First Baby Knits

I know it was very quiet on the blog front here, but I did knit, indeed. When I found out I was pregnant back in March I kind of lost my knitting mojo a little bit, but it is nearly back. I started on a crochet blanket long ago, just because I know this will take me until the due date in November. But I finished two cute little jackets and two very cute hats. Of course there is more to come – right now there are two more coats on the needles and I am planning more hats and some booties and mittens and … probably things like wash cloth, burp cloth and other useful little knits.

So here it goes, round one of baby knits

Wee Hoodie.

I love this one, the colors are great and it looks so adorable with the hood. I didn’t care so much about gauge – yeah I know swatching exists – but I think that might be even fitting next winter. The two colors were kind of a necessity because I only had one skein of each color but I really like how it turned out. The Malabrigo is of course soft, soft, soft and since my washer has an awesome hand wash cycle I don’t even worry about messes. The pattern is very nice and straight forward even so I found it a little bit tedious at times – and all those ends to weave in at the end didn’t help.

Little bear has to be the dummy here, there is no baby yet I can actually try it on on.

Here is another one from the back.

Next up: Baby Sophisticate

Another very cute little coat that I love. I used the pattern before (sorry no pics) and I really liked it – I do prefere patterns that are top down and no seams. The yarn is some Acrylic from Hobby Lobby it is really nice and soft and seems very durable. Because it is a sport weight yarn and not the aran the pattern called for I went up a size and I think it turned out perfect. I love the bright color. Not only don’t we know yet the gender so I need something neutral, I also don’t like all so pastely pink and blues – baby needs color. No buttons yet, as with the previous, but I can’t really decide yet.

Mr. Bear really enjoys his new modeling career.

And last but not least: Little Bonnet

Yes I know I said I made two hats, but I didn’t take any pics of the other one yet. But this wee little bonnet is just to adorable. I love bonnets on babies and I hope this one will look as cute as I think it will. The yarn is some amazingly soft cotton/ angora blend – sooo soft. The pattern is from the book “Vintage Knits for Modern Babies” – I really like it there are some very cute patterns in the book. The waffle stitch makes it interesting and gives the hat some nice texture and I like how the decreases come together in the back. And with all those baby knits I actually mastered the kitchener stitch finally. It is only half as hard as I thought and the results are great. Even normal seaming doesn’t seem so bad on some little baby items.

Yeah I know there are some ears in the way, but you get the idea.

No button again, but I need to wait for baby to actually be here so I can see were to put the button.

That’s round one of the baby knits, more to come in the next few month and probably years. I really enjoy knitting those little things, not only are they instand gratification but they are so cute – can’t wait for the Alien to get here.

First Test Knit

So I did my first Test Knit and it was a great thing, let me tell you. A fabulous little sideways knit Cardigan in Malabrigo. I had those five skeins of Purple Malabrigo for a while and originally intended to make a Shalom Cardigan – but after seeing that it is only in one size, that definitely doesn’t fit me I didn’t feel like fiddling with the pattern. But what to do. Thanks to Ravelry I found it. Needlediva was looking for test knitters and I was on it. The cardigan was exactly what I was looking for – short-sleeved, easy and quick to knit. My gauge was a bit off, so I went down a size and it worked out perfect. Especially thanks to the little nifty numbers needlediva provided – just measure your piece and you know if you are on the right track; if not just add another short-row repeat (or take one out). I did modify it a little bit, in the way that I added some waist shaping. Also done as short-rows it incorporates nicely in the pattern. I would adjust the placement a little bit the next time, but all in all it worked better than I thought it would.
I really love this cardi and wore it quiet a bit already. As usual Malabrigo piles a bit but who cares when it is soooo soft.
I am definitely going to make it again – maybe stockinette with just the yoke in garter? – We’ll see. Here are some pretty pics, sorry about the sweat pants, but I didn’t feel like all dressing up for the pics.

So many things happend

Ok it’s time to update. I haven’t done this is a long time, but I was busy and my office is cold …

Anyhow there are lots of new things on the spinning and knitting front. Let’s start with

SPINNING

I love love love my wheel and I have so much fun with it. It is so relaxing after a long day at work and I can just sit down for a few minutes and I feel so much better. I am getting consistent yarn with it. Probably something around a worsted weight after it is plied. I tried to change the ratio to a faster one for thinner yarn, but I have to treadle so hard and the wheel stops all the time that I have given this up for the moment and just spin on the slowest ratio. I need to find someone who can help me with that problem. But after all right now I am very happy with the yarn I am spinning. I joined the Spunky Club from Spunky Ecclectic and I get about 4oz of hand dyed fiber every month. I think this is great, because I can practice and I get to know all the different fiber types. So far I received two shipments and  they are both amazing – I love the colors. I also just bought some bigger quantities – 16oz – to make something else but hats and cowls out of the yarn – I am thinking Vest.

Ok here is some of the Spunky Yarn from November – the name was Istanbul Sunset, but while I spun and plied and knit it strongly reminded me of Strawberries and Cream. I really enjoyed spinning it and I love the hat I made out of it. The hat was intended as a present but I really really liked it so I kept it for myself. It is very squishy and soft and warm – absolutely perfect for the freezing weather we have right now.

The next handspun I used up was a hat as well – I had some nice dark blue roving I made

into a watch cap (ravelry link).

I love the watch cap pattern and it has become my go to pattern for guys hats. Again it was originally intended as a gift, but it looked so good on Ted that he kept it. The color in my opinion is like a stormy sea.

KNITTING

Lot’s happend on the knitting front and there is not enough room and time to write about all of it. But I made many little and some bigger things. The biggest is the Owl Sweater I finished out of Malabrigo Chunky. I really love it. I didn’t add any buttons for eyes because I think it looks good the way it is. Details on my Ravelry.

To save time here are some pics of the finished objects. Some where gifts but most I kept – hey you never can have to many hats and scarves and shawls.

1. Lacy Scarf for Sue; 2. Green Thumb Mittens for me ; 3. Yellow Shawlette for me; 4. Stripes for Marin; 5. Hodded Scarf for me; 5. Zaubersocken for me.

That’s all the recently finished things. Right  now I am working on another Lady Sweater for my mum and I hope I will finish it by February when she comes. I also stocked up on some Malabrigo while in St. Louis and I am planning a pullover or cardigan, not sure yet and a short sleeved cardi or tank or something similar. Any suggestions are welcome.

SEWING

I did sew some too. I made a nice little needle case for all my interchangeable needles – after getting the Addi Clicks for my Birthday. I  don’t have a decent pic but I really like it and it turned out better than expected.

New Toy

Ok I can count myself now officially a spinner. I got a Spinning Wheel this weekend. We extra took a trip to Colorado Springs on Saturday (after all a nearly 5 hour drive) to get me a wheel – ok it didn’t hurt that DH needed airplane parts.

I already figured out in class what I wanted. My original idea for a Ladybug was destroyed by the realization that I cannot handle double treadles. So I got an Ashford Traditional – I worked with this in the class and really liked it. The only thing is I realized I spin left handed for whatever reason and the wheel is a right handed one – but this is really no big deal. I got it all put together on Sunday and after a trip to the hardware store – the little springs were missing – I spun my first little bit of yarn. I practice every day for a bit and I am getting better and better. At first DH was very disappointed in my end product but as I progressed he was getting impressed. After all I only took one one day class. The Lady in the store was so nice to throw in half a pound of roving that I will use for practice. It is undyed so maybe I dye it with Cool Aid once it is plied. The cats of course are very fascinated – or let’s put it that way Milo is fascinated; the others could care less. This is weird considering Katinkas Roving Obsession. But so far she hasn’t even touched it yet. Who knows what is coming I am after all very careful to not let the bag with the roving sit outside.

In other news. I got a big package with Malabrigo today. Chunky in green for a pullover – and I realized I didn’t order enough so I will see if the store has two more skeins in the same dye lot. I already casted the pullover on and I will love it, I am sure.

Back to spinning.

Fall is Coming

Now the temperatures start to be normal again and fall will come finally to this part of the world it is time for some cold weather gear.

First up the the February Lady Sweater that is finished for a month now but I just now came around for pictures. I started this back in April but had to frog the yoke due to me having the oldest version of the pattern and nothing worked. After it was done it had to be reblocked because it blocked out way to big the first time. The second time I tried the handwash setting on the washing machine and dried it outside and it came out perfect. I already wore it a couple of times teaching and I know it will be a staple this winter.   

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne

Yarn: Cascade Sierra in Blue

For more see Ravelry Project Details

Second is the Malabrigo Sweater. Loosely based on the V-Neck from Stefanie Japels “Fitted Knits”.

After knitting the ribbed body and trying it on I decided that I don’t like it and frogged it and redid the body section in plain stockinette with a wide rib band at the end. The collar just didn’t want to work for me so I improvised and I like how it turned out – I don’t look good in V-Necks anyways. I love the sweater. the yarn is amazing – so soft – I think I can wear it without something underneath. And who knows me knows I am very sensitive to any type of wool. But first it needs to get a bit colder.

On the needles right now is Damson from Ysolda’s new fabulous collection “Whimsical Little Knits 2″. I love the pattern and I am doing it in Patons Bamboo Silk – a very nice soft yarn that works perfect for a little shawlette like that. Unfortunately I didn’t buy enough yarn and need to go back to Dodge and buy some more, maybe next week.

Also in the works is another Meret – I promised Julia I will make her a hat and the last time we were in Lawrence she picked some very pretty Green Dream in Color Classy. The yarn is great (and I would use it more, it’s just a bit pricey for me) and I love love love the color. The Pattern is very nice and well written and it is a quick knit.

For future plans: I will make myself the Owls sweater – again in Malabrigo – that I will order once we get paid next week. I haven’t decided on the color yet but I am actually thinking grey – I know totally not my color but I think it will look good in grey.

I also need to make a pink scarf for one of the nieces. I have no Idea what, so if anyone knows a great pattern for a 5 year old – please tell me!!!

I think also to make Mama either another Lady Sweater or something along the line of Shalom – But this won’t happen until next year I think – we’ll see.

Home Improvements

Having a new house means of course that I need to make it nice. What a great opportunity for me to finally put my sewing machine to good use. Especially now she has her place right next to me in my office and is always ready – ahh bliss.

1. Curtains for the kitchen
2. I really wanted nice kitchen curtains and because the windows are oddly sized and are actually not the same size I couldn’t find anything I liked in the store. Ted picked the fabric among 20 other kinds with chickens on them. (we do have quite a few chickens in the kitchen so they are not lonely). The sewing was very easy and straight forward. I didn’t put any weights in the bottom, because I couldn’t find any. But they hang nice and straight and I think I don’t need any.

1. Pillows

I made two pillows. One for the bed to replace an old dingy green one and a big oversized floor pillow/ cat bed.
The pillow for the bed I am rather proud of. It has tie closures and all the trimmings. It looks perfect on our bed and matches the bed spread and the         other pillows perfectly.

The floor pillow was just a quick spur of the moment kind of thing. I really liked the fabric in the store and I bought some without knowing what to         make out of it. Right now the pillow is in the bed room but we’ll see were we’ll need it.

Some Sewing

I did some sewing in the last couple of days. Finally with the new house and my own room I can have my sewing machine sitting out all the time. No more hauling it out of the garage in the kitchen; no more back pain form working on the kitchen table – bliss.

I mainly practiced my zipper skills and made some little pouches. And yes my zipper skills are getting better and I only broke one needle. I mainly followed the tutorial from Javajem and some notes in different books. All the pouches have lining even and I top stitched the zipper – something I did avoid for the longes time.

The bigger one on the left has a strap so that I can use it as a wristlet. With the smaller one I tried to put a longer zipper in a smaller pouch – it did work great.

I also made a little hip bag. Not like your 80′s fanny packs, but more like a little cool bag I can use when I am on the  bike or just need my hands free but need to take some thinks along. Because it was a test, the fabric is not my first choice – just some left overs I had. But I really like how it turned out. As a closure I used some d-rings and they work great.

Sorry for the crappy picture but I didn’t feel like opening all the 8 blinds in the bed room to have some day light.

Next to all the little baggies, I made a floor pillow for the living room. Only three people can gather comfortably on the sofa and the arm chair – everyone else has to either sit on the floor or one of our very uncomfortable kitchen chairs. I do prefer the floor. Again this is made from scraps – mainly the ones I still had from the skirt I made three year ago. I know every quilter will probably get nightmares seeing my very very dilettante attempted at creating something resembling quilt. But I like it and it is very comfortable. I filled it with the filling I pulled from a cheap WalMart pillow.

That’s all from my sewing adventures – we will be in Lawrence next week and I will get some more nice fabric (not only scraps from WalMart). I need some curtains for the kitchen and my office, some more pillows and I want to make another skirt.

Oh and on the knitting front I am knitting on my February Lady Sweater an have only about half an arm left and then I am done. I did finish another pair of simple socks in Tufoutsi and I love the yarn. I also started Ishbel with some amazing Malabrigo lace yarn – ohh it is soooo soft.

Another Shawl

Yeah yeah I know – how many more do I need; acutally a lot. I like shawls and you can have them in more than one color or style. Unfortunately right now I like the very simple kind, just garter stitch and yes this does get kinf of redundant after a while. Nontheless I knitted another one. It was certainly not something I wanted to do now summer is approaching. But I was stuck in Lawrence last week because of the supid Blizzard in Western Kansas – no way for me to go back; and the weather in Lawrence wasn’t the best either. Of course I didn’t have enough knitting with me. So a quick trip to Yarn barn and some cheap Cascade 220 and I was settled for the weather to clear. I always wanted to make the Weavers Wool Mini Shawl and it was perfect for the mindless knitting I needed. Very easy and straight forward and the Cascade is a nice yarn for it. I finished it last weekend when we went to Wichita and it was blocking ( as usual in the garage) the last three days. I like the color combo. Now I am trying to get away from all the reds and pinks and purples I am drawn to turqouis and blue.

Part II

Ok here is the second part of the last Winter knits.

3. Fingerless Gloves and Baktus

When I was at Handmade in Berlin they had some yummy Handmaiden  Casbah in gorgeus colors. I got a skein of Sangria and made some long fingerless gloves. I started at the top because I didn’t know how far I would get with the yarn and I did a simple thumb opening. They turned out even better than I thought – I love them. Because the yarn was so great I got a second skein to make a Baktus. It was the perfect patttern for the flight back -   you know (or don’t) that I am drug when flying so I needed something easy and brainless. I finished it last week. When I came back the weather was to nice to wear it, but now it is great on the scooter; it does get rather cold and windy.

4. Wool Peddler Shawl

That is something I started a while back and was sitting in my stash. I was kind of reluctant to start the lace part, because that meant just sitting and knitting without any distraction and I just didn’t feel like it. So when I found the modifications on Ravelry with the ruffles I knew I had what I wanted.

Pattern: Wool Peddler’s Shawl from “Folk Shawls” by Cheryl Oberle

Yarn: Cleckheaton Country Silk in Pink

5. Ruffled Socks.

So I bought those very pretty and cute Yellow Mary-Jane’s in Germany. I love them. And I needed socks, so what better to do than knit some -  as you know socks are not my favorites to know; but those just flew of the needles in under a week. The ruffles just add to the cuteness I think.

Pattern: my own 08/15 socks, toe-up, German Heel

Yarn: Plynouth Yarn Socketta

The last Winter knits and the first Spring socks

That I didn’t write her for more than 2 month doesn’t mean I wasn’t knitting – the opposite, I was knitting a lot and didn’t have time to take pictures and update here. When I came back form Germany it was already spring in Western Kansas so my winter knits didn’t have that much appeal anymore to be finished. But I pulled myself together and at least finished the second Baktus I started flying back. Ok I just try to put it all in an order – there are a few things I finished in Germany; mainly for  my mum and some I did since I am back. I will post it in two post just because I have to go and enjoy the great weather.

1. Thermis and fingerless gloves for Pe.

I had some left over from the Hourglass and so I made my mum some simple fingerless gloves and a Thermis Cowl. She loves both a lot. The Alpaca is not the best yarn for fingerless gloves, because it is not very durable, but it looks great.

Pattern: my own, essentially 4×2 rib with a cable on the back.

Yarn: KnitPicks Andean Silk in Jade

Patter: Thermis by Kristen Patay

2. Next up I made some socks for Mama

I don’t really like knitting socks, especially with a pattern, but she loved it and that’s all that is important. Fortunately Mama prefers ankle length socks.

Pattern: my own some simple father and fan, toe-up, German Heel

Yarn: Schoeller and Stahl Fortisima Socka Cotton