Knitting up a storm lately...but BOYS ONLY!!!

     I have been on a knitting binge lately and I am not sure if I can stop! I know this doesn't sound like a "real" problem but it kind of is...you see, right now my family is on a baby kick. I have written past posts about how many babies are being born this year and how we are having a "run" on boys. Four of my nieces are adding to their families this year: 2 are already born, one is due any day now, and the last one will deliver in Oct/November. I believe that every baby should have at least one handmade baby item in their lives so I spend time finding patterns, buying yarn, and knitting something for the baby before the parents have their baby showers. I give every new baby in the family a handmade gift. I am certain by now all of my nieces and nephews ARE SICK of getting the same type of gifts but I do NOT care-handmade items are needed!
     So far my nieces that have given birth had boys (Marvin and Tyler are exactly 1 month apart!) and my soon-to-deliver niece is also having a BOY! The last niece is finally giving the family a GIRL which is the first one in 3 years! You would think I would jump at the chance to knit little frilly girly items but...BUT...(and here is the problem I mentioned at the start!) I CANNOT STOP KNITTING BOY ITEMS!!!! In particular I cannot stop knitting boy items for the soon-to-be-born great nephew! As of right now I have knit: an afghan, a deer hat, 2 deer stuffies, 2-5 hour sweaters for boys, and 2 camo baseball hats! Today I found myself looking at booties/socks for him AND looking for orange yarn to make him ANOTHER baseball cap! I have to start knitting for the little girl being born soon and I CANNOT seem to cast on anything!
     The baby afghan seems to be the favorite among all the family. I made alternating light and dark brown squares with "Deer heads" in the center. Instead of sewing these together using a mattress stitch or some other way of connecting squares I, instead, delved into the scary art of CROCHET! I find it extremely difficult to manage yarn with one hook and prefer to have TWO sticks in my hands when maneuvering yarn. However, my niece decorated her nursery in camo so I needed to incorporate it into the blanket somehow. Thanks to my sister, Lisa, (and YouTube), I learned how to use a crochet hook to connect the squares. Once I got used to only using one hand, the connecting of the squares went fairly easily and I even felt confident enough to add a border! Check my Instagram for close-ups of the squares!

Camo and deer head afghan-sorry so blurry

Deer stuffies

Dark brown deer stuffie

Light brown deer stuffie

Camo baby baseball cap

Side view of camo baseball cap

Smaller version of camo baseball cap

Camo baseball cap-newborn size

Camo baseball cap in larger size

Deer horn hat

Large 5 hour baby sweater in brown
There is also a camo version of this sweater but in my excitement I forgot to take a pic and my niece keeps FORGETTING to send me one! BRIE!!!!!!!

The following patterns were used in this post (all found on Ravelry.com)

* Baseball cap is from: Baby Boy Brimmed Hat by Janel knits

* Afghan is from:Knitted Moose Cloth by Rhonda White

* Stuffies are from: Deer Bean Bag by Katie Startzman

*Antler hat is from: Reindeer Antler Baby Beanie by Ashlee Prisbrey

* 5 hour baby sweater is from: Baby Boy 5 Hour Sweater by Gail Bable

I am on Instagram now too!!!

   
Check out my new badge on the right!
I am now on Instagram! I want to thank Emmy166 on Ravelry.com for walking me through how to add a badge onto my blog!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I think this is going to make it so much easier to add pictures to my blog. Also I have started a blog on wordpress.com under the same name as this blog. The new blog will be similar to this one and will link to my Instagram, FB, and Twitter...now that I have finished my Master's degree (YAY! Finished on 7/1/2013 with a 3.61 GPA! So proud of myself!) I have a lot more time on my hands to update my blog and increase my Internet presence.

Thank you so much for sticking with me, readers and family, as I neglected my blog for studies but I am back now and will be posting on a regular basis!

Pinwheel blanket

I am trying to expand my knitting so I have learned how to make socks (ONE PATTERN DOES COUNT!), how to use a chart, and how to use crocheting in my knitting (edges DO count!). Another thing I wanted to accomplish is learning how to knit a circle. I found a pinwheel blanket pattern on Ravelry.com and bought the perfect yarn: a giant cone of Peaches and Creme yarn. Making the blanket was not as bad as I though and there is only one or two mistakes in my blanket (NOT THE PATTERN!). I had fun making it and even though it does not have an owner, yet, I still love how it looks and feels.

close-up of color

Look closely...do you see the mistake?

Carmen's doll

   

My great-niece, Carmen (her pics dot this blog!) turned 8 years old in March. For her birthday I bought her a doll that looks like her and is kind of an American Girl-type doll. As soon as I gave her the doll she changed her hair style and the doll now sleeps with her every night. As a knitter I could not simply go to a store and buy her an outfit that all little girls have access to! Knitters are unique! So I set out to make Carmen's doll a handmade outfit. I scoured the Internet and looked all over Ravelry.com but nothing really jumped out at me. Most outfits are too winter-y or odd colored or bulky. I wanted to make her a cute little summer-y outfit. So using several different patterns for sizing and fit I made Carmen a 3 piece outfit: panties, tank top, and mini-skirt. The doll in the picture IS NOT Carmen's doll but is my model (my niece, Kirsten's American Girl-type doll who I still owe an outfit to because she let me borrow her!)

3 piece outfit-the panties were thongs until I crocheted a nice little edge on them!

NOT Carmen's doll but my clothes model

Socks for my sister!

I have learned how to make socks BUT can only figure out how to knit them using one pattern...Incredibly Easy Socks (can be found on Ravelry.com). However, socks there are so many different types and colors of  yarn that I really do not mind only being able to master one sock pattern. My sister is fully addicted to my handmade socks and I have to say that she owns every pair I have ever made (all 3 of them!) The pair I call Opposite Socks were made using sock yarn purchased at Joann's for 97 cents, I think it is Patons. I call them Opposite Socks because the way that the colors changed for each sock-almost a mirror of each other. The next socks I call Pink Summer Socks because the yarn is thin and perfect for cool evenings in the summer. I bought the yarn from Big Lots for 80 cents!! I am working on sock 2 now!!!

Here are some pictures of my latest socks:

Opposite Socks!!!! Made with 97 cent sock yarn-Patons

See my ladybug row counter? Pink Summer Socks

I turned the HEEL!

Obligatory foot and half finished sock picture

Yes, I see the laddering! LOL! Pink Summer Socks

See? It all worked out!!!!

These hats may not be appropriate for children (no NUDITY!)...but I think they are awesome!

Here are some more projects I have been working on! I am trying to teach myself how to use charts as well as create simple charts. I figured a simple hat pattern would be the best and I stumbled upon the Weed Chart on Ravelry.com and thought I would try it out. The first nine pictures are made from the Weed Chart using Red Heart yarn. The second hat is my own chart that I generated using a free chart generator. It is made with a really super soft black yarn (no label) and the green is Red Heart. I learned a lot by making the same design. How to do floats, how to follow the chart, and how to hold my tension.
Warning: my hat may not be appropriate for children!

The hand is my 4 yr old great-niece-HELPING

This is my new FOAM HAT HEAD

This is so much fun!

The stem is a little WONKY

Getting closer to the end

The bottom leaves are a little weird

Really HUGE finished hat!

Close-up of WONKY stem-my fault not pattern

Side view! Look how long!!!

MY OWN DESIGN-love rolled brim

MY OWN DESIGN-LOVE IT

OK so I messed up a little but it so GREAT!

Baby Boom

Sorry, once again, it has been awhile since I last posted but I have been extremely busy. I am in the last stretch of my Master's degree (3.6 GPA!!!) and have been knitting in between class, papers, and finals. My family has had a BABY BOOM since I last posted. My niece, Leesa (and her husband, Richard) welcomed a baby boy, Marvin Richard, in May. My niece, Lena (and her husband, T-no really that is his name!) welcomed a baby boy, Tyler Wade, on June 13th. My niece, Aulbrie (and her boyfriend, Ryan) are due to have a baby boy in August/September. And my niece, Jessica, is due to have a LITTLE GIRL (FINALLY A GIRL! LOL!) in October/November. SO I have been doing A LOT of baby knitting!! In between knitting for babies being born IN the family, I have also knit a blanket for my nephew-in-law's sister. Do I have to explain Southern families convoluted relations here? They are extremely twisty, confusing, and MIND-BOGGLING! It helps to read them slowly to understand them! LOL! Also I have been knitting socks, practicing how to use charts (still shaky on them), and whatever little projects I can fit in between. SIT BACK and ENJOY the pictures!!!

Leesa's baby set

Leesa's Baby set-close-up of bootie

Leesa's Baby Set-far shot

Close-up of Lena's sailboat baby blanket

Ashley's blanket

Ashley's Blanket getting crochet edge

 Ashley's blanket--close-up of crochet edge

Ashley's Blanket stripes

Ashley's Blanket

A baby sweater and hat set...a gift set!

     Browsing through Ravelry.com one day, I came across a pretty little baby sweater pattern called "Lilllie Baby Cardigan." Here is the link: lillie-baby-cardigan. I do not know why I felt so compelled to make this sweater since no one in my family is currently pregnant or has a baby that will fit the sweater but I became obsessed with making it. I cast-on without really having a recipient in mind...at first. Now please remember that I live in the South and in the South we have a looooooong tradition of convoluted family ties with twists and turns and extended family... please keep this in mind as I explain who the lucky Lillie Baby Cardigan recipient is. My sister-in-law's sister has an adult daughter (re: my sister-in-law's niece) and she is a Facebook friend of mine and although I have not seen her in a few years, is a part of my extended family, and lives in Kansas, I could not help but notice one day that she is pregnant (37 weeks this week) and I also could not help but notice that she is going to name her little girl...wait for it...LILY!! So...of course....the Lillie Baby Cardigan would BE PERFECT for her.
     I waited until I completed the pattern (in case I messed it up or got finish-itis) and then sent an IM to my sister-in-law's sister to ask if she thought her daughter would appreciate it. I did this because she is young (early 20's) and sometimes younger people (HEY WAIT I AM NOT OLD...I AM IN MY MID-cough-30's) do not want handmade gifts for their new little ones but prefer store bought, mass produced, perfectly made articles for their new babies. My sister-in-law's sister assured me that she would probably LOVE the gift and that I should directly IM her to find out. Imagine my surprise when she was overjoyed with the idea that I made something for her new little one! She practically gushed! I was so...honored...that she thought the gift was "thoughtful and sweet" (her words!) So I also made a tiny matching hat and away to Kansas it went!

The buttons are heart-shaped mother of pearls

complete sweater still needing one button

matching hat...so small it fits on tips of my fingers

Chain Chomp Hat

     I was looking through Ravelry.com two weeks ago in search of inspiration for Xmas knitting when I ran into a pattern that I had to make. I mean, right then and there! I am not sure why this spoke to me and why I felt compelled to make it right away but I was so I did! Usually when I find a pattern I know exactly who I am making it for (I rarely knit for myself but prefer to give relatives and friends my knits) but this was crying out to be made. After I was on the needles, I decided to give it to my 6 year old nephew, Logan, because he had just turned 6 and because I thought he would like it. First, let me give credit to the creator of the pattern before I start flooding this post with pics. The pattern is a freebie on Ravelry.com and the designer is KnittingNinja and the pattern can be found at this link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chain-chomp-hat 

     The only variation I made to the pattern was that I asked my sister to crochet the eyes instead of using felt. She kind of freeformed the eyes so I do not know what size needle, how many stitches used, or anything else and since I do not crochet I cannot say what technique she used or anything. From what she said it was simple but that is all the information I have about them. Without further ado here is my attempt at the

Chain Chomp Hat:

On the needles

I made the hat first and was really proud because I did it in the round on circs. This is still amazing to me because I am still new at this technique.

Complete hat-looks great!

Complete hat from another angle

After making the hat you have to add the teeth-this was a little intimidating to me because I am not all that great at picking up stitches. The only other time I have picked up stitches was the one time I tried to "turn a heel" while making a sock--it did not turn out well. But I wanted this hat so I went really slowly and followed the great instructions that KnittingNinja wrote.

TEETH! Oh please excuse the glare..white yarn and cellphone do not mix!

All the teeth! Again excuse the glare...oh and my model? Paper towel roll!

Logan, my nephew, showing off the teeth

Close-up of Logan and teeth

Once the teeth were on the front and the back I decided to make the chain. My sister was crocheting the eyes for me, to be added later, so I forged on with the rest of the pattern. Now I have posted before how much I found icord making to be BORING but this was one of the best features of the hat and so I had to do it. My favorite part of the hat:

My nephew, Logan, modeling the hat...see the back teeth? SO CUTE!

Now the finished product:




With eyes on!!!

I LOVE THE FINISHED HAT! Despite giving the hat to my nephew, who liked it, my sister fell MORE in love with it and is now the proud owner of the Chain Chomp Hat!!! I see myself making a BIGGER sized one for another relative in the future!