skein

Small Things

An appropriate name for these sweet baby knits.

 

Pattern:  Small Things.

Started: 7th October

Finished: 18th October

Needles: 4mm

Yarn: Artesano Superwash Merino, about 1.75 balls.

This yarn is rapidly becoming my favourite for baby things. It's a dk weight, and the pattern is for a worsted weight yarn, but if I knit a little loosely, and go up a size, it works out fine.   It's a very quick knit, top down, all in one piece, minimal finishing, and just two buttons.   Thirsd one I've made!

And to go with this, I've knitted a Small Things bonnet.  

 

Just a few hours work.  There's the option of pixie or round (I was so tempted byt the pixie!) and i-cord ties or a band and a button.  

 These are for my work colleague Maja, still working and about 8 weeks till due date.  Might I knit her another one, I wonder? 

Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan

This is the girly version, can you tell?

Pattern: Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan

Started and finished: October 4th - 19th

Yarn: Rico Baby Classic DK (acrylic)

Needles: 3.5mm for borders, 4mm for main part

Mods: Bottom up rather than top down, so I can decrease on the yoke (easier IMO than increasing) and you save the best bit till last.   I knitted two sleeves and the body, joined for the yoke.  I added four extra stitches to the sleeves, so that when I joined I could have some underarm stitches for ease.  Although I was therefore short of 8 sts on the body yoke, I just decreased less on the first decrease row, around the underarm area.  

This 100% acrylic is not as bad as it could be. I much prefer wool, but this is bright, and washable.  And cheap. 

The reaction of my work colleagues when I brought it into work (I needed to take photos of it in daylight!) was very positive, they all oohed and aahed over it. It feels supersoft and is bright!  And the best bit is that pregnant Maja was thrilled to hear I'm knitting for her, wanted to know what colours. Hers is a baby peach, but I may have to get more bright pink, I could tell she liked the colour!   So a few more in my list to go before the baby knitting is done.

A finishing weekend ahead

I'm getting through my October knitting list.  Three more things nearly done - well, the knitting part anyway.

We have Small Things cardigan, in pale peach merino superwash.

We also have a matching bonnet.  Ir looks a bit weird here, like some sort of deformed octopus. 

 

My list included boottees, but I've spent a few evenings trying out patterns, and didn't like any of them. So I went for this bonnet instead.  

Finally, it's the girly Sheep Yoke.  A lot of ends and buttons to sew on. 

 

Just finishing and a wash and they're done.  Big decision now is what to knit next?  I have soem socks and Herbivore for Mr C, but would rather not knit these in front of him, so I may have to cast n another baby garment.  Or possibly some mitts ....

 

Maja's Blanket

Pattern: Maja's blanket

Started: August 19th

Finished: October 14th

Needles: 3.5mm

Yarn:  Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

3 balls light yellow, 1.5 or so balls of green, light turquoise, pink, peach, n;ir. .5 ball light orange.

Mods:  Changed the method of joining squares.  Rather than dc all around each square and then join by a ss I decided to pick up and knit along one side of square 1, then the adjoining side of square 2 all in one go. Knit back, creating a garter ridge, then a three needle cast off.

Tje pattern has you working 20 suqares, and knitting a 4x5 rectangular blanket.  But after I had joined three rows of four I thought it was big enough for a cot blanket.  Fleetingly, I considered a bigger blanket, bnt it would have meant buying more yarn and it would have taken more time and probalby not have been as useful as a smaller blanket.  So here it is.

The border is just garter stitch, though I tried to spread the lemon yarn by knitting pink stripes into each border.  Didn't work.  I had to buy another ball of lemon for about three rows!

Lovely blanket.  Soft,, squishy and easy!   If I decided to knit another baby blanket, or indeed a lap blanket, this will be the pattern I'll go for.

 

Knitting catch up

I've had a casting on flurry over the past week!

As I'd stalled on Maja's blanket, awaiting yarn, and I didn't want to work on my only other WIP, Herbivore, in front of  Mr C (it's a gift for his birthday) I had no option but to cast on a new baby cardigan last week.   Girly Sheep Yoke.  Here's the progress so far:

 

Photos were taken this morning, in a dark room!  But you see the progress.  One body, half a sleeve knitted.  Just sleeves and then the interesting bit, the yoke.

On Saturday I had to cast on another WIP, as we were meeting up at I Knit London and I wanted an easy bit of kntiting fo the bus  journey.  Some Christmas socks for Mr C, in a dk weight.  Another stealth project!

 

On Sunday I fancied a change, so cast on yet another baby sweater, my third Small Things.  This ticks all of the boxes when I'm looking for newborn baby patterns. It's top down, seamless, with just two buttons.  

 

The yarn is a dk, rather than a worsted, weight, but I manage to knit it loosely and knti the 3 month size just in case it comes out too small.  I do like this Artesano superwash. 

 There's Herbivore, another inch worked.  The rows are getting longer, but if I can manage an inch each week it shall be finished in no time.

Finally - Maja's blanket!  The knitting is done!  The ends need sewing in, and it needs a quick wash as it's been lying around for a few months. 

I'm still in baby mode. I have plans for a pair of boottees, possibly another cardigan time permitting.  

This weekend I shall do the winter stash/clothing turnaround. It involves Mr C. He has to get all the vacuum packs out, check for mice damage and put them in the hallway.  Meanwhile I empty the wardrobe, get out the summer yarn stash (I keep it in bins, so it's a case of tipping a few bins out on the bed)  and starting to sort out.  Three is this middle point when I have both winter and summer stash in the bedroom and get muddled and have no room to walk around, but it reacquaints me with the woolly stash.  I have to quickly sort out the summer stuff to put away, as Mr C is waiting patiently with the vacuum cleaner to suck the air out of the packs.   I'm sort of looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.  Needless to say I'm doing a slow cooker meal on Sunday so I can sit and relax with rediscovered yarn. 

So Square Socks

Pattern: So Square socks by Knitspot

Started: 1st September

Finished: 30th September

Needles: 2.25mm

Yarn: Austermann Step Classic

Mods: Changed heel from a short row to a heel flap and gusset,

The lighting was too good when I tried to take a photo. My usual ploy of holding the socks against the wall and opening the door to let the light in to shade the texture didn't quite work, need sunshine!

A very easy pattern, great for solid colour sock knitting if you don't want to get bored with plain knitting. 

 

Maja's blanket progress

The blanket's progressing well.  

Over the weekend I joined the third row of five - and decided that I liked the smaller size better!  So it's morphed from a 4x5 square blanket to a 3x4 square blanket.  It's  small enough for a cot or to wrap i[ a little baby/toddler.   

My plan was to keep it all garter, and work about 10 ridges of garter stitch for  the border.  But I was a little worried about   running out of the lemon, so I've put a strip of hot pink in each border section.  

Still, you know what happens when you think you're going to run out of yarn. You knit faster.  Alas, it didn't work this time around, and I've ran out of yarn with just three rows of the final border to do.  Harumph.

Taken in dim nighttime lighting conditions!
The colours are much brighter (in a nice way) in this photo:

So the end is in sight, and as I didn't have anything else on the needles baby-wise, I've cast on antoher sheep yoke cardigan, for a first birthday present.  It's in the Rico acrylic (I bought it at the same time as the navy Rico).

Working this one bottom up as well.  That's the good thing about baby stuff, it gets finished quickly!

 

September knitting and October knitting goals

Back to knitting goals!

September has sped by.  Before I knew it we were in the last weekend, adn I was, as usual, knitting madly to try to finish just one more thing.  Of course I didn't manage to finish them all...

Finish:

1) Crochet circles into squares.  Success!  And it now sits happily on my knitting chair. 

2) Baby Sheep Yoke cardigan. Success! 

Continue:

3) Maja's blanket.  Six squares done, 18 to go.  I'm aiming for nine this month.  Fail!  Didn't manage 15, just 13.  BUT see below ...

4) Herbivore for Mr C's birthday present in December.  I'm not feeling the love for this Wollmeise child's colourway.  So it's left in the knitting bag, alsways the last thing to pick up.  Success!  Sort of. I'm no onto chart 2, and have knitted about an inch.  

Start AND FINISH:

5) Garment #7.  I have six to do in three months.  Not even a clue what to do either!  My original idea was to fit in a summer cardigan, but now the weather had turned chilly I fancy knitting with wool!  Terrific FAIL!  Not even started, see below ...

6) Socks.  Success!  

Start:

7) More socks. Success!  And finished, just not photographed yet. 

Overall not bad,  5/7 goals completed. 

I didn't manage 15 squares of Maja's blanket, but I've decided to stop at 12.  The blanket is of coruse as big or as small as you want it to be.  I wanted a rectangular shape, so was aiming for the pattern's given number of squares, giving a 4x5 blanket.  I'm glad that I decided to join the squares up before knitting all 20. because after joining four squares to form a row, then three rows, I see it's plenyt big enough for a cot blanket, or for wrapping around babies or toddlers.  

I also didn't manage to even start a garment.  As I'm in 12 in 2012, and have only done six so far, it would have been a push, at the busiest time of the year for me. Christmas, and lots of birthdays.  So I have reluctantly decided to step down from this specific challenge.  Rather wait for inspiration than rush to knit something I'm not 100% into.  

Right, now for October!

The theme this month will be babies and toddlers.  That's because I want to finish all baby stuff for my work colleague, who is 30 weeks pregnant this week.  I also want to knit a girly Sheep Yoke for a first birthday present - but I need it done by the end of the month so that I can give this to her grandma, over from Moscow for a week.  

Finish:
1) Maja's blanket. Now that it's just the border (and ends) I have that close to the finish enthusiasm for this wip. It doesn't help that I may run out of yarn (lemon and pink) for the border. Not a huge problem, I can order more baby cashmerino, but it would be great to get it finished without further purchases.  I'm putting a pink strip in the gareter stitch edge wto stretch out the lemon.  I'm knitting faster.  That always works when you're running short of yarn.

Start and finish:

2) Sheep Yoke cardigan, girly colours.  I do liek the navy, but think thsi baby girl's mother prefers the more traditional pink,  It's more of the Rico acrylic.  I'm going to knit this bottom up again, but might try knitting the sheep detials rather than darning them in. 

3) Newborn cardigan. Have the yarn. Peach Artisano superwash merino.

4) Newborn boottees.    

Blog:

5) Socks finished in September

Start 

6) Something 1

7) Something 2

Not sure yet what to start - I have some socks for Mr C, the hat to match the fingerless mitts I knitted for Ravelenic Games, maybe a hat to match the Sheep Yoke.  

this is a fairly easy list of to-dos for the month.  Let's see how well i do!