Friday, July 31, 2009

More baby knitting

And the baby knitting continues!

This little pair of socks was finished just in time for my July Sock-A-Month KAL entry. I have a baby shower in the middle of August and I like to use a pair of baby socks or booties as the package decoration. These should work perfectly.



Yankee Knitter Design "Classic Socks for the Family" in Cherry Tree Hill "Sockittome" Cherry Blossom on size US 2 1/2 (3.0mm) double points.

Last week we had a pot luck dinner at church for the missionary family that we support. Susan is pregnant with their third child and we decided to "shower" them with baby gifts. They are serving in Niger, Africa so they don't really need any knitted clothing. Scott and I bought them a gift card and I made these three little bibs.

The first is the Bib 'O Love from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Very cute and very easy.


The next two are a crochet pattern found on Ravelry and at Peanutz Mom's Pattern Place. These little bibs are so quick to make that they can become an obsession.









I used Lily Sugar 'N Cream cotton and cute little buttons to dress them up. They are great for using up leftovers from making dishcloths. I foresee making many more as gifts.

Saturday we are leaving for a week's vacation. We are taking our annual trip to Wellesley Island State Park on the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands. Even though our campsite is full hook-up (water, sewer and electric), there is no internet connection. So I will be out of touch with the cyberworld for a whole week. It will be tough but I'll get a lot of knitting and reading done. I'm still bringing my laptop in case we find a free wi-fi spot when we go into town. And if I don't get online while we're gone, I can still play Scrabble on it!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

First Baby Surprise Jacket

Spending most of the week at the campground by myself meant some quality knitting time. I finished the Baby Surprise Jacket yesterday morning. Here it is in it's "amoeba" state.



Really doesn't look much like a baby sweater, does it? But, fold it just so and voila! You have a wearable garment.



I still have to sew the shoulder seams, decide if I want to just crochet an edging or make a collar, and sew on the buttons. I actually have 4 light blue buttons with me that match perfectly.

Now that Scott is done with the furnace and a/c installation, I probably won't do the finishing touches until we are home. Yesterday had some fairly severe thunderstorms but we were at an outlet mall so it didn't matter to us. I found a copy of Debbie Bliss's New Baby Knits for $3.99 at a discount bookstore. It has some beautiful patterns - Fair Isle, Aran, Guernsey - and I want to try them all.

Today I think we're going to an arts festival in Rochester with Ariane and possibly Mike. I don't know how excited he is about going so he might just meet us later for dinner. At any rate, it should be fun.

Now I have to decide what project I want to work on next. I need to finish a pair of socks for July and have 3 started pairs with me. I also have a top down baby sweater by Fiber Trends that was started before the Baby Surprise.

And while I'm trying to decide, I've been working on yet another dishcloth. I'd like to have a stockpile of them on hand. There was one in my "finished projects" basket but I luckily brought it with me. I only had one dishcloth packed in the trailer and that's not enough for a week. So I don't have any more dishcloths stockpiled.

And now it's time to think about breakfast and my next project!

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Vacation, sort of.

Scott and I are on vacation - sort of. We are camping at the Canandaigua KOA which is about 1/2 hour from Ariane and Mike's new house. I'm sitting at the campground with the dog doing a little knitting and playing on the computer. Scott is at Ariane's installing a new heating and air conditioning system. I definitely have the better end of this deal. We got here yesterday and will leave next Monday. At the end of the week, Scott will take a day or so to enjoy himself. He doesn't think he'll get everything done that needs doing so we'll be back out for a few days later in the summer.

Here's some knitting that I have been doing. These are the two dishcloths I made for the Friends of the Library to sell.



Nothing special especially if you read my previous posts about dishcloths.

Then we have a little baby sweater. It's the Dapper pattern from Leisure Arts #3202 "Precious Layettes". I usually make the "Little Lamb" pattern from this book but wanted a change. I used Premier Yarns "Deborah Norville Serenity Sport" in pink and white on size 7 needles. It's a newborn size. I need to sew the buttons on and make something to go with it - hat, socks, booties. I haven't decided which yet.


Next we have my latest pair of socks.



Just a plain stockinette pair using Fortissima Socka "Disco" in light blues. There is a sparkly thread that runs through these socks but it's hard to photograph. Maybe if you click on the picture, you can see it a little.

And here's a single sock that I finished.



This is a simple 2 x 2 ribbing in OnLine Supersocke "Tropic" #931. I started this sock in June of 2008 and finally finished it June of 2009. I hope the second sock doesn't take me a year to finish. I have almost 3" of the 4 1/2" cuff done.

Now I'm working on my first Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I've had the pattern for several years but haven't made on yet. Some of us in my weekly knitting group decided to do this pattern as a KAL. We started June 30th. It's about two-thirds done. So I plan on posting a completed picture the next time I post.

That's it from me for now. Who knows, I may even post again before the end of the week.