Preemie hats are done.

I finished 5 preemie hats for Marykatherine's first birthday. Three are knit and two are crocheted. I used a variety of pattern and yarn to make them. They will be delivered today along with a store-bought set of onesies. I hope the hospital can use them.



Now I'm back to knitting mittens. The purple ones I mentioned in the last post have been set aside temporarily. The yarn is acrylic and after rereading Ann's blog, I realize that wool or wool blends are preferable. So I started a pair in Patons Classic Wool. The first mitten is done and I just started the thumb gusset on the second one. I'll post a picture when they're done. The purple mittens will be finished and I'll send all the acrylic pairs with the wool ones. I'm sure they will all be used.

It's that time!

It's that time of year when I start thinking of charity knitting. Usually because Ann from Sheep Shots posts about the Mittenz Blitz for the Cheyenne River Reservation. So far I've made two pairs of mittens this week.




They are 4 needle mittens from Leisure Arts #391 "Mittens and Hats to Knit" by Marion Graham. I've had this book for years but never tried the 4 needle pattern from it. I wish I had sooner because I find these mittens very quick and easy to make. I'm using Red Heart worsted weight yarn. A lot of the yarn is from left over skeins that I have in my stash but some I purchased just the other day. Most of the stash I have is ombres so I needed to buy some solid colors to match.

I have another pair started in purples but they are on hold for the moment. Remember the baby from church that is celebrating her 1st birthday? Well, her parents have asked that in lieu of gifts people donate preemie and newborn items to the hospital where she spent so much of her first 6 months of life. So for the rest of this week, I am making preemie hats to donate. I started and finished the first one last night.



Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly DK #SH393, Size US 6 (4.0mm)needles
This is a pattern I printed out in 2005. I can't link it because the site is no longer viable. If you are on Ravelry, however, you can search Preemie Hat Pattern and find an archived pattern. It was written by Elizabeth Dimbleby.

And I have another FO to post this week. I finally finished that pair of socks that I started in June 2008. They came out nice but they are a little tight on me. Probably because I knit insanely tight on double points and these were made on size 1 (2.25mm) needles. Plain 2 x 2 ribbing in OnLine Supersocke Tropic #931.



And that's my knitting progress for this week. Now I have to cast on another preemie hat!

All baby, all the time?

Yep, I'm still knitting for babies! Here are my latest endeavors.

This little hat was made while I was on vacation in the Thousand Islands. Sue T. and I each knit one. I made the top of my hat differently than the pattern but it still worked out well.



The yarn is Zenith by Di.Ve' (100% Extra Fine Merino Wool, shrink resistant.) I liked working with it. The pattern can be found on Ravelry. Just plug Parallelo Hat into the pattern search. It's a fun knit. I didn't knit it with anyone in mind so it's going into the finished projects basket.

The next project had a definite destination. One of Scott's nieces was due in September but the baby was born in July. Little Maddy Jo was 2 lbs., 14 oz. at birth. She is now 3 lbs., 12 oz. and gaining about an ounce a day. She may even come home this week if everything goes well.

The baby shower was scheduled for August 15th and my sister-in-law decided to go ahead with it as planned. I knew I wanted to knit something but couldn't decide on a pattern. The Monday before the shower, I was in JoAnn's Fabrics and found "Pipsqueak Knits" by Jil Eaton. There is a cute sleep sack in it that I immediately knew was what I wanted to make.

So, I shopped the stash and found 2 skeins of Bernat Baby Softee in Peony Prints and cast on. Five days of concentrated knitting later, I had a cute shower gift.





I was pleased with it when I was done but if I knit it again, I'll make some changes. It will be knit in the round until dividing for the placket and the sleeves will be knit in the round, too. I'll pick up and knit for the placket differently, too. I wasn't very happy with the placket but it turned out okay.

My last picture is of the wrapped shower gift. You'll see that I used the baby socks from my last post as the package decoration.




I'm not finished with my baby knitting, either. Ariane's boyfriend, Mike, has a twin sister and she's due with her second daughter in September. I figure I should get ahead of the game and make something for her now. I think I might make a Baby Surprise sweater for her. And a couple at church had a baby girl last August who has multiple health issues. After many, many medical scares, she is turning 1 and they are having a party for her at church on August 28th. She's small so I think I'll make something in the 6-9 month size for her. Now I just have to decide what it is that I want to make. I had two weeks to make something when I first found out but now I'm down to 10 days. I'd better decide soon.

And while I'm deciding, I've been working on finishing a pair of socks that I started in June 2008 and making mittens for charity. But more on those when they're finished.