Baby Blanket #2

Yes, I've been very neglectful of this blog. However, I have been sewing and knitting and traveling a little and getting a kitten and training for a marathon. I just haven't posted about any of it!

So, I've decided that I need to give myself a mini goal: to post at least twice a week. I'm pretty sure I can manage that.

One of the projects I completed - quite a while ago now - was this baby blanket. It is for Emma. She's not born yet; but her mother is a woman I work with. Emma is due in late November and I thought I had plenty of time to knit this, but someone in our office decided to throw a baby shower last month. I worked constantly to try to finish it but didn't make the day of the party. But, I did finish it about a week later.

The pattern is supposed to take one 16oz ball, but I still had several rows of pattern and the border to do when I ran out and had to buy a second ball.

As you can see by the close-up it's a really simple pattern - garter stitch, seed stitch and stocking stitch - worked on size 8 US / 5mm UK needles.

Emma's parents loved it and were thrilled that this was the first homemade item they had received.

All Free Knitting 'Stitch London' Giveaway

Stitch London: 20 Kooky Ways to Knit in the City and More

How cute is this book?

Inside you'll find 20 adorable designs including patterns for Big Ben's Tower, Tiny Tower Bridge, the London Police and more.  There is even a pattern for a picnic blanket made entirely of plarn (plastic yarn) that's perfect for an impromptu meal in London's grassy Hyde Park.

All Free Knitting is giving a copy of Stitch London: 20 Kooky Ways to Knit in the City and More to one very lucky winner. To enter the drawing Click Here

Book Details:
Stitch London: 20 Kooky Ways to Knit the City and More
by Lauren O'Farrell
Publisher: David & Charles Publishing
http://www.davidandcharles.co.uk/
ISBN: 0715338676

Finishing the Unfinished #3

A few months ago I started the Twin-Prufe Design No. 4295 Spring Magic. A thank you to Bex for  generously provided the pattern for free on her web site. I finished the knitting and sewed up the pieces fairly quickly...and then, of course, I had to try and find 16 'perfect' buttons. As you can imagine, this part took much longer and the cardigan has been sitting, waiting.
I eventually bought some "definitely-not-perfect" buttons and sewed them on yesterday.

So, ta-da, 3rd finished item.

This was my first time blocking, even though I had made several jumpers and cardigans before when I was much younger, this was a process I wasn't even aware of until I saw it on Liz's blog. I pinned the pieces to some flat foam over which I had put a plastic table cloth (the cheap ones you use once and throw away). It worked out pretty well, although, since my house isn't big and I have a cat that will sit on everything you don't want her to, I did end up moving the foam and knitted pieces to different spots around my house depending on which area was not being used.

More pictures of the cardigan....

Wow, I really need to improve my photos! I think the problem is that I should take them earlier in the day when there is more light. At night, even with the lights on, it's too dark and with the slow shutter speed I inevitably move the camera and end up with blurry pictures.

Verdict: I'm extremely happy with the knitting. The tension is even and neat; the pattern is quite pretty. The one problem I have is the size. I want it to be snug and it's more of a blousy fit. I'm thinking of handwashing it and then drying it without shaping in the hope that it might shrink. If that doesn't work, then someone in my family might be getting a little gift! 

Pussy Paw Baby Blanket

  

In May I finished my first knitting project since....well, since I was in my teens! Which was some time ago. I decided to take up knitting again when I heard that a friend was pregnant, and I wanted to make her something special.

  

This is an 'up-close' photo of the pattern that looks like little cat paw prints, thus the 'Pussy Paw Blanket' name. So cute. It wasn't difficult at all and someone with an understanding of basic knit-2-together and yarn overs, could make this. The yarn I used was Bernat Baby Coordinates in White. It actually has a silver thread running through it too, although the pictures didn't catch it.

My friend's baby shower was at 2pm and I was finishing the blanket at 1:30pm!! So, I arrived a little late. But I was very happy with how it turned out. And I hope little baby Kristian is enjoying it too.

If you would like to make your own Pussy Paw Blanket you can get the free pattern here: Pussy Paw Blanket Pattern

New Knitting Project

Well, after my successful return to knitting with the Pussy Foot Blanket and the Spring Magic Cardigan (an F.W. Hughes Production) [pictures and reviews to follow] I was eager to begin a new project.

I've chosen this pattern, the Petal Yoke Cardigan, from Coats and Clark (1955) using Sensations Sublime in red. It's a light 3-ply acrylic and rayon mix. 

Here's the progress so far.



And this is how it should look when it's finished.