This shawl was made for my husband’s daughter’s first baby. The pattern was adapted from a blanket pattern which used aran wool. I wanted a soft baby shawl so the new baby can be wrapped up and cuddled on his first outings.

I am very happy with the way this shawl came out. I would definitely make this again as the pattern was quite quick to “read” which meant less focus was required.

UPDATED May 2013
Someone came across my blog by searching on a question “do people still use baby shawls these days?”
I just wanted to say that my step daughter wasn’t really sure when I made her this shawl, what she would do with it (first baby).
Now that her baby is 3 weeks old, this shawl is never far from baby. It is used as a blanket on the bassinet, a car seat blanket, a breast feeding cover and a warm cover when he is being cuddled or winded when it is cold.
The shawl is soft enough and light enough to be used for any purpose and is able to “scrunch up” quite small.

Pattern – Free online pattern which is now unavailable. (If you would like a copy of the pattern, leave me a comment. Because it was a freely available online pattern, I don’t think I would be breaching copyright.)
Yarn – Shepherd baby Wool Merino 4 ply
Link to Ravelry project here

These are the little things that I made for Baby Karmen and my friend.

Bulky Baby Blanket (pattern from purlbee.com)

Tiny Flower Pacifier Clip

Little Sister Bloomers

Purple Hedgehog Rattle

Purple booties

A few little baby projects hopped on and off the needles this past week. Sleeveless cardies and vests are my favourite for the littles – I always get a bit paranoid about them being too cold or too hot.

I used some yarn I bought last year when I knitted Kaya’s Caelum jumper for his third birthday. I liked it so much that I bought a few extra colours, thinking I might make another Caelum.
Instead we have a sleeveless Beau and an upsized Pebble Vest and everyone is happy. With that box ticked, I think I might just cast on something for myself…!
If only that last bit of Winsor yarn wasn’t sitting here staring at me. I have some blue, a few bits of green and a smidgen of red.. Might it be enough for a little hat?

I just picked up Lone Wolf from the library. I usually like Jodi Picoult’s heart wrenching books – I’ll keep you posted how I get on with this one!

So, the laundry is caught up and chicken cacciatore is simmering in the crock pot for dinner.  While there’s no shortage of ought-to-do’s around here, I have taken some time to follow my heart regarding knitting projects.

When I stopped off in the sewing room to drop off a few finished projects, I notice a half-skein of Plymouth Encore Colorspun that I had left over from the burp cloth I knitted some weeks ago.  The burp cloth was a spur-of-the-moment, stupid-easy project that I cast on to keep me occupied at a party, then took to various doctor and orthodontist appointments.  It fulfilled that purpose quite well, but I decided to not make a second one to use up the rest of that skein.  What should I do with the remaining one-and-a-half skeins?

Delighted to have some time to pursue this train of thought, I went through my knitting notebook and Ravelry favorites.  I decided on another baby kimono sweater and a feather-and-fan baby hat.  Together with the burp cloth, these will make a great baby gift for my brother and his wife.  Their baby is due in the middle of a Sacramento summer, so I think I’ll make the sweater and hat sized to fit the baby this coming winter, when I know  they’ll be going to the family cabin up in the mountains.

I printed out copies of the patterns, and gathered needles and yarn.  I usually don’t keep more than four projects going at once, and this is going to make the fifth.  So, I’m fresh out of Tom Bihn stuff sacks.  I put the yarn and sundries in a back-up project bag, and will do a swatch later today.

Next, I was off to take photos of the burp cloth and Shale Baby Blanket.  I went ahead and blocked the burp cloth, just so it’s tidy for gift-giving, and wove in the ends.

I also blocked the baby blanket this weekend, following Jared Flood’s suggestion that a stint on blocking wires would even out the edges nicely.  It did.  Now it’s ready for my colleague’s baby.

I often take advantage of weekends and days off to work myself through problematic or challenging parts of knitting projects.  These are areas of difficulty that, objectively, may not be that bad, but which I don’t want to have to puzzle out on a weeknight when I’m pressed for time and patience.  Today, I pulled out the Charoite Mittens pattern for just that reason.  I’ve gotten to the point where I need to do the gussets.  The chart is a bit hard to read at night — grey and white squares just don’t offer enough contrast for these middle-aged eyes.  So, I sat and colored in the grey squares with a colored pencil.  Now that the chart is easier to see, I’m more likely to work on it during the week.

This weekend, I also started the armhole shaping on the Diamonds and Rings Aran front.  While I still have a ways to go, getting to the armhole is like a turning point for me.  Not too much longer, and I’ll be down to working on the sleeves.

Well, I’m off to swatch the kimono sweater.

Full disclosure, I have no idea how many leaves were eaten during the 30 minutes of picture taking.

Patterns will be available in a few weeks!

Recently, I cast off the Rosebud Shawl and the Shale Baby Blanket.  I’d finished a scarf some weeks ago.  That left me with the Diamonds and Rings Aran, only.  Now, I needed to show the Aran some love.  I’d neglected it in favor of finishing the blanket and the shawl.  I thought that I could force myself to make some progress on it by not casting on anything else for at least a week.  A week isn’t too much to ask, is it?

Apparently, so.  I did make some progress on the Aran for one night.  But while I was knitting on it, I was thinking hard about my next projects.  I’m usually a four-project knitter.  Having about four projects going is about right for me.  Not too boring, not too overwhelming.  They usually break down to having a cabled thing, a colorwork thing, a lace thing, and a stupid-easy thing.  There’s plenty of variance in there, but that breakdown’s about right.

Going from four projects to one was tough — tougher than I expected.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been down to just one project.  One project means that I can’t pick and choose what to work on, depending on my mood or the circumstances.  One project is kind of a knitting ultimatum — take it or leave it and do something else.

So, there I was, Friday afternoon, totally flattened after the workweek.  I didn’t have the wherewithal to knit.  I was in my sewing room, getting geared up (I thought) for more fleece hats, when I found myself peering at my stash.  There was a lovely hank of Sweet Georgia Yarn’s Merino Silk Lace, in Coastal, waiting to be wound up into a ball.  Instead of sewing fleece hats, like a responsible person, I set up the swift, grabbed my nostepinne, and began the calming, meditative process of winding a ball.  This beautiful blue-green yarn will be a shawl.  I haven’t cast it on yet because I’m now working on another baby blanket.

While I was contemplating the lace yarn, I became reaquainted with some KnitPicks Cotlin in Swan.  I have another baby I need to knit for, this one to be born in the summer in a hot climate.  How about a lightweight baby blanket for this little person?

And then, there was some worsted weight yarn that I’d bought to make a hat, that would be perfect for some two-color mittens with thumb gussets that I wanted to experiment with.  How about that?

Before I knew it, I’d put the blue and white yarn and some DPNs in a project bag to be turned into mittens.  I’d wound up the laceweight for a shawl and dug out some needles for that, settling them into their own project bag.

Then, I set about starting the baby blanket.  I reasoned that I could 1) get moving on this baby knitting 2) have a stupid-easy project going to work on at the orthodontist’s office and for other such opportunities, and 3) help clean out my stash, all at one whack.  I chose Pine Forest Baby Blanket and did some quick calculations.  I had just over 1100 yards.  Should be plenty to do a 32 X 40 blanket, I figured.  I determined the correct amount of repeats and got going.

In short order, I had the beginnings of a blanket.  I had just about finished the first skein when I stopped to consider how things were going.  One skein down, four inches knit.  Eight skeins to go.  That’s a 36-inch blanket.  Hmm.  32 X 36 is a bit squarish for me.  I prefer a ratio that’s closer to 0.8.  I debated.  Why not just make a squarish blanket?  No one but me would know that what I’d really intended was more rectangular.

After more thought, I decided to just frog the thing and start over.  I tried to frog it quickly, so I wouldn’t contemplate for too long the several hours of work I’d already invested in it.  Instead, I tried to think about how the blanket was now going to have the proportions that I like.  After that false start, I re-cast on the blanket.  It’s going to be narrower, as it will lacke two repeats I’d originally intended, but it will be nice and rectangular.

As for the mittens and the shawl, I’ll have to hold off on those for right now.  I managed to spend this entire long weekend doing things other than sewing hats.  For the next two weekends, I simply have to sew.  At least I know that these next projects will be queued up and ready to go when the hats are done.

A red duffle coat for baby Baby J. I imagine this little number worn with either train conductor pin stripe pants, or over a polka dot dress and leggings. No?

I made the 9 month size I believe, hoping it will fit next fall/winter/spring sometime. It seems a little large, but I’ve learned it’s much better to make something a little big, and than too small. Although I do feel the need to knit up a few tiny spring sweater that baby can wear right away.

The whole “waiting to find out the gender” thing hasn’t really squelched my knitting ideas, in fact I think it’s made me knit more, but it has certainly helped restrain me at the Baby Gap. Perfect situation in my opinion!

For those interested, it’s the Baby Duffle Coat from the book Essential Baby by Debbie Bliss. A great pattern I would totally make again! I raveled it here.

I have a friend who is pregnant and expecting a little boy this winter.  She asked me if I would knit some baby hats in what she said “masculine colors”.  So I went out shopping and picked up some Paton’s Canadiana, which is 100% acrylic, very soft, very springy, and not at all like other cheaper squeaky acrylic yarns.  I found a deep chocolate brown, a lovely taupey tan, and a denim blue.  I had some ideas in my head for some hats and after working on them, I thought I would actually take the time to write down what I did (gasp!) and offer up the patterns.

It’s been a while since I posted a pattern.  So I am long overdue.

The size of these hats is 0-3 months.
For all of these hats, I used a size 7 long circular needle and used the Magic Loop method.  You can use double pointed needles or one or two short circulars if that’s your thing.  I prefer the Magic Loop method so that’s what I did. The yarn I used is Patons Canadiana which is worsted weight. The colors I chose were Timber (dark brown), Toasty Grey (taupe) and Dark Water Blue. I bought one skein of each color and there are 205 yards in each skein.
Gauge: 10.5 stitches/2 inches (stockinette stitch in the round)
13 rows/2 inches

Hat #1:  Plain Beanie with Ribbed Brim

Cast on 64 stitches and join to knit in the round (again, using the tools you prefer for knitting in the round).  Knit 2×2 ribbing (K2, P2) until the brim measures 1 1/2 inches long.  Switch to stockinette stitch (knitting all stitches) until the piece is about 6 inches from the edge of the brim.  This will allow the brim to be folded up.  If you do not want to fold up the brim, you can knit in stockinette stitch until the piece is 3 1/2 inches long.

Decrease section:

Once the piece is to the desired length, start decreasing.
(K6, K2tog) until end of round.
Knit all st.
(K5, K2tog) until end of round.
Knit all st.
(K4, K2tog) until end of round.
Knit all st.
(K3, K2tog) until end of round.
Knit all st.
(K2, K2tog) until end of round.
(K1, K2tog) until end of round.
K2tog until end of round. 8 stitches left.
Cut yarn and using a tapestry needle, draw yarn through all remaining stitches and secure. Weave in ends.

Hat #2: Striped Beanie with Curled Brim and Topknot

You will need two colors for this pattern. Choose a main color (MC) and a contrasting color (CC). Cast on 64 stitches in MC and join to knit in the round (again, using the tools you prefer for knitting in the round). Knit in stockinette stitch until the edge is curled enough for what you want. I knit 11 rows on the hat in the picture. You will want it to curl, yet still be able to see some of the stockinette stitch.
Switch to CC, and knit 5 rows.
Switch to MC, and knit 5 rows.
Switch to CC, and knit 5 rows.
Switch to MC, and knit 3 rows.
Then start the decrease section:
Using MC, (K6, K2tog) until end of round.
Knit 1 round in MC.

Switch to CC for the next 5 rounds.
(K5, K2tog) until end of round.
Knit all st.
(K4, K2tog) until end of round.
Knit all st.
(K3, K2tog) until end of round.

Switch to MC for the rest of the hat. Continue to decrease:
Knit one round.
(K2, K2tog) until end of round.
(K1, K2tog) until end of round.
K2tog until end – 8 stitches remaining.
K2tog until end – 4 stitches remaining.

Using a double pointed needle, slide all 4 stitches on to one double pointed needle and work an I-cord until it is long enough to be tied in a knot. I knit mine to 3 1/2 inches.
Bind off and weave in ends. You will need to take some extra time to weave in ends inside the hat if you did not carry your yarn colors all the way through the color changes.

Hat #3: Striped Beanie with Garter Ridge Contrast

You will need three colors for this hat: A Main Color (MC), about the same amount for the first Contrasting Color (CC1) and a small amount for the second Contrasting Color (CC2). This would be a good stash-busting project.

Cast on 64 stitches in MC and join to knit in the round (again, using the tools you prefer for knitting in the round). Work in 2×2 ribbing (K2, P2) until the piece is 1 inch long.
Change to CC2: K 1 row, then P the next row. This makes a garter stitch ridge. I will refer to these two rows in CC2 as the garter stitch ridge throughout the rest of this pattern.
Change to CC1. Knit 4 rows.
Change to CC2. Knit a garter stitch ridge.
Change to MC. Knit 4 rows.
Change to CC2. Knit a garter stitch ridge.
Change to CC1. Knit 4 rows.
Change to CC2. Knit a garter stitch ridge.
Change to MC. Knit 2 rows only.

Begin Decrease Rounds:
In MC, work the following rounds:
(K6, K2tog) to end of round.
Knit 1 row.
Change to CC2 for garter ridge with decrease:
(K5, K2tog) to end of round.
Purl 1 row.
Change to CC1:
(K4, K2tog) to end of round.
Knit 1 row.
(K3, K2tog) to end of round.
Knit 1 row.
Change to CC2:
(K2, K2tog) to end of round.
Purl 1 row.
Change to MC:
(K1, K2tog) to end of round.
K2tog around – 8 stitches left.
K2tog around – 4 stitches left.

If you wish, put all stitches on 1 double pointed needle and knit 4 rows of I-cord for decorative finish. If you want to omit this part, you can cut yarn at 8 stitches and draw end of yarn through the 8 stitches with a tapestry needle and secure. Then leave plain, or add pom pom or tassel.

If you don’t know how to knit an I-cord, there is a good video here. (Please take the time to look around and support this site!)

I began thinking of a gift for Baby No. 2 straightaway.  I thought back to when I was expecting my second child.  Gifts are fewer, particularly when that second kid is the same gender as the first.  Sure, there are the diaper showers and the like, but isn’t it nice to recognize that the later-born kids are important, too?  Even if you know there are plenty of hand-me-downs to be had?  One of the few special gifts I received for my second child was a handknit lace baby blanket in off-white mercerized cotton.

Now, when I say “lace,” it wasn’t crazy-intricate, but it was a nice openwork pattern that didn’t look too fussy to use everyday, nor too plain.  The mercerized cotton had a lovely sheen and a nice heft.  It was a substantial blanket with a certain calming weight to it.  Because it was cotton, it breathed better than synthetic or synthetic blends.  It was the perfect weight to use for a baby born in late spring, and was well-nigh indestructible.   The color, off-white, was practical, too.

For those reasons, the blanket was in near-constant use for several years.  It was my go-to nursing blanket.  When it wasn’t being used in our innumerable nursing sessions, it was either folded up on the arm of the glider rocker, or covering my son in his crib.  It accompanied us on our family travels.  Later, when he weaned, it was a three-season crib blanket.  Only when he grew too tall to be covered by it did we ever put it away.

I figured out about how much yardage I’d need and stopped by my LYS to check out their mercerized cotton.  I found what I needed in off-white, and then set about deciding on a pattern.  I was very happy with Jared Flood’s Shale Baby Blanket.  The pattern is nicely laid out and easy to follow.  It’s easy enough to knit while socializing without being boring.

I’ve finished the blanket, which now awaits blocking.  Jared suggests using blocking wires to perfect the edges, and that’s just what I’ll do.  Blocking is going to have to wait, however, until I finish this year’s fleece hats for the Boy Scout Klondike campout next month.  When the blanket is blocked, I’ll post more photos.  Yarn: Mouzakis Butterfly Super 10.  Pattern: Shale Baby Blanket, available here.

1.         I’ve had a wonderful Christmas break, and I hope your holiday season has been just as terrific.  I’ve scooted off the friends and relations to whence they came, and am now turning my attention to the New Year’s celebrations and to returning to my regularly scheduled life.

2.         No matter how hectic the holiday season becomes, I always find time for knitting.  I’ve made good progress on my various projects.  I finished the back of the Diamonds and Rings Aran, blocked it, and started on the front.

3.         I turned the third and final corner on the lace edging of the Rosebud Shawl.  It’s not a particularly difficult project, although it is an exercise in perseverance.   I will have this complete by spring.

4.         Spring comes late to the Rockies, so I don’t feel particularly pressured.

5.         I do feel pressured by my deadline knitting, the Shale Baby Blanket.  The baby in question isn’t due until April, but I’d still like to have this done sooner, rather than later.  I have about 10 more knitter-hours to go.

6.         My reward for finishing the baby blanket will be to start a new pair of mittens.

7.         I couldn’t find a mitten pattern that I liked, so I’m designing my own.

8.         The mittens will be stranded colorwork, which requires some charting.

9.         I decided that charting ought to be done with charting software, so I bought Knit Foundry’s Knit Visualizer for the Mac.  So far, Knit Visualizer has been fun and easy to use.

10.       I’m going to do some stranded colorwork mittens to practice my technique before tackling another big project — a Fair Isle sweater.

11.       A Fair Isle sweater project on top of the two Arans I’ve already promised, another baby blanket for a baby due in June, and various and sundry other projects that have been planned out for months?  Gee, why not?

Taking knitting to a party would’ve made more sense if there were going to be other knitters (or any type of needlecrafters) there, I think.  But no, I was going to a party of non-knitter, non-maker types.  What was I thinking?

The issue is that I’m such a profound introvert that parties wear me out in a short time.  Even parties, such as this one, where I know and like everyone in attendance.  Even parties, such as this one, where there are fun things to do, like pool, table tennis, and fooseball, that most normal people like to do, or at least like to watch.

Not me.  I’m lousy at pool, table tennis, fooseball, and most small talk, and I don’t really want to put forth the time and effort to improve.  None of these hold my attention for long, and I find myself restless, bored, and craving a comfortable, quiet corner in which to set up knitting.

I take knitting to various social events, but they are usually family events where I am trapped expected to stay for fairly lengthy periods of time, all the while remaining in reasonably good humor.  My family of non-knitters supports my knitting, so knitting at family gatherings is never an issue.  But I generally don’t take knitting to other parties.

When I take knitting to social events, I sometimes have to fight the perception that I’m distracted or bored.  Nothing could be further from the truth — knitting keeps me from being  bored and restless.  It keeps me from wanting to escape soon after arrival.  Knitting while talking slows down both processes, so that I really listen to the other people talking and respond thoughtfully.   It also provides a topic of conversation when nothing else seems to click.  Knitting makes me a better conversationalist and better company.

This particular party is an annual event with friends, which I look forward to, but from which I also would like to escape right after the white elephant gift exchange.  By that point, I’ve had enough socializing and would like to curl up with some knitting.  While I’ve had enough of small talk early in the evening, I know the rest of my family is going strong, so why not bring some knitting to do after the main festivities are over?

I ran downstairs to the sewing room and pulled out a long-neglected skein of Plymouth Encore Colorspun, leftover from a baby afghan I knit years ago.  There’s a veritable baby boom going on among some of my friends and relatives, so perhaps a simple burp cloth was in order.  I decided on Plain & Simple Burp Cloths as a pattern, grabbed some needles, and put the yarn and needles in my bag.  I was set.

As it turned out, I didn’t knit at the party — it just seemed awkward.  Even more awkward than not knitting, which is saying something.  There was no good place to sit near the pool table.  There were no good places to sit near the table tennis or fooseball tables, either.  I’d have to go alone to the uninhabited (but comfortable) family room, and then people might wonder why I was being antisocial.  Instead of knitting, I roamed between pool table and kitchen, engaging in small talk and waiting until my family could be convinced to leave.  Next year?  I may take some knitting, and if I can’t find a good place to knit and be with other people, I may escape right after the gift exchange.

While I didn’t get to knit at that party, there’s another party tonight that we’ll be heading to shortly.  I started the burp cloth and I’m taking it along just in case I have a good opportunity to knit.  You just never know.

Isn’t he just so handsome!?!? Little Colin has no shortage of hand-crafts. My grandma made a few sweaters (for him and his daddy),  my aunt made a gorgeous quilt and my other aunt crocheted a hat and booties. As you’ve  probably guessed, this family of crafters gets a little excited when new editions of the family come on the scene…

Stay tuned….

Yes, me.  Overworked, overscheduled me, who has assiduously avoided any and all unnecessary obligations for the six months that I’ve been pinch-hitting for my boss and doing two jobs at once, now has deadline knitting.  All for good causes and good reasons, though.

The first project on deadline was the Yarn Harlot’s One-Row Scarf that I started when I went to a football game on Parents Weekend and needed something super-easy to do while we watched the game.  In the weeks after that good start to the scarf, I took the project to various appointments and also worked on it on those evenings when work left me so exhausted that a simple project was all I could manage.  Lesson learned — I need to keep a very simple project going for times like those.

The scarf became a deadline project when a colleague (who is also a knitter) asked me if I had a handknit item I could donate to the office that would be one of several rewards available to people who donated to our annual charity drive.  With the scarf already mostly done, I was happy to agree.  I rushed and finished the scarf before I left for Thanksgiving vacation.

The other deadline knitting is a result of a baby boom among some friends and relatives.  In the span of a week, I found out about three expected babies.  One friend and his wife are expecting their second child in April.  I knitted their first baby a hooded baby blanket, which they used until he grew too large for it and told me many times how much they all loved it.  That gives them an A+ in my book of knitted gift receivers, so they get top billing for more baby handknits.

I happened to have an off-Friday right after he announced the happy news, so I planned an excursion to my LYS and picked up some Butterfly mercerized cotton.  I thought back to the days when my younger son was born, and my aunt knitted him an openwork blanket from mercerized cotton in a practical off-white color.  I thought a similar blanket would make a nice gift.  With a little research, I decided on Jared Flood’s Shale Baby Blanket, and cast on.

My business trip was fast approaching.  I had planned to take the Rosebud Shawl and crank through the third edging as best I could, but I decided to take the baby blanket instead.  I’ve made a huge amount of progress on this simple but elegant pattern.  It’s an easy four-row repeat, and my stilleto-tipped Signature Needle Arts needles handle the SSSSKs and K4togs with no problems.  This will be a good project to work on over the holidays, when visiting with relatives while knitting demands uncomplicated projects.

I haven’t decided about handknits for the other two babies yet — I’ll wait until this blanket is finished.

I’m making some progress on my other, non-deadline knitting.  I’m trying to do a repeat on the Rosebud Shawl edging about every night, and I can see that the end of the third side is coming up, although not as quickly as I’d like.   I’ve got the Diamonds and Rings Aran cast on, and thanks to a marathon knitting session on Thanksgiving afternoon, I’ve almost gotten two repeats done on the back.

The weeks from about Halloween to Candlemas (that’s February 1, and the halfway point between Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere) provide me with the most opportunities for knitting.  The wintry weather and long nights are always a good excuse to sit and knit warm things.  Even with my added work responsibilities, I’ve still managed to ramp up my knitting over the past few weeks.  My boss will be back after the New Year, which will free up more time for me to knit (and blog) more.  And now that I’m back from my travels, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to post more often than I have in recent months.

My Preciouses!!!

First up – look at the bag at the back. That’s my new knitting bag I bought at Chicken Boots‘s booth. It has an outside pocket big enough for holding a magazine or a pattern, and another outside pocket with elastic that can hold, I don’t know, a split of Champagne? I like the sound of that! Inside, it is lined with a coordinating fabric, and a second coordinating fabric divides off about 1/3 of the space – perfect for a bottle of water – or, again, a bottle of wine. No judgement! There is also a clear, plastic lined pocket on the inside, perhaps where I’ll keep my needle pouch. Or a bib, in case I begin to drool. The print is called “Garden” and there are lots of coordinating needles cases and pattern holders, and some pretty coordinating stitch markers from Starlight Knitting. Me love it.

Teresa Ruch laceweight tencel

Next up: Oh, Teresa, Teresa, Teresa Ruch. This is the fourth or fifth skein of her fanta-licious tencel laceweight yarn I have bought since February. This one is a gorgeous combination of emerald and sapphire, 520 yards. I’ve already finished one Fickle Knitter shawl in one of her really deep pinks, and I have a second FK shawl – Nebulous – on the needles and almost ready to come off (more on that in another post) in a hot pink. I think there is a blood red one in my stash, and I gave a turquoise one as a present. As much as I love the color of this yarn – you can fall right into it in the grey days of winter – I also love the way my metal knitting needles click over the fiber. Bonnie was saying she was surprised at the pleasure of this yarn’s hand feel because her previous experience with tencel was that it felt like squeaky plastic. Not this baby!

Green grow the yarns!

What’s next? I was really absorbed by the colors in Knitted Wit‘s booth – but then she’s always on my list of must-stops. I went in thinking I’d buy a second skein of some pewter colored “Shine” I had, but then I saw the above. It is another skein of “Shine,” a 50-50 blend of superwash wool and tencel, 410 yards of fingering weight yarn. I could not resist the color – a kind of spring, new-grass green. Don’t know exactly what I will do with it – probably something baby baby baby because that’s all I have on the brain these days. But it could also be a great pair of socks or a great scarf or triangle. Stay tuned . . . .

For a Baby Wrap Kimono

Okay, next up is what I bought at Tactile Fiber Arts. I need to make my baby Gigi a Churchmouse Yarns Baby Wrap Sweater like I made for babies Gus and Alton, but the fun here is that I get to use more girlie colors. Here they are! I will alternate vertical garter ridges and then use the light green to make a ruffle all around. I have made 2 of these sweaters, both with the i-cord option, not the ruffle, so I am looking forward to that. Both are sport-weight superwash wool, the variegated colorway, called “Hope” has 225 yards and the green colorway, called “Kelp” has 256 yards. Yippee Skippee!

Luminous in Be Mine

Now, for something I’m very excited about – a skein of Sincere Sheep‘s “Luminous” in colorway “Be Mine.” The name of this yarn, with its 15% tussah silk and 85% polwarth wool should be familiar to readers of this blog because last week I started Ravelry‘s free Seamless Yoked Baby Cardigan with a 330-yard skein of it in a blue color and I was super excited by the results – incredibly sensuous hand feel, super-sharp stitch definition and somehow, an exciting range of soothing blues contained with in a single blue. I don’t know how she does it, but I love that she does. This pinkest of pinkie pink skeins will be a second version of that sweater as I FINISHED THE BLUE ONE LAST NIGHT:

Seamless Yoked Baby Cardigan

The buttons – little floral shell ones – came from Knitterly in Petaluma, where Shelli always seems to have a basket of well-priced, clean vintage buttons near the register. I bought a hank of 12, so have enough left for another sweater.

Detail. The vintage buttons and the stonewashed quality of the yarn give this a very retro feel

And just because she inspires me so much, here’s your gratuitous Gigi picture . . .

Who stole Auntie Kimberly’s glasses?

The Yoke

And one of the main reasons I am lovin’ it is the yarn I pulled from my stash, Sincere Sheep‘s “Luminous” in colorway “St. Bart.” Who does not love wool and silk??? What a great hand feel and the color is like a morning Caribbean sky.

Detail

It’s for my baby girl Gigi, the guest, most beautifulest baby what ever lived!!!

Gigi!

The pattern is called “Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater” and is a free Ravelry pattern designed by Carole Barenys. Go check it out.

On a seemingly unrelated note, my boss is having a baby. She and her husband have had a really long road to get to this point, and everyone who knows them is incredibly happy and expectant for their new little person. They’ve decided to not find out the gender of the baby before it’s born, which, as you all probably know, offers something of a conundrum as far as baby knitting goes. I, however, love knitted baby things with a passion completely beyond anything rational or reasonable, so I knew what I had to do. Armed with my newfound love of cabled owls, I discovered several patterns (I’m not even going to tell you how many) for baby items with owls. This resulted in a veritable orgy of owl knitting, in a lovely cream wool, which will work equally well for a boy baby or a girl baby. I’m not quite finished with the entire set, but just to give you a little taste of what’s to come, I’ll end the entry with a picture.

Aren’t they just enchanting?

I’m now going to go put owls on everything in sight.