I needed a quick project to get me out of a knitting slump. The pattern in linked in Ravelry and is also available here. This was quick fun and easy (begun April 2nd, finished April 5th). Just what I needed!
I used Blue Sky Alpaca's Organic Cotton yarn. It took less than 1 skein. Only one word will due to describe this yarn: YUMMY! I adored working with it. Thankfully, I have more of it in my stash. I may just make another shrug with it...
I finally sewed on the buttons and finished the Anouk pinafore for our neighbor's new baby girl, Izadora. But I couldn't relinquish the dress without taking pictures for the blog and for Ravelry. I really feel strongly that while looking at a knitted garment laid out is nice, seeing it on a real person is much more telling. I made Anouk in a 12 month size, and seeing as though I have a 12 month old... Silas was kind enough to model:
He hated every minute it was on and tried to take it off. Imagine it's a girl baby underneath that hat.
The picture below shows the side straps, which have two openings so that this item can continue to be worn well into toddlerhood. It can eventually be more of a smock-type shirt rather than a pinafore-type dress.
Since I've done intarsia now in several projects, the flower pockets were a snap. This may be a good project for someone who wants to do intarsia, but is a bit intimidated, since the skill required is minimal, but the effect is rather nice. This project makes a lovely gift!
I just had to share this, as it is really an awesome feat.
What a sweet little gift this ended up being for Silas' first birthday. My fear though is that the Handsome Hound may not hold up for long in the hands of a toddler. I've already had to replace an eye.
I'm pretty lousy at sewing and there were a lot of pieces to put together with this project. Of course, it was worth it in the end. That being said, I think the next time I make a toy, I'll choose something with less finishing work, and most likely, it will be crocheted.
I worked on Handsome Hound for just over a month previous to Si's birthday, and I finished him in the knick of time--just one day to spare!
He's very squishy and lovable (at least, to me). Another great pattern from Lucinda Guy!
My husband said Silas looked like a little Bruiser in this sweater--hence the name. We are not implying that he is the fightin' sort. He's a, um, pacifistic bruiser.
After:
This morning Silas choose Mr. Monk off of the shelf of stuffed toys to play with and I noticed how ragged he was looking, with his original threadbare scarf. So, while Silas played, I grabbed a hook and whipped up a new scarf using some cotton yarn leftover from Anna's Dress. I must say, Mr. Monk looks quite dashing now!
This was the Christmas present that almost didn't happen--at least, not in time for Christmas. I finished it on December 23rd and gave it to my niece the next day. It fits! This was my first experience with Intarsia. I really disliked the countless ends that I had to weave in, but it was worth it! Although I'm enjoying working on projects right now that do not involve intarsia, I'll gladly do it again. It is so fun to see the motifs form row by row. I am hoping that this dress fits my niece for a while (thankfully, the sizes in Lucinda Guy's book Handknits for Kids, run large), and that nothing she spills on it stains permanently. I learned a lot while knitting this project, including how to let go of something you really love, and which took countless hours to make :)
Oh, I love how this sweater turned out! It is a nice stretchy pattern, so thankfully, it will fit him for a while. The pattern, Vestee, is from the Spring 07 issue of Knitty.com. After having Silas, this project, completed when he was maybe 2 months old or so, got me back in the knitting saddle as I perfected what I like to call the knit 'n' nurse. Alas, the knit 'n' nurse was short lived as now the baby has grown too active and interested in yarn. If he is absorbed in play (does happen but not for long stretches) or asleep (does happen, sometimes for long stretches), I jump to my needles/hook and get stitching! Time for crafting in precious now!
This blanket almost ended in tears. After starting a pattern, which I absolutely loved, I realized it was taking me far too long to finish. I didn't think I'd ever finish before the recipient's birth. I am happy to report that as of today, the blankie is finished and is in the hands of the expectant parents! I decided to create a crocheted boarder around the knitted checkerboard pattern to speed things along. As anyone who both knits and crochets can tell you, crochet is about 1o bazillion times faster than knitting. It also allowed me to do a fun and creative boarder. Crochet saved the day! 
it on top of my sleeping babe and realized it was the perfect size for a newborn. I decided to be happy with it the size that it ended up as, rather than order more yarn and continuing to add on. In fact, this would have killed the project at some point, as two of the edges are self ruffling, and the ruffles would have just gotten larger and more unruly had I continued to add rows.
This is the bunting pattern from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Kid Knits, which I knit for the babe while I was pregnant. I believe I referred to this pattern during one of the last entries I made before temporarily abandoning this blog. So, as promised, long ago, here is the finished piece. You can see a few more shots of it on Planet Silas. Here's what I wrote about this project on Ravelry: Although the size on this says 0-6 months, and I have a fairly big baby, this always seemed big on him till recently. I must admit that this bunting never looked quite right to me after I made it--until I put it on Silas. He sold it for sure. One of the things I loved about the original pattern was the hole for the car seat buckle to go through. However, I didn't like the hole in the front of the pattern, so I created a pocket to cover it. Had I put Silas in this bunting when he was littler, this would have worked great in his infant car seat. However, we've had to move our tall child to a convertible seat with a different harness. This harness doesn't work with the new seat, so we missed our window for that. I've pictured him in his old seat, for demo purposes...
As promised, I'm posting an actual project, completed and everything! I found out about a week and a half ago that our new local tea shop was having a cozy contest. I couldn't resist entering, despite the time constraint. This cozy is made much like my felted hats: The body is knit and then machine felted, and the embellishments are needle felted later. I've never done three-dimensional embellishments before and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I may do a similar design for the hats I create this winter (If I have the time, that is).
