My precious little niece, Vera Elisabeth, was born December 5th, 2014!
She’s just two months old now, the apple of her Mommy and Daddy’s eye, and treasured by the whole family!
Its a really good thing she’s super snuggly and loves to be held because we all adore her and are constantly waiting for our turn to hold her!
I have it on good authority that her orange Gullfoss Blanket is her favorite, which makes me so glad because whenever she is wrapped up in her blanket, she’s wrapped up in a warm loving hug from her doting Aunt Sarah! ❤️❤️❤️
I don’t know about you, but I can always find more projects that I want to knit much faster than I can actually knit them!
Here are a few recent finds that I’m adding to my queue…
The Undergrowth Hat by Mandy Powers. I just love the colorwork – and the colors used! Any contrasting colors would work great, but that teal is breathtaking! And the pattern is free!
The Glacier Gloves by Julia Mueller have such intricate cabling. I can’t wait to give them a try!
And The Gamayun Bird Shawl by Natalia Sha is truly spectacular! The feathers look so real! And I love the rainbow colors, they make me feel happy!
I have recently become obsessed with Reindeer!
Amelie-Claire’s Christmas Reindeer is beyond adorable! It’s based on the pattern for Murray The Reindeer by Dawn Toussaint. A “Murray” would make a great Christmas gift for my niece next year…
And I know several people on my Christmas 2015 Gifting List who will be getting this awesome Moose Fair Isle Hat; the pattern is by ResQCrafts! That’s right! It’s never too early to start planning for next year…
I’ve been doing alot of knitting for my little niece-to-be lately!
Just off my needles this morning is the Gulfoss Blanket by Karen S. Lauger.
I used Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash. It’s a lovely light worsted weight 100% wool that can be machine washed (on cold) and dried (on cool), so it’s perfect for baby items – warm, soft, and washable!
The color is called “Tangerine Heather,” and I love it! The brilliant orange makes me feel so happy!
You start with a nice textured seed stitch border that continues up the sides of the blanket.
There is also a very interesting horizontal stockinette stitch that functions as a second border before the cable stitch pattern starts.
The cables are really fun to knit! They are not too hard but definitely keep things interesting! They form a beautiful textured pattern on both sides of the blanket, making it reversible!
I found this post by Jaala Spiro extremely helpful because in it she teaches how to work cables without actually using a cable needle. Not having to use a cable needle is really nice because it allows you keep your rhythm flowing and unbroken.
I used them to mark each pattern repeat as I went so that it would be easy to count how many repeats I had done and how many I had left to go! This made keeping track of my progress really easy!
Now I’m off to weave in the ends and block the blanket!
What have you been working on lately? Feel free to share in the comments, we’d love to hear all about it! Have a lovely Labor Day weekend, Everyone!
There will be a lovely new little niece joining our family circle this winter! (Joe and I absolutely love being Uncle and Aunt!)
Of course, I am totally taking advantage of this opportunity to knit lots of fun baby things – starting with this adorable bonnet, socks, and mitts set from Homespun Handknit by Linda Ligon.
It’s called the Bouncing Baby Set, pattern by Jean Scorgie. Ravelry notes here.
Isn’t it absolutely adorable!! (It’s really hard not to squeal in my head when I write/think that… 🙂
I really love the yarn – it’s Tosh Merino Light, by Madelinetosh, which means it is a 100% superwash merino wool! This makes it super soft and warm as well as washable – perfect for baby things!
I also love how its a single ply – it knits up so soft and cushy in the garter stitch… and I LOVE the color – it’s a gorgeous variegated green called “Lowland,” and it’s hand-dyed!
So, I made the little bonnet first!
The construction is really interesting. You knit it flat, shaping it with increases and decreases just two stitches in from the edge.
Then you sew the back edges together and voila! Adorable baby bonnet!
I think it looks a bit like a tulip… So cute!
And the little baby knee socks are even cuter – if that’s at all possible!
You knit them flat using short rows to shape the foot, and then sew up the bottom of the foot and back of the leg!
I think it’s so clever how they curve over the little knee area to help them stay on…
And LOOK at these tiny baby mitts! No thumbs to worry about! And the cute little ties are adjustable and removable if need be…
These are so overwhelmingly adorable that I may have to get another skein of Tosh Merino Light in another gorgeous hand-dyed color and make a second set …
One thing’s for sure: Little niece will be braving the winter in the best cute and cuddly style!
What are some of your favorite baby knits? Do you have something fabulous on the needles for a special little someone in your life right now? We’d love to hear…
They are Swedish Hasbeens, and I love, love, love them!
Since we are standing all day at work now, comfort has for the first time EVER been more important to me than style… but with these I have comfort AND style! Total Win/Win!
You know something else totally fabulous about these Hasbeens?
They will show off hand-knit socks really, really well!
I need to get started on a pair now, so they’ll be ready to wear when the weather starts turning cooler!
The only question is: Which socks to knit?! There are SO many gorgeous choices!
These Acorn Lace socks (knit by agentscarlet, pattern by Evelyn A. Clark; both on Ravelry) would be perfect for Fall!
I love Hermione’s Everyday Socks! Just pick a yarn you love and bam! Gorgeous socks! These were knitted by Dreamsinfiber, and the pattern is by Erica Lueder; also on Ravelry.
I’m also in love with these gorgeous stranded socks! They are the Stranded Knee Highs designed by Barb Brown from Vogue Knitting Fall 2010.
I’m also totally in love with ALL of the socks in the new Fall 2014 Issue of Sockupied! Here are just a couple of my very, very favorites…
When I was preparing for sinus surgery a few weeks ago, I thought, “Great! I’ll have lots of time for knitting during the weeks that the doctor told me I have to stay in and rest while I recover, right?!”
Wrong.
I have learned five things about knitting and recovering from surgery:
1) They put this gel stuff in your eyes to protect the corneas from scratches. I’m extremely grateful for this as I prefer that my corneas remain scratch-free! However, I learned that one should not expect to read or knit for several days after as the gel also makes it difficult to focus the eyes and it takes awhile for the gel to wear off.
2) Surgery has the general effect of leaving one deeply exhausted and in need of large quantities of sleep. Also, one gets tired very easily, needing to go back to sleep rather frequently. This depressing lack of energy leaves one with very little knitting time.
3) Effective pain medications intensify both of the above, and are a temporary necessity of life.
4) Patience is definitely a virtue, and I’m now looking forward to being recovered from surgery so I can get back to my knitting! Flexibility is also a virtue and sometimes we need to adjust our intentions/expectations to deal with reality. 🙂
5) I’m very grateful for Ravelry and Pinterest where I can appreciate the knitting of others while I’m practicing being patient and flexible! Here are a few finds that have been making me smile:
Gorgeous baby booties, pattern by Saartje de Bruijn available on Ravelry; these particular booties knitted by Leah. These are definitely going in my queue!
These Baby Bunny Booties made me squeal with delight when I saw them! They are definitely going into my queue in preparation for future nieces and nephews! Pattern by Sylvia Leake on Ravelry.
Baby Bunny Booties
How clever! Baby Mitts with no thumbs to worry about! These are definitely going into my queue! Designed by Susan B. Anderson, you can find them on Ravelry here, and the free pattern at spudandchloe.com (just scroll down the page a bit to find the Baby Mitts pattern).
I’ve recently become obsessed with hand knit washcloths, and these Vintage Hankie Washcloths by Julie Tarsha are too cute for words! I know just the friend to make them for!
Vintage Hankie Washcloth
I’ve never made a Tea Cozy before. Stinkymum on Ravelry has provided fabulous instructions on how to make a Proper English Tea Cozy! I definitely think its time I gave it whirl!
Proper English Tea Cozy
And someday (when I have all my energy back, of course!) I’m totally going to make the gorgeous Rona Lace Shawl by Anna Marie Jensen… I’ve never made a round shawl like this before and I’d love to learn how!
Rona Lace Shawl
What’s been making you smile lately? Please share in the comments, we’d love to see!
… and we all know what this means – Spring is Coming! In fact, it has already arrived! What a glorious thought! For anyone who has doubts, I even have proof!
Look at this…
I think these may be Hyacinths
And this…
Daffodils!
And this little guy…
I think this is one of the few Tulip bulbs to have survived the moles…
I got SO excited when I spotted this brave little guy already blooming away!
I think this is a variety of crocus
And then I nearly fell over when I came around the corner and found these beauties!
Crocus
So don’t worry guys! It doesn’t matter if it snows next week! Spring has arrived and Spring is tough as nails! A little (or a lot) of snow won’t scare Spring away – it’s here to stay! I don’t know about you, but that makes me really glad!
So glad in fact, that I couldn’t help casting on for a new Spring-time knitting project while I was sitting out on the back deck breathing the warm air, listening to the birds singing, and thoroughly enjoying this glorious morning!
Here’s a sneak peek…
What?! That doesn’t count? Okay, one more tiny peek…
That’s all for now! I’ll tell you all about it another time!
sarah inskeep designs 