Baby Surprise

I said last week that I thought I was all caught up on recently finished projects, but there is one more to share.

This was my first time knitting Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket. I got her Knitting Workshop book with a birthday present gift certificate at Nautical Yarn. This is a great little store, and it's the LYS where we go on summer vacation. It's a great book, and this is a very clever bit of knitting. I neglected to take a picture of the piece before I seamed it. I'll have to remember to do that next time, because there will definitely be a next time.

I made the sweater with Reynolds Wash Day Wool in brown and periwinkle (extra ball from my Lil One's sweater) and some dark blue and bright blue Dalegarn Baby Ull from the stash . The darker blue is the same I used for one of the little hats back in April. I made up the stripes as I went along. I think they turned out well, but now with more knowledge of how the knitting actually relates to the finished project I'll be able to place stripes a bit better. Also, I'm going to try to find a way to stripe it so there will be fewer ends to weave in!

I made this for our newest nephew, HH. Like the jacket, he is surprising. First because when he arrived in April it was three months early and second because the ultrasound had said that we were going to get a niece. I made him a couple of hats earlier this year. He hasn't had an easy time, but he is home now and doing well. I finished this in time for the baby shower in early August. It was a new experience to attend a baby shower where we knew specifics about what the baby likes and dislikes.

Now I think I'm all caught up on finished objects. No, wait, I finished something else just today!

Yarn Along

Back to participating in Ginny's Yarn Along this week.

"What to Expect the First Year" is another of the books I've been reading bit by bit over the last year. Not my favorite baby info book, but very helpful. I didn't really read "What to Expect When You're Expecting" very much, but I did read this one thoroughly.

These socks have been my traveling socks since January, and I just finished them on Labor Day weekend. They've ridden around with me, mostly in the diaper bag, growing by a round here, an inch there. Now, with hardly any concentrated effort, I have a new pair of socks for me! The pattern is the Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula by Amy Swenson from the Summer 2006 edition of Knitty. I did a 2x2 ribbing for the entire leg, switching to a 1x1 ribbing for a one-inch cuff. I believe I have enough left to make a hat for my Lil One.

I think now I'm all caught up on finished objects. Good thing I cast on something new at Knit Night this week!

2011 Washcloths - August Edition

Knitted in the second-to-last week of August (so early!) was a washcloth in Bee Stitch, a simple pattern using "knit one below." This pattern is the first one in a Leisure Arts booklet called "Kitchen Bright Dishcloths." This pattern plays nicely with variegated yarn, where most of the ten patterns in this booklet are better done with solids. The yarn used was Sugar n' Cream in the Buttercream colorway.

This month I joined the NFL Football Knitting sub-group of the Knitters' Brewing Company Ravelry group. The price of admission for that is one dishcloth -- I'll need to send a cloth to the person who wins week 7. I'm not sure yet if I'll make a special washcloth for that, or use one of the ones I've already made this year. I recently started listening to their Yarn on Tap podcast, and joined on a whim at the last minute. Hopefully this way I'll have some more people to talk with about football, since no one in my immediate family is remotely interested.

One year already

I didn't join in the yarn along yesterday, because there's something else I wanted to blog about.

Yesterday was my baby's first birthday. I haven't done tons of knitting for my Lil One yet; most of my knitting still finds its way to other people's homes. I already blogged the blanket that I finished last fall, and there were the leg warmers made from blanket left-overs. However, this spring I did make a sweater for the babycakes.

(The pieces took a bath in the sink, rather like their owner)

It's a Baby Bolero by Debbie Bliss, made out of Reynolds Wash Day Wool in periwinkle. I made the 9-12 month size, thinking it could be used as a spring and fall sweater, which is working out so far.

I absolutely love the Reynolds Wash Day Wool, and am so sad that it is going away. This has been my go-to yarn for baby projects for a while now. I stocked up on it at my LYS at their recent clearance sale.

The pattern is in a book too, but I got it from the magazine you can see in this picture. There's another cute toddler sweater that I'm planning to make, too. It's a well-written pattern, and I like the construction and the shape of it.

Here's the Lil One trying it on after the shawl collar was done, but before the sleeves were attached.

As you can see in previous pictures, I blocked the pieces before putting it together, but have yet to give it a good blocking after adding the edging/collar. I really like it, but it has a strong tendency to curl and could benefit from serious blocking.

It got cool enough on Labor Day that she got to wear it for her birthday party, too.

So that's the knitting-related baby news. Next in the queue for her is a cotton candy dress like the ones I made for her cousins two years ago. But there will be a few other things before we get to that.

Yarn Along

This week I started the blanket I'll be giving Nephew O for his first birthday. This is the same pattern I've for used both previous nephews on this branch of the family, just a new color. It's the "Tell Me a Story" Blanket from a Leisure Arts booklet called "Beautiful Baby." Previous blankets were green and cream and blue and cream. Now it's orange and cream. It took a bit of looking, but I think I've found an orange that doesn't make make me think of a creamsicle. If I make one section of this blanket every day until Nephew O's birthday, it should be on time.

The book is one I've been reading bit by bit over the last year. Your Baby's First Year Week by Week, by Glade B. Curtis, M.D., M.P.H. and Judith Schuler, M.S., was sent to me for free by my health care company after the first pregnancy-related claim was made. It's not my favorite baby info book, but it has contributed some good ideas and made itself useful. So hard to believe we're already in the last week!

So far so good, joining in on Ginny's Yarn Along!

2011 Washcloths - May, June & July Editions

I've been very successful so far at sticking with my goal of knitting one washcloth each month, if not so successful in documenting these projects.

May:

Coming in just under the wire in the last few days of May, a corner-to-corner washcloth done in stripes of stockinette and reverse stockinette. The pattern for this came off the back of the ball band.

June:

I actually made two washcloths this month, while on vacation at Lake Michigan. I left them there as gifts for the cottage's owners. One was a basketweave pattern, and the other a trinity stitch. The first pattern was pulled out of my head, and the second was made with the help of a stitch-pattern-a-day calendar I got for my birthday. Sorry for the low-quality picture. I almost forgot to take one before we left.

July:

Once again remembering to make a washcloth in the nick of time, I fell back to the good old Mason-Dixon Knitting ballband dishcloth. I ended up making two in the last three days of July, using up the bits and pieces of yarn remaining from previous washcloths.

I seem to have been all about the green washcloths so far this year. I think that will change for the August edition.

Yarn Along

I have almost finished the first Christmas stocking for this year. It's seamed and the ends are woven in, I only need to duplicate stitch the name. Three more stockings to make this year: My step-sister requested three for the grandparents who are at their house every year, and one for the new nephew.

I'm reading The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution by Keith Devlin. Turns out that Leonardo Pisano (Fibonacci) popularized the use of Hindo-Arabic numerals in Europe. It's a very interesting book, and is my current nursing reading.

So, I've been away from the blog for awhile, but I've still been knitting. I'm going to try to Yarn Along with Ginny every week to help me get back in the blogging habit.