Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Introducing... my latest FO

Hi All!  Wanted to introduce you all to my latest FO -

Abigail Anne
Born May 25, 2010 at 7:50am
she surprised us at a whopping 9 pounds, 8 ounces
21 inches long

Very happy and healthy and such a little blessing - mom and dad are totally smitten! =)

Pillows, hats, wristlets and more!

Since I'm still here, still pregnant I thought I'd pop in and share with you what I've been working on...

 

There's another easy-peasy newborn hat for the baby, now with stripes!  The free pattern I shared is here and you can queue it up in ravelry here.  The stripey yarn is yarntini in cheertini.  I love stripey yarn - it's my one major weakness!

It all started when I saw these beautiful pillowcases here.  I immediately started scheming how to figure out how they were made, so I could make a few of these beauties for myself.  Luckily, I found a really fun crochet/sew-along to make them.  You can find the whole great tutorial here.  I made a big stack of pillowcases, some with edging and some without and have a whole pile more in progress.  It's a great stashbuster, it uses up a lot of fabric.  The folksy set I made for the master bedroom. 

If you tweak the tutorial and shorten the pillowcase measurements by approx 2 inches you can a set of pillowcases out of a yard of fabric of the main and contrasting colors.  Much closer to the way I stash than the 1 1/8 required by the tutorial.  Plus, the pillowcases were a little large for my pillows, so shortening just made everything fit better.

And, last but certainly not least I spun up some more yarn.  This is 100% superfine CASHMERE top and it's oh so yummy and luscious.  I spun 2 ounces which got me about 125 yards.  I'm currently knitting this super cute free pattern for wristlets out of it.  So yummy!

Spinning the day away!

Still here, still waiting for baby.  In the meantime - I can't seem to stop spinning.  What do you get when you can't seem to focus on anything but fiber?  A pound and a half of hand-dyed roving spun over the last two weeks.

A plethora of handspun! =)

Lots of yummy goodness from Hello Yarn Fiber Club, Sweet Georgia Fiber Club and Southern Cross Fiber Club along with lots of other fibery goodies.

 

Now if I can just figure out what I want to make with it all!

Free Easy Peasy Leftover Sock Newborn Hat

I have knitted many a umbilical cord hat over the years for gifts using my own pattern but wanted to tweak it to use up all of my many (many!) sock yarn leftovers so I re-ran the numbers and the decreases and here we are! I think it turned out really cute (and is uber decadent in MCN Julie Spins yarn). I sewed a matching gnomey onesie and burp cloth as a gift for a friend in my birth class.

If you'd like to make one too - the pattern is super simple. 

Leftover Sock Newborn Hat (queue it up on ravelry here)

Difficulty Level: Easy peasy!

Gauge: 7sts/inch

Materials:

Leftover sock yarn (I used .6oz of merino cashmere nylon Julie Spins Yarn)

3mm needles or size appropriate for gauge (you can use 12inch circulars, magic loop, dpn's, 2 circs, etc, whatever your favorite method is to knit a small circumference.  Since the hat is too tiny, 16 inch circulars won't do, they'll have to be smaller than that.)  **Note- if you use 12 inch circulars, you will need to switch to dpn's when the head decreases make the circumference too small.  **

Darning Needle & Stitch Marker

Sizing:  Please note, the sizes of newborn heads vary greatly.  If you'd like to upsize or downsize the pattern, use the gauge to calculate the size you want, and make sure that it's a multiple of 10 and put that number in the directions.  Easy Peasy!

Here is a fantastic (!) link to a size chart for baby heads, to better allow you to estimate sizes.

In this case, I wanted a newborn size so I want a finished size that fits a 13"-14" head, you'll want a bit of negative ease in there for a good fit, so subtract one inch from the final size.  That leaves us with a knitted size of 12-13".  Based on our gauge, 90 stitches will give us a good number to CO for that final size. 

Directions:

Cast-on 90 stitches.  Join in round and placemarker.

Knit 3.5 inches plain stockinette

Start the head decreases:

Knit 8, K2tog all the way around

Knit 1 round plain

Knit 7, K2tog all the way around

Knit 1 round plain

Continue decreasing in this manner until you are down to Knit 1, K2tog

The next round, K2tog all the way around.

Slip1, K2tog PSSO, 3 stitches remain.

The 3 stitches remaining will become the i-cord umbilical cord.  Start a 3 stitch icord and continue for 2.5 inches.  Slip 1, k2tog PSSO to bind off.  Weave in ends.  Tie the top in a knot and voila!  Easy Peasy Newborn Hat!

Happy Newborn Knitting!  If you run into any questions or issues with the pattern please feel free to contact me, my info is in the sidebar.  

Woolee Winder Trick for thinner spinning

For those of you who are spinners out there - you have probably heard of a really neat tool called a Woolee Winder.  This fancy little tool winds on your handspun evenly, without having to stop and change hooks, allowing you to spin more quickly.

One of the down sides of this tool is that the takeup is a bit stronger than a traditional flyer.  If you are interested in spinning thinner with the woolee winder, here's a neat little trick.  Take the handspun and pull it over the right flyer arm as shown below.  Instantly takeup will be reduced and the diameter of the yarn you are spinning will cut right in half!

Happy Spinning!