sunshine blanky

As soon as I found out that my friend and his wife were expecting, I started plotting a hand-made gift. I bought some Bernat Baby Softee in Citron (nursery colors are yellow and grey), and I altered a few patterns to suit the yarn.

Holding the yarn double, cast on 110.

Knit 4 rows.

Row 5: K5, pm, K50, pm, P50, pm, K5

Row 6: K5, sm, K50, sm, P50, sm, K5

Repeat row 6 until the blanket is about 18 inches, or half the length desired.

Next row:

K5, sm, P50, sm, K50, sm, K5

Repeat this row until the second set of blocks is the same length as the first, knit 4 rows, bind off loosely.

Love the way it turned out - very soft and squishy, but light (summer baby).

owlie sack and hat

When we found out that some friends were expecting a baby girl in October, I set out to find the right gift to knit. It had to be fun and quirky, yet practical. Since the one thing we share with these friends is a love of Phish, and the best member of the band (Mike Gordon) uses an owl on almost everything he does, I fell instantly in love with the owlie sleep sack and hat pattern.

full view of the hat:

close-up of the cabled owl:

Knit in Berroco Comfort bought at Yarn Tree Studio.

fiesta frock

No, I am not pregnant. I wanted to get that out there before anyone had the chance to go there. I decided to make this dress for a number of reasons. First of all, it's adorable...you know it to be true.

Second, I'm never prepared when my friends have babies, so knitting a few baby wear-ables will help me get a head start on that front.

Third, this pattern came from the One Skein Wonders: Sock Yarn book that Jose gave me for Christmas, so I had the yarn in my stash. If you remember, my two knitting goals for the year were to deplete my stash and to knit myself a sweater. I am realizing that the money commitment for the yarn to make my sweater is going to be significant, and I want to make sure it's as perfect as it can be...and practice makes perfect.

That being said, this dress is not perfect, but a lot of love went into it. I definitely learned from my mistakes and I think if I make a few more baby pieces, my technique will be stellar. I still need to pick three small buttons for the right shoulder. I'm not happy with anything in my stash, so the search continues...

0-3 months
Lorna's Laces - Knitwerks
Chicago souvenir yarn

HERE WE GO, STEELERS!!!

You may remember that I made some bibs recently. One of those bibs was gold with a black button and I told Tina that it was baby Q's gameday bib. Today, she wore the bib as a cape. In honor of the Steeler's entry to Super Bowl XLV, I give you...SUPER STEELERS BABY!!

Bib Business

I have several friends who have recently had babies and I've failed to complete the first baby-welcoming gift! I've bought yarn and started, stalled, ripped-out and RE-started projects, but no completions. Finally, I turned to a pattern that was suggested to me long ago as a fun and easy knit--the Baby Bib O' Love from Mason Dixon Knitting.

Now that the packages have been sent and received, I'm safe to post pics of my first attempt at bibs!