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A humble bathmat; simple but very satisfying. I have been very frantic and sporadic with my knitting lately. It has been a difficult time with kids’ ages, the weather, sickness and family stuff (nothing bad, just busyness) and my crafting has just been falling through the cracks. I think we are coming out of it now, thanks goodness, and I’m so glad.
It’s Oliver-approved!
I hope to be posting more soon because…
This is about to become this.
Meet Mr. Dog and Mrs. Rabbit. I made them using instructions from Miyako Kanamori’s book Sock and Glove.
Edda LOVES these two. Technically, the dog is Walter’s and the Rabbit is Edda’s. But Edda has pretty much taken over ownership of both.
I made a little, toy Santa Claus for Edda. Actually, it’s for Christmas decorating but Edda doesn’t really understand that… So it is now Edda’s Santa. At least, until she forgets about it and I pack it into the Christmas decoration box while she’s not looking.
The pattern is from Itty Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson. I seem to be knitting a lot of things by her. I really do like her designs!
He’s a cutie. He was kind of tedious to make because of all the little details (beard embroidery?!), but I feel like without all the detail stuff he wouldn’t look so nice and “finished.” I wish there had been more picture of him to help with the sewing together, so I took a few for the benefit of others.
An up-close of the beard/face:
(Oops, I accidentally left off his mustache!)
His back:
His side and arm-join:
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 made some pretty potholders for my wonderful friend, Amy. She is getting married on Sunday! I was sort of stumped on what to make for her until I saw Grumperina’s beautiful potholders. Potholders=perfect gift for someone who loves to cook and also loves handmade things. At least, they’re what I would want…
They’re a little uneven and funny-looking, but I like them. 
I’ve been snuggling a sweet (but super spit-up-y) baby boy as much as I possibly can. But I’ve been squeezing in the knitting and crocheting and baking and sewing in the cracks… Here’s an update:
I’ve crocheted a baby blanket, a full-size afghan and two fancy squares from Jan Eaton’s 200 Crochet Blocks. I’ve knitted 2.5 fish-shaped dishcloths and a pair of socks and cast on another pair of socks.
And I started crocheting another baby blanket.
And I cut out the pieces for Edda’s Easter dress.
And I’ve been baking bread almost every day. (We’ve switched to homemade bread for our sandwiches and toast. Yum.)
It’s been busy around here! I have been sacrificing “blogging time” for “doing time” lately (obviously), but I think things are finally calming down enough around here for me to get back to blogging again. I certainly hope so, because I enjoy it.
I have caught the crochet madness. For some reason, crochet has never been my favorite craft. Maybe I have too many itchy, red heart, great-grandmother afghans in my past. But now, the crocheting has me hooked (ha). I am really enjoying it! I want to crochet more and more and more. Blankets, specifically. I’m about to start another afghan as a wedding present for my sister, who is getting married in May. Because it’s totally sane to add one one more work-in-progress to this pile.
This, unfortunately, is the only photo I have for you today. I promise, this thing looks waay cuter in person.
It’s the “Wishy Washy Fishy Tawashi” (say that five times fast). They are addictive… cute, made of cheap, readily available yarn and so quick to knit that you can make 10 in a week…. if you wanted to… Not that you should or anything. But I do… hehe.
Knit in Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool
Dyed with food coloring.
Gifted to my sister-in-law.
I, of course, wanted to keep them.
But I didn’t. (ha)
I finished this scarf before Christmas… you know, because it was a Christmas gift for my mom. I think she really liked it! The pattern was really easy to memorize, even for a novice crocheter like me. (I’ve been crocheting for almost 17 years and just now learned to read patterns about a year ago.) The yarn was so neat; Araucania Ranco Solid. It didn’t pool at all, it just subtly changed colors a little here and there. Perfect.
The pattern is “Isar Scarf” by Julia Vaconsin. (It’s a free ravelry download.) I left off the fringe called for because my mom is not really into fringe. The look of the scarf really changes a lot after blocking, as is usually the case with openwork-type things. Also, I would recommend using a larger hook than you might think you should, because when it’s worked tightly the scarf does not look lacy and nice at all. It just looks stiff and odd.
I, of course, wanted to keep it for myself, but I gave it to my mom like a good daughter. Now she’d better wear it… haha.
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