A Teaser

Although I still haven't managed to get my "real" camera out to snap photos of sweet Sam, my phone has been my trusty companion and I've been able to open instagram a few times to capture some great moments.  

I even found time to slip a couple hand knits on my boy the other day during big sister's nap time:

Patterns:  Aviatrix and Milo Soaker (sized down for newborn)

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Mica

Just in Case You Were Waiting On This

Dear most cooperative baby in my womb,

I have to admit, the past few weeks have been quite busy as we have made preparations for you.  I've had a lot on my plate, and I was praying each day that you would stay put.  Now today is the day that was assigned as your due-date, and somehow we've beaten all odds and are quite ready for your appearance.

I love the fact that you have been so obedient until this point, but now I have a new message:  We're Ready!!

And in case you were worried about your new little sweater, don't be.  It's waiting for you, too:

Yes, I know it looks a little incomplete, but the edging shall wait until you arrive.  I need to know which hat and bootie set to match, and then make the decision on which edging I will do.  So- no worries, just make an appearance!

Love, 

Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's true.  Today is my due date.  Since Elise was a few days early, I never thought I would make it to this point with my second, so now I admit I'm getting a little antsy.  Last night I had the first decent night of sleep that I've had all week.  I woke up early, before Joe and Elise, in order to take a long, relaxing shower and enjoy a little extra pampering time.  You know- just in case.  I'm feeling well-rested and ready for delivery (well, as ready as anyone ever wants to be I suppose).  

Will this baby listen to my plea and come today?  We all know second children are most considerate, and this babe is the product of two second children- here's hoping!

As far as the edging on my Milk sweater, I'm thinking about coordinating it with the hat and bootie sets I made last week.  So, If we end up with a little guy, it will be the variegated blue and green edging seen here: 

And if we end up with another little lady, I'll go purple:

In the original pattern, Milk has a beautiful scalloped crocheted edge.  

Photo credit: Brandy Fortune

Can't you see why I am totally in love with this wee sweater?!?  If we have a girl, I will definitely keep the crocheted edging.  If it is a boy, I may knit a moss stitch border.  I have done up a little test swatch to practice and figure out what I like best.  Of course this means more hospital knitting, but I'm no rookie when it comes to that. Elise's coming home ensemble was waiting on gender specific button and a few extra details, too.  The only real problem I foresee is that I don't actually know how to crochet- any good tutorials out there? 

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Ready for Tiny Toes

Since baby is behaving so well, and has stayed put until now, it will be rewarded with not just new hats, but also matching booties.

It took me a while to get around to making Saartje's Bootees, but I am so glad I finally jumped on the bandwagon.  These tiny toe-toasters knit up so quick and are such a joy to look at.

Who knows, at this rate, Baby #2 may end up with a new sweater before arrival.

Pattern: Saartje's Bootees

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Sock (green and blue variegated) 

Madelinetosh Merino Light (blue and purple)

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Boy or Girl?

After the past couple posts, a couple of you are thinking I may know the gender of Baby #2.  Well, I guess I'll really throw you for  loop in this one:

That's right.  As it was with Elise, I am clueless.  I figured I would make a purple set and a blue/green set for coming home from the hospital.

I also kind of think that with the right outfit a little girl could pull off the blue/green set, and a little boy always looks quite pleasant in purple- agreed?

If you're wondering why we don't find out the gender of our babies before they arrive, it basically all boils down to this.



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The Hardest Part

Sometimes the hardest part of a project is just picking one.

So I decided it was time to just cast on a simple hat.  I'm already feeling a little more inspired for what will come next.

Pattern: Cable Baby

Yarn: Tosh Sock in Lowland

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Brand New Hat... How 'Bout That

Can you tell I live with a toddler?  Our world seems to be spoken in rhymes these days as Elise is finally developing an attention span long enough to sit through select story books.

So you all remember the hat I cast on right before I left for TNNA, right?  I realized I neglected to share FO pictures, so I figure now is the time.  I wanted a new sample of my Lansing Beret to show off in my booth and I had the perfect Plucky yarn that I've been itching to use for over a year now.

It's amazing how quickly a hat whips up- especially with extra squishy yarn and a lace pattern.

I also figured this was a good time to give a pregnancy update.  Just over two weeks to go and enjoying the last few days until I am a mother of two.  Sometimes we think Elise knows a big change is about to happen because she has been on her best behavior.  I have been informed that this will all change once the new baby comes (yikes!).

But now for a couple where you can actually see the hat better:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this pattern, it was designed for the Lansing Area Shop Hop a couple years back.  The pattern is now available on Ravelry, but you'll have to look up the Lansing Cowl in order to find it.  The pattern is a 2-in-1:  both the hat and cowl are included in one pdf download.

Pattern:  Lansing Hat

Yarn:  Plucky Handpainted DK Cashmere

Raveled: here

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The Calm After the Storm

This morning I woke up feeling rested.  I slept in until I felt decent, and slowly made my way to the computer to respond to emails from the week.  The past 2 months have been this overwhelming era of travel and events, deadlines and due dates.  Between work travel, Squam, TNNA, countless weekends away for cycling trips, and the baby shower last night, there hasn't been much time to just breathe.

I've enjoyed all the going-ons and travel, but this feeling I have this morning is euphoric.   All I have to do is make it through the work day in order to get to a weekend of actually being home.  Sounds lovely, no?

Well, I'm sure you're all wondering how the gift turned out, and although I went with 1 half knitted slipper in my purse (which didn't get touched while I was there because I had the daunting task of MC'ing the night), I was still pretty impressed with what I came up with.

First up, the sweater:

The sweater was inspired by the yarn/color scheme.  I was a bit worried considering I was making it up as I went, which involves more thinking on my part (scary!), but there was only 1 major rip back, and even that wasn't so bad (maybe 5 rows when I was working on the neck).  

The colors are Madelinetosh's Tosh Vintage in Mica and Winter Wheat, the cream is Spud and Chloe Sweater.  I originally purchased the Winter Wheat in Tosh Light, which is fingering weight.  Fingering weight yarn is probably my favorite yarn weight to work with, but given the situation and quick turn around time, I was happy to switch to the worsted weight yarn.  The Tosh Light Winter Wheat is a little lighter than the Vintage, more of a yellow tone where the Vintage reads a little more Tan.  I love them both, but was originally going to go with a grey stripe.  When I found the Mica colorway, all bets were off.

Which leads me to the Milo Soaker: 

I've made it before (click here to see Elise's cute little baby bum in the Milo Soaker) and I'm sure I'll make it again.  It's a quick knit that whips up in no time, and it's cute to boot!  The pattern can be found in Vintage Baby Knits  along with many other wonderful baby patterns.  If you have a little one in your life, and you're a knitter (what an amazing combo!),  it's probably time to get the book!

I wish my camera captured the fabulous-ness of the Mica colorway, but I don't think it got it quite right.  Honestly, I think it's safe to say I have never been more in love with a color before.  It's this perfect balance of vintage-looking faded blues, and I can almost see a hint of lilac.  I can't give it enough praise, wonderful work Miss Madelinetosh!

This little hat was dreamed up as I was working on the sweater, so it too is an original pattern.  I used short row shaping to make the back flap- it may need a little more tweaking before it is ready to 'grow up' and become a real pattern, but I think it will happen sometime soon.  I only wish I had a baby to try it on to see how it works... oh wait- that will happen soon as well!

Here's where things got a little wonky.  I was home two hours before the shower and thought I would be able to whip up a pair of booties.  I found this pattern for Seamless Baby Platform Booties and thought seamless sounded faster.  I like the pattern, and how it's constructed, but at the end I was working with 5 dpns and it was not going as quickly as I imagined.  I think it would've been faster to just find something that was seamed up a bit at the end, instead of dealing with the fickleness of a bunch of dpns. 

 I did do a garter top instead of the rib suggested in the pattern, and if I made them again, I would probably make less of a 'platform' by cutting out a few garter ridges at the bottom.  They seemed a little to roomy for my liking, but altogether a cute, quick knit.

And there you have it.  I've pulled off some crazy knitting tasks in the past, but I'm particularly proud of this one.  Partly because I didn't even do a swatch until Saturday morning, partly because it's been a crazy busy week and I've forced myself to knit in odd places in order to get things done,  but mainly because  I came up with two totally original creations that didn't give me too many issues along the way.  I love how the set works together, and since I already have the yarn in Tosh Light, I may work these items up again for my babe in the fingering.  

And patterns?  After talking to so many amazing people at TNNA, I'm inspired to work a little harder- secret knitting already in the works :-)

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Did I Forget to Mention?

That Elise will be a big sister in a few months?

Sometimes pregnant women can be so forgetful!

I'm giddy with excitement to share the news that we will be welcoming our second child into our home in the beginning of August.  I know many of you have been thinking this might be the case for a while now.  With my lack of posting and the fact that whenever I say I have an announcement everyone assumes a baby is on the way, I'm sure many of you had me figured out.  

Time for some fresh new baby knitting! 

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Easter Sweater

We here in Michigan were almost convinced that two weeks of 80 degree weather in Mid-March would continue through to summer.  And although it would have been quite an anomaly, we should all know that it just wasn't a possibility.  And suddenly, dreams of a warm Easter Sunday came to an end.

The result?

A new sweater for Elise, of course!

Plans for a lightweight shrug were quickly changed to accommodate the dropping temperatures, and to be quite honest, I'm glad they did- because how cute is this?

What I really fell in love with is the back detail:

And mine has been coming along bit by bit all week long:

The pattern is Olivia Petit by Connie Chang Chinchio, and although I swear I purchased it from the Quince & Co website in the past week or so, it seems to have disappeared.  Can anyone else out there find it?

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A Year of Baby Knitting

After being inspired by Mandy's hand knit hat and mitten collection over at Zig Zag Stitch, I decided I would round up Elise's knit wardrobe from this past year and put it all together.  Now before you look at my picture- did you look at Mandy's?  Pretty cool to see all those beautiful knits together, huh?

Ok, without further ado, I give you Elise's collection:

And now, for what's included:

Hats: 12
Pullover sweaters: 2
Cardigans/Jackets:  10
Shrugs: 1
Dresses: 3
Blankets: 1
Legwarmers: 1 pair
Mittens:  1 pair (and then a few sample loners that she's been wearing since we can't find one mitten of her pair)
Diaper Covers: 1
Socks/Booties: 3 pairs
Felted Bag: 1
Teddy Bear: 1
Balls: 3

Just for the record, not all of these were knit by me.  Here's the gifts:
Felted Bag- from Charlene
Bunny Hat, White Ear flap Hat, and Balls- from Melissa
Green Hat- from Tara
Playful Stripes Cardigan: from Jill
Dedication outfit (crocheted dress, blanket, bonnet, and booties):  My Mother in Law
2 Hats- from the hospital when she was born

It's quite an extensive list.  Let's just say it, this girl is spoiled.  Sadly, her future siblings will probably never get as many hand knits as her (no counting hand-me-downs), poor kids (can you tell I'm not a first born?).

Now the real question boggling my mind is the following: how did this happen?!

ps- for those of you wondering, I still have not decided on a stocking.  I am loving the idea of incorporating the motif from last year's dress, I guess we'll see what I come up with!


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Before's and After's

Before: 

After:

Before:

After:

This little one-year-old (seriously- how did that happen so fast?!?)  had a rockin' rainbow birthday.  I'll just voluntarily admit that the cake inspired the whole party theme, it's true- but how awesome is it?  That's right- the cake that inspired the color scheme, goodie bags, rainbow Jell-o, and of course, the super spectacular rainbow cardi.   

Because I was too busy party hosting, I didn't grab many pictures- I only managed to get this one of Elise in her sweater (I'll try to get more soon):

However, we did get in a mini photo shoot before the party and were able to get some great 1-year shots, including this one-

And unfortunately, International Craft Day was a little forgotten this year- maybe I need to rethink the date for the future.

Off the Needles: Puerperium

Ok, ok- I learned my lesson.  Next time I will take your advice.  Next time I do 2-row stripes I will just carry the yarn up the side.  But, with ends woven in, I think It's safe to say I have a FO.

Details:

Pattern: Puerperium Cardigan

Yarn: Leftover Swish DK and Debbie Bliss Rialto

Raveled: here

ps- I think I have a thing for red buttons

What I Learned Today

A baby playing quietly at your feet isn't always a good thing.

I can't fault the girl- she has great taste in yarn.  She couldn't help but love the feeling of the merino, silk and cashmere of Madelinetosh Pashmina running through her fingers.

What Elise is Really Thinking

**"Apparently Mommy thinks she has knit enough for me"**

About the knitting dry spell, that is. It appears that Elise got quite used to her posh handknit lifestyle. Keep the dream alive, baby- your day may return!



Speaking of Elise, she's on the move- this is what it's like trying to get a picture of her these days. The real fun comes at diaper changing time!



**"Who- Me?!"**


"Apparently Mommy Thinks She Has Knit Enough For Me" onesie is from from friend and fellow knitter/designer Kate Oates of TotToppers. To see her line of tees for knitters, click here.

Buggy Socks

Just the other day these popped up in my Google Reader:

How perfect will these be for Elise's Maclaren Volo Stroller?  The website states that they are adaptable to most strollers on the market.  I am declaring these a new mommy essential.  For those into buying, click here.   For the rest of us who are more in to knitting- stay tuned :)

A Touch of Cashmere

You may have noticed that this blog has been seriously void of actual knitting content as of lately.  Maternity leave was a dream world- a baby that would curl up and sleep at any given moment, a full Netflix queue, and a whole lot of time for bonding with my knitting needles.

Then I was forced in to reality.  Back to work full time, a baby who seemingly forgot how to sleep, and my knitting needles- alone and lonely, totally abandoned. It has taken me a while to find what our new normal will be, but after a long first month, I actually had time to pick up my needles once again.

I started small, I knew I wouldn't be able to commit to a whole project. A WIP was exactly what the doctor ordered (especially a work-in-progress that only had three rows and minimal seaming left). I picked up Elise's Baby Bolero  and got to work.  In under an hour I had a completed project and all the satisfaction that came along with it.

That's right- I'm back. Watch out needles, watch out yarn- I'm gonna work you into stitches!

Pattern: Pearl Shrug

Yarn:  from cashmere Target hat

Raveled

An Update From Elise...

Hello, blog world!  I'm sad to report that with my mother back to work, she just hasn't had enough time to make  me any new cute handknits (which is a bummer, because what baby doesn't love being dressed up in handknits!).  She is also busy working on taxes and getting the knitting studio ready for the Plucky Party this weekend (are you coming?).  So... instead of her you get me, in all of my 3-month old cuteness.  I'm growing everyday!