Babies, Babies & More Babies

As busy as the days seem, I have actually found a few spare moments to work on some projects. Because I am one of those people who can't seem to function without deadlines and chaos, I have spent some of that time knitting baby gifts. I hesitate to tell you how the remaining portion has been spent... lets just say that, as reluctant as I may have been, a certain book series bit me hard... Anyway, I love knitting for babies for several reasons, one of which is the patterns are so darned cute. The other reason is I can generally finish a project in one sitting, which is somewhat necessary anymore. So, when I haven't been turning pages, I have been knitting these:

For Jackson (his mom loves stars):

The stars are from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan Anderson (a great book), complete with French knots which was something new for me. The hat itself is Woolflower's Whirly Baby Hat Pattern, which is my all time favorite baby hat pattern.

For Jackson's brother Gibson:

I made this little guy into a rattle by tucking a rice filled plastic Easter egg inside his body. I taped the egg up with some clear duct tape just in case, I think it worked because he went though the wash without any signs of sprouting. The robot is a free pattern found at robotknitter.com.

For Rebekah:

The hat was made using the Ann Norling #10 Fruit Cap pattern - I opted for French knots rather than the traditional seeds. The strawberry on the onesie is made from felt and more French knots of course. Practice makes perfect right?

For Olive:

This is a modified version of the Olive You hat in the Itty Bitty Hat book - I just couldn't resist.

So there you have it and since I have another minute, it is back to my pages!

And The Baby Is...

First, I am happy to report the baby in the widget appears to be gaining weight. Now it's a healthy dizzy baby.

Second, I had my big ultrasound today and our baby is also healthy with everything where it is supposed to be and the right number of everything.

Okay, are you tired of waiting? The baby is a BOY!

This is the "Candy Cane" pattern from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Hats book. It was knit in cotton for the preemie project back in September, but it looks like I will be making another one.

Punkin Hats

The one on the right is for the Preemie Project and I have one more preemie version on my needles now. The other is for Laney because she kept trying to stretch the preemie hat over her, shall we say, ample noggin. Given that it is 85 degrees here today and it is supposed to be even hotter tomorrow, I don't think she will be wearing it any time soon. I'm not complaining though - that crisp air will return soon enough.

The pattern for the pumpkin hats comes from Itty-Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson. I did modify the pattern just a bit for the preemie version. If you are a knitter, you may be interested in her book - it is filled with the cutest hats you have ever seen: cupcake hats, turtle hats, flower hats, striped hats, basic hats, bonnets, you get the idea. Susan Anderson also has a very cute on-line shop, Shop ABC Soup, where you can find her book, individual knit patterns, kits and some ready made baby items, including some of her darling hats.

Better To Give Than Receive Giveaway

Today is my birthday - I am 37. You see, I think women have this lying about their age thing all wrong. I think you should go up, not down. That way people will think you look really good for your age. That is what is is all about right - looking good for your age? So if a 32 year old woman with just a few fine lines around her eyes and an occasional gray hair says she is 37, you would probably think - wow, I want her face cream.

So, here I am 37 (ahem) receiving lots and wanting to give something away. How about a felted purse? I have two and you can pick one: pink, or red. Both are about 8 1/2" wide, 5 1/2" tall and 3" deep. Leave a comment on this post from now until Sunday evening and I'll use one of those random number generator thingies (yes, that is the technical term) and announce the winner Monday morning.

What will it be? This pink one:

Or, the red?

You win, you choose.

For Her Michigan

In addition to orange, Owen loves everything "Michigan". Pretty much anything blue and gold, excuse me maize, counts; he refers to anything with these colors as, " for his Michigan". When we were up north, I found some blue and gold (maize) sock yarn and thought it would be perfect for Owen's Michigan. I decided to make a hat rather than socks because the boys always complain of the hand knit socks falling down. I got right to work on the project and knit it up in the car. Well, I didn't check his head size, so it is a bit small for him. Fortunately, because Owen had it on his head at one point in time, Laney loves it. When wearing it she looks more like a bee rather than a football fan, but then again who wants to be a U of M fan right now?

Actually, truth be told I don't care if they win or loose; the only reason I watch football is for the snacks. I don't know a touchdown from a field goal, but I do know that this Hot Artichoke Dip is really good. It seems everyone has a artichoke dip recipe, but this one is, of course, the best:

1 small clove of garlic

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts or bottoms (not marinated)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup mayonnaise

In a food processor, process garlic. Add artichoke hearts, process until pureed. Add remaining ingredients. You can heat it in a saucepan, in the oven, or in the microwave. Serve hot with vegetables, chips or crackers for dipping. It makes a lot, so we usually make a 1/2 batch and eat every bite.

Oh yeah, GO BLUE!

Love The Fruit Hats

I love these knit fruit caps so much, I made this little hat to send to the Preemie Project:

I think my love affair with these hats started when Spencer received one as a baby gift. Didn't it look just darling on him?

I think he loved it too - really, you can see it in his eyes can't you? It was like he wanted to scream, "Mom, I LOVE this hat!". Well, I loved the strawberry hat so much that I made a lemon hat for Owen:

Now, Owen...Owen really loved his hat. He is such a funny guy - he's always fooling around. No, he wasn't trying to take his mind off of the lemon hat - come on - he loved it! Yep, he loved, loved, loved his so much, I decided to spread the fruit cap love to Laney too:

I think Laney loved her plum hat most of all - I think it's written all over her face don't you?

I know the preemie who gets the strawberry hat will love it too because who doesn't love a fruit cap?

Worried

I bet you thought I forgot about the whole poll/purse/flower thing. Well, see, I didn't forget it just took me a while - I did, however, forget my name today. It was Owen's first day at preschool and, up until Friday, he was adamant that he was not going. Friday, the teacher had all of the children come in for a 15 minute one-on-one appointment to make a special snack place mat. From that point on, Owen has been willing to go to school. Well, we got there this morning and I was nervous again (yes, I spend a lot of my life in that state), so when this other parent held out his hand and introduced himself, I could not remember my name. I just stuck out my hand and and squirmed in the awkward silence. Sad isn't it? I have plenty of excuses: no coffee, distracted by Owen, hectic morning, not enough sleep, but the fact of the matter is - I forgot my name. I joke about it a lot when people ask me about having 3 kids who are all 2 years apart, but this was no joke - it was a real "deer in headlights" moment. What's worse - it is a co-op preschool and after the name incident they will probably think I am incapable of watching children and they will probably kick us out. Too bad because Owen really likes it ...just another something to worry about.

To Embellish or Not to Embellish...

That is the question. I made this little felted purse the other day and have been going back and forth about adding an embellishment. I could add a felted flower, a flower and leaf, or a ribbon bow, but I'm just not sure. I am leaning toward nothing at the moment. The bag is not all that big (8 1/2" wide, 5 1/2" tall and 3" deep) and it does have the busy floral lining... What do you think?

I thought it might be fun to try the new poll feature blogger just added, so let me know what you think. All you have to do is select one of the options in the poll - it's in the sidebar under the cake pictures. It is easy peasy, so let me know what you think by voting.

You won't find a drop stitch here

I had a hank of Colinette Giotto yarn and after looking and looking for a scarf pattern that was not the same old drop stitch pattern, I found a ribbon scarf pattern on-line. The stitch looks a bit like lattice when knit up. I used size 10 1/2 needles rather than the 11s called for in the pattern and I cast on 22 stitches. If one has the time, it knits up quickly.

Eh Hem

This is all I have to show after a whole week - a bit sad isn't it? It is a knit bath mitt from a pattern I found on a Sugar n'Cream label. Although I like the way it turned out, I will go up a needle size or two the next time and actually follow the directions (the pattern called for US9 and I used US7), eh hem. Hopefully now that Easter, spring break and our trip to Chicago are behind us, I might be able to get a few more projects finished. You did get the "might" part right?

It is small, but it's something...

I covered a box this weekend to hold a little present for an upcoming birthday. I think it sort of qualifies as a craft, it is small, but I think it counts. Actually, in this house, no project is little. Between the snacks, trips to the bathroom, diapers, picking up toys, etc. something like covering a box becomes a days work. I am still knitting away on the Irish Hiking Scarf and I started a small Sugar n'Cream project. I really want to start a big color project like this, but first things first. Plus at the rate things get done around here, it probably would not be finished for 10 years.

Did you hear that?

That, my friends, was a sigh of relief. Finishing this sweater has been on my To Do list for months. By finishing, I mean adding the button band and collar - the rest was done. This project was procrastination at its worst. It was just one of those things that I really had no interest in finishing, but unfortunately the recipient is not going to stay small forever.

The pattern is ChildHood from Kitty.com (you can find it here) and the yarn is Mission Falls cotton.

Knit Blue Bear

He is finally ready to go. Now, if only he could walk himself to the post office... He was made from the Knitting With Baby bear pattern.