Bronzed Berry Socks

These suckers have been on the needles since August 2009. (They were in hibernation for a while.) I just finished them up this week. I'm delighted with them - if ever there was a "Cheryl" colourway, this is it. Reds! Oranges! Purples! Black! Plus: it feels really, really good to finish a project that's been in the wings for a while. (Stay tuned. More UFOs [UnFinished Objects] will be completed shortly. I'm on a UFO completing binge these days.)
Pattern: The Yarn Harlot's "Good, Plain Sock Recipe" from her "Knitting Rules" book
Yarn: Patons Kroy Stripes in "Bronzed Berry," with toes and heels in Patons Kroy "Coal"

"Snugglers of Catan" Baby Blanket, or "Catanket"

I’ve had this project in mind for quite some time. As big “Settlers of Catan” fans, I like the idea of making a replica of the game board, and this Dream in Color yarn has such great colour variations within each solid that I thought it would really evoke the game tiles perfectly. But I had no need to make one for us, so I was just waiting for the perfect opportunity... which came along thanks to Huss and Sarah who obligingly decided to have another baby, thus providing me with a great excuse to make them a “Snugglers of Catan” baby blanket (or, as Jeffy likes to call it, a “Catanket”). I found a hexagon pattern in one of my knitting books, and used the Dream in Color yarn in seven different colours to make the tiles. It was a really fun project - lots of great colours, and doing each hex meant that it didn’t get boring. It was neat to see it all coming together as each hex grew on to the previous ones. We took the pattern from the "beginner layout" of tiles which the game suggests using with first-time players. (I didn't even know such a layout existed, but it seemed appropriate given that babies are true "beginners" - in all things.) Huss and Sarah are big Catan fans themselves, and also already have all of the practical baby stuff they could need, so I felt like this would be a good gift for them. The wool is all 100% washable (a must for baby items, I think), and the blanket itself is about 1m in diameter, so it can be used in a practical fashion if desired. But if they just want to think of it as a goofy gift for their latest little one, that’s just fine, too. Regardless, it was made with lots of love, and is full of wishes for every good thing for all of them as they welcome baby Altair in to their incredible family.
Pattern: mostly out of my head, with help from Jeffy; hex pattern from the “Snapping Turtle Skirt” out of Norah Gaughan’s “Knitting Nature”
Yarn: Dream in Color “Classy” in “Some Summer Sky” (water), “Butter Peeps” (wheat), “Spring Tickle” (sheep), “Happy Forest” (wood), “Grey Tabby” (ore), “Lipstick Lava” (brick), and “November Muse” (desert)

Baby Booties for Shawna & Robyn

It's kind of become my "thing" to make a pair of these booties for every new baby who crosses my path. This is a pattern from a book I bought when Neva was a baby (so, seven-and-a-bit years ago) which has since been discontinued, and I have made them so many times and in so many ways with so many different yarns that I kind of think of them as "my" booties. This most recent incarnation is a pair for friends who are expecting their first baby at the end of April. They were given at a baby shower on Saturday and, if I may say, nothing tugs at the heart strings of a group of women like tiny knitted booties. Wishing them a safe delivery and a healthy baby and every joy a new life brings.
Pattern: Soft Shades Layette Booties from Patons "Giggle Knits"
Yarn: Dream in Color "Classy" in "Butter Peeps"

Ridiculous Gauntlets of Pointlessness

After seeing a pair of little gauntlets I'd made for Hugh back in the day (to keep that part of the wrist warm which seems to always be exposed between mitten and jacket), Neva requested a pair for herself. I had some other projects on the go (go figure) but was ready to get at them recently. When choosing yarn, however, I lamented that the stuff she'd chosen was acrylic and therefore wouldn't be as warm as wool. "Oh, warmth doesn't matter, Mommy," she said. "I want these for playing Superhero in the basement." Alrighty, then. At this point I stopped caring about quality of execution and focussed on completion - mostly so I could get these off my list and move on to the next. She's delighted, nonetheless, and she even wore them to school today - presumably to play Superhero at recess.
Pattern: mostly of my own devising
Yarn: Two different chunky weight acrylic yarns from my stash (leftovers from her poncho, actually)

Birds

A friend passed on the link to make these little birds. As soon as the kids saw them, they asked for one each. I had them choose their fabrics from my stash: Neva chose the turquoise fish and purple belly; Hugh chose pumpkins with orange floral belly; and Rory chose blue with swirls and dragonflies for the belly. The pattern was simple and straightforward, and the end result is pretty cute, if I do say so myself.
Pattern: Mister Blue Bird
Fabrics: Quilting cottons from my stash

Birthday Socks for Jeffy

So it's become a bit of a tradition that every year I make Jeffy a pair of socks. This year, he got these ones, which I'm quite happy with. Not much to tell, really, except that I finished them only two days after his birthday (which is pretty good in sock-knitting-gift-time) and I did the sole in a linen stitch to try and reduce the need for darning later. I will say, however, that the fact that I need to darn his handknit socks means that he's actually wearing and enjoying them, and for that I'm glad.
Pattern: "Shadow Socks" from The Little Box of Socks
Yarn: Dream in Color "Classy" in "Black Pearl"

Winter Socks for Neva

Neva had been complaining of cold feet both at night and while wearing her boots, so I decided to make her a pair of wool socks to wear either in bed or in her boots over her other socks. They're long enough, but I think I'd make them a bit wider another time. I used leftover yarn from other projects; there wasn't enough to make a whole pair, but she seems pleased with the unique way they turned out. And if she's happy, I'm happy!
Pattern: variation of "After Bertha" in Socks Socks Socks
Yarn: Dream in Color "Classy" Yarn, in "Ruby River" and "Into the Mystic"

Acorn Squash Baby Set

Made for friends Andrew and Eva who love food, and who just had their first baby, Isaac. We thought the colours of the yarn made the hat look like a little acorn squash, modeled here by Ewan. Wishing them many happy years of delicious meals with their little one!
Pattern: Tutti Cutie Fruity Hats; Patons Look at Me! Booties
Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay Wool Clasica

Hallowe'en Costumes for Neva and Hugh

I've started asking the children about 6 months ahead of time what they want to be for Hallowe'en. Partly I do this to see if they're going to change their minds repeatedly; this way I don't get invested in producing a costume until I hear something consistent. I also do this with the idea that "I'll get started early this year" - which - hahahahaha! Hilarious. I kill me. In any case: both kids were clear for a long time about what they wanted to be: Neva wanted to be a chick, and Hugh wanted to be Batman. Neva helped choose the fabric for her costume, and I cobbled together a pattern from two other costume designs - would you guess that this chick is in fact the love-child of a parrot and a bumblebee?
Pattern: Combination of Simplicity 3663 and Simplicity 2829
Fabric: Fleece, Cabbage Rose Jersey, Craft Foam
Value Village came through for me again for Hugh's costume. I was there getting him some black clothes to wear underneath his costume, and found this pre-fab Batman chest, complete with logo and muscle definition. All I needed to make were the cape and hood. The cape is particularly awesome - nice and full, unlike many Hallowe'en capes for kids. They are both delighted, which makes me feel happy, and reminds me that the time and effort I put in to creating these costumes for them is all worth it.
Patterns: Cape - Simplicity 5927; Hood - McCall's 4951
Fabric: Satin
(The full Hallowe'en 2009 recap is here.)

Kitty Hat for Neva

The second in a continuing series: here we have the same hat that I just made for a smaller child (Rory or Ewan, I'm still not sure who will wear it this winter) in a larger size, with larger yarn, and for a larger kid. Neva's new favourite colours are turquoise, light blue, and purple, so this yarn seemed perfect. She wanted embroidery on the top, and she got it. And I think it will keep her nice and warm. Despite her pensive look in the photo above, she's thrilled.
Pattern: "Pussy Cat" from "Beehive's Family Headwear and Scarves #98," slightly modified to make it the right size
Yarn: Dream In Color "Classy" in "Into the Mystic"

Bat Hat

So the plan was to make a Batman hat for Hugh for the upcoming fall/winter season. (Sorry for making everyone think of winter when it's only just barely summer, but small knits are great summer projects.) I got this idea when we were at one of Neva's friends' houses and her mom put this great little hat on her. It was clearly hand knit, and I asked who had knit it, and she told me it was her grandmother, but of course the pattern was AWOL. I came home and searched for the hat on Ravelry; found it; and ordered the vintage pattern book from Alibris. (Some days I really love the internet.) Sadly, although I followed the instructions perfectly, we ended up with a bit of a "Three Bears" situation: the hat was too small for Hugh's head, and too big for Ewan's, but it fit Rory juuuuuuust right. I'm glad it will still get used. It's too cute not to be worn, don't you think? (Ewan is modeling because I was unable to get a good pic of Rory in the hat. Rest assured he looks pretty cute in it, too.)
Pattern: "Pussy Cat" from "Beehive's Family Headwear and Scarves #98" (those two titles right there should tell you it's vintage)
Yarn: Stylecraft Life DK (wool/acrylic blend)

SuperSecretWeddingBlanket for Kyle and Courtney

This was absolutely not a solo project; definitely a team effort by many people, not least of whom were my cousin Kyle and his now-wife Courtney who inadvertently instigated this project by a) deciding to get married and b) getting matched to chilly Prince George, BC for their residencies. In late March, I had the idea of trying to make them a surprise group wedding gift of a knitted quilt; I emailed my mom, aunt, and cousins to see if they were interested. They were, and a few more friends came on board, and by the wedding date two months later, we had 70 8" squares and a beautiful quilt made with love. (If you're at all interested in seeing more details about this, you can check out the blog that goes along with the quilt.)

Mancho for Hugh

For some reason, Neva started wearing her poncho non-stop in January. She wore it to school; she wore it at home; she wore it to bed. So Hugh decided he also wanted a poncho. We finally decided that making him one with a road on it would be a good solution; this way he could play with his toys while staying warm. I finished it over March Break; he came home, put it on for about two seconds and now it has a spot in his room on his toy shelf. Was it worth it? Who can say. I got to knit, and the kids each have a poncho, and maybe ponchos take a while to fall in love with. Maybe, like Neva, he'll start wearing his non-stop about four months after it's done. We'll see. (Props to Courtney for the great name. It's not a poncho; it's a MANcho. Very manly, indeed.)

Fingerless Gloves for Jeffy

Okay, so technically these were a Solstice gift, but they required a bit of finishing and modification afterwards and I only just got them done a couple of days before Jeffy's birthday. I like them because they have a nice long cuff to keep wrists warm while allowing for use of fingers when driving, adjusting one's iPod, etc. I think Jeffy likes them, too. I can tell because he's worn them. More than once.
Pattern: Cigar Gloves (modified)
Yarn: Dream in Color "Classy" in "Black Pearl"

Fancy-Pants Dress for Neva

Fancy-Pants Dress for Neva So I took Neva to the NAC last weekend to see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. She was less than impressed with having to drive to Ottawa, but loved everything else about being there -- especially getting to dress up. I myself was prepared to make her a dress in more "festive" colours (I have a red velvet sparkly piece which is just awaiting use) but when she saw this pink sparkly organza, there were no other options. So I made her this "special" dress, which she will also get to wear to my cousin's wedding next May, and to any other special events in the meantime. There's room for her to grow in it, though it's not super-long; however, a frothy pink tulle crinoline peeking out from under the hem will be just the thing to make it even more danceable and wearable as she grows. She was delighted with it, as you can tell, and declared that the only people who had nicer dresses than she did at the ballet were the Sugarplum Fairies. Pattern: Butterick 3714 Fabric: Pink Organza with sparkle detail; Crepe-Backed Satin underlay

Hat for Hugh

Hugh is slightly more impressed with his hat than Rory was. I had made him long scarves on either side of the hat but he was not happy about those; we compromised, and I frogged about 16 inches off of each scarf and put a little button on and now he has a bit of a neckwarmer thing instead of a scarf. He has worn it, but apparently it "picks" him a little bit so I have no idea how much use it will get. It was a quick and fun knit, though, which makes up for a lot. (Added later: It turns out that he wears this hat all the time and seems to love it. Definitely worth it.)
Pattern: "Nomad Hat and Scarf" from Interweave Knits Fall 2007
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds

Useless Hat/Scarf Combo for Rory

Seriously -- I'm just not sure why I bother. I should have known that knitting a hat for a 15-month-old would be an exercise in futility. (This, in addition to the fact that we currently own 513 hats sized for children, what with the two older ones' hand-me-downs and various gifts/sale purchases/hand-me-downs from others.) I was seduced, however: seduced by the idea of ultra-soft alpaca/acrylic yarn; seduced by the small head of the child involved (rendering this a quick and easy knit); seduced by the pattern, which combines hat AND scarf in one, thus increasing the chances of the hat remaining on the head (due to the scarf being tied around the neck) and decreasing the chances of either hat or scarf being lost (since they're attached).
Although Rory looks like he's smiling here, I only managed to snap this picture because he was momentarily distracted by the novelty of the camera coming out. To see his real reaction to the hat, have a look at the News In Brief section on our main page. He will not keep this thing on. The cheap-o fleece thing from Old Navy with the velcro strap? No problem. Just fine. But the hand-knit, soft-as-anything work you see before you is clearly Un.Acceptable. (In his defense, I should point out that not everyone thinks this yarn is super-soft; I tried to pass this one on to Hugh and he rebelled as well, saying that the yarn was "scratchy." There's another one in the works for him, though, because he liked the style fine.)
I must stop knitting for Rory. We have too many sweaters already (only if we move to a colder clime will they all get used) and clearly hats/mitts/scarves are not an option. Someone remind me of this if the wool fumes get to me in the future, will you?
Pattern: "Nomad Hat and Scarf" from Interweave Knits Fall 2007
Yarn: Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends in "Indigo"

Neva's Poncho

Neva's Poncho I'd thought for a while of making Neva a poncho, for these transition-y days when it's warm and cool all in the same day. Neva requested these colours, and was especially happy about the fuzzy-sparkly bits at the bottom. It's actually a pattern which can be made longer as needed (just pick out the bottom cast-off edge and keep knitting) which is why I chose it; however, the interminable number of stitches around the bottom of this slightly-too-short poncho were making me crazy, so I'm not confident about how much longer this thing will ever get. It was an easy knit, though, and she seems to love it, which is really all that matters. Pattern: Grow With Your Child Poncho Yarn: Three colours of chunky acrylic yarn; pink fluffy Bernat "Disco" yarn for the border

Baby Cling-On

Baby Cling-On You may remember that some time ago I was looking for a back carrier for baby. I thought that as Rory grew and became more independent, my need for a purpose-built back carrier would lessen, but it turns out that's not the case. Our little Newbie is quite clingy these days; whether that's due to teething, or a persistent cold, or separation anxiety, or just wanting attention, I'm not sure. But when I'm toute seule with the kids, having a sad Rory on my hands does not help anything or anyone. (The older two especially are very sensitive to his upsets, sometimes getting upset themselves due to the high levels of emotion coursing through our home.) Anyway, this past week I decided to get one of these carriers. I was frustrated and looking online and I was about to order one, but I just couldn't pay $100 plus taxes and shipping and handling and possibly duty for a collection of fabric I knew I could make, given the time and materials. Then it occurred to me: my sewing machine is still in our (cleared out) basement; Rory naps for about 4 hours per day; and I have fabric stashed away somewhere. Voilà: time and materials. All I needed was to borrow an iron (ours is stashed away somewhere in the bowels of our storage unit), and Catherine saved my sanity by coming through on that one. I found a pattern online, some appropriate stash fabric in the basement, and three hours of time, so for the grand total of $5 (which I paid for the fleece lining), I now have a mei-tai style carrier. When I tried it on, I realized that the super-wide (but very comfy) straps made me look a little like a Klingon, and the title for this post, and this craft, became clear. So far I've worn it three times in 24 hours, with Rory in both front and back positions, and I love it. It's comfy, Rory's happy, and I can get stuff done. Totally worth the $5! Pattern: Baby Mei-Tai Style Carrier Fabric: heavy cotton from my stash

Baby Jester Hat

Baby Jester Hat So here's what happened: I found out the Yarn Harlot is launching her new book in Toronto on April 1st. Miraculously, it looks like I might be able to go. I would, of course, bring Rory, both because of the feeding issue and because the YH loves babies (she used to be a doula). As you might imagine, it is kind of "The Thing" to bring some knitting (both completed and in progress) to a YH event, so I started thinking about what I might do. Then it hit me that the event will be happening on April Fool's Day, and everything fell in to place. I'm thrilled. Pattern: Woolly Wormhead + some other patterns and my own imagination Yarn: Mission Falls 1840 Wool