WIP: Space Blankie

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I just realized that I haven’t done much reporting on my various creative pursuits in a while. Truth be told, summer doesn’t find me doing much crafting simply because we’re just so busy with all the various outdoor activities that accompany good weather. Crafting hits its stride in the colder months.

However, when I do find a spare moment, I have been working on this little blanket for Monkeyboy. You may remember that I posted about getting the fabric for it months ago, but actual construction has been very slow. I’m actually taking great pains on this particular project and binding the raw edges instead of my usual sew-the-edges-and-turn-it-right-side-out approach. Binding raw edges requires a once-around with the sewing machine and then a once-around with good old-fashioned hand sewing. I just like how it looks, so I do it that way sometimes. I’ve been running a timer while working on it to see how long it takes to do it this way and I’m up to five hours so far. I think it will take another six hours of work to finish it. Good luck coming up with that anytime soon!

Roar! #2

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Pattern: “Roar! A Dinosaur Hat,” by Kate Oates
Yarn: Knit Picks’ Shine Worsted in Green Apple & Grass
Needles: US 7

Even though Penguin is modeling the hat, I made it as a 4th birthday present for her future fiance, Will. He’s big into dinosaurs right now and his mom made a random comment after seeing Monkeyboy’s Roar hat that Will would totally love a dinosaur hat of his own. And seeing how she was able to deliver that comment without exuding any pressure upon me to actually make one for her son, I decided to make one because I wanted to make it.





I totally love this hat and I totally love this yarn.

Click here to view this project’s Ravelry page.

Penguin and Will have been intended for each other since before they were born, when Denise found out she was having a boy and I found out I was having a girl, due at the same time. (I went into labor a week early, she went into labor a week late…) I was thinking about this blog post when I stumbled across some archived photos from the first version of this blog (long since deleted), and found the following:

Holding hands:

This is from when we referred to the two of them as “Tank and Tink”:

And this happened one random day when Denise and I were messing around with her camera:

I’m a little concerned over how forward she was in kissing him first…

Totally meant for each other. I will make their boy babies lots of dinosaur hats. 🙂

Yarn Swag

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The yarn stash has grown considerably, thanks to the annual “Yarn Quest” that’s put on by seven yarn shops in the Salt Lake Valley. Thought I’d share some pictures of the swag for those of you who are as excited by wool as I am:

Some Cascade 220, purchased at Unwind, which I plan upon using to create another Aran Scarf, this time for myself:
Rowan Colourscape Chunky, picked up at The Unravelled Sheep. An impulse buy because it reminded me of Penguin for some reason. Not quite sure what I’m going to make with it; probably a scarf for the cute girl:
A handful of skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic, found at The Wool Cabin, intended for a Sweet Pea Hat and a Happy Trails hat (Ravelry link):

Some Knit One Crochet Too “Crock-o-Dye,” purchased at Black Sheep Wool Company, in a colorway that matches Bluebird’s new winter parka, for which she is lacking accessories:
Mmmm, Koigu. Believe it or not, all three of these colorways will be in the same project and will probably end up looking quite fabulous. That’s the magic of Koigu. I don’t know why it works that way, but it does. I plan upon using this to make a beautiful linen stitch scarf that I saw on display at Blazing Needles:
Shibui Stacatto, colorway: “50’s Kitchen,” also from Blazing Needles. I saw it and grabbed every skein of it from the display because I just absolutely fell in love with the colors. I think they make a cute “little boy” colorway…I’m leaning towards using it to make a cardigan for Monkeyboy:

Some Berroco “Vintage,” destined to become a Pembroke vest for Monkeyboy, chosen after Kamille pointed it out for its machine washability and economical price:
A special treat that I picked up at Three Wishes Fiber Arts–a merino and tencel fiber blend by Greenwood Fiberworks (fittingly named “Vancouver”)–for me to get my spin on.I only possess a hand spindle, so spinning hasn’t been a big focus of mine. However, at knit group, Kit showed me an easier way to wield the hand spindle and thus re-ignited my interest in the craft.

Bluebird wants some Mommy-made yarn as well, and chose some fiber at Three Wishes in a colorway that suited her, Mountain Color’s “Gold Rush”:

The purpose of Yarn Quest is to get you to visit all seven stores (hopefully parting with some of your money) and get your Yarn Quest card punched/stamped so it can be entered into a drawing for all sorts of delicious knitting goodies.

They also had a kids’ card, which Bluebird diligently presented at each shop and is now holding her breath over whether or not she’ll win a prize. (If she’s inherited her mother’s luck, she will not win a thing.)

It was fun to spend two whole Saturdays with just her (and Monkeyboy, as I’m his sole food source), travelling about and chatting and just being together. It’s hard to find one-on-one time with my children, so I was pleased that we could bond over something that interests me so much. Penguin is looking forward to tagging along with us for next year’s Yarn Quest because she wants some quality time with Mama as well.

She’s been requesting knitting lessons every since we walked out of the first shop together. I was planning on teaching her this winter, but might bump it up as a result of her newfound enthusiasm. Heaven knows we have enough inspiration, in the form of yarn and fiber, to keep us happily engaged for many months to come!

Little Boy Fabric

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I have few blankets of the non-pink variety, and only one that’s big enough to use as a nursing cover-up. Obviously, a trip to the fabric store was in order! I plan to make two nursing blankets out of the bottom four fabrics and a car seat tent out of the top two fabrics. (That is, when I find the time to get out my sewing machine and actually use it…)

It was a refreshing change to look for boy fabric…there’s some really cute stuff to choose from these days! What a great time to have a little boy!

Roar! A Dinosaur Hat

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Pattern: Roar! A Dinosaur Hat, by Kate Oates
Yarn: Knit Picks’ Shine Worsted in Aquamarine and Clementine (60% Pima Cotton, 40% Modal natural beech wood fiber)
Needles: US 7

Talk about crazy cuteness! I saw this pattern while I was still pregnant with Monkeyboy; and, not knowing the gender of my little bambino, told myself that if I had a boy that I would definitely make this hat. Let’s just say I was all too happy to keep that promise and I plan on fulfilling it many times more after this initial completion. I LOVE this hat!

Of course, my darling boy looks completely adorable in it. (But really, with a smile like that, he could make anything look absolutely charming…) I plan on making the next one in a monochromatic color scheme…light and dark shades of the same color. (I’ve been told that this would make it look more dinosaury.) I’ve also had a request from one of my daughters for a pink version. This hat is a runaway winner!

The pattern is super easy to follow and the spikes are totally easy to make. (Perfection for a sleep-deprived mama such as myself!) Make one yourself, you’ll fall in love with it as well!

Click here to see this project’s Ravelry page.

Summer Star Hat

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Renaissance has been so jealous of Emily’s “Rainbow” Inca hat and even went so far as to rifle through my yarn stash until she found the leftover yarn I made it from; which she brought to me and asked, with big pleading eyes, that I use it to create a hat for her.

Pattern: Summer Star Hat, by Mary Triplett
Yarn: Noro Taiyo, left over from Emily’s Inca Hat, Color #11, less than half a skein
Needles: US #6 DPNs

I found myself wandering aimlessly around the house after the girls had gone to sleep on Friday, so I sat down to begin organizing my knitting stash and discovered that I had this adorable little pattern crammed in amongst many other forgotten knitterly things. I cast on right then and there (about 11pm or so) and worked until about 1am. I then spent most of the next day working feverishly on it and finished it just before the girls went off to bed. (In case you’re wondering, that’s LESS than 24 hours…I felt like a super knitter, even though I never could have done it had Michael not taken over for the entire day while I remained curled up under my blanket with my project.)

Of all my girls, Renaissance is definitely the most knitworthy. She genuinely wants me to knit things for her and is giddy whenever I present her with a new handmade item. When I gave her this hat, she yelled “Yay!” and started jumping up and down, then had to run to the mirror to see how it looked on her and then insisted on wearing it to bed because she believed it would give her “good rainbow dreams.” You better believe that I’ll keep knitting for someone who appreciates it as much as that!

The pattern calls for a worsted weight yarn and #8 needles, but I figured it would turn out too small for my three year old, so I bumped my needles down significantly and spent a lot of time worrying whether it would actually fit her when I was done. Ren was only too happy to relieve my fears and try it on throughout its construction–she thought it was so funny to wear a hat that still had knitting needles in it! It fits snugly, but the cotton in the yarn is stretching each time she wears it and it’s fitting better with each day.

I think it’s just darling, even if the stitch is kind of annoying to work…knit loosely, very loosely! I’m definitely going to make some more of these; I think Rachel would be so adorable in a little yellow hat with an orange flower on the side. Perhaps I’ll make a wee little one as well in case Baby #4 turns out to be a girl; it’d be super cute on a newborn.

(I’ve also been informed by a certain five year old that it would look very good on her as well…in the same color, of course.)

Finished: Vine and Leaf Beret

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Seven days of knitting frenzy equals one lavender beret. I got it into my head that I wanted to finish this before the end of the year, so there’s been a whole lotta clicking needles this past week.

Pattern: Vine and Leaf Beret (#11) from Vogue Knitting Fall 2009
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, Color #340033 (Lavender), 1.25 skeins
Needles: US #3 16″ Circular & #3 DPNs

This was easy, especially after wallowing through the charts for the Japanese Butterfly Lace Beret. You just do four repeats of a simple pattern and then switch into a pretty simple decrease modification of the same pattern. It was a nice “pick up and knit a few stitches when you have a moment” project.

Here’s a shot of it, fresh off the needles and before its wet block last night–very beanie-ish.

The yarn–oooh, smooshy, smooshy. Love it, even though it will split like crazy should you happen to make a mistake and frog and then re-knit it. If you’ve ever been in my house, you’d know that I love this particular shade of purple (it’s what we painted our great room). I was torn between the lavender and a beautiful light aqua color…perhaps I’ll just buy the aqua as well on the next trip up to my favorite yarn store, Black Sheep Wool Company in SLC.

I would totally make this beret again; it’s easy, a pretty quick knit and the yarn was really nice to work with. (I may actually be making a toddler version, as Renaissance stood by me for quite some time yesterday, asking if it was for her…guess she took a liking to it.) The brim is pretty darn loose though–I’ll probably knit it on smaller needles next time for a better fit.

Japanese Butterfly Lace Beret Delivered

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I did it. I parted with that beautiful hat. It was the plan all along, but it was a test of personal accountability to actually follow through with my original intentions.

It was worth it. She phoned me twenty minutes later in a very happy mood and said that her gift was “exquisite.”

Good. 🙂

Finished: Japanese Butterfly Lace Beret

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Meet the model: Giant Penguin.
He thinks this hat is “cool.” (Hehehe)
This beret was created for a friend, and I just have this thing about wearing someone else’s stuff before they get to wear it, so I decided to have Giant Penguin step in as my model in order to avoid stray hairs or anything else that would be kind of embarassing to show up in a gift.

Anyway, the technical stuff:
Pattern: Lace Beret #13 from Vogue Knitting Fall 2009
Yarn: KnitPick’s Bare Merino Wool Sock Yarn, about half a skein (220 yards or so)
Needles: US #1 & #3 circulars, #3 dpns

Notes: The ribbing for this thing is just plain torture. However, once you get into the lace pattern, it’s pretty fun. I like this hat. I’m slightly tempted to make one for myself as well.

And blocking over a dinner plate is super amusing:I could not keep her away from the thing while it dried. Hopefully there’s no Dorito fingerprints on it–I kept moving the plate to various spots where I thought she couldn’t get to it, but she kept proving me wrong.

There’s not much else to say about this cute little beret, except that I need to walk it over to its recipient. I am sad to let this one go, I’ve come to like it so very much!

My New Response to Knitting Requests

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It’s a weird phenomenon–word gets out that you know how to knit (or crochet, or sew, or quilt, or whatever…) and people start asking you to make stuff for them. It’s not rude or anything, they’re genuinely interested in your talents and are willing to buy the materials and sometimes add on a little extra money to make it worth your while. I’m not complaining, it’s fun to be “in demand.”

But I’ve got a lot of people who demand much from me.

And I’m a gifter. I really, really enjoy making stuff for other people.

But I have to say no. There’s just not enough time to produce all the items requested, paid for or not.

So my new response is: “If you buy the yarn and come over to my house, I’ll teach you how to make it yourself.”

Give a pal a handknit gift and you warm them for a couple of years. Teach them to knit and you warm them for a lifetime.