A Little Something

I hinted around about this last time and I finished it today-



It is the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from The Mason*Dixon Knitting book on page 22 and it is for my little Granddaughter who will be arriving in July .

I used a combo of 100% cotton Peaches & Creme in Over the Rainbow and Cotton Tots in white. I love the color variation in the Over the Rainbow with the sherbet colors of orange, green and pink. The offer in the book is plain white but I got creative with the colors and mixed it up. I added some detail with the 3 puffy hearts I found in my sewing box- it was as if they were waiting there to add a special touch to this precious piece. For me they are very special - as I was sewing them on I thought of the 3 people who will be most important and closest to her from the moment she is born - Her Mommy, Daddy and big Brother Riley.




The pattern called for either garter or stockinette stitches but I got caught up in creativity and decided to do both. I did garter stitch to about an inch at the bottom on the left flap and then did stockinette the rest of the way.I did the entire right flap in stockinette. I think it gives the piece a lot of textural interest.


I added a button at the overlap so when the baby is picked up the right side flap won't bunch or fall open. I love how the colors and the two stitch patterns look at the overlap.




I also added a button at the lower left flap- the pattern suggested a tie at the corner but I was thinking it might be excessive bulkiness and also might be uncomfortable for the baby when she is lying on her side - no Granddaughter of mine will have to endure discomfort if I can do anything about it so I put a little button there instead.


I added the little ribbon tie on the lower right flap which I feel gives it the perfect finishing touch.

Her Grammie loves her and thinks she is really someone special- can't wait to see her wearing it! C'ya - Jules

Coming along nicely

One sleeve done and the next one is well on its way- I am happy with the color variation- I didn't want the sleeves to match up- I am eclectic like that. I ran into a problem on the first sleeve when it came to shaping it at the top. The pattern didn't tell me to switch from knitting in the round to back and forth and I got really confused- I got help at the Poppy Along from a friendly fellow knitter. Once she confirmed for me that back and forth was correct I got right on it and got it done. I have whipped the other sleeve out and hope to finish it this evening. I just ordered the yarn for the rest of the sweater and can't wait to finish it even though I know I won't be wearing it until next Fall/Winter.
I have some ideas of "little" things to keep me busy in the meantime and will post about that next time- never a dull moment in my world of knitting- love it! C'ya - Jules

Looky what I can do?

Sometimes, don't you just love it when you even impress yourself? This is the start of the first sleeve on my first sweater- ever! I am so excited I even knitted on it all night in my sleep. I couldn't shut down my brain from thinking about it. I have worked on it the last 2 night's and couldn't wait to post about it. It is glorious- I don't mean to sound conceited, but , it is coming out better than I could have imagined. Just to refresh your memory I wrote about this in a few post's ago. It is Poppy from the fab book Yarnplay by Lisa Shobhana Mason, page 99. It is also on the front cover of the book done in red's. I am doing mine in blue's- Noro # 247 for the top and I have not yet picked out what will become the bottom panel. There are sooo many color variation's in this yarn that I have a multitude of choices but will probably stick with the blue's.
The bottom panel and the sleeve edge are to be done in the same yarn but I was anxious to get going on it and decided to just use some Paton's Classic Wool that I had left from my knitting bag project and get started on it.
I also came up with this groovy idea after I weaved in my ends and it was difficult to tell where my starting point was- so I used a safety pin to put my row counter on and that way I can tell where my starting point is and I don't have to continually have my row counter bulking up my needles. I thought it was pretty clever.
I'll keep ya posted on my progress. C'ya

It's in the bag-

I was able to finish my knitting bag yesterday and I think it turned out fabulous! It was fun to knit and I loved the finish work. The original pattern called for stockinette stitch but I did it in seed stitch instead- I like it better because it gave it great texture and interest. Also, the original pattern had you using straight bamboo handles and I opted for the round ones due to the fact that it was the only kind I could find. I was unsure how to attach them until I looked in my good ole' Stitch N'Bitch book and there is a similar bag featured there that indicated to just simply sew them on with the same yarn used in the project- so that is what I did and it was fast and easy. Before attaching the handles I fully lined it so when I place my needles in there they won't poke through. I have lots of fabric but to make the job that much easier I
just used an older pillow case I had laying around and it worked perfect. I just cut it in half , ironed a 1/4 inch seam and sewed it in. I just love it and it will be nice to tote my knitting around in. Gotta go - cause I got my Noro and that sweater is just calling my name. C'ya!

By the way - check out my new blog at

http://layzdayzrover.blogspot.com

We had a great time~Knitting took center stage~

It was a fun trip (see next post) - the highlight for me was starting a new project and what was waiting for me when we got home (more about that later). We did some sight seeing in Evansville, Indiana and found this
As you can see it's the Public Library and it was spectacular. The architecture inside and out was breathtaking.
And then we went here...
'Cause what is a mini vacation without a little knitting? It is an adorable little shop with the kindest shopkeeper.
I had to start a new project so I picked up some supplies-I have been wanting to make an all natural knitting bag to carry my supplies in. I am using Paton's Classic Wool in Natural Mix and Paton's Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Earth. Both are extremely soft and luscious. Since the pattern I am using calls for a bulky yarn I decided to use 3 strands held together instead , 2 of the Classic Wool and 1 of the Soy wool. It is the making of a nice bulky fabric. I am using the pattern in Reader's Digests "Knitting in No Time". There are some wonderful patterns in this book and I intend to get my own copy as this one is from the library.


I am using the pattern from page 128 but am putting my own twist on it and doing it in seed stitch rather than the stockinette stitch it calls for. I am also going to make it a little larger but am using size 17 needles instead of the size 19 it calls for. I am happy with it so far and will try to finish it by the end of the weekend, lining and all.

C' ya!