Baby Washcloths

In 2012, I was blessed with being an Aunt AGAIN! I love being an aunt. There is nothing more joyful than having a lil one love you for all the little things that you do for them.  I also love spoiling them and sending them home with happy memories of "auntie time".  There is nothing better than having someone whom you are close to and can just be yourself with at all times.

So, for nephew G, I knit up just a couple of items for him.  A couple of baby washcloths, a hat and booties.  These are all very simple and easy to do patterns.  I'll provide you with links if I can or just information.

The one stitch I LOVE doing for towels is the twisted stockinette stitch.  You can find information on how to do this stich anywhere, but I pulled it from The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting by Margaret Hubert.  If you are new to knitting or want a great place to start to figure out stitches of different styles, this is an excellent source of information!  It provides great details on stitch counts and easy to follow instructions with fabulous pictures.  I depend on this book for everything I know about types of stitches.

My other favorite stitch for towels is the double seed stitch. I like it for the lacy look so it makes an average washcloth seem a little more fancy but gives it a nice set of bumps for a little bit of scrubbing power.  Excellent choice especially for small kitchen or kid towels....especially those kids which seem to become muddy. :)

Yes, I chose yellow because I like the sunny color but also it makes it very easy to wash with colors or lights.  I prefer the Peaches N Cream brand cotton, but if you prefer something a little easier to work with then the Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton is an excellent alternative. It's softer and more pliable.

Happy Knitting!

Peace, love and purl,

Coles

Mom's Christmas Present 2012

Every year, I always contemplate if I am going to make Christmas presents and every year, I decide at the last minute I want to do so which means scramble knitting for most of November-December.  I've been fortunate in I normally get most of it done. This is the first year I actually didn't finish EVERYTHING in time but part of that is because I fell and messed up my hand pretty bad at beginning of December.  So, I learned if I am going to do Christmas knitting, I should probably start in October. (grin)

A couple of years ago at Maryland Sheep & Wool, I bought some beautiful tonal brown yarn for my mother.    I really loved this yarn and plan to buy more.  It felt like glass going through my hands and the colors are not justified in pictures.  It's Miss Babs Northumbria Fingering BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester, a breed of sheep) in this gorgeous color called Winter Forest. You can find her yarn here:  http://www.missbabs.com/

I had originally thought to make a pair of socks, but after decided this yarn is way way too beautiful and luxurious to be put into a pair of shoes.  I lucked out in finding a gorgeous and easy pattern which would show off the variations in the browns but didn't lack a lovely pattern.  Also, I was a fan of this pattern because it involves a button so it can be worn multiple ways without really trying too hard.  And, honestly, the name attracted me more than anything because it screamed "Yes! I'm great for evening knitting!" 

The pattern I chose is called Lazy Day Shawl by Mary Keenan (ravelry link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lazy-day-lace-shawl).  This pattern is very very simple, easy to remember so you don't need to look at the pattern for every row and honestly, would be a great beginner shawl.  It's smaller so you don't need a ton of yarn (I didn't even use a full skein).  I could go on and on but then, I might bore you...

So, that is one project completed in 2012!  

Baby Caps

I love a hat. I look terrible in most, but I love them because you don't really need a pattern and you can make a beautiful hat. I also love them because once you get a basic pattern you can add any stitches you want and it is all yours. They're quick to knit and people will probably wear them more than anything, except maybe socks, because they can wear them every day.

I also love baby knits. I think they're the cutest in anything handmade because they are fascinated by colors and construction and not afraid to show their admiration for the product.

Maybe I read too much into babies.

Anyway, I'm working on a set of christening caps (unisex) so I started my first one this week. They're white cotton so they're durable and warm but not too much. This one is pretty basic because I wasn't sure this was the yarn I wanted to use but it worked out nicely. I plan to do some more ornate ones with different yarn for winter.



Now I need to write down what I did for the next one. I learned the hard way the pattern and dimensions don't always stay tucked away. ha!

love, knit and purl,

Nicole

Maryland Sheep and Wool

Oh my lovelies :) there is a reason for the delay in blogging this week. I've been enjoying my week in Washington DC. The best part is that I got to spend a day at Maryland Sheep and Wool. I love coming to this festival and I loved it even MORE this year because I'm not such a knitting novice as to not know what to do while there.

First thing, made a list, and this helped me a lot and definitely kept me on task. I thankfully have graduated beyond simple hats, scarves, etc so it made looking for yarn so much easier. Also, I planned to buy yarn for my own projects as well as projects for others.

Second thing, I limited my cash on hand. I know this is really really hard for us to do as knitters as we usually see something we cannot live without in the perfect yarn and colors.

Third thing, I allowed myself ONE splurge. This means, it wasn't in the budget, but once I bought something with the splurge money I was done for the day. (This came really really early in my day but SO worth it.)

Fourth thing, I limited my booths. I made sure I hit the booths I absolutely had to hit and also enjoyed admiring so many beautiful knitting, crochet, spinning items I could barely contain myself. Trust me, loom and spinning wheel hit the -must learn- list. Also, if I had to wait in line it was no big deal because I knew I had planned my booth day.

Fifth thing, we had the perfect weather to make all of these things possible. If it was hot, sticky, and crowded...most of this list probably would have hit the road...like last year. ;)

Also, am posting pics of goodies bought (& won!) because I am proud that I supported handmade goods.



My Splurge



My Win!!



My Goodies :)

Baby Blanket

This is probably the world's largest baby blanket.  I'm fairly certain Paul Bunyon could have used this as a tyke.

Anyway, as much as I dislike the large size....I love the colors and it feels so soft.  It's extremely warm so it'll be good for baby on those cold winter nights/days.  The colors are a nice pale rosy pink and a lavender color.  I love them both.

My next project will probably be one for a little boy but I also have one that is 'gender neutral' that I need to complete.  It's cotton so it'll be nice for spring and fall.  I am planning to work on it as well as making a matching hat. :)

Today I'm posting the pics of the pink & purple blanket. I'll post the other one later.

New Slouchy Hat

I've been working on the ever popular slouchy hat since January and I have to say this is one of my favorite designs for hats bc it actually looks good on me and it doesn't mess up my hair.  I know some don't care, but I really really do! :)

I'll upload the pictures for these hats as they have been so popular and I have had such fun making  them as well as combining different yarns for different effects.  Let me know what you think!

-Coles