Manda Ruth Cardigan

I love knitting pieces that have interesting texture.  Maybe it's because I'm lazy and don't want to change colors!   I wanted a basic cardigan that Baby Gus could wear with lots of outfits during the chilly spring (last spring of course!).  This great seed stitch cardigan is "Manda Ruth" by Jane Richmond Designs. I used madelinetosh chunky in "Winter Wheat." I made the 3 month size, and it fit him well during months 2, 3 & 4! See it on my ravelry page, here!

Garter Ear Flap Hat for Gus

I had yarn leftover from Gus's Baby Jumper, so I made this hat that I'd had my eye on--The Garter Ear Flap Hat by Purl Soho.  It was easy, fast, and so cute!  Find the pattern notes here on my Ravelry Page.


The quilt he is laying on in this picture is our family's Comfort Quilt!  Remember this?  Feels like we took that pic with Baby Henry just yesterday.  Love love.

Baby Jumper : Handknit Baby Pajamas

What is less practical than handknit baby pajamas?  Well, I can probably name a few more things, but this is pretty impractical.  But it was just one of those things that I wanted to knit for my sweet baby boy.  When you knit something for someone, it's like tangible evidence of thinking of that person.  With every stitch (well almost every stitch....I do watch football while I knit....) you are thinking about that person, remembering them or just dreaming about them, if they're not "here" yet!

So there I sat, in my orange chair with my feet up, usually before Henry's 6am wake-up, busting this thing out even though my hands were going numb (ugh, pregnancy) for my baby GusGus.

 Front

 

 

 Back

So sweet! 

And what did GusGus do every time I put him in this outfit?  Pooped on it of course, just like I thought he would!

Oh well. :)

Notes:  This pattern was "Baby Jumper" by Pinar Ürün Sizun, found on Ravelry.
Knit with Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in "Blue-Green" (1910)  <--machine p="" washable="">
If I were to knit it again (and I might!), I would make it more long and skinny, in the body, arms, and legs.  But I loved this pattern and it was quite easy!

The link to this project on my Ravelry page is here!

liam cable sweater

You may remember something almost exactly like this, from last winter?  Well here's the thing.  The weather got too warm too fast for Henry to wear it much before he outgrew it (his head outgrew the neck-hole first).  I found a similar pattern on Ravelry--the Liam Cable Sweater!  I was specifically looking for a pattern with raglan sleeves (omits the tedious task of sewing on sleeves, which I can't get to look right), knit top-down.  It was pretty easy and I loved knitting it!  My Ravelry Link here.

Notes:

1. A very effective method for getting a toddler to hold (sort of) still for a picture is the Cookie Method.  The Cookie Method isn't used very often at my house, especially considering how many cookies I make, but it's pretty magical!  Before resorting to sugar I got these shots:

2. I bought these handy-dandy foam puzzle-piece-thingys for blocking.  Easy to store and worked like a dream!  Way cheaper than your standard blocking-boards, too.  Score!

3. I swear I don't sit around and knit all day.  Really.  My only reasons for getting this much knitting done this winter is 1) football, 2) basketball and 3) less sewing.  It also helps to pick easy-ish patterns.  Hooray!

jordana paige baby bloomers

OK, after complaining at length yesterday about gray days, I've decided to talk about something cheery today...these baby bloomers I finished knitting back in Nov! I wanted to make something I had with the yarn left over from this project.  And what baby girl bottom wouldn't look happy with these on?

This pattern is called "Bottom of my Heart Baby Bloomers" by Jordana Paige.  More info on my Ravelry page, here.  This pattern was super-easy and I learned how to make a multi-color pattern by stranding!  It's sooo not perfect, but I'm learning to embrace the imperfections in everything I knit.  So liberating!

mikan snood : : intermediate knit scarf

I knit this cowl scarf (also known as a "snood" - who knew?!) in November and I like it quite a lot!  It's the "Mikan Snood" pattern - found here.  I usually don't like knitting scarves because I get bored, but this pattern was difficult enough that it didn't bore me, and easy enough that I could do it while "watching" football, etc. 

 I used Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica in Marigold.  More details on the pattern here on my Ravelry page!

My only criticism is that at first it felt like this thing was going to swallow my head because it's SO LARGE.  But that just makes it super warm and cozy.  Totally recommend this project!

OFF my knitting needles: The Clara Dress!

Finally finished : : the Clara Dress!  This adorable lacy baby girl dress was THE HARDEST thing I've ever knit. And the very last steps, which were the easiest, probably took me the longest. 

 This was knit with Isager Strik Alpaca 2 yarn.   More details here.

I'm really not the biggest fan of knitting with fingering-weight yarn.  But I love how it turned out and can check this off my list!

Back detail:

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on my knitting needles : clara dress

OH my.  This one has been "in progress" for a looooong time.  I first saw it here and knew I must knit or I would surely die.  Welllll, let's just say that this project is  a 25 on the scale of difficulty, 1 being "I Could Knit This in my Sleep" and 10 being "Why, Why, Why am I Doing This?"

But.  After starting over for the 3rd time (not exaggerating), I finally "got it".  Then I put it down for....at least a year.  Well, I picked it back up after finishing my last project and I'm happy to say that I'm almost finished!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

More later!

eyelet dress : finished!

 The Eyelet Dress is finished!  Click here to see my project page on Ravelry.  My knitting gals really gave me the get-up-and-go to finish.  Plus they helped me pick out the ribbon (which can be changed, of course!)

I have to say that I LOVE the yarn I used here.  It's Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.  It's soooo soft, and not fuzzy.  It's easier to knit with non-fuzzy yarn! 

(back)

Don't get too excited, because these things take me a long time, but I have plans for a companion piece for this little dress.  Since I have a whole skein of yarn left over.  Can't leave that laying around!

when friends knit : karen's gray and white striped blanket

Here's a blast from the past - 9 months ago I took this picture!  My friend Karen knit this a-dor-a-ble gray and white blanket with a zig zag trim.  Love love love the color combination, and it's the perfect size for Henry's little lap. 

We still love it - here's a snap from our walk yesterday.  We also love pointing!  At everything!

 

Thanks Karen!

when friends knit : teresa's fishy blanket

 This bold blanket was a gift for Henry, knit by my friend and former co-worker (tear) Teresa!   Henry and I went to have lunch with the teachers today and she asked me to take pictures of it so she could post the pattern on her Ravelry account.

 Side 1

 Side 2

 I love all the different textures - especially the bobble eyes! :)

And a quick shot of what really happens when I try to take staged pictures for my blog:

He seriously crawled through the nicely spread-out blanket about 20 times before staying away long enough for me to take a picture.  Stinker!

Henry loves his fishy blanket!  Thanks so much, Teresa!

on my knitting needles : eyelet dress

Here's a project that I believe I started in 2005.  2005!!!  Terrible.  Who knows why I put it down and didn't return for 8 years.  The VHKC has given me the oomph to pick it up again.

It's Debbie Bliss's Eyelet Vest from the book Special Knits (more info here on Ravelry).  I'm sure to make progress with the help of my knitting gal pals.

(In other news, do you love the fabric backdrop in this pic?  If so, get excited, because I'm going to be putting up some of my stash fabric for sale soon!)

handsome cable sweater

I spent some very valuable nap time yesterday finishing this sweater (details about the pattern can be found here at Ravelry)!

 

  Spring is really starting to make an appearance here in Seattle, so I thought if I didn't finish it soon it wouldn't be cool enough to wear it, plus he would grow out of it too!  It's happened before; the handsome sweater vest you see Bernie wearing in the picture below is one that Henry never wore because he grew out of it before I put him in it!

 My little ragamuffin is wearing this sweater in the pic above...at least we're getting some wear out of it.  Bernie is not so sure about the two sitting next to him.

 This is what it looked like yesterday morning...that's AFTER I ripped out and redid the hour's worth of work I had done just previously because I made a mistake. Woops!

But perhaps the real inspiration to finish came from my ladies in the newly founded Victory Heights Knitting Club - a group of neighborhood gals that have been meeting to knit (and drink wine of course...).  I'm so lucky to have awesome neighbors.  This will surely help me to finish lots of projects!

a manly sweater

Well, after finishing the crocheted dress, I decided I better do some boy-crafting.  I decided on the "Milan Jacket" from this book. 

 blocking!

waiting for the right buttons...

 

finished!

Why does the last step of a project take the LONGEST?  I found the buttons (mini toggles), got them in the mail, and then they sat on my shelf for about...oh, 2 months.  Finally sewed them on this week.  But at least Little Mister hasn't grown out of it yet...ha ha!

finished!

I finished my big project! Hurray and yay for me!