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Sorry for the long absence. I have been trying to get some serious knitting done. The computer seems to hinder knitting in a big way, so I have been trying to limit the computing as much as possible. (Emphasis on “trying”… Pinterest, you will be my undoing!)
So, on to Walter’s hat. I unpacked all the winter/fall clothes this week and discovered that Walter did not have anything from last winter to fit him. This should not have been surprising, considering that he was just born in December and therefore he was very tiny last winter. Of course, I had to drop all the Christmas knitting projects and immediately cast on a little hat with earflaps. It’s from Susan B. Anderson’s Itty Bitty Hats. I used the “simple baby cap 2” pattern and knitted the 12 month size. I worked it flat in garter stitch for a while, then joined in the round and finished according to the directions, adding a little i-cord at the top and tying it in a little knot. And seaming the garter stitch portion. Then I added the earflaps according to the directions in the techniques section of the book. Obviously, those are worked in garter stitch as well. The yarn is Plymouth Jeannee, one of my favorite baby yarns. (It’s not a “baby” yarn, though. Just a yarn I like to make baby things out of… not that shiny, acrylic stuff.)
And now some gratuitous Walter photos. He just turned ten months old! I am in shock.
I just added the pattern for the bib that I posted about earlier to my free patterns page!
Please let me know if you find any errors or have difficulties with the pattern.
You can also download the pattern here: My Perfect Bib (right-click to save the pdf)
I finally have some knitting to show you. I keep forgetting to photograph the knitting that I’ve been doing! (sorry about the grainy photos, it’s been very dim inside.)
I have finally come up with a bib design that meets my rather picky requirements. In my opinion, a knitted bib must be:
- garter stitch or some other thick stitch… not stockinette and definitely not lace (lace=holes and who wants holes in their bibs?)
- dense but not stiff
- easy to make because I don’t want to spend hours on something that’s intended to get nasty
- long enough to cover the baby’s chest because short bibs just don’t cut it
- cute, but not fussy… and nothing chunky appliqued to the front to get gunked up with food
- tied (not buttoned) so as to be adjustable
This bib meets all of those requirements, so I will probably be making many of them. It seems that many people are concerned about putting ties on baby things, but I feel that if your baby is being supervised properly it is highly unlikely that he will strangle himself on his bib.
I am writing up a pattern for this bib that I hope to put up on my “free patterns” page today or tomorrow. It depends on how long my babies sleep for me this afternoon!
I hope you all had a lovely Easter filled with chocolate and fuzzy bunnies and happy babies. I hope that you all remembered the real reason we celebrate Easter Sunday: the resurrection of our Lord. He is risen, indeed!
Just thought I’d pop in and show off some photos of Walter wearing some knitted things. In my opinion, there are few things cuter than a little, fat baby in some wooly, knitted clothes. Also, I always like it when people show pictures of actual babies wearing things so I can see how they fit in real life. (As opposed to how they fit in pattern photos, which, as we all know, frequently lie.)
Both pairs of pants are from Baby Leggings pattern in The Knitter’s Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann. The blanket is the famous Pinwheel Baby Blanket. The blanket was originally made for Edda. The sweater was supposed to be for Edda but it never fit her in an appropriate season so Walter has been the first to wear it. Fortunately, it isn’t girly-colored. The pattern is from “Top Down Seamless Raglan Baby Sweater, Garter Ridge Version.” (Really rolls off the tongue, eh?)
And, of course, the hat. I posted about it recently. Baby Viking Hat from Bella Knitting.
It’s hard to believe that I have to get out this much stuff to make a dress for a 12″ baby doll.
Edda’s birthday is on Saturday and I have decided to make her some clothes for her new baby doll that she got for Christmas. For those of you that would be interested in such things, the doll is a Corolle Calin (amazon link). My mom gave it to Edda, and it has been an instant favorite. I like that it smells sort of nice, has SHORT hair and a soft body. This means I don’t get interrupted every fifteen seconds to make the dolls rigid arms and legs bend into the right position (like the ones with hard bodies) and I don’t have to un-snarl giant, baby doll rat nests out of its hair (like the long-haired one I made). Edda likes it because it has a pretty dress and hair she can brush. (but not tangle. the no-tangling is very important.)
The sewing pattern is Mccall’s 4338. So far, so good….
I still haven’t finished writing up Walter’s birth story… I may not post it. I’m torn between trying to be honest (I hate it when people try to make it sound like birth should be painless, cuz it’s not) and trying not to sound whiney. Also, maybe it’s too embarrassing to share that kind of thing with the whole world… I’ll just have to think about it some more.
And, in closing, I want you all to know that this blog will not be turning into a blog that’s only about my kids and the occasional sewing project. I am still knitting. I hope it will make a blog appearance soon. (It’s a fawn-colored, bottom-up seamless yoke sweater for Walter from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Without Tears. It’s also finished.)
Walter is one month old today! I can’t believe he’s already been here for a month. I’ve been meaning to take some time to write about his birth on here, but time is very precious right now. It seems like my little ones never, ever sleep at the same time! Yesterday they did– for a while– and I took the opportunity to catch up on the laundry.
I’m working on the story and it may get posted tomorrow… not that y’all are waiting on the edge of your seats or anything…
In other news, remember this beautiful sleep sack I knitted early last year? It was accidentally thrown away by one of my younger sisters a few days ago. Walter pooped on it while I was at my mom’s house and I put it in one of those little baggies you put stinky diapers in when you’re away from home. It was mistaken for a diaper (not sure why) and thrown away. The next day when I realized it was gone, I called my parents to check the trash can.
Alas… the trash had just been taken to the dump. Walter wore it exactly three times. I guess this is a lesson in not being materialistic, although I have to say that I shed a few tears when I realized what had happened. I never even took a picture of him in it. :-(
(the hat is his baby viking hat, knitted by me from the pattern by bella knitting.)
I had the great idea to use my waterproof heating pad to accelerate the drying of some felted slippers I made made for Edda.
But there is one member of our family that cannot leave a warm heating pad alone.
He approaches…
And this is his disappointed “you mean I’m not allowed to sleep on it?” face.
Poor Oliver.
The slippers are from the pattern “Crocheted Felt Slippers for Children #CH-32” from Fiber trends. I’m in the process of sewing some handmade leather soles on them so she can wear them. Photos of that to come (I hope.) The pink yarn that is threaded through the holes in the top of the slipper is temporary; it was only there to keep the holes from closing up during felting. It has since been replaced by cute, crocheted ties in matching wool yarn.
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Unrelated note: today is my due date! But no baby has arrived yet… I feel like it will be soon, but then what does that mean?
Edda has been desperately needing some new sleepwear. It’s getting down into the 40′s at night now and her shorts and t-shirt that she slept in all summer are too chilly. This is the second flannel nightgown I’ve made her and she’ll be getting some polar fleece pajamas later this month. The neckband is a little weird and loose, but it’s not too bad. I’m still learning this sewing stuff.
(Pattern: Mccall’s M5965)
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