I love the look of the new Bernat Ping Pong yarn and want to make a sweater for my daughter with it. I was thinking a zippered hoodie, but I couldn't find a (free) pattern I liked online. I came across this Pullover Hoodie pattern that looks promising though. It's done with Lion Brand Polarspun, which is very close in weight and guage to Ping Pong. I think I might go for this one, less math to adjust the pattern to guage, less seaming since there are less pieces (I will skip the front pocket because I think it looks kind of silly) and the look seems right. I'm leery of a pullover for a baby, but she's close to sitting now so it should be ok to get on and off.

I forgot to mention, I managed to teach my cousin the basics of knitting while visiting up north:
She's 7 and took to it very well. I'm hoping to send her a kids knitting book for christmas, hopefully she will keep at it!

I'm back home, and accomplished much knitting while I was away. I finished up the two blossom hats, which were well received, another hat for another cousin (one of the flat ones with ribbon yarn) while I was there, and am down to the grafting of the toe on a sock made with some Kroy in the Paintbrush colourway. (thanks for the yarn Mar)

I also checked out a couple yarn shops in the northern towns. One in Burns Lake annoyed me - no prices on anything! I am a very price conscious shopper so it bugged me a lot to not know any prices. I'm not going to ask about every single item!

There was a great shop in Smithers, Calico Cat or something like that. They had gorgeous yarns just piled up and spilling out of bins and cupboards. More like a yarn art gallery than anything. I got a set of Casein DPNs to try out and a ball of pretty cotton yarn. Now I'm wishing I'd bought a few so I could make a sweater for Teagan, oh well.

I'm trying to finish up a pair of blossom hats for my cousin, she just had a baby and has an almost 2 year old, so I thought matching hats would be a cute gift. They're quick to knit up, thank goodness. I have one mostly done (needs the embellishment and weaving in) and the second is about 1/3 done. If I don't get it done before we leave on the trip I can knit while mom drives us up there, it is a day and a half of driving so I should be able to finish.

No entries for a couple weeks but hopefully photos to show when I return!

Knitting away on baby stuff still. I'm working on some blossom hats for a cousin I'm visiting next week. I'm also planning my travelling knitting. There will be a good amount of driving on this trip (by my mom, I'll be free to knit) and while visiting lots of people will want to hold Teagan so I will have free hands. I'm thinking of bringing a blossom hat to work on for Teagan and a pair of socks. Socks are great travelling projects: lots to knit on them, easy, mindless knitting for the most part, and very portable.

I found an online version of the Ann Norling style fruit caps, and gave it a try yesterday. This was my first attempt at fair isle, to do the leaves, and I found it hard to keep the tension right. I also made the hat too deep (it's rolled up extra to fit Teagan in the photo) and I didn't add the seeds yet.

Here is a photo of the inside, to show the stranding:


I actually prefer the apple hat I made before. It comes out neater at the top and is easier to make, so I might stick with them for now.

I've managed to misplace my Debbie Bliss Baby Knits book, and I was hoping to look in it for a sweater pattern. I want to do a baby cardigan with a collar, I just finished a raglan one with no collar, this time I want something different. Only problem is all the Debbie Bliss patterns seem to call for thin DK yarn, and I tend to have worsted weight to work with. Ah well, if I can't find the book it doesn't matter, does it?

I finished this apple hat the other day:

I'm pretty happy with it, I think I'll try to make a larger one for Teagan. they are fairly quick to make and I think they'd make a nice unisex baby gift.

Knit Out Time!

There is a knit out at Willow's Beach here in Victoria Next weekend, and I'm looking forward to going. Apparently last year saw a turnout of around 100, so it should be neat seeing that many knitters all together.

GRRRRR! I finished the second sleeve for BOB and while I was trying to sew them on I found the front and back didn't match! One side is 10 rows longer - too much to fudge! I don't know what I am going to do, I'm setting it aside for now.

I started another baby sweater though, in Patons Look At Me in Electric Blue Veregated. It's turning out pretty nice so far. If my sister has a boy, it will be for her.

I'm almost half done the last sleeve for BOB. I have a funny feeling I'm not going to like it once it's put together....the stitches are pretty open and it's VERY drapey. But I'm so close I have to put it together to see how it works out.

I want to make an apple hat for my sister's baby, due next month. Someone emailed me a copy of the pattern, it's simple but really cute. I thought the red wool blend yarn I had would work but it's DK weight so too thin. I'm going to pick up some acrylic tomorrow I think, acrylic will be better since it's heading into summer and wool will be too hot even for a newborn.

I pulled out my unfinished BOB sweater and realized I am just one sleeve short of finishing it. It's got short sleeves so it should work up fast. It's also pretty easy knitting so I can work on it in spurts between baby care. I'd really like to finish this soon so I can wear it!

Still working on baby hats and stuff. I knit up 2 more hats, and a ball that I have yet to felt, so I am ready for another of the babies to arrive!

I've been working on more baby hats. I like hats right now because they are quick and easy, and can be put down and picked up without a lot of fuss. I tend to only have 5 or so minutes of knitting at any given time, so this is important. I haven't started the bigger projects I'm considering because they'd take a while to get started and require longer periods of attention. Maybe I'll do hats in the daytime and save bigger knitting for the evenings when my husband is home.

Here's that baby set, modelled by my daughter: (it's fun to have an actual baby to model baby items on instead of taking photos with items laying flat)

I don't know what I will do about closures though, the pattern had no buttonholes! Still thinking on that one. I made up the hat to match, I like the way it fits, I might make more of the hats by themselves.

I also made a couple hats from a minnowknits book:

The pink one is for Teagan, the blue, which is smaller, will be a baby gift. They're made with that new Patons yarn, Miami. It's a tape yarn, and makes a nice stiff fabric for hats. I wanted a hat that was less wintery than traditional knit baby hats for summer babies.....

I'm still working on a baby set. I did Lorrie Major's Quick Baby Sweater in Red Heart Botton Twist, and am trying to do a matching hat now. I don't know if I will try booties too, I can't think of how to make the little bobbles on socks or booties. I remembered after I finished this sweater what I hate about the pattern - there are no buttonholes! The photo clearly shows buttons, but the buttonholes aren't in the instructions. I haven't decided what to do, I hate ties around babies necks, maybe a toggle button on the outside? Or really small buttons that fit through the stitches?

Next project I think will be a dress for Teagan. I am doing either the tank dress from Easy Baby Knits, or the Gurnsey dress from Cotton Knits for All Seasons. (both Debbie Bliss books) The Gurnsey will be a much more interesting pattern, but the tank will go much quicker.....I'll have to think on it.

Here is the sweater from "Baby Knits for Beginners" (Debbie Bliss):

It was a very simple pattern to put together, just rectangles really. I knit the front and back together since I had 2 balls of yarn and was worried about having enough yarn. WARNING - don't try to knit two pieces together on a circular, I kept knitting the same side over and forgetting the other. once I moved to a straight it was fine. I did the same with the sleeves, and good thing, it was supposed to be long-sleeved, but as you can see I ran out of yarn! I'm happy with how it turned out, it should fit Teagan perfectly in about a month.

Another thing I liked about knitting the front and back, and then the sleeves, together like that was kniting they would be exactly the same length. It bothers me when a pattern says to "knit until front is 8 inches" or something, if your tension isn't perfect or the work gets stretched, you could end up with two pieces that measure the same, but when it's washed or relaxes, they could be different enough to show. It hasn't been a problem for me yet, but I imagine it could be.

Almost finished a simple sweater from "Baby Knits for Beginners" for Teagan. Pgotos when the last seam is done. I'm planning a dress for her next I think, as well as finishing up a bunch of baby gifts.

II also unearthed a 3/4 done BOB I started about a year ago. It was turning out pretty big, so I should finish it while I can wear it, before the pregnancy weight is gone.

I've been reading KnitLit which I borrowed from the library. I'm really enjoying it, it's a nice light read, perfect for a quick relaxation before heading off to sleep.

I got a great surprise in the mail today - 2 skeins of Bernat Satin yarn! Someone on the canadian knitters list saw me mention it in my blog, and had my address because I'd sold her some yarn a while back, so she sent me the leftover skeins she had from a project! How nice is that? I can't wait to find something to make with this, it's a soft pretty green and should be enough for a baby sweater.

Here is the finished hoodie:

It turned out really well, I think. I tried it on Teagan and it barely fits, so I'd rather give it to my sister so it will get more use. I think she'll really like it.

I started a version of the 5 hour baby sweater shown HERE and am already done except for the arms. It really is a fast pattern! I need to get more yarn to finish the arms though, I was using Red Heart Cotton Twist and 100g was not quite enough. I'll probably make a hat and socks with the rest of the yarn, and have a nice set to bring my sister in the hospital, or for one of the many other pregnant gals I know.

My mom think the pattern looks quite girly. I picked sage green to make it unisex, but hope it isn't too girly of a pattern. I don't know if my sister is having a girl or boy.

I just finished the baby sweater I was working on. I don't want to give it away! A bit of history....I bought the yarn before I was even pregnant, intending to make this hooded sweater for our baby down the road. I had made the sweater before and liked how it turned out, and the yarn is really nice. I started the sweater early in the pregnancy, and somehow it got set aside without the sleeves or buttons done. I went to pick it up near the end of the pregnancy, but just didn't get it done. The first one I made came out REALLY small, newborn size, so once our large baby girl was born, I figured this sweater wouldn't be any good for her even if I finished it off. I decided to finish it as a gift for my younger sister, who's due in June. Now that it's finished, it's bigger than I thought, and I love it so much I want to keep it! WAH!

My sister's birthday is today, but I don't know when I will see her, so i MAY have time to knit something else for her - the 5 hour baby sweater perhaps? I feel bad, but the truth is, she's getting all the baby stuff as hand-me-downs once Teagan outgrows it, so she'll end up with the sweater later....

Third blossom hat:

This one is going to a coworker today. The guy replacing me on my maternity leave had a baby girl about 3 weeks before I had Teagan. My girl's head is pretty big, so seeing as it fits her, it should be good for that other gal size-wize. I had to do some math to shrink the pattern....the "small" ended up about a 2 year old size. (I know because I gave the purple one with the white trim to a 2 year old and it fit well) The pattern called for 6 of those flowers around the hat, but I found them fiddly and just did one. I think it looks cuter on the front than the top though.