Friday, January 30, 2009

Aran Baby Sweater, modeled

Remember this?

Here it is, with TLD gamely modeling it. Because of the drawing in of the cabling, it still stretches to fit, so we took pictures right quick, before he outgrew it. (You can tell it's on the small side, because it's a little short.) But those arms which I could have sworn were huge huge HUGE, are just right.

Shortly after the photo shoot, he drooled on the sweater, which I'd neglected to soak in vinegar because I was too lazy to re-block it. The shirt did become white again, but he hasn't worn the sweater again yet, because I still haven't given it a vinegar bath. (And it probably doesn't fit anymore; this photo was taken about 3 weeks ago.)

And that is this week's combination installment of Eye Candy Friday (do people still do that anymore?) and Where are they now? Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

FO: TLD's Christmas Stocking

I've decided to give my baby the blog name "The Little Dude" or TLD. We sort of started to call him that at home, and it stuck.

One of my goals a year ago (indeed, I think I made the order on January 8 or so last year) was to knit this guy a Christmas stocking. I loved the kits on Annie's Woolens and so I ordered the kit.

Pattern: Bear Stocking, personalized version with short row heel and toe.
Yarn: whatever they sent in the kit, very rustic with lots of VM
Needles: Susan Bates Silvalume circulars, 16" sizes 6 and 8, I think. These were the needles I used for my first ever knitting project.

I personalized it with his name duplicate stitched on that white band (this photo is of the back), and lined it with knit fabric to prevent any loot from catching on the knitting. This was my first foray into combination knitting, and I loved it! Especially the charted part - I couldn't stop myself! The other 2-color parts were easy to memorize. At 54 stitches per round, it's less work than a real sock, and you don't have to make a second!

There was only one issue I had with the short row heel, where I couldn't get the stitch count to work out. I ended up crossing off one line of instructions and then it seemed to fall into place. Not sure if it really was an error, or whether I was just off somehow.

Here's the inside:

Inside of stocking

And a detail of the back of the bear (heart is duplicate stitched):

Back of bear

A fitting last FO of 2008!

Monday, January 26, 2009

FO: Ridiculously Tiny socks

As you may recall, I tried to make a baby sock last year, and it came out really tiny. However, I did manage to get it on my baby's foot.

When I found out my friend had delivered a preemie (about 4 weeks early), I resolved to make a matching one and give the pair to her. And here they are!

This baby is now about 4 months old, healthy, alert, and smiling! Kudos to the parents for remembering my request to send modeled photos!

Friday, January 23, 2009

FO: Hat for Niecey


Hat for Niecey
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk
I decided to return to blogging after that long hiatus with a sweet little thing. This was a quick hat for the birth of my niece, started and finished just before she was born.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, same purple and green as the Spiral Striped Socks and Spiral baby hat. Solid purple (because her mom said, "Enough pink!") with a little green daisy embroidered.
Pattern: Um....I think it was around 56 or maybe 64 stitches, in 1x1 ribbing (to ensure it would fit that head), with 4 decreases to make it sort of pyramid topped, and an I-cord with a knot at the top. I made it have a brim, so that when she got bigger, you could flip the brim down and it would still fit.
Needles: Lantern Moon dpns, size 5.

With so many features in place to make it fit on a big head, you might suspect that my own little baby outgrew all of his hats quickly. And you'd be right!

Edited to add: What do you know, I'd put this in Ravelry shortly after I did it, so it turns out I did a picot cast-on (from The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques) on size 3 needles (although I never did see the picots), and it was 64 stitches.