attack of the baby knits!

More rare than UFO sightings in these parts but super fun to knit! I have a good friend who is expecting her first baby in September so I wanted to welcome the little tike with some special hand knits. For the sweater I chose the owlets pattern by Kate Davies mainly because I have always wanted to knit the owls pattern for myself. It turned out a little smaller than I had intended. It’s maybe a newborn size? Hopefully he’ll get to wear it a few times. I loved knitting those owl cables though so I might knit another one in the toddler size.

Next came the super quick baby bear hat which only took a few hours to make. I was debating whether to switch the rolled brim to a ribbed one but the rolled brim seemed like it would be more comfy for a baby.

My favorite knit of the three are the baby booties. Aren’t they so adorable? The pattern is the Baby Hausschuhe. The construction is very clever and best of all seamless. Kinda want to try knitting a pair for myself in super bulky yarn :)

The yarn that I used for all three patterns is knitpicks brava worsted in the dove heather colorway. It’s very soft and nice to knit with. Hopefully durable and easy to care for as well. I wasn’t quite sure how to block the finished knits since the yarn is 100 percent acrylic and I usually knit with natural fibers. I ended up washing and drying the knits, then hovering a steam iron over them to even out the stitches a little without killing the fabric. Please let me know if there’s a better way to block acrylic knits since I foresee more kidlet projects in the future :)

SOS :: soldotna & pavement

Today I wanted to highlight some techniques that I used to cobble together enough stash yarn to make two very different sweaters. The first one is my most recent finish:

It’s the Soldotna Crop (by the fabulous Caitlin Hunter) which is a super fun all over colorwork sweater knit with dk weight yarn. Unfortunately, my stash is on the light side when it comes to dk weight. But being a sock knitting fiend, I have tons of fingering weight yarn. The pattern calls for a small amount of four different colors so I decided to double strand the fingering weight yarns together in order to achieve the called for gauge. It worked like a charm, although I wished that I had a little bit more yardage left of the main body color to make the top less cropped. In order to compensate, I knitted the bottom ribbing a little longer and the sweater hits just at the top of my high waisted jeans. It is surprisingly wearable with both jeans and dresses/skirts. I am thinking of making a second more neutral version with varying shades of grays.

Summer of Stash sweater number two is one of my favorite finished sweaters ever. It’s the Pavement sweater by the ultra talented Veera Valimaki.

Simple designs such as this one lends itself well to color fading don’t you think? I had bought these three skeins of Hedgehog Fibres several years ago for a Stephen West mkal but ended up going with a different color scheme. Now I’m kinda glad that they were stashed because I am so thrilled with how they knitted up into this sweater! It’s a wonderfully comfy lightweight pullover.

So there you have it! Two new sweaters made entirely from The Stash! I am planning on shopping the stash for some baby knits. A good friend is expecting her first child (a boy) in September & I would love to make some special hand knits for the kiddo. Do you guys have any suggestions for baby pullovers or cardigans? Also hats & booties too :)

SOS {summer of stash}

Gosh it’s been awhile! How has your May been? I can’t believe that the end of school is coming up soon. In just a few more weeks the kid will be graduating from junior high. Right now we are busy with field trips & other end of school celebrations, plus transition meetings for high school. High school!!! I am so not ready!!! Can’t wait until summer vacation starts & we can sleep in a little. I love the slower pace of summertime here on the island.

I have already started making some fun knitting plans for the summer. This year has seen a major focus on using up the stash. I’ve been knitting up a storm on the garment front but will wait to share that with you on the next post. Today I want to talk about my newest obsession: shortie socks! They are such great projects for leftover partial skeins of fingering weight yarn. All of the following were knit on 2.25mm needles & 64 stitches:

Design line by Arne & Carlos :: summer night

The above pair was my first attempt. I wasn’t sure how long to knit the cuff/leg so I went with 10 rounds of 2x2 ribbing followed by 10 rounds of stockinette before knitting the fish lips kiss heel. Not bad for the first go round.

West Yorkshire Spinners :: peacock

I decided to increase the cuff length on the next pair: 15 rounds of 2x2 ribbing followed by 10 rounds of stockinette. Better fit but still not perfect.

Knitpicks Felici :: jamboree

Third time’s the charm! 15 rounds of 2x2 ribbing followed by 15 rounds of stockinette. The fit is just the way I like it. Now that I’ve hit on my perfect shortie formula, there’s a bunch of colorful felici sock yarn in the stash just waiting to be cast on!

Before I sign off today, I want to thank you for visiting! I really appreciate the fact that you take time out of your busy lives to read my oftentimes jumbled ramblings. Have a wonderful start to your summer!

sweater swagger

You guys! I don’t know how it’s happened but I am on a sweater finishing roll right now. The Weekender was such a joy to knit. Although I have to admit that when I first read the pattern and saw that it began with a tubular cast-on, my enthusiasm level was dialed down quite a bit. But there was a link in the pattern to a very helpful tutorial which has me now completely in love with the technique. The rest of the pattern was just as fun to knit and I love the cozy, relaxed style of the finished sweater. I honestly would be wearing this 24/7 if the darn weather here in Maryland would cooperate. At least it’s cool enough in the mornings to wear a wool sweater. The tweedy yarn is from Peace Fleece. It is very rustic and woolly but softened up a lot after a good soak. I am already dreaming of a marled version. Maybe I’ll splurge on some special farm yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool next month.

march finishes

Hooray I actually finished a sweater!!! So incredibly excited to cast off my Edith Cardigan while it is still chilly enough to wear. Good thing that it is extremely cozy because every year when the calendar turns to March, the hubby dials down the heat to sub-zero temps. But this year I will not engage in thermostat battles :)  I love how warm & woolly this cardigan is. It was my first time knitting a dropped shoulder construction and I was a little concerned with how the finished sweater would look since I usually wear raglan sweaters. Really pleased with the relaxed fit. It was a very well written pattern and would make a great first sweater project. I am debating on whether or not to add in the big patch pockets. Maybe at some point down the line but for now, I want to finish up my Weekender and cast on for some Easter socks. Here’s the pair I made for St. Patrick’s Day:

These were fun fun fun to knit! The yarn is from Desert Vista Dyeworks in the Zombody go bragh colorway. Those green stripes have me looking forward to some fun Spring knitting. What’s currently on your knitting needles? Anything on the radar for Spring?

winter woolens

conversation hearts :: king cole zig zag :: pinks

winter’s day charade :: coopknits socks yeah! :: danburite 

spring stripes vanilla latte :: must stash yarns :: theory 

Well guys, I’m officially hitting the reset button on this year since it feels like hibernation season is almost over. It’s been a rather tough winter healthwise but we are all finally on the mend. Even my laptop got sick. But today the sun is shining brightly and I finally figured out how to blog from my phone using a new to me app for blogger so now I can share all of the winter woolens completed so far.

Of course there are plenty of socks! January’s pair was inspired by the cold winter walks that were taken when we couldn’t stand to be inside all day long. After knitting with greys and blues, the next pair was a wish for Spring. Nothing makes me happier than fun colorful stripes combined with speckles. February’s was Valentines Day themed.

It’s funny how seasonal my sock knitting is. I love choosing yarns and patterns that celebrate the different holidays that are sprinkled throughout the year. So with that in mind, I decided to start a holiday sox box. The goal is to have fun knitting socks for all of my favorite holidays throughout the year with the bonus of having finished socks to wear next year when those holidays roll around again. Feel free to join in :)

I hope that you are all staying healthy and having fun with your knitting & crafting!