So. I decided that (regarding the Baby Shower project), for a child born in a cold season, hats and mittens would probably be most appreciated and worn. (Especially the child of a non-knitter.) While booties were a tempting option, being one of the cutest things ever, I know from experience that they're not always worn, and even less often displayed, since the baby's feet are usually tucked inside of a blanket (and when they are, is there really a need for booties?). With all of this determined, I cast on for this hat, and finished it within just a few hours last night:
"Tubey" from Wee Wooly Toppers (Ravelry link, in case you want to purchase and have it saved in your Rav. PDF library)
Later on this afternoon I'll cast on for a pair of (thumb-less) mittens to match, and then I plan to crochet
this chubby little sea creature.
After setting out to spin about 1lb total of wool for my children, it occurred to me that I should probably just dive into the stash to whip something up for Daisy, since it's already cold enough outside, and I didn't want her to have to wait however long the project might take me. I had 8 oz of bulky 2-ply Rosebud (Spunky Club) from all of my summer spinning, which I had earmarked for her anyway.
This is just about to be a very wordy/picture heavy post. For those of you who are here for the pictures and don't want to have to read through everything (and for my own sake when I go back to see what I did in a few years!):
PROJECT SPECSPatterns: Abalone (Ravelry link),
Mittens 101, My Legwarmer Recipe
Sizes: Hat - size small, mittens - knit to fit, legwarmers - 2T
Yarn: Rosebud handspun bulky 2-ply, fiber from Spunky Club August 2008 (I had 397 yds total, but didn't come close to using it all).
Needles: Size 6 for mittens to wind and moisture proof them, 4.5 sts per inch. Size 9 for everything else, 3.5 sts per inch.
Modifications: I left off the squiggles on the top of Abalone and scrunched up the back. Also, I cast on for an x-small (re-figured the numbers), because my gauge was 3.5 instead of 4 sts per inch as in the pattern for size small 19" head.
On to the knits, already!
Abalone from
Going Straight (
Ravelry link) Can I just say it? I love Kitchner. First, there's two edges, and then, like magic...
One seamless piece of fabric. Very cool. I want to knit everything sideways now.
As you can also see, I left off the squiggly things because I knew they'd end up getting all natty after one season of wear, and they would never all properly curl with the same curly-ness, and....well, I let my perfectionistic mind run wild. So no curlies.
The hat was adorable, but wouldn't stay properly slouched on her, esp. whenever we were riding in the car or she was in the stroller. It'd come down over her eyes, and she'd pull it straight off.
(Here's what it looked like when it was actually on -- but you can see how it was already creeping down over her tiny face...)
I decided to rouche up the back with a drawstring tie, which solved the fitting problem nicely, and for next year I can either un-scrunch it a little, or take out the drawstring alltogether, depending on how much bigger it needs to be.
This, however, made her very, very angry. She wept bitterly at the ruination of her hat (seriously -- that's the reason for the tears here. She's only 18 months. I find fashion decisions at this age completely unacceptable).
I also knit a pair of mittens, using the
Mittens 101 pattern found in Knitty (love that customizable pattern! It's so easy to use, and fits the recipient perfectly every time).
I still had a bunch of yarn left over (I had 8 oz total), and decided on a pair of legwarmers. She's often in the stroller when we go out for walks, and her little legs get chilly. Blankets are a terrible idea because she ends up kicking them half off and they drag, etc. These legwarmers are perfect, because not only are they cute and practical, but she loves them! (She was actually running around with just one on when I hadn't even woven in the ends yet, mid-project.)
Here they are finished (I want to put her in a little denim skirt sometime with the legwarmers -- that would be way too precious -- but my little dress-up doll was anxious to get outside yesterday, so purple jeans it was.):
I just so happened to notice that the inside and outside of one of my skeins had matching colors, and was able to knit an almost perfectly matched pair, which pleased me greatly.
For the "pattern", I just measured her leg, got gauge (from knitting the hat), cast on a reasonably close number of stitches that was divisible by 4, an knit 2x2 rib for just under 8 inches.
Here's the set in action (well, except for the mittens -- she was eating pretzels.)
