Finished: Rippled Cardigan for Cat

I finished knitting, blocking and seaming my sister's Ripple Cardigan. I made myself this cardigan in orange a while ago and wear it often. It's great over simple dresses, tanks, t-shirts and even long sleeved-shirts. A few months ago my sister requested one in cream and here it is:

When I knit my Rippled Cardigan I had a lot of trouble with dropped stitches. Since that time I have knit with this type of yarn (laceweight Mohair blend) a lot and thus had very few dropped stitches this time around. This sweater knit up very quickly. The seaming seemed to take almost as long as the knitting, but was enjoyable in its own way.

One trick I used for seaming, was holding the sweater pieces together with carefully placed bits of yarn. I lined up two end points (for example, the top and bottom of a seam) and tied them together. Then I folded each piece in half and marked the center points and tied them together. Then I kept halving the distance between two tied together points until the ties were only around 2 inches apart.


My other tip for this sweater is to make sure you bind off VERY loosely--especially on the fronts. They are knit side to side and the back is knit top to bottom. Thus if you bind off the fronts too tightly, it will make the side seams bunch when you sew the fronts to the back.

This detail on the back of the neck is one of my favorite parts of the sweater:

Pattern: Ripple Cardigan by Coralie Meslin
Size: Smallest
Yarn: 4 skeins of Debbie Bliss (76% Super Kid Mohair/ 24% Silk/ 200m/ 25g/ laceweight)
Color: Cream (15006)
Mods: I changed the sleeves to elbow length bell shape sleeves. See my Ravelry page for more details.

Thank you, Teachers!

My boys are both in preschool this year and they both have wonderful teachers! As an end-of-the-school-year thank you gift, they decorated reusable water bottles and made snack mix for their teachers.

I didn't take any pics of the water bottle decorating, but here is a picture of the snack mix making:

Our snack mix was really simple. It includes Honey Nut Cheerios, Chickadees (cheesy bird-shaped crackers), Pretzel Goldfish and M&Ms.

We did equal parts Cheerios, Chickadees and goldfish. I did a smaller portion of M&Ms (about 3/4 the amount of the other ingredients).
Here's a copy of what I wrote on the note I made to go with the snack mix:

A special snack mix to thank you for all you do!
Cheerios to thank you for always cheering on my child.
A school of Goldfish to thank you for making school a place my child loves.
Chickadees to thank you for teaching my little chickadee so much.
M&Ms to thank you for your sweetness.

I really am so thankful for all that these teachers do.

Baby Gifts

This weekend I went to a baby shower for a good friend who is having her second little girl later this month. I decided to make her a few things for her new baby.

First, I made a little lovey blanket out of this fun pink fabric and backed with super soft pink minky. I also embroidered it with a fancy K (for baby Kenzie).


I also knit this sweet little short-sleeve sweater.

The pattern is a free one by Carole Barenys. It's a simple easy little baby sweater. My only complaint about the pattern is that there is no gauge and no length measurement so not sure what “size” I made.

I made a few mods. I moved up to a size 5 needle because I felt the fabric was too stiff on size 4 needles. I also moved the placement of the buttonholes. After the first one, I placed the buttonholes every 8 rows so all 5 buttons are at the top of the sweater. I also replaced the recommended buttonholes with a 2 row buttonhole. Cast off one stitch (3rd from end) in one row and add it back in on the next row with a Kfb (2nd st from beginning). I also did short sleeves. I picked up all stitches on hold (36) and then 7 additional stitches along underarm. I then knit 3 rows, then did a garter stitch border (P1 row, K1 row, P1 row, K1 row, P1 row, bind off in knit). I did not do any additional decorative rows on the sleeves or at the bottom of the sweater. Decided to keep it simple.

I did short sleeves since this is for a Texas baby and hopefully this will mean she can wear it more.

I followed the numbers for the smaller size in the pattern, but with size 5 instead of 4 needles. Chest circumference of about 21”. Length from neck to bottom of sweater of about 11”. I think this is a 6-9 month size.

Pattern: Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater by Carole Barenys

Yarn: About half of a skein of Bernat Baby Softee in White (120g/ 330yd/ DK/ 100% Acrylic)
Needles: Size 5
Gauge: Didn't measure
Mods: See notes above
On Ravelry, here.

An Amazing Gift from my Amazing Sister

My twin sister recently started knitting and it makes me SO happy. I LOVE talking knitting with her. I LOVE sitting and knitting with her (an extremely rare occurrence, but a wonderful one all the same). I LOVE receiving the beautiful gifts she knits for me.

The latest is this lovely bag that she made me for our birthday.


I am just so impressed. It's the Coney Island Bag by Eunny Jang. It's a free pattern on Knitting Daily.

My sister really hasn't been knitting that long and this bag is perfect! I love the bag pattern and the lovely colors she chose.
Unlike me, my sister is not afraid of sewing. She made a lovely fabric lining complete with pockets in coordinating fabrics.


She even made a lovely fabric covered button.



I LOVE this bag almost as much as I love the amazing person who made it for me.

Love you, Cat! Thanks for being SO good to me!

Finished: Coraline for Isla

Before J was born, I knit him a sweet little white cabled raglan cardigan. In fact, it's the one pictured in the header of this blog. Anyway, it's just a nice simple lightweight cardigan and both my boys wore it a lot. When my sister-in-law was pregnant with my youngest niece Isla, I decided to pass the sweater on to her since both J and N had outgrown it. She LOVED it and Isla also wore it a lot.

She's since outgrown it, and since I am the only knitter in her life, I decided to knit Isla a new little white cardigan. I had some white 4 ply yarn in my stash that was almost identical to the yarn I used for the original white cardigan--so I decided I would use that. Next, I had to find the right pattern.

After searching around on Ravelry for a while, I kept coming back to Coraline by Ysolda Teague. It's actually an adult cardigan pattern, but it had been adapted to a toddler size before (using a heavier yarn). Despite the math involved, I decided to attempt to knit a toddler size Coraline using my 4 ply yarn.

I got Isla's measurements and then looked at patterns online to get an idea for the amount of ease most people used for toddler sweaters. I ended up adding a few inches to all measurements in hopes that Isla will be able to wear this sweater through next winter. Hopefully I didn't get too ambitious and make it TOO big. We will see. I don't have Isla here to try it on.

Anyway, I think it turned out pretty well. What do you think?


I loved all the thoughtful touches in Ysolda's pattern. I LOVE the smocking pattern,

the i-cord around the sleeves,

and the folded hem at the bottom of the sweater.

After all my math work and decision making, I was so excited to cast on that I forgot to do the provisional cast on. When it was time to join my hem, I just picked up stitches along my cast on and knit them together with the active stitches and it worked out just fine.

Ysolda's pattern calls for slipped stitches that cause the sides of the cardigan to gently roll in. I wanted a cardigan that my niece could wear all the way closed if she wanted, so I picked up stitches along the edges and added an i-cord using the i-cord bind off method that is used around the neck in the pattern. My edging is not as neat as I would like, but I think it turned out okay.


For the buttons, I used the recommended sewn button loops. These were kind of a pain to get right, but I think they also turned out fine. It took me several days to do them which was kind of crazy. I kept changing my mind about placement and it was hard to get the size just right.

Anyway, I hope this sweet little sweater will fit my sweet little Isla and that she will get to wear it lots.

Pattern: Coraline by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: 3 skeins of Bernat Baby (Fingering Weight/ 100% "Gentle Soft" Acrylic/ 50g/ 1.75 oz/ 286 yards)
Needles: Size 3 (24" circular and doublepoints)
Gauge: 8 st = 1 inch; 10 rows = 1 inch
Size: Toddler (approximately 24" chest)
Mods: Sizing, added i-cord along side edges.
On Ravelry, here.

Dear Blog, It's Me, Haley

Dear Blog,
It's me, Haley, the person who used to write in you on a regular basis. So sorry to neglect you. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last visited. All I can say is that life has been busy. Will you ever forgive me? Are your readers still out there or have they moved on to greener pastures (aka blogs that are actually updated on a regular basis)?

I have done some traveling. We spent a week in Ohio for Thanksgiving and had fun with friends and family. I took pics, but none of them have even made it on my computer yet. We spent a crazy, busy 21 hours in San Francisco for an amazing 40th birthday party for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. I didn't really slow down long enough to take any pictures, but great times were had by all. Now we're prepping for Christmas travel including a 20 hour drive with both boys and our dog Pepper.

I have been busy sewing. I finished all seven dolls.

I made a Yoda doll for my oldest nephew,
a Zorro doll for my next oldest nephew,
and a "handyman" doll for my youngest nephew.

I have also been knitting. I finished the doll sweaters for my niece's presents. I did about four different styles, but these two are the favorites for now. Still working on a shrug that I think will turn out cute with more time. I'm not thrilled with the sweaters (they probably would have been better in a lighter weight yarn), but will write up the patterns when I get a moment.


My nephew Oscar requested a "caterpillar hat" and as I still hadn't figured out how to make a pilot doll for him, I decided to make the hat as part of his Christmas gift.

I found an adorable little caterpillar toy pattern by Sarah Gasson and adapted it to make the hat. I will try to blog more details when I get a chance.

I also knit up this hat for my niece Lizzie. She needed a new hat and this one was too cute to resist. Need to blog details when I get a chance, but for now details can be found on Ravelry. J was nice enough to wear it for the picture.
I also finished this:
It's the Swallowtail Shawl made in it's smallest shawlette form. It's a gift for my sister-in-law Kristin, but as she is too busy to ready my blog I think it's safe to post a pic now. More details to be found on Ravelry.

In other life news, I've been busy getting ready for Christmas other fun things arriving at the end of December including B's move to Houston. He got a job there and starts the 28th. He's very excited to be returning to the beer industry and we're happy that his new job involves zero travel. Unfortunately, this means that I need to get my house ready to sell. It's a wonderful home, but we have let it get taken over by stuff and I am busy reclaiming it. Even as I type this I am thinking of all the stuff I have yet to tackle. This is the main reason I have not been blogging. I've been cleaning out closets and discovering that most of my storage space is filled with stuff we no longer need. It's cleansing, but time consuming. Must go get back to work. Will do my very best to not desert you again in the chaos and cleaning.

So if anyone has any advice on good areas of Houston or good suburbs of Houston, please post a comment. We can use as much advice as possible.

And since it looks like Christmas cards are going to be lost in the shuffle, please know that I am thinking of everyone this holiday season and wishing you a joyous holiday filled with love and laughter!

Dolls!

Last night I finished my final, for now, Black Apple doll. All four pairs of legs and arms are sewn and stuffed, their dresses, faces and hair are cut and sewn, their faces are embroidered, arms and legs are attached, bodies and heads are stuffed and seamed. They are finished! And they are adorable! I love them all.


For my nieces, Mary and Madeline:
For my niece, Isla:

For my niece, Lizzie:
My next step will be to knit a little cardigan for each doll. I have to create my own pattern, but I still think they should knit up pretty quickly. And, yes, Audra, I will record all knit pattern details here :). So exciting!

Once the sweaters are done, I will begin work on gifts for my four nephews. I am making my oldest nephew a stuffed Yoda. My other two Virginia nephews will get boy dolls--I'm thinking a construction worker/Handy Manny type and maybe a pirate. Still deciding on my Oregon nephew. I get to see him this weekend so I will hopefully come back inspired.

Happy crafting, everyone!

Still obsessing...

My sister finally weighed in on doll fabric options and said she really liked the cupcake fabric, but didn't like the leg options. So, being me, I had to spend more time playing with fabric. Cat, any thoughts?Cupcake/Black with Tiny White Polka Dots


Cupcake/Red with Small White Polka Dots


Cupcake/Pink and Yellow Stripes


Cupcake/Black with Small Pink Flowers


Cupcake/Black with Small Yellow Flowers


And this one doesn't really go, but my sister said my niece is really into purple:
Cupcake/Purple Stripes


I promise I will stop obsessing over doll fabric soon. At least that's the plan :).

Doll Legs

I decided if I was going to make eight Christmas presents and part of two Halloween costumes and continue to knit, I better get busy. So today during J's rest time and N's nap time, I made four pairs of doll legs.

First, thank you for all your feedback on fabric options! The Scotties fabric was a clear favorite, so here is my first pair of legs:

I just love these little birdcages and they got two votes, so here's my second pair:

The Red Polka Dot/Blue Birds and Trees combo got several votes, so these are my next pair:


I couldn't quite decide which fabric to use for the dress and which to use for the legs, so this is my fourth pair:

I have to say those birds look pretty darn adorable as tights. Might just have to go with this one.

At this point, my plan is to make at least three of these dolls for my three oldest nieces. Still deciding on what to make for my youngest niece and my four nephews.

Accepting the Invitation

My friend Audra recently started a blog. Her reason for blogging is to share her pledge to make gifts for her children (instead of buying them) until Christmas 2011. Recently she extended the invitation for others to join her in her goal to give children (and others) quality homemade gifts. I've decided to accept her invitation and make Christmas gifts for my eight nieces and nephews this year. I'm still deciding the details, but my current idea is to make dolls for my four nieces--probably variations of this one. I'm thinking I'd like to knit little cardigans for each doll. The boys might also get some sort of doll, but I'm not sure on that. Maybe pirate dolls. I also found some patterns for knitted tools that might be an option or maybe a knitted robot. Still deciding. Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts here and pass on the invitation. Check out Audra's blog. It's a good one.

The World's Tiniest Booties

I went to a baby shower on Friday night for a good friend who is pregnant with her second daughter. Since I knew she had the practical stuff covered, I decided to go for fun and homemade.

First, I made her a little lovey doll in my favorite brown floral print and pale pink bubble velour to match the pink and brown theme of her nursery. Then I decided to knit a quick pair of Mary Jane booties.

This was my first time trying this free pattern and it was quick and simple. I knit the pair in one (relatively long) night of knitting. Luckily I had the perfect little buttons to finish them.


Being in a hurry, it was the night before the shower, I did not check gauge. I don't know if that was my problem, but as adorable as they are, the booties turned out teeny-tiny.


Instead of 0-6 months size, they are newborn size. I will have to make a bigger pair so my friend's daughter will actually get to wear them. Oh well. They are still the cutest little things I have ever seen.

Pattern: Mary Jane Booties by Lucy Sinkler (free)
Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby (I think), Sport Weight Acrylic in Pink (takes very little yarn)
Needles: Size 3
Modifications: None
Construction: Knit flat in one piece and seamed down middle of seam and up the back of the bootee.

Finished: Slanting Gretel Tee for Cat

Some time after I finished my Slanting Gretel Tee, my twin sister Cat requested one for her birthday. Although she's a knitter now, she wasn't feeling quite up to the task of knitting one for herself. She picked out a color and after I finished my Ripple Cardigan, I cast on. Finishing this top was delayed by the birth of a good friend's daughter, but I still managed to finish it before I left Virginia. I even got a chance to take a photo or two of my sister modeling it before I returned to Texas.


Pattern: Slanting Gretel Tee by Petra Manis
Size: Smallest with some modifications
Yarn: 6 skeins of Ella Rae Baby Cotton (50g/ 100m/ 88% Cotton/ 12% Nylon) in Color 04 Aloha
Needles: Size 5 Circular and Doublepoints
Modifications: My sister has a tall upper body so I added an extra 2 1/4 inches (16.25 inches instead of 14 inches) to the length before beginning the sleeves. My sister was also concerned about a tight fit in the armpit so I picked up extra stitches to either side of the stitches put on hold for the armpits. I also increased in these stitches when binding off.

Knitted Goodies

My good friends just had a new baby girl and I am so happy for them. I just had to knit some little girly things for her. So I made this little hat.


The pattern is from Itty-Bitty Hats and I've always wanted to make one, but never thought about it when I had a little girl in my life that was the right size to wear one.

The pattern was a little bit of a pain in that the petals are knit separately and then sewn on. I'm not a big fan of finishing. Otherwise, a great knit--and it turned out really adorable!

Pattern: Upside-Down Daisy Hat from Itty-Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson (available free here)
Size: Smallest
Yarn: Blue = Caron Simply Soft, White = Caron Simply Soft, Green = Softee Baby
Needles: Size 7
Modifications: None

I decided I also wanted to make a sweater. Even though it is now in the 80s in Texas, this baby lives in Northern Ohio where it is much cooler. I found this pattern on Ravelry and decided to adapt it for a nice little baby girl sweater. I really like the way it turned out. I haven't knit for a newborn in a while so I hope the size worked out okay.


Pattern: Green Zebra Baby Sweater by Dove Knits
Size: Smallest (3 months)
Yarn: White = Caron Simply Soft (Worsted), Green = Softee Baby (Sport, doubled), Pink Marl = Softee Baby (Sport, doubled)
Needles: Size 7
Modifications: The original pattern is a striped sweater using intarsia for the button band. I did a solid sweater and added the flower bud pattern in the yoke.


The flower bud pattern is from p.91 of Style Your Own Kids' Knits by Kate Buller. The sweater pattern said to work six rows even between yoke decreases, but I only worked five so the decreases would stay on the right side. I had to go down a needle size to get gauge. The instructions say to do button holes every 12 rows. I did the last one (the seventh) after 14 rows to make it closer to the top of the sweater. If I did this again, I might space out the buttons more so there were only six. Overall, the pattern is a nice simple worsted weight cardigan knit from the bottom up with a yoke. There was very little finishing which was nice!

So, yes, I do still knit :). I also working away on my sister's Slanting Gretel Tee. I didn't finish it for our birthday, but hope to finish it before I head to Virginia next week. Wish me luck!

Love It!

Yesterday, this little goodie arrived in the mail. It's a present from my dear friend Nicole.


Inside that adorable packaging, was this adorable necklace. Love it!
It came from this shop on etsy. I LOVE etsy! Thanks, Nicole!