Go Bears, Baby!

My friend and co-worker, Miss Cindy, is pregnant with her second baby. (Are you noticing a trend yet with my friends and family? All pregnant!) Her first child was a girl, and her second will be a boy. Cindy and her husband are huge Chicago Bears fans (like myself), and the other day, Cindy's husband had a minor freakout regarding hospital attire. You see, their son IS going to be a future Chicago Bear (they're 100% sure of it). In years time when Baby M is in the NFL and ESPN calls asking for pictures of him growing up, it would be absurd if his very first picture was in a generic hospital hat instead of in a Bears-inspired hat. I quickly remedied this situation with the following little knit. I hope it fits!

A Puffy Blanket for Little Pea

Miss Tiffany over at Peanut Blossom is patiently awaiting the May arrival of her "Little Pea." I've known Tiffany for a few years, but I think I have gotten to know her best through her blog. So when I first heard she was pregnant over the winter, I couldn't wait to make a baby gift for her.

While the good thing about blogs is that you can learn a lot about another person, the bad thing is you can't share your projects if you readers are the gift receivers. I've been working on this blanket for the past couple of weeks, but I had to keep a tight lid on it until it was in Tiffany's hands. And now that it is, here we go...

This is the Ribbons Baby Blanket done in three colors: teal, lime, and magenta. I've knit this pattern once before, but for whatever reason, it turned out much puffier this time. The yarn was a little thicker, so maybe that was it. It just made it a little more roly-poly-oly.

And here's a picture of the gift wrapped and a card I made. (Thanks, Tiffany, for taking great pictures...something I forgot to do!)

#4 of 10 for 2010

As promised, here she is--my Springtime Bandit. This is my #4 shawl toward 10 shawls in 2010. However, I think I need a lace break for a little while. I think my next project will be something that I can just pick up and knit and put down without getting lost in a pattern. I'm not done with patterns for good, I just need a breather.

This picture makes it look huge, but it's not. It's just a little girl model form that it's on. Trick photography. =)

On My Sticks: Springtime Bandit

First, let me start out by saying that none of the following shawls and/or pictures belong to me. I swiped them from the good knitters of Ravelry to show you examples of what I'm currently knitting but have been too lazy to take pictures of. So, with that said, I'm working on a new lace shawl (this would be number 4 of my 10 in 2010) called "Springtime Bandit." I've knit the whole body of the shawl already and now have about 25 rows of border left to do. However, the last few nights I haven't had any interest in doing so. I'm hoping to find renewed knitting interest this weekend.

I'm using a color from KnitPicks called "Autumn." The above color is "Sherry," but it's quite close. The Autumn has a little more golden flecks in it.

The Rest of the Baby Gifts

Well, I'd like to say that I was able to knit all three of the baby items that I had wanted, but alas, time was against me. To make matters even worse, on the last night I had to knit, I cut the tip of my finger with an Xacto. I thought I could knit with a bandage on my finger, but my needles kept getting caught on it. After much swearing, I surrendered.

I did manage to get the matching booties to the baby dress done. Itty bitty beauties!

And to make up for the missing diaper covers, I made this little framed goody for the baby's room (a pink and brown polka dotted nursery...cute!) The little sticker in the middle says "Cutie Pie."

Now it's just time to sit back and wait for the baby to get here.

Shawl 3 of 10

In my "race" for 10 Shawls in 2010, I completed my third shawl. I actually finished it more than a week ago, but I got lazy on taking photos. Laziness be gone, and here is the finished project. I'll be donating this shawl and my last shawl to a friend who is doing the 3-Day Walk for the Cure. She is going to have it for sale at a craft sale and then use the money made for her $2K+ entry fee.

This is a modified version of the Ulmus shawl pattern. It's modified because I only used on type of yarn instead of two. With the color change, I thought adding a second color would be too much.

To make this shawl, I used my Harmony yarn, but double-stranded. (Sorry for the wrinkles!)

Here's one close up of the bottom.

And here's another.

One Down, Two to Go

Well, I crossed one thing off of the Knitting To-Do list, and I'm hopeful that it's the biggest of the three things I need to get done. The Fiona top/dress for my yet-to-arrive niece is all done, but I have to say, I'm not a big fan of how the pattern was written. It was OK, but there a few mistakes and it should've been written to knit in the round. I adapted it so that I could knit it in the round, but I didn't do it quite right (I should've eliminated a few stitches on the side since I wasn't seaming it). Still, in the end, I think it turned out pretty sweet....and springy!

The Veggie Sweater Gets Modeled

Yay! The veggie sweater fits Miss Penelope! I think she's the perfect little model for it. (Look at those toes. I just want to eat them up!)

Piss Off, Punxsutawney Phil

Phil says six more weeks of winter, and for that I have one response: "Bite me."


Maybe I should knit me up the Godfrey the Groundhog and then every year MY groundhog will say spring is coming early. Just look at how cute giolou's (on Rav) project turned out (and sorry if I already posted this. I swear I did, but I can't find it.)

Cute, right!

But then her photography total makes this project.

It reminds me of the cartoon with the groundhog from when I was little. What was that? Frosty?

Killing me with cuteness!

Knitting To-Do List

I'm knee deep in knitting another shawl, so I don't have anything to show right now. However, I may need to put said shawl aside in order to get going on a baby gift for my brother and sis-in-law's baby shower at the end of February. This is their first baby and they are over the moon about the new addition. It's a girl, and I couldn't be happier that they found out since it makes baby knitting a lot easier--and a tad more fun.

Here's what I'm planning for the new little miss:

The Fiona Top, but A LOT smaller--and probably as a dress first.

Either these baby shorts from Debbie Bliss's Essential Baby...

... or these baby bloomers from the Purl Bee.

And last...but never least...shoes! Every girl needs matching footwear, and I think these booties will do the trick.

I just received the yarn from KnitPicks. I bought the Palette Yarn in a fingering weight. The colors are:

Sky

MaiTai Heather

I think I most excited about getting started on these because of the colors. The springy-ness of them is making me happy. The shawl I'm working on is very dark and muted--not that it's not pretty, it's just not happy and sunny like this yarn.

I'll keep you posted as I get the projects done.

Happy Birthday, Mommy Rose!

It's Shane's mom's birthday today, so I thought I'd share the happy little treats that will greet her in the mail when she gets home.

A handmade card...

...and a makeshift card envelope.

The lace shawl I knit over the summer and have been holding onto for this special day...

...and this beautifully illustrated version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Mommy Rose loves children's books with great illustrations. I went to Barnes and Noble in search of a different book (a novel), but I passed this book and couldn't resist picking it up. The illustrations are so soft, but have so much energy, too.

Two of 10 for 2010

I mentioned that I'm participating in the 10 Shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry, which brings me to my second shawl for the year. The pattern is called Citron (because it looks like a citrus fruit wedge), and the pattern can be found here and on Knitty.com. With the exception of the black yarn, I pretty much just used leftover yarn from my other lace knitting. That means my KnitPicks sampler pack has just about come to an end...sigh.

I've been asked where my shawls are going, and I don't quite have a good answer. Some are going to be set aside as birthday gifts. But I'm also pondering the thought of doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, which is 20 miles a day for 3 days. To participate, you have to raise a minimum of $2300....yikes. I'm sure I can do it, but it does seem a tad daunting. IF I decide to walk, I might use some of these shawls as auction items. If I don't walk, my friend Miss Jodi, is for sure walking, so I could also use the shawls to help her. We'll see. If I do walk, I need a lot more ideas than just shawls...that's for sure!

Some Clouds Do Have Silver Linings

Remember the Barbie cake day yesterday? Well, I'm starting to realize that the bad morning I was having was really a warning for the superfantastically craptastic day that was to follow. I should've just gone in search of that GF Barbie Cake to emotionally eat in a corner somewhere, but instead, I stuck it out narrowly escaping the looney bin...or prison for the potential stabbing of another person with a pen.

Ahem...maybe it's just better to say, that is was a day. And not a good one. Until I got home, that was. First, I have a good husband who knows better than ask about said bad day, but let's me vent when I feel good and ready. And then I have a dog who lets me smother him with bad day kisses and hugs to the point where he can barely breathe. And there was the GF brownie...and the ice cream I bought. But the surprise of all bad day surprises was TWO RAKs (random acts of kindness) waiting in my mailbox. WOW....wait til you see them!

From Rav member yarnmagic, I was given a postcard from her home of Norway, Norwegian jelly candy, and the most luxurious lace yarn ever to enter my hands. I'm talking 1312 yards of blended baby alpaca, silk, and cashmere. drool! I pet that yarn almost as much as I did Dexter.

And then, another package from Rav member winemakersister had a copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac. This book is a knitting classic and includes such great patterns. Below are a few of my favorites that I can't wait to someday do.

I think this is proof that the universe can come full circle. All is right with the world...for now, anyway.

Miss Jessica's Swap Ishbel

I told you that I had mad itch to get started on knitting more lace, and I wasn't lying! As soon as I got my new yarn, I got started right away on Jessica's swap shawl (a shawl made in exchange for new blog banner art...and another blog banner surprise coming in the future!). I miscalculated how much yarn I'd need when I ordered, so I had to add another yarn in. I used the alpaca cloud hank from the KnitPicks Sampler I bought last summer (a supply that sometimes seems neverending). I think the gray lace yarn actually helped to make the color-changing yarn pop more. I'm really pleased with how it came together. And as always, the Ishbel pattern is a dream to knit!

The other exciting part of this shawl is that it kicks off my participation in the Ravelry group, 10 shawls in 2010. But the joke with Miss Shelley is that because I knit so quickly and addictively, my group should be 2010 shawls in 2010....maybe if I didn't work. ;)