Antipodean February Baby Sweater

Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Yarn: Sundara sock yarn in Charcoal over Blue Lagoon

Needles: 3.75mm circular

Cast on: February 2012

Cast off: March 2012

A friend saw the green February baby sweater that I made and was disappointed to find out that it had gone to someone else. I had did a lot of travelling this year and as this is a perfect travel knit I decided to make another.

This was cast on on the runway at Heathrow and cast off in Paihia, New Zealand.

The little buttons came from the button jar at home, and quite possibly from something I wore as a child.

I think if I make this again I might try a different lace pattern just to mix it up a bit. 

My Big Fat Baby Blanket

Pattern: Square Shawl from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitters Almanac
Yarn: Rowan Little Big Wool (507 Brown), Rowan Big Wool (043 Forest)
Needles: 10mm Addi Circulars
Cast on: November 2011
Cast off: November 2011

This is a little pram/cot sized version of my Big Fat Bed Blanket (hence the name). I used a couple of balls of pale brown that were left over from my blanket and bought a ball of green for the edging to make it up to a sensible size.

The edge is in moss stitch to help to keep the blanket flat. As the yarn for the edge is thicker it has a bit of a ripple to it which I quite like. I like the colour combination too, perfect for the little bruiser that it has gone to.

February Baby Sweater

Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February) by Elizabeth Zimmerman from Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Pine Over Gold
Needles: 3.75mm circular
Cast on: June 2011
Cast off: September 2011

This has been on my want to knit list for quite a while. This version by Brooklyn Tweed sent me off to Amazon to buy Knitter's Almanac just so that I could knit one too. I then kind of freaked out that as a fairly novice knitter I couldn't follow the pattern. Fast forward a few years and this was a no brainer inclusion on the 11 in 11 list.

I used a stashed yarn, Sundara Yarns sock yarn in Pine over Gold (coincidentally a similar yarn and colour to BT's version). The yarn was a little crunchy and rough whilst I was working with it, which was unexpected as previous colourways that I'd used were lovely and soft. Once the cardigan was finished I blocked it using Eucalan and it softened up nicely.

I took this project on holiday with me, knitting happily away on the plane to and from Guernsey, neither security nor stewards batting an eye. The pattern is well written and I found it easy to follow. However, in my usually fashion I managed to sabotage myself. In this case when I switched from the garter stitch yolk to the gull stitch body I was so busy concentrating on the lace pattern that I kept forgetting to knit the first and last few stitches to form a garter stitch button band. I also forgot to start adding button holes, which is why this version only has two, slightly randomly placed, buttonholes. I've made a big note on the pattern so that next time I will remember to add button holes!

All in all I'm pretty pleased with how this project worked out. I like the strong colour combined with the openness of the lace and after it's bath the yarn has a softness that will be perfect next to a baby's cheek.

Baby Surprise Jacket

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket from Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton in 907 (deepest olive) and 900 (antique)
Needles: 4mm bamboo circular
Cast on: January 2011
Cast off: January 2011



This is another of the kids kits that I put together last year and the first of my 11 in 11. I went away for a couple of days over New Year and grabbed this to keep me going on the train and in front of the telly. The pattern has been in my queue for a really long time. In fact I bought the book in July 2007 after seeing this version by Brooklyn Tweed.



The yarn had also been in the stash for a long time, since 2005 I think. I had planned to make a Handsome Hound but never quite got around to it. Since I sold the Lucinda Guy book that the pattern is in two years ago it is unlikely to get made now!



As I had a limited amount of yarn available; 2 balls of antique and 1 of deepest olive; I decided to make the jacket striped. 4 rows of white then 2 of green. I had intended to knit this without any alterations as it is the first time I have knit this pattern. However, I did end up making 2 small adaptations. Firstly when told to knit 10 bumps (2 rows of garter stitch = 1 bump) across the center section I only did 9. This was to keep the stripes correct. The other alteration was to pick up stitches around the neck, knit a row and then cast off. This was to neaten the neck up and to make it match the front edges. The buttons again came from Franklins in Salisbury.



Having knit this pattern once I can understand why people return to it time and again. I have a feeling that this will not be the last BSJ that turns up here!

The One with all the Knitting

Amongst all of the sewing I've got some knitting and finishing done. Thanks to the Scrubs box set. I stuck a disk on every morning and started working through the projects in my knitting basket.

Boat Necked Jumper

This is a Debbie Bliss pattern that I've made a couple of times, for this version I substituted Cashmerino Astrakhan for the Cashmerino Aran that the pattern calls for. I've used the Astrakhan for a couple of things and it looks really cute for baby clothes.




This one just needed seaming as I finished all of the knitting last year. I was a little worried that after a years hiatus this little jumper and the jacket below would be too small for their intended recipients. I delivered them this weekend and thankfully they both fit. I usually plan projects the next size up from the child's age at the birthday/Christmas that I intend to gift a project. This gives me a chance to get finished before they are too big as I have a habit of getting so far and stalling, usually on the seaming. I will spend weeks knitting only to let the pieces sit in my knitting basket for the sake of a couple of afternoons sat seaming! Daft I know.

Ribbon Tied Hoodie

This is another Debbie Bliss pattern that I've made a few times and is written for the Astrakhan. I made a few mods to this version, I only knit the first 5 rows of the hood before knitting a row and casting off in the contract colour. Instead of a ribbon tie at the neck I opted for 3 buttons with crocheted button holes to give it more of a feeling of a little jacket.




This knitting on this was complete last year, but has been hibernating as the first version of the collar sucked. It rolled back on itself and I was too frustrated with it to pull it out and work out an alternative. Once I started on it again it came together pretty quickly. I like the mods I've made to this and am planning a couple more. The knitting is pretty quick and now I've got the mods sorted that won't slow me down. I've had to do a bit of searching to find the yarn though as it seems to have been discontinued. However, between Ebay, Ravelry and Jimmy Beans Wool I've got my sticky mitts on enough yarn to make 3 more of these so that all the little girls I know will have one.

Pi Shawl

I was introduced to Elizabeth Zimmerman through Brooklyntweed's blog. It was the February Baby Sweater that first caught my eye, quickly followed by the Baby Suprise Jacket. As a result I purchased Knitters Almanac and Knitters Workshop, the books that featured the two patterns. It was only then that I realised that EZ writes guides more than patterns and at that time it was beyond my skills to pick out the instructions from the text. Fast forward a while and I was sorting my stash out and came across some hanks of Rowanspun DK that I'd been given by a friend a few years ago. It's been lurking in the stash as I didn't have a clue what to use it for. I had a thumb through EZ looking for some inspiration and came across the instructions for Pi. Brooklyntweed had made a blanket version and his pictures help to inspire and push me over the edge into action. I swatched in a couple of needle sizes to see what it would look like, I like how my swatches have come out and think that I would use a shawl in this tweedy grey colour. It will be great over my shoulders in a draughty prompt corner.



I swatched in 3 needle sizes 5mm, 5.5mm and 6mm. I like the look of the swatch below. However, I'm going to have to swatch again as I didn't mark the 3 swatches and can't tell for certain which size it is that I like! I think it is the 5mm as the plain stockinette section is the tightest but if I'm going to put that amount of knitting hours into something I'd rather knit a second set of swatches and double check. It would be a bummer if I fudge it and get it wrong.



Mr Vanilla

The knitting on Mr Vanilla has been ticking along nicely. I've finished the first sock, I just need to graft the toe and weave in the ends, and have just started the heel flap on the second sock.

Pomatomus

Pomatomus has also had a bit of time spent on it. It hasn't progressed very much though. Some how I managed to loose 2 stitches in one of my pattern sections and didn't realise for about 20 rows. As it is lots yarn overs and K2togs and twisted stitches I had to unknit the offending rows and work out my mistake before continuing. I'm back on track now thankfully but still haven't made it to the first heel yet.