Smocked Dress

 This is the "Smocked Dress" from Mel Clark's book titled "Knitting Gifts for Baby." I knit this in a butter yellow sock-weight yarn, and it is very simple to knit, and would make a very nice baby shower gift, or as I have done here, I made this for a grandchild. This little dress takes about 420 yds of fingering or sock-weight yarn using a size 2 and 3 needle. The construction is top down and knit in one piece. You will need to pick up stitches along the front for the button bands. If you want the dress to be a little longer, you might need 2 skeins of yarn. After washing and blocking, this dress measures 13.5"inches from top of shoulder to bottom hem, (size 3-6 mo). This one is worth doing again and again, it really is a fun knit. Check out Mel Clark's book, there are other fun knits in her book.

Ruby Redmond Cardigan

This Cardigan is from the book
"Mom & Me Knits" by Stephanie Japel. It's the "Baby's Lace Cardigan" on page 17. Sizes are from 3 months to 24 months. This one turned out a little bigger probably due to my yarn being a heavier DK weight. The yarn I used is called "Cashmara" by flydesigns.com. The yarn is 80% Superwash Merino Wool, 10% Cashmere, and 10% Nylon, the color is Ruby Redmond.The skein has 290 yds, and I used almost every inch. I had 23 inches of yarn left over. Wow! that was close.

Pretty in Purple

I knit this easy top-down sweater, and then decided to make a little dress to go with the sweater. And here is my finished ensemble. The sweater is a pattern I purchased on Ravelry. It's called "Lilliputian" by Diane Conroy. Sizes are 9 to 12 months. However, I used a DK weight yarn, that ended up more like a worsted weight, almost. So because of that, this sweater is more like a size 4. But it turned out fine, and actually my granddaughter will be able to wear it. I went through my fabric stash and found this wonderful purple toile (sp?) (pronounced, twall) fabric, which I bought about 12 years ago. I think it goes very well with the sweater. The dress pattern is a Butterick pattern, and quick to make with a zipper in the back.

Baby Dress

 I found this sweet and fun to knit baby dress on senimengait.com
It is a free pattern, and is knit using one skein of yarn as long as the yarn has 365 to 370 yds. It is knit in any DK weight yarn. I used Berroco  "Boboli Lace", 42% wool, 35% Acrylic, 23% Viscose, 350 yds. I really wanted to use the entire skein, even if I cut the lace repeat and the bottom of the dress to only 2 or 3 times, pattern suggests doing the lace repeat at least 6 times. But I found that 3 times gives plenty of length for this size pattern. If you want more length or want the dress to be at the ankle, then you would need more than one skein of yarn, or a skein that has about 400 yds. The dress has a one button closure in the back.

Simple Fair Isle Sweater

This simple sweater pattern is from "Knitting Pure & Simple" pattern #214 Baby Pullover. It's knitted from the top down and is a one yarn pullover. I like these basic patterns, their like a blank canvas ready for your design ideas. You can add your own elements, such as adding this simple fair isle pattern, as I have done. I knitted this sweater in Lion Brand Yarn, "Wool-Ease." The Main color is Denim Twist, and the fair isle pattern uses, Denim Twist, Avocado, and Natural Heather.



Fair isle pattern from
"200 Fair Isle Motifs"
by Mary Jane Mucklestone.

Brush Baby Alpaca Sweater

This little sweater pattern is from the Skacel Collection, inc. It's the "Kittenish Pullover" and you can find the free pattern download at www.skacelknitting.com. This is a top-down, knit in one-piece sweater, requiring heavy worsted or bulky yarn. I used "Baby Alpaca Brush" by Plymouth Yarn, 110 yd skeins. However, I added the lace panel in the front. The original pattern has no lace panel, just plain stockinette stitch.  The smallest size is 26" chest, This is the size I knit, and it took 2 skeins in Pink, and one skein in cream for the contrast collar, cuff, and bottom edging. The Original pattern is done all in one yarn, with no contrast. The yarn recommended for pattern is "Simpliworsted Marl by HiKoo.            
This sweater has not been washed and blocked yet, so once I do that it will look better and lay flatter.

Little Blue Shrug

It's been a while since I have posted to this knitting blog, but it hasn't been because I have not been knitting. On the contrary! I have been knitting like mad.... I just have so many projects going that I haven't quite finished them, except for this one, and a few more that I am almost done with.
This little shrug is quick and easy to knit, and would make a great baby shower gift. The pattern is #288 "Little Girl's Shrug" by Knitting Pure and Simple. I chose a different lace pattern for the bottom of the sweater, just because I wanted to. The yarn I used is from Plymouth Yarns and it's called  "Cleo." It's a 100% Mercerized Pima Cotton yarn, 125 yd hanks, and comes in a lot of beautiful colors. I used a size 7 needle, and this size will fit 18 months to 2 years.

Sock Weight Baby Sweater

Here is a baby sweater that I just finished, using sock weight yarn. I found the pattern several years ago on ravelry, so I don't know if the pattern is still available. Just do a search for sock weight baby sweaters and it might be under that. I changed the pattern a bit, by adding some ruffling in the front. This would fit 6-12 month old baby. It's a top down one piece knitted sweater.

Prim Rose Bonnet with Knit Lace Edge

This baby bonnet pattern was a free pattern from a blog. I'm not sure it is even available any more, but I finally got it knit. It's really easy, and so cute with the lacey edging which is knit separately, and sewn on. If all you have time for is to knit a bonnet for a baby shower, this is a quick knit.
The pattern is called "Prim Rose Bonnet" by Becky Bright of Bright Creations. You might find this on Ravelry.com

Baby Blossom Turtleneck Sweater

This is a toddler sweater made from the left over baby blossoms yarn of the sweater I did in a previous post (see below). I used a skein of white yarn and mixed it with my left over blossom yarn to create this turtleneck sweater.

Lace and Leaves Baby Sweater

This is an adorable little sweater to knit, and makes a quick project for a baby shower. It comes from the Leisure Arts pamphlet #4577 titled "Knit Lace and Leaves for Baby." Sizes are preemie, newborn, 3-6 months. There are two sweater patterns, one with a hat, one with a bonnet, and blanket patterns to match the sweaters. The sizes of the sweaters depends on the weight of yarn you use, super-fine weight #1 is for preemie, DK weight #3 is for newborn, and worsted weight #4 is for 3-6 months size. This sweater is knit in a #3 dk weight.

Baby Blossoms Sweater

This baby sweater and yarn came from a kit from the Mary Maxim catalog. The yarn is fun to knit with, because it creates these little impressions of blossoms, and has a self-striping character. The pattern does not include the ties and pom-poms, I added that myself as a last idea for a closure for the sweater. It was fun to knit, the yarn is soft, and is 100% acrylic, so it's washable and dry-able. I don't know if this kit or yarn is available anymore, you can check out the Mary Maxim website for this and other baby kits and yarns.

Cowl - Neck Poncho

I knit this poncho, which is really more like a caplet, because it comes to my elbows. I knit this in a mohair/woo/acrylic yarn. It's incredibly soft and warm and very fast to knit. The pattern is in "Knit simple" magazine pg. 25 Winter 2014 issue. The caplet is on the front cover. This caplet is knit with a bulky yarn and I used a size 15 needle.

Caroling Cape

I recently finished knitting this cape/poncho. The pattern comes from the December 2014 Special Holiday issue of "Love of Knitting" magazine. It's called the Caroling Cape on pg. 47. I just changed the bottom design and substituted a simple lace pattern. My yarn is a merino wool, and I ran out of the striped yarn and had to find a yarn that was close in color to that, and I think the colors blended well.

Midnight & Scarlet Scarf

This is my first attempt at using a color mixture after learning some color ideas from Laura Bryant's video on color. I used one multi-colored yarn and one solid color yarn, I used two different patterns on this scarf, as one yarn and pattern ends, I finish with a second yarn and different pattern, then end going back to the first pattern. This was a fun experiment, using some very basic ideas. As I keep practicing, I will get more brave with more colors. Make sure you click on the photos to enlarge the pictures.

Three Tone Scarf

Just finished knitting and blocking my 3-tone scarf. This is my own design using the feather and fan stitch, and 3 different colors of a wool/linen blend yarn. The two dark colors are close in value, but one is darker than the other, and by using one light yarn it makes the scarf more interesting. This is a really long scarf, about 80" in length, so you can wear it many different ways. I am making a second two-tone scarf and will share that when I am finished with it. It's quite fun to experiment with color and see what you get. I just purchased Laura Bryant's DVD "A Knitter's Guide to Color." It's a great video that helps you understand how color works both for emphasizing pattern or color. She shows some scarves that have interesting color play.
The Feather and Fan stitch is as follows:
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: *(K2 tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (K2 tog) 3 times; repeat from*
Row4: Knit
The feather and fan stitch is a multiple of 18 stitches. I started my scarf with 3 rows of garter stitch (knit every row), and ended with 3 rows of garter stitch. I added 4 stitches at the beginning and end of each row for a garter stitch edge.

Aria's Pink Sweater

I just finished knitting and blocking my granddaughters sweater. I bought the pattern and yarn at the Madrona Fiber Festival. The pattern is by Annie Dempsey of "Oat Couture" and has directions for using fingering weight, or DK weight yarn. This sweater was knit with fingering weight, washable merino wool. I knit size, 18 months, with one skein of yarn (435yds). Yarn is from www.fancyimageyarn.com. The sweater is light weight and very soft.

Blue Outerwear Sweater

I have finally finished my blue sweater I have been working on for several months. The pattern is from Twist Collective. It's called "Sarannis" by Robin Melanson. My photos do not show the true color. The color is navy blue and the yarn is called Berkshire by Valley Yarns. It's 85% Wool and 15% Alpaca, this sweater is very warm, so it's great for outerwear.
This is a relatively easy sweater, I really like the directions for the front edges of the sweater, it's kind of like I-cord only done differently that forms a more flat finished edge. The pattern calls for a heavy worsted at 16 stitches = 4" inches, using a suggested needle size of 8. This sweater was knit in separate pieces and then sewn together.

Felted Bag

I purchased this wool sweater from the thrift store at half price (yeah!) and I'm repurposing it. From this sweater I can make two items from the sleeves and one from the body. I have made this little felted bag from one of the sleeves. I just cut off the sleeve to accommodate the size of a small bag or purse, whipped stitched the bottom closed, turned under the upper rim and whipped stitch that in place, and then made a 6-stitch I-cord for the handle and sewn in place. I then put it in my washing machine with a towel to serve as friction, and Waugh-lauh!... my little bag came out perfectly felted. This little bag can be a small purse, I would probably stitch a cute button on the front and sew on a button loop for closure, or as you see you can use it to put a little greenery in. I am planning on making a felted pillow out of the body of the sweater, so I better get moving sense I am in a felting mood today.

Knit & Beaded Miniature Purse Necklace

I got this sweet little knitted and beaded, miniature purse necklace kit for Christmas. I've seen these before from vendors at craft and sewing fairs, so I bought a kit to go in my stocking. I promised myself I wouldn't peek into it until Christmas. I finished the purse on Christmas day, and today (New Year's) I finished beading the necklace part. I had a blast knitting this, even as tiny and meticulous as it is. I had to use a much stronger pair of reading glasses to see what I was doing. The pattern and kit is from "Simply Unbeadable" Battle Ground, WA. 360-989-6535 or you can email them at: simplyunbeadable@gmail.com the kit includes, size #0000 knitting needles, one ball of pearl cotton, seed beads for purse and necklace part, instructions, and a photo of finished product. If you want extra fancy beads for the purse and necklace part you will have to purchase that yourself. I'm already planning to do a few more in different colors and beads, this could be addictive!