinky-salmon and a vintage rose, but I think the real reason I chose it is because it matches my favorite Chanel lipstick: Rogue Coco in Mademoiselle:

We all have our inspiration, right?  I chose this particular pattern after seeing Alicia’s version in blue.  The pattern as written only calls for one row of eyelet lace at the bottom, but the two rows are much prettier, I think.  There are 20 rows between each button hole, so while knitting the rows for button hole 5, here’s what I did for the bottom of the sweater:

• Row 1: k4, p to last 4, k4
• Row 2: knit
• Row 3 (ws): knit
• Row 4 (rs): k5, *yo, k2tog* across, ending k5
• Row 5: knit
• Rows 6-10: continue in stockinette (keeping first and last 4 stitches in garter) until row 11.
• Row 11 (ws): knit.
• Row 12 (rs): k5, *yo, k2tog* across, ending k5.
• Row 13: knit.
• Rows 14 – 18: continue in stockinette (keeping first and last 4 stitches in garter)
• Row 19: knit
• Row 20: (button hole row) knit across to last 4 stitches, k1, yo, k2tog.
• Rows 21-22: knit.  Bind off all stitches loosely.

It was difficult to find buttons that matched this yarn color, so I chose creamy, winter-white buttons, which compliment the hat and socks that I also knit as part of this set:

The sleeves were knit to be a little shorter than normal; babies like to chew on their hands, and despite the yarn’s softness, I didn’t want her chewing on wool.  This sweater will be a nice, warm layer over a soft t-shirt.

I am in love with this yarn.  I would knit with it again in a heartbeat!  Here are the project details:

• pattern: Eyelet Yoke Baby Cardigan, by Carole Barnys {free knitting pattern!}
• yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zara (2 skeins in colorway 1741)
• needles: size US 4 32″ circulars used as straight
• size made: newborn

Hopefully Rebecca will love her pinky-salmon sweater as much as I enjoyed making it.  ~J

 

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pitter patter…

These might just be the cutest socks ever, don’t you think?  They are so teeny-tiny and super-squishy!  Now that I’ve knit these, I don’t think I’ll ever knit a pair of baby booties again.  The cute factor is way high on these socks, plus, they will surely stay put on wiggly little baby feet – something booties seem to have a problem doing.
I knit these to go with the baby sweater I’ve been working on, which is also finished (I’ll share with you tomorrow!).  And of course, to complete the set, I whipped up a classic little hat:
I love knitting wee-little things.  Here are the details:

Socks:

• pattern:Pitter-Patter Socks, by Jackie Ziegler (pdf download on Ravelry)
• yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zara Solid (in Salmon – 1741 and Ivory – 1396)
• needles: Size US 4 dpns.
• size made: small

Hat:

• pattern:Baby Beanie Hat, by Erika Knight
• source: Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
• yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zara Solid (in Salmon – 1741 and Ivory – 1396)
• needles: Size US 6 (16″ circulars and dpns.)
• size made: small

Tomorrow you will get to see the sweater, complete with buttons.  Also, I finished my raglan pullover (which I am going to wear today) and sewed a Christmas apron.  It feels so good to finish projects – especially when there is so much more that needs to be finished before the holidays!

Have a great week, everyone.  ~J

 

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strawberries and cream…

Yesterday, I started a sweet little hat to go with the baby sweater, which now is only in need of some buttons!  Do I want to use cream-colored buttons or do I want to try to match the yarn color?  Hmmm…~J

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