Wordless Wednesday: Baby Knitting

While hastily sorting through photos recently for a photo book I was compiling, I forgot about posting some pics of the baby tunic that I knitted for my friend, who just had a little girl last month.

 The pattern came from my go-to baby knitting book, Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montgomery.

 It's a sweet jumper/tunic pattern, which I love because it can grow with the child, starting out as a dress and moving onto a tunic.

I knit it in black, one because my friend is still kind of into goth stuff, but also because I like making baby things that aren't the typical pastels.  Now I just need to get a photo of the new babe wearing it!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, click here.

knitting fail

When it comes to a meh book, I will pitch it and try another one. I'm not a person who will waste my time reading something that I'm not into, just to finish it. However when it comes to knitting, I usually persevere, even if it means I don't complete a project for years (there are still projects stashed upstairs waiting to be finished).

Last month I started a cute little knitted Easter bunny for SoJo--and I have since failed.
It was going to be great, from a free Berroco pattern with a bunny-shaped head (unlike some patterns which with plain round heads and sewed on eyes) and yarn that I was using up from my stash.
I wasn't going with the bright colors suggested in the pattern, and was going to omit the pocket and collar.

The body came out so-so, and I got ahead of myself and stuffed it, wanting to see how large the rabbit was going to be.
But when it came to the head, this experienced knitter was tied in knots. I must have tried reknitting it 5 times and kept getting confused by all of the place markers it kept calling for. So I threw in the towel. I'm not one to usually blame the pattern, but I really think there's a mistake in it. Oh well. I'm not sure if S will get a knitted rabbit this year, but there's always felting and sewing.

At least I'm happy with his little Bolga Easter basket--the perfect size for not having to fill with tons of stuff over the years.
What is your craft fail? I'd love to hear some funny stories. For kicks, go check out Heather of Dollar Store Crafts' (yep, on my ol' blogroll) other blog, Craft Fail.

My Crowning Achievement

My weekend project--made during naps and even on a long car ride to visit Sojo's cousin's house yesterday.
I've been wanting to make him a birthday crown for a while now, having not gotten around to sewing one for his first birthday last year. But I did it! And I love how it turned out.
I had an old wool sweater that I had knitted and felted, naively for a baby (this was pre-Sojo), thinking at the time that it would actually fit over a baby's head. Defeated yet hopeful it could be used for something else like a teddy bear, I was stashed it away to be repurposed one day.

I cut the bottom of the sweater into a crown, which was actually a perfect fit for Sojo's head and didn't even require a seam (the sweater was knitted in the round).
For the "S" panel on the front, I cut out a circle from a piece of scrap felt that I had made
and needle felted a red "S" onto it.
For instructions on needle felting, see my posts here or here. For wet felting (like the scrap piece above), check out my tutorial here.

I then needle felted colorful circles around the crown
Finally, I wet felted little balls to sew onto the tips of the crown.
I love how jester-ish it is, and I hope that Sojo will look forward to wearing this on birthdays to come.

On a related note, I finally finished the Ministry Shawl.
I'm pleased with the result, but I should have budgeted my yarn better. I made the shawl too wide, and therefore it's a tad too short (I should have made a longer, narrower shawl). I added fringe along the edges to make up for it, and I like that it brings more pastel color into what could be a funeral-esque shawl.
I'm off to drop it off today, so hopefully the recipient like it. What have you been creating lately? Inquiring minds want to know (and would love to see links!).

St. Valentine's Knitted Heart Garland Tutorial

Though I love holidays and decorating, we don't really go overboard here with decorations. I like simple, homemade things that can be reused each year, and I adore garlands of all kinds. While putting away the last of the Christmas decor, I realized that I don't have anything for Valentine's Day.
Not that it's a big holiday in our house (we almost never do anything anymore), but that blank space above the doorway was driving me nuts. I miss my recycled book paper garland!

So I decided to knit up a heart garland that I can pull out each year before V-Day.
I had lots of yarn remnants in pink and red from other projects, so it was a perfect way to use up those bits.
This garland would be equally cute in a girl's bedroom after celebrating St. Valentine. The project requires basic knitting skills, but is very simple to whip up.

St. Valentine's Knitted Heart Garland
materials

• yarn in various shades of pink and red (any weight is fine, though your hearts will vary in size)
• knitting needles (I used size 6, but you could use any size you'd like to get the gauge you want)
• double pointed needles for making i-cord (again, whatever size you'd like, depending on how thick your yarn is or how thick you want the i-cord to be)
• yarn needle

Step 1
For making the hearts, cast on 3 stitches
Knit across those stitches. On the next row, knit one stitch into the front, and one stitch into the back of the first stitch.
then knit the center stitch, and knit into the front and back of the last stitch. You'll now have a total of 5 stitches.
Knit the next row. Continue like this, knitting into the front and back of both the first and last stitch of every other row (knit the other rows) until you have a total of 17 stitches.
Step 2
When you have a total of 17 stitches, knit 10 rows even.
Step 3
Now you're going to divide the knitting into the two tops of the heart. Knit 7 stitches, then K2Tog (knit 2 together). Pull out a long piece of the yarn (like a yard) and cut it there. Then reattach the yarn ball to the next stitch, and knit across.
You will have 2 sections now, which both have their own yarn.
Step 4
Knit across, making sure to keep each section separate with its own yarn.
Next row: SSK (slip first stitch onto right needle as if to knit, slip second stitch onto right needle as if to knit, put them both back on the left needle and knit them together), knit 4 stitches, then K2Tog. Do the same for the other set of stitches on the needle (SSK, K4, K2Tog).
Knit the next row.
Next row: SSK, K2, K2Tog, SSK, K2, K2Tog.
Knit
Next row: SSK, K2Tog, SSK, K2Tog
Bind off.
That's your heart!
Weave in the bottom yarn, and save the top two for sewing onto the garland.
Step 5
Now onto knitting the cord for the garland. This is called an i-cord, which looks like a knitted rope.
Pick up your double pointed needles and cast of 4 stitches in whatever color yarn you'd like.
Knit across, and instead of turning the work to purl, slide it back to the right side of the DPN and pick up the yarn around the back and start knitting again. You're essentially making a long tube and knitting in the round.
Continue in this manner until you have as long of a cord as you need. Mine was 45" long. This was the most tedious part of the project. The hearts were much more fun to knit.
Step 6
Once your cord is done, bind off and sew in loose ends. Then sew each heart onto the i-cord with a yarn needle, using the threads at the top of each heart. Weave in or snip any loose threads.

Hang and enjoy!

You could also make individual hearts and hang them as ornaments throughout your home.
It's a bit addicting! For a cute crocheted heart garland (I need to learn how to crochet), check out Skip to My Lou's post.
There's also a very cool one made from magazine papers sewed together at Oh So Crafty. Lucky me won one from the very generous Tricia over there, and it's so pretty. I love how the light shines through the pages, even in our dark kitchen.
Thank you Tricia, and happy crafting everyone!

I'm a Knittin' Fool

I'm so excited for fall, aren't you? Not only does it bring cooler weather, pumpkins, changing leaves and Halloween, but it reinvigorates my knitting habit. I just can't stand having the beginnings of a wool scarf sweating all over my lap in July.

I just finished my first "fall" knitting project, a hat for SoJo.
I got to try out a pattern from Tot Toppers, a shop created by a crafty mom.
Kate is a knittin' fool like me, but much better. I mean, she designs her own knits and writes up easy-to-follow patterns for them too. I'm just a follow-the-leader sort of knitter. I can read patterns and sometimes modify them, but I don't see myself ever writing a pattern.

Kate also sells her knits, which range from hats for wee ones (hence Tot Toppers), diaper covers and pacifyer leashes. I knitted the Tweedy Cabled Hat for SoJo, which came out so adorably!
I love the cute little brim and the cabled details.I used Paton's Black Tweed wool yarn, about half a skein. I'll admit that I detest doing cables (for non-knitters, it means having to slip stitches onto another needle, continue knitting a few stitches on the regular needles, and then having to pick up those other stitches again); it's a lot of work! However this pattern wasn't cable-crazy, where you were constantly making them. Kate is also very helpful if you have a question. I emailed her once and she was so prompt and friendly with answering my question.
I finished the hat in a weekend and had no trouble with the instructions. I only hope SoJo keeps it on his head, as he's prone to pulling off his hats.

If you're looking for a cute hat for a special little one, or if you're a knitter and you want some new knitting materials for fall, check out Tot Toppers.