Non-knitting WiP

My knitting has been on hold a little this week because I got 'inspired' (I really need to stop doing this, you'll see why).

I decided that this Christmas I would make pjs for some of the little ones in the family.  I went to the fabric store and decided that I'd make my niece a robe to match her pjs too.  I picked up some great fabric and a pattern.

I ventured down to the States one day to check out Joanne's and ended up with material and a pattern to make 3 more pairs of flannel pjs for my niece (because one pair and a robe wasn't enough?).  I figured if I didn't get them done by Christmas, then I'd make them afterwards (the justification).  When I got home, I realized I bought the wrong size pattern.  So I went to my local fabric store to see if they had it in the correct size, they didn't, but I did find a cute pattern for one piece pjs which I just had to get....as well as the fabric for it (because MORE fabric is just what I needed!).  I found a some fleece in a pattern that my niece would look absolutely adorable in (ok, she looks adorable in everything she wears) and decided that I would make my Godson 2 pairs of them too (yes, I think I am crazy - but I know I'm not the only one who 'collects' patterns and fabric and/or yarn and waaayy overestimates the time they have to complete the projects).

As I started working on the pjs, I realized that I needed interfacing (which I thought I didn't need) so I head back to my local fabric store.  As I'm there, once again, I get inspired and somehow come to the conclusion that I need to make my niece a Christmas dress (this came out of nowhere).  I spend over an hour picking out the pattern, fabric, zipper and buttons.

So now, not only do I have WAY to much to sew but I also spent WAY more than I had planned!  Oops!  I lose control in fabric and yarn stores.  I will have to ban myself!

Fabric stores - BANNED
Yarn stores - BANNED
Winners - BANNED
HomeSense - BANNED
Shoe sales - BANNED
MAC makeup stores - BANNED
Bath and Body Works - BANNED

No matter how much self-control I think I have prior and when entering these stores, something else takes over when I'm in there and I forget all about budget, realistic thinking, etc.

Anyways, I am happy to report that the Christmas dress is almost done.  You won't be able to see from the pictures below which parts are not done.  You will also not be able to see that I'm not a great seamstress :)  I'm going to go try it on her tonight then make the finishing touches - I hope it fits!

Now, I have to get back to my Christmas knitting...and pj sewing...and Christmas baking.  17 days to go!!  YIKES!

Black velveteen dress.  Pattern: Simplicity 2574 - Project Runway Collection

Dress with the fake fur shrug (also included in the pattern).

This zipper looks like little crystals down the back of the dress in reality.  In this picture, the fuzz all over the dress stands out way more than the zipper (which doesn't photograph well, apparently) - don't worry, I lint rolled this :)

The complete outfit for my one-and-a-half-year-old niece.

WiP Wednesday is Here Again!

Thanks to Tami, once again, for hosting WiP Wednesday on her blog!  Head on over and check out what everyone is working on!

No new projects to show - almost done the little scarf; looks the same as last week, but longer!  I'm not so sure how long to make it - it's about 3 feet long right now.  I figure I could stop at this point but I think I'll go a bit further, just to be sure.  I've been working on a few Christmas sewing projects so that's taken a chunk out of my knitting time.  I could use another month before Christmas - is it ok to give rain checks if I don't get all my projects done?

I have to share this picture of a past project - the cupcake hat!  I love when I get to see the things I make on the kids I make them for!

Wednesday Already? Here's My WiP!

Wow - the days are just flying by now!  That always seems to happen when the holidays are so close.  I have many projects I'd like to finish by Christmas...not sure how I'm going to get them all done!  Some are knitting, some are sewing...I'd like to do some baking too.  Hmmm...where to find the time?

A big thank you to Tami for hosting WiP Wednesdays on her blog!  Feel free to join in on the fun!

As if I didn't already have enough projects in my queue, I added another.  I had some of the wonderful Diamond Luxury Collection Baby Alpaca Sport left over from making the cowl for my mother-in-law and I didn't want it to go to waste.  The solution: make a little scarf for my 18-month-old niece.  This was a great idea until I realized that I didn't have quite enough yarn left.  I didn't want to frog it so I just went and bought another skein and decided I would have to eventually find another project to use up the rest of it.

The pattern I'm using is the Baby Alpaca Scarf from Ravelry.  It's a 2x2 rib with a crocheted flower.  Super easy.  Super cute.

I've also been making progress on the red shawl - it's for my mom.  It was supposed to be for her birthday in May but I overestimated my skills so now it will be a birthday/Christmas present (I hope)!  I'm into reading the lace chart now which is new to me; luckily, I have a very knowledgeable coworker who was able to give me a crash course in reading the chart!  I'm not going to post any pictures because my mom knows it's for her and I don't want her peeking!  I will post it as an FO after Christmas.

I'm Alive and I Have an FO!

Went on a bit of a blogging/knitting hiatus - but I am back!  Caught one of the bugs that is going around and, after three weeks, I'm feeling almost normal.  Between being sick and being busy with work and other commitments, I wasn't finding the time to knit, which left me nothing to blog about!

I do, however, have an FO that I finished just before I got sick...and I love it!  It's the cowl for my 'mother-in-law', I don't want to give it away!

Sorry for the really bad cell phone pictures, would love to have some pics taken with my camera in natural light...if I was ever out of the office when it was light out!   Gotta love commuting both ways in the dark at this time of year!

You can find more information about this project and yarn in my last blog post.

I am happy to say that I have picked up my needles again and hope to make some good progress on some more Christmas projects.

On a side note, I went to the Circle Craft Fair yesterday (always amazing and inspiring).  If you live in Vancouver you must go!  Be sure to stop by the Sweet Truth's booth - amaaazing butter toffees.  My coworkers and I polished off a tin of the Sweet Lemon Butter Toffee (topped with 'creamy Swiss white chocolate).  Sooo good I almost regretted sharing!...but where is the Christmas spirit in that?

WiP Wednesday - YUM!

Here is my most recent project - and it's not for a baby!  It's a cowl for my future-mother-in-law (for Christmas).  The pattern is the Burberry Inspired Cowl found here or on Ravelry.

The yarn is amazing!!  It's Diamond Luxury Collection Baby Alpaca Sport - nice and soft and so great to knit with!  It sheds a little, the only drawback I've found so far.

I'm liking the way the cowl is looking - I'm just over half-way done.

For this project I had to learn the provisional cast-on and it's also my first time doing cables.  I think they are looking ok so far but there are a couple long threads I'm wondering about - should they be there?

I believe it's the last stitch of the stitches that go on the cable needle.  What I am doing is slipping the stitches to a cable needle (smaller than the needle I'm knitting with) then, when I get to the part where I need to knit those stitches, I slip them back on my knitting needle and knit them.  I'm trying to be conscious of my tension and I even gave them a little 'pull' after I noticed these longer threads.  It didn't seem to help.  So are they unavoidable?  Or am I doing something wrong?

Hop on over to Tami's blog and check out what other people are working on!

WiP Wednesday - Better Late Than Never!

I was all ready to get this post up first thing this morning when I got into work.  Unfortunately, my computer has been having difficulties all day so I'm finally getting around to hitting the post button!  Better late than never though!

So, I'm almost finished the "hat with the duck part", and I've run out of yarn.  As you can see from the picture, there isn't enough left to finish the remaining 10 rows or so, then stitch the brim up :(  I thought I might have just enough, but no :(  I've contacted a couple people on Ravelry about selling me a skein.  One got back to me and it will cost 5 times as much as what I paid for a skein to get me hers, but I might have to suck it up and do it.  I'm soooo close!

A friend, who appreciates my knitting, has asked me to knit a pair of leg warmers for her baby as she is crawling now.  I said yes, even though I have so many projects needing to be finished by Christmas.  I told her that I couldn't guarantee when they'd be done and she said it would be fine - I'm worrying that she'll be done crawling by the time they are knit up!  I don't know if my friend realizes the time it takes to knit - especially with little needles and thin yarn!

Anyways, I picked out some yarn and started to knit the leg warmers; I figure they are a good 'before bed' project - quite straightforward so go to knit when I'm tired.  I chose to use Regia Stretch Crazy Color yarn.  I checked out some projects on Ravelry that use this yarn and I really liked the colors.

I started the 12 month size but I think I'm going to restart and do the 18-24 month size since the yarn I'm using is a bit more thin than the yarn the pattern calls for.  I would hate to get these done just to find out that they won't fit around her little legs.

I used the tubular cast on as it gives a nice edge and a good stretch.  For a cast on that gave me a bit of a headache the first time I tried it, I'm actually starting to like it and this is the third project I will be using it on.

As always, thanks to Tami for hosting the WiP Wednesday on her blog!

Those are my WiPs for this week.  I'm hoping in the next week or two to have some new ones to share.  I'm going to attempt cables!  Wish me luck ;)

Cupcake Hat!

I couldn't wait to blog about this project.  I love it!

A friend is having her daughter's first birthday party in a couple of weeks - the theme is cupcakes.  I wanted to knit something for the birthday girl since, when she was born, I knit her a hat and booties set that she wore all the time.  I figured this was the perfect chance to knit the cupcake hat from Itty-Bitty Nursery Knits.

I started with the tubular cast-on.  Despite the challenges I had trying to learn this cast-on a couple weeks ago, I like the way it looks and it is stretchy so I decided to give it another try.  I'm happy to report that this time it all went smoothly!  I found this video really helpful.

The result of the tubular cast-on.

After you finish knitting the hat, you go back and add a crochet picot edge.  Since I don't know how to crochet, this posed a bit of a challenge!  I used a couple youtube videos to learn to do this.  Susan B. Anderson has a video that shows how to do the picot edge with a crochet hook but, not knowing how to crochet, her video wasn't enough.  The explanation was useful, once I sort of knew what I was doing.  I used this video to learn how to do the stitches.  The only thing that threw me for a loop was that all the videos I could find were showing the picot edging, well, on an edge!  The one I needed to add was in the middle of my project!  I figured the only way to do this was to pull the crochet loops through the individual stitches on my hat - I think I was right because it seemed to work.

Picot edge using a crochet hook.

Then, I needed to learn to crochet the cherry.  Again, thanks to youtube, it wasn't too difficult.  I used WireMySoul's video for this.

Crochet cherry.

I know that it may sound like watching all these videos to learn to crochet was more work than it was worth, but it wasn't.  Plus, I'm sure I'll use the skills I learned on future projects!

The finished product!

WiP Wednesday - Progress!

I'm happy to say that I have a project or two to post today!  Although, Wednesday snuck up on me so I really apologize for the pictures - I had to take them with my phone since I left my camera at home!  It was Canadian Thanksgiving so we had Monday off...and now, all of a sudden it's Wednesday and I haven't taken pictures or prepared my post!

Thanks again to Tami for hosting the WiP Wednesdays on her blog.  It's definitely a good motivator to get some knitting done!  I love seeing what everyone else is working on too.  Feel free to join in!

I've made good progress on the "Hat With a Duck Part" (the Half-Pipe Hat by Debbie Stoller).  After restarting the tubular cast-on a few times, see last Wednesday's post, I finally got it and I'm really liking the way it looks:

I'm hoping to have the hat finished by the weekend.  I'm also hoping that I don't run out of yarn!  I can't remember if I have more of this yarn in my stash - I think I should but I bought it a while ago so my memory is failing me.  I'm almost done the ribbed section, then a section of stockinette stitch, and finally I'll need to add the brim (need to go buy some plastic canvas for that).

I have made a little more progress on the Hippo (by Susan B. Anderson, from Itty Bitty Toys).  I think I just needed a bit of a break from knitting with this yarn and knitting so tightly after the Elefante.  I'm really excited to get this hippo done but I've pushed back my deadline until Christmas.  That way I can actually enjoy the process instead of feeling pressured to give it to my niece soon.

I'm planning on starting a few new projects for Christmas presents so I really need to get moving on the ones I have in progress!

WiP Wednesday - Flop!

Well, I had planned to have something new to share this week...but I don't.

I attempted to start the Half-pipe Hat which meant learning the tubular cast-on.  I found a great video online and cast on my 80 stitches and started the two 'follow-up' rows.  Well, I had to do this a couple of times.  Then, after I thought I finally had it, some stitches slipped off my needle - normally, I would be able to pick them back up and put them back on but not in this case.  The tubular cast-on uses 'twists' and once they fall off, they untwist.  Maybe there is a way to re-twist and put back on but I couldn't figure it out...so I decided to start AGAIN.

In frustration, I just started pulling the yarn and unravelling.  In the process, I created a HUGE tangled mess and spent the rest of the night untangling yarn.

So, I tried again tonight.  Cast-on 80 stitches with the tubular cast on...got to the next couple of rows and had stitches fall off - twice!  I'm stubborn, so, instead of finding another appropriate cast-on, I continued until I got it...and I finally did!  I'll share it in an upcoming post because I have put it in my knitting bag for the night and don't feel like taking pictures of it because that would mean I have to look at it - which I don't want to do right now :)

The rest of my free time tonight has been spent trying to get tea stains out of a book (that belongs to the library).  I'm pleased to say that went better than the tubular cast-on :)

Next week I will have some picture-worthy updates!  It's been a really busy week for me work-wise and otherwise!  Busy, but good :)

WiP Wednesday - This Week, I'm a Trader!

Thanks again to Tami for hosting these WiP Wednesdays on her blog!  I really enjoy browsing through all the links people post there - if you haven't yet, check it out!  And feel free to join in!


I have to admit, since last week I haven't put the work into my WiPs that I had hoped.  I got sidetracked...

...my fingers needed a rest from knitting :)  

So, my WiPs remain the same as last week - the Hippo and the shawl - both with no progress worth mentioning.  I plan to cast on a hat this week for my friend's 5-year-old son.  He had a very specific request for me.

I hang out at their house a lot and he had been watching me knit for a couple of months.  Every time he would ask what I'm making and who I'm knitting it for.  He would even remember a week later what project I had been working on the last time I saw him and ask if I was finished and, if not, when I would be.  A few times went straight for my knitting bag, pull out my project (still on the needles) and, before I could tell him to be careful, ask me what it was and who it was for.

One day, I was working on a project in the morning as he left for school.  When he came home, he immediately asked if the sweater for baby Lucy was done - it was.  He laid it out on the couch, smoothed out all the wrinkles and said, "Ohh!  This is really nice!  Baby Lucy is really going to like it!".  Heartwarming!  

Then, one day he put in a request.  He asked if I could make him something - a hat with a duck part, as he showed me with his hands a shape coming from his forehead.  In red.  I said I could.  So I went on Ravelry.com and found some patterns for duck hats.  "Like this?" I asked, "but in red?".  "Yes", he replied, "but without the eyes".  I confirmed that he wanted the duck hat in red, with the yellow duck part but no eyes.  No, that wasn't what he wanted.  After a lot of questioning and clarification, I realized that he wanted a hat with a bill!  Nothing resembling a duck at all - just the duck PART!  Oh, and it was to be "like a hard hat", so that he couldn't ruin it.  I explained that I would make it so it wouldn't fall apart, but that knitting would not be as hard as a real hard hat.  I don't think he actually wanted it hard, perhaps he was trying to tell me he wanted it to be stiff?

So, I eventually got the yarn and got his approval, but finding a pattern was not easy!  I did find one that I think will work in the book Son of Stitch n' Bitch by Debbie Stroller; it's called the "Half-Pipe Hat".  I need to learn the tubular cast-on; looks like some people on Ravelry gave up on it and used a different cast-on.  I'm determined to learn! 

I need to get on it, the poor kid requested it back in the spring and now is the perfect time of year for him to wear it!  Pressure is on - I'm already worrying that he won't like it!

FO Friday - Baby Booties

Oh, what a process it was to finish the booties.  I won't totally get into it but let's just say I finished the first bootie a long time ago.  When I went to finish the second one, I couldn't remember what size needles I used.  Good thing I had it on my Ravelry project page, right?  NO!  Wrong size needle on there.  I also wrote two needle sizes on the pattern - one saying "3 to 6 mo." and the other "bigger size".  I must have made the 3 to 6 month size, made sense.  NO!  Ok, must be the "bigger size" - yeah...NO.  Let's just say I now have 3 booties without a pair in all different sizes and I learned my lesson about being sure I update my project info once I start it!  Good thing I had a vague memory of knitting the first one on grey needles...

Anyways, it was worth it.  These were a quick knit and are SO cute!  The pattern is Saartje's Bootees on Ravelry.  The yarn is Rowan RYC Cashcotton 4-Ply which is a great yarn for this project - nice and soft and easy to work with.

Sophie is about 3 weeks old and they fit her perfectly - they won't fit for long though!

I've shown most of what I included in the baby shower gift for little Sophie in my previous posts but here's a pic of the finished lot!  Two slouch hats, Spud & Chloe's Buga Baby Bunting, the booties, the Elefante, and then I whipped up a minky blanket with tags on two ends.  I really had fun making it all!

WiP Wednesday!

Thanks to Tami for 'hosting' the Work In Progress Wednesdays on her blog!  It keeps me blogging...and knitting! 

I have two WiPs to share this week.

~1~

I started another project this week.  This one has no deadlines attached (it's a 'just because' gift for my niece) but I don't think it will sit on the needles too long because I can't wait for it to be done!

I'm making the Hippo from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Toys book.  I'm using the same yarn I used for the Elefante.

Here's the beginning of the body - the blisters and tenderness on my fingers still hasn't healed from the Elefante (tight knits!) so I'm going to have to pace myself :)

~2~

I've made a bit more progress on the Travelling Woman lace shawl.  It's a project I really have to focus on so it's not a good knit to work on late at night while watching tv (so it's taking me a while to complete).  I'm looking forward to completing the knitting and then blocking it - I think blocking is really going to make a difference on this project.

FO Friday - Elefante!

I was planning to have two FOs to show off today.  I started a pair of baby booties a while ago and I planned to have the second one finished by today.  I couldn't remember which size needle I used - I had two sizes written on the pattern that I got from reading other people's notes on Ravelry - one said "bigger size" and one said "3 to 6 mo.".  Then, my Ravelry project page had another needle size (the one that the pattern actually calls for) so, I figured that is the size I used.  It wasn't.  And now I have a teeny tiny bootie and one that is likely the 3 to 6 month size - so, today I will be knitting another one on a bigger needle.  Good thing they don't take too long!

So, my FO is my Elefante in Pink.  She is SO cute and I can't wait to give her away this weekend (ok, that's a little bit of a lie because I sort of want to keep her for myself).  I made extra sure that all of her parts were securely attached since this is a present for a baby.  I was sure to pack her with the stuffing so, when it starts to compress, she will still hold her shape.  More info on this pattern in this blog post and on my Ravelry project page.

WiP Wednesday: Elefante!

Since last week I have one WiP to add to the list.
~1~
I came across this Susan B. Anderson pattern on Ravelry and had to knit it up!  (It's available at that link for FREE!)  I'm hoping to have it finished in time to include it in Sophie's baby shower present.  Then, I plan to knit the Hippo from Susan B. Anderson's "Itty Bitty Toys" book in the same yarn for my niece Lucy (who is Sophie's cousin, once removed...or something along those lines).
 

By the way, I just received "Itty Bitty Toys", "Itty Bitty Hats", and "Itty Bitty Nursery" as a gift and the patterns are to die for!  I want to knit them all!...but will start with the Hippo :)  I would definitely suggest these books for anyone who knits for babies.  Be sure to check out Susan B. Anderson's blog for corrections to patterns.  The links to the corrections can be found on the left-hand menu.
 
The yarn I'm using is Schachenmayr "Boston Fashion Color".  The color is 01485 and it is mostly a deep pink color with some lighter pinks and oranges in it.  It's perfect for this project!

The pictures are taken with my phone so excuse the poor quality.  I'll have her done by Friday and I'll post some better pictures of the finished product!

Here are the feet, ready to be stuffed and the beginning of the body:

A couple days later, the majority of it is done.  All she needs is ears, eyes, a tail, and then to join the head to the body:

She is almost done now and she is SO cute!  I'm going to have a hard time giving this one away.

FO Friday!

I will attempt to make FO posts on Fridays - if I have any to share, that is.  I'm happy to say that this Friday I have material to post!

Both patterns are from madmonkeyknits.com.  I found the patterns easy to follow and they were quick to knit up!

First, the Baby Superfast Slouch Hat.  The pattern says that the hat will be finished in 30 minutes...but it took me one hour (I'm still learning this knitting stuff) - not because of the pattern, I'm just not a speedy knitter...yet.  Also, my yarn was a little thinner than the pattern called for so I made the size medium hoping that it will turn out size small, which it did.

I used Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash color 859 (Lake Chelan) - I love the color! You can see a better picture of the color here.  The yarn is made of wool so the end result was a hat that was a bit more stiff than the pattern intended - it still slouches, just not on its own (you just have to push it down at the back).

The hat is adorable and I can't wait to include it as part of my baby shower present for Baby Sophie.

The second hat I made was Baby Silver Silk Super Slouch.  Another beautiful hat.  I love these slouch hats for babies!  So cute and fashionable.  Plus, they are stretchy enough that I think next winter Sophie will be able to wear them as non-slouch winter hats!

For this one, I used one of my favorite yarns, Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK.  I love the feel of it and the sheen it has.  Plus, it comes in some great colors!  This yarn allows the hat to slouch nicely.

Now, back to work on my WiPs!

WiP Wednesday

Here is what I have in progress at the moment!
~1~
I'm finally going to finish these booties so I can give them to Baby Sophie.  I'm really looking forward to finishing this WiP for two reasons:

1. I don't like having "half-finished" projects hanging around.  They just keep getting pushed to the back of the line for more urgent and exciting projects.  
2. I started knitting these booties when a friend was pregnant and I didn't know what she was having - hence, putting the project on the back burner!  Well, that friend had a boy and I decided I wouldn't finish them until a little girl came along...and she did!  So now I have the perfect baby girl to finish this project for!

For Sophie's baby shower gift, I'm putting together a few knit projects.  Sophie's mom always admired the knit projects I did for my niece.  She mentioned on more than one occasion that she hoped I would knit something for her baby.  So, I think she will be thrilled with what I'm giving her.

The pattern is Saartje's Bootees on Ravelry.com.

Here is my progress so far...I think I will add little round 'pearl' buttons to finish them off:

~2~

My second WiP is a bolero with a lace edge I'm knitting for my niece, Lucy.  The pattern is by Sirdar. 

You can see a picture of the yarn and a part of my work, so far, in this blog post.  I've knit the back, the two front pieces and am now working on the sleeves.  The needles are quite small so it's taking a while for me to finish this project - especially since I'm working on other projects in between.  

The size I'm making is 1-2.  Since there can be quite a difference in size between a -1 and a 2-year-old, I held up the pieces on her last week and it looks like it's going to be the right size when it's finished.

~3~

My third WiP is a lace shawl, Travelling Woman.  It's my first attempt at lace - I had to restart it a few times but I'm on a roll now.  Just need to find the time to work on it!  You can see a picture of it on the right-hand side of my blog under "What I'm WiPping Up".  I have a bit more done than is in that picture and I will post more as I get more done!

That is all I have on my needles right now...but I have more in the queue!  Must. Get. Knitting.

It's a Girl!

Last night,  my boyfriend's cousin and his wife had a little girl.  This is good news!  Well, any baby is good news but little girls are especially exciting (for us girls, at least) because they are so fun to shop for!  And, for me, to knit for!  I like knitting for boys but I find that there are way more irresistible patterns out there for little girls.

When I first heard of the pregnancy, I started to knit a pair of Saartje's Bootees but stopped after the first one because they were very girly and we didn't know the sex - now that she's here, I'm motivated to finish the second before the baby shower!  They don't take long to make and are SO cute, so I'm sure I'll have it done.

I also knit the Spud & Chloe Buga Baby Bunting in anticipation of baby's arrival.  Since this is one of those patterns that could work for a little boy or girl, I knit a little pink bow, just in case - I guess I'll have to add it on now!

Here is a picture of the bunting, pre-blocking:

Done on big needles and bulky yarn, it was a quick knit and I'll definitely be making more of these as gifts! More details can be found on my Ravelry project page, Baby Bear Bunting.

I learned a few new techniques while knitting this project.  My favorite was the Kitchener Stitch!  It allowed me to join the hood to the body without a visible seam.  One of my knitting books had a description and some simple drawings and that was enough to learn the stitch - it's that easy.

The bow is not stitched on in the picture above, but you get the idea...a little feminine touch so hopefully people won't have to ask "is it a boy or girl?" while she's wearing this.