Swatchless

It’s always good to know that knitting has arrived at its proper destination–the postal system here is pretty good, but I always cross my fingers until I hear back from the recipient….and it is always lovely to get pictures of the knitting in action.

This picture is of my friend Meghan’s twin girls wearing their almost matching sweaters.  I’m not sure what’s up with their scared faces.

These sweaters are the first cotton knitting that I have done and enjoyed.  The yarn is Cotton Supreme Batik that I got at Wool-Tyme.  I usually stay away from cotton, but once you touch this stuff you’ll understand how it became a little bit of an obsession.  The colours are stunning (I used “Beach Umbrella” and “Watermelon Patch”), and I hope that it will wash well.

Go on and give cotton a try….it’s perfect for cute summer knits!

Today I finished up the second baby sweater made from cotton–the cotton that I love!  It is called Cotton Supreme Batik and it is 100% cotton, soft and silky like bamboo, with a nice drape.  This colourway is called “Watermelon Patch”, and outside in the bright sunshine it looks just like a little bit of summer.

This is the bench under which the pigeons are growing steadily bigger.  They now seem to be left alone more, perhaps their mom is off looking for food for them or maybe they are big enough to keep warm on their own for a longer time.

Eyes are open, and they now seem to startle with noise.  They almost seemed to stand up a bit when I got close to the flower pot (which is getting a great fertilizer treatment!)  I know I am going to get a scare one of these days when they start to learn how to flap.

I am not a big fan of knitting with cotton.  Most people who know me understand this fact.  I don’t like how it feels on my hands, it is not very elastic, and doesn’t feel soft…and the finished piece doesn’t drape nicely…

I’m going to stop myself mid rant, because I now am starting to sing a different tune.  I have found a cotton that I like to knit with!  I was introduced to Cotton Supreme Batik when I was out at Wool Tyme last month.  I looked at it, and felt it, and pondered whether it really could be cotton, then I saw the price tag (almost $9.00) remembered that I do have a rather large stash of yarn at home, and left the store.

The colourful stuff is the cotton

I then found out that a friend has had twin girls….and after a rather difficult Friday last week, I went to Wool-Tyme to get something soothing to knit with.  To my great surprise, I walked right over to that cotton and bought two balls (in different colourways)

This sweater is knit in “Beach Umbrella”.  The next will be knit in “Watermelon Patch”

This cotton feels very similar to baby bamboo that I’ve used in the past.  It is silky, and soft to knit with, and the resulting garment is stretchy too!  Look at that shine!

One more photoshoot….with spring flowers!

Today was a bad news kind of a day.  Thank goodness it was also a Friday.

Bad days for me usually have me reaching for my knitting….it has been so long since I knit things other than robot hats I had totally forgotten what was on my needles!  It turns out that I needed to go to the yarn store to get the needed yardage to finish a cute baby sweater that I have been working on.  Of course, while I was there I picked up some new goodies!

I knit into the wee hours of the morning and here is the finished sweater–or almost finished–I still need to find the perfect buttons, and maybe embroider something onto the sweater to make the lace detail stand out a bit.

The sweater is my own invention.  I’d change things like button hole placement, and edging details for next time.  I’d probably also make the sensible choice to knit it top down rather than trying to make a one piece bottom up raglan short sleeved sweater.

I am pleased with the heart shaped lacy bits though!  They appear on the right and left front panels and the center of the back.  I’ve never knit much lace–the charts confuse me.  Maybe simple lace experiments will be in my future.

Here’s hoping tomorrow will be more fun!

Knitting with orange makes me happy!  It is not usually the colour I’d reach for when making baby clothes, but for this particular project it is perfect!  At least one parent has a particular love of all things orange.

These are the first soakers I’ve ever knit.  The pattern is Curly Purly Soaker.  Knit in the round, seamlessly with no need for elastic at the waistband due to the elasticity of the ribbing knit on extra small needles.  I look forward to meeting the little man that will proudly wear the orange underpants.  I wish him (and his parents) well on his arrival!

What is your favourite colour for baby knits?

It was a very productive weekend.  Not only did I sing in a choir concert, but somehow time was also dedicated to this little sweater which is now just about completed!  It needs a few ends sewn in, and a good blocking, and it will be good to go.  I love the yarn Life DK; it feels like wool, but is a machine washable blend of 75% acrylic and 25% wool. In case you are wondering, this colour was 2346 “Mixtures Blue Haze”

This little sweater vest will fit a 2-3 year old, but in the mean time, it is long enough to be a sweater dress for a 6-9 month old.  I polled several mothers who agreed with my measurements and my logic.  Can’t you imagine a darling baby girl wearing this over tights?

I might just have to get another colour and test knit my pattern!  The entire sweater vest took less than 100g of yarn, and the pattern is only 90 rows, but each row is different from the last.

The pattern will be available later this spring.  If any patient knitter with an eye for detail would like to test knit the pattern, please contact me!

I’ve been knitting along happily for the past few days, making cables and diamonds and braids.  I’m enjoying the yarn and loving the colour (a shade of dark heathery purpley blue that never seems to look as good on camera as it does in real life).  As usual, I didn’t really make a swatch when I started.  Preliminary research included looking at several baby sweater patterns and looking at how many stitches they started with, and then choosing something similar.  (Note to self:  Next time, pay attention to more than just number of stitches–needle size, yarn size, age of child are also valuable pieces of information)

Today, after two diamonds are almost completed, the sweater is getting long enough to stretch it out and see how big a child it will fit–and my worrying begins.  Is this sweater gigantic?  Is it going to fit a 2 year old?  Will parents of a newborn be excited to get a 2 year old sweater?  If the sweater is gigantic in circumference, how long do I need to make it?  It’s all a question of proportion…How big is a baby anyway?!

pretty cables!

But…does it really matter?  In the end there will be a lovely sweater that will fit someone at some point.  Maybe I’ll just keep knitting, and let it sort itself out.

In the mean time, to calm my worrying, can you tell me how big around a one year old is?

It seems robot knitting is ALL the rage these days!  I got the Knitpicks catalogue in the mail today and saw this on the back cover.

I’m a bit tempted to make something similar….but have to focus on robot hats first.

I have to say that I am very impressed with this month’s catalogue.  There is such variation.  Gorgeous socks…I particularly like the “boyfriend socks” [Ravelink] by Mary Jane Mucklestone found in “The Joy of Sox”

image from Ravelry.com

There are great kilt socks in kit form, and a set of Japanese inspired socks and leggings textured with lace and cables from “Knitted Socks East and West” by Judy Summer.

There are some whimsical purses on a fruit and veggie theme that incorporate beaded knitting, stranded colourwork, and a whole lot of fun.  I’m not sure if I could pull off using one of these, but I bet they would be a hit among some hip teenagers somewhere!

What really got me was the next section of Amigurumi Knits based on the book by Hansi Singh [Ravelink]

Knitted insects (ants, praying mantis, spiders) hermit crabs and even a jackalope!  Check them out if you have an urge to knit something unconventional.

image from Ravelry.com

image from Ravelry.com

And….for those of you with little ones to knit for, the Barnyard Buddies kits look adorable!  It wouldn’t be a far stretch to adapt other bonnet and shorties/longies patterns to create more animals for your baby.

There’s a cute piggy pattern with a curlicue tail…so adorable!

Good job Knitpicks on the great package of inspiration.  Usually I get upset by paper catalogues in my mailbox, but the one this month is not a disappointment!

Meet little Laila, daughter of friends of mine.  At 2.5 weeks old she’s sporting her very own pair of Olympic Mittens, and the matching ensemble I knit over the last few weeks.  She’s such a cute girl, making all sorts of faces and noises as she gets used to the big bright world.

I hope everyone in Ontario has a Happy Family Day weekend!!  I know I’ll enjoy an extra day to relax, and catch up on my sleep (and knitting).

‘Tis the season for babies it seems.  My cousin and his wife just welcomed baby Charlotte, a little early, but all are doing well.  I dove into the stash and found some sweet baby yarn, from back in the day when baby yarn was thinner than sock yarn!

I knit this hat during the super bowl.  The pattern is based on helloyarn’s top down bonnet, but I had to add more stitches and improvise a bit to deal with the super thin yarn.  I based the sizing on the bonnet I knit for Laila earlier this week.  There’s enough yarn left for a matching pair of booties, but I’m still searching for the perfect pattern.