...and more photos.

I feel like I have a neverending stream of photos to upload. I did say I've been busy, didn't I?

Pictured below is the Garter Stitch Hat from The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss in "Sand Dune" Knit Picks Swish Superwash. I'm told this yarn pills, but it washed up beautifully. Anyway, the baby will probably outgrow it before pilling becomes an issue.
This is a knit bunny made from leftover Baby Soft, the yarn I used for the aquaduct edging afghan. It's yet another knit from Lousia Harding's Naturals Knits for Babies and Moms. I have to say that this book was a damn good purchase. It has alot a basic baby patterns, clevery executed, and evenly divided by the sexes. I knew this baby was going to be a boy, so I wanted a book with plenty of boy patterns, but (go figure) a majority of baby and kid knitting books are angled towards girls. Also, Natural Knits has a pregnancy sweater, two nursing sweaters, a shawl, a baby blankie and stuffed animal patterns as well. Are you sold yet on it? :P

I have a high school friend who has five year old girly-girl. As in, she likes pink. When I was a little girl, pink was the enemy of being taken seriously, a task that was already made difficult enough by being knee-high to a gnome with curly blond hair... But I digress. This kid will love this sweater, which happens to be in violet Cotton Ease. The pattern is from Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, size aged 6. The collar is my doing - it's not in the book - as well as the pockets. Check out the flower buttons!

Okay, I admit the photos are a bit blurry, but you can probably see them better in this close-up.

And lest you think I only have FO's - (I wish!) - here's an afghan-in-progress. This is me trying to use up a lot of Cotton Ease. If you're thinking it's a baby afghan, well, then, all I have to say to that is you're dead on. Sorry. I swear I am knitting some for myself, and soon I will have proof! (Which reminds me - today my grandmother emailed me out of the blue to say she's enjoying the socks I knit her. I knit those socks quite some time back. Months and months ago, actually. Do you think she's giving me a subtle clue of some kind?)

Gratutitous cat shot!

More Photos!

Baby Afghan

I crocheted this baby afghan in March out of cream sportweight acrylic/nylon yarn. (I think it was "Baby Soft.") All it is is a square of double crochet with "aquaduct" edging.
I think it has a pleasing simplicity about it. unfortunately, I washed it with my Artyarns Supermerino cream/black/lime socks... which turned everything in my laundry light gray. Lesson learned. I mailed the baby afghan out to Sibling #5 anyway. I don't know if she's using it.

Cropped Cardi

This cardigan is obviously "#21: Short Cardigan" from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2006. Isn't it?

Okay, I admit I made a few changes. I substituted black KnitPicks Merino Style for cotton yarn, and I used only one color throughout instead of striping. And then I totaly redesigned the sleeves.

My buttons are square!

Nursing Sweater

At the end of February I knit Sibling #5 a nursing sweater, the "Queen of Hearts Nursing Sweater" from Lousia Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Moms in, well, burgundy Encore (75% acrylic, 25% wool), which is not exactly the natural option. I knit it in under two weeks, which frankly impressed me. Sibling #5 wears a 12 and I wear a 4, so it's much larger than anything I would make for myself. Fortunately it was on US #8 needles. The pattern called for a pattern of hearts in the lower panels in purl stitches, but I left them out because I thought they'd be cheesy.
Here is a detail of one of the button flaps. I think I used 16 buttons. I lucked out and got them not only to perfectly match the yarn but cheaply.

Sibling #5 loved the sweater, apparently. It was still coldish in California when she got it so she was sleeping in it. Strangely enough, her favorite thing about it is the yarn. Encore does wash up well - it becomes even, soft, and drapey - but it's also incredibly cheap. I think this sweater cost me a total of US$30. ($10 of it being the buttons!) I still have more than a skein left over that I need to use up somehow.

And now for something completely different...

I'm still trying to learn to paint. Being the way I am, I naturally think the way to go about this is a self-portrait. Why? Because I photograph badly, of course.

Lissy from the North End knitting circle asked me to post the progress shots I've been taking, so here they are. They photographed more yellow than they really are. Remember, I'm still learning! Be sure to cut me some artistic slack.

Day 1: I did an underpainting, and forgot to photograph it.
Day 2: Adding color to my underpainting. It doesn't look much like me, I admit, but I wasn't ready to slit my wrists just yet.
Day 3: More color, fleshing in the background and my clothes. Doesn't look like me, but whoever it is, they're angry. It's probably because the mirror I'm holding is heavy. (Hey, maybe that's why my wrist hurts, not the knitting?!?)
Day 4: Looks a bit more like me, as in, how I wish I looked. The neck and body is a major problem, esp. since I've decided to put my brown sweater in the painting. My hair is not really present - I'm saving it for later - so the head is not balanced. There's still a way to go.

And that's it for now. Let me know if you want me to post the next stage when it happens.

My how time flies

...when you hate the New Blogger and you have no internet at home. Has it really been over two months since I last entered into a battle of wills with Blogger to post? Amazing.

Here's some of the baby stuff I've made in the meantime. And I really mean "some." The baby mania has not flagged, although it did hurt my wrist on Sunday so now I am having to take it easy.

This stuff is from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding. The baby mittens with the string are made from Sirdar Breeze in "stone", and the other mittens and hat are in KnitPicks Shine Sport in some kind of brownish-tannish color, the name of which is evading me at the moment.


Baby pants! In the Snuggly yarn I had left over from the blue wrap cardi. The pattern is not my own - I got it free online - and when I have the patience to type in html again, I'll link to it for ya.

I feel like it is through some kind of miracle that this baby kimono (from an old IK pattern - I think everybody andtheir brother has knit it) is finally uploaded. This is my gazillionth try, and I don't just mean tonight. Although tonight I have had time to make tater tots and feed the cat (who likes his dry food mixed with 1/3 can of wet food, thank you). I'm not sure I have it in me to post more baby knitting pictures tonight.