This little cutie is my nephew Isaac, wearing the hat I knit him for Christmas. The pattern is Thorpe, and the yarn is Malabrigo Worsted - the same yarn I used for Levi's blue hat. Time got the best of me and although I had intended to knit Isaac this hat way back in October, I ended up casting on on Christmas Eve and finishing on Christmas Day. Phew! Anyway, I love these pictures of him walking like an old pro - he looks so confident and adorable in his new blue hat!
My baby turned one last Friday. It hardly seems possible that a year has past since this amazing sweet boy came into our lives. For the occasion, cake was made and devoured, friends came over to play, and owl-themed party favors were made.
I knit these tiny owls and put them on hair clips for the little girls and pins for the little boys.
I originally intended to make small versions of these as well, but in an especially enlightened moment I came up with the idea of making little owl bean bags instead. These are filled with organic popcorn and I will definitely be making more of them. I think Levi needs a set of 5 for tossing!
It is so funny trying to photograph a baby because you never know what you are going to get. For my last post, I had a very cooperative little boy who basically just sat in the grass and smiled at the camera. This time, when I tried to photograph this little blue hat, I literally chased Levi around the house for at least a half hour. He was moving around so quickly, and I was determined to not use a flash, so most of the dozens of pictures I took were just blue blurs. Somehow though, I got some seriously adorable pictures of Levi (check out the drool in that above picture!) that show off the blue hat quite well!
It is a very simple hat, scaled down from this pattern (yeah, I know, I even managed to get a basic hat pattern from Jared Flood), but it is a gorgeous turquoise blue, which is perfect for my little blue-eyed boy. The yarn is the super soft Malabrigo Worsted in color Touareg. Once again, I purposely knit it on the big side, with hopes that he can wear it next winter too.
I finally knit my baby boy a new wool sweater. This is the Cobblestone Pullover, yet another Jared Flood design. I'm not going to lie and say that this is the last of his designs that you'll be seeing from me - I think 4 of my next 6 projects are his patterns. A little obsessive maybe, but I really like his designs and they suit my style of knitting very well.
One really great thing about the sweater is that it will definitely fit him for at least another winter, if not two, and he can wear it now with the sleeves rolled up by about 2 inches. This was my goal - a longer-lived sweater for Levi. I got really sad putting all his tiny newborn handknits from last winter into storage, and was determined to knit something with a little more staying power. I really love this little sweater - it was super fun and easy to knit (all in one piece = no seaming = wonderful!), and it looks really cute on little Levi. Hopefully I'll get around to knitting this pattern for Adam, and then the two of them can be adorably matching in their cobblestones.
I can't believe that my sweet baby boy is 6 months old today. The older I get, the faster time seems to go, and it seems inconceivable that a half-a-year has passed since Levi was born. I already miss little things he used to do, but then every day there is something new to love. Happy half-birthday, dear Levi.
I made these crinkly felt owls for Levi and his sweet cousin Isaac. When I saw the post with instructions for them, I immediately thought of Levi. He loves animals, especially ones that make noises - "Owl says whoooooo whooooo..." Sure enough, it was a big hit...especially the ears which are constantly soaking wet from being sucked on! I hope his cousin likes his owl too.
I knit this sweater for a friend who is having a baby girl in June. I love this pattern - especially the fact that it is knit all in one piece. The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's "February Baby Sweater," which is in A Knitter's Almanac. I used Lily Chin Gramercy, which is superwash merino. The yarn isn't very interesting or nice, and I probably wouldn't choose it again, but I'm so thrilled with how the sweater turned out that, surprisingly, the yarn doesn't bother me very much.
This pattern is ingenious. You basically knit a square, and it miraculously folds into a cute little pointed pixie hat! I used Arucania Ranco Multy yarn in color 308, and size 3 needles. I didn't follow the directions for the ties on the sides as written in the pattern, and instead just picked up 7 stitches on each side and did K1P1 ribbing for the ties. I learned about this great hat from soulemama - I adore her version of it and think it is so cute that it is too big for her baby. Mine is a little more form-fitting, but still cute! In the picture below, you can see the sides of the hat - the way it is knit forms a neat triangle pattern.
The hat is really great and stretchy, so it will fit Levi for a long time - at least the rest of the winter, which is what I was hoping for. He has already grown out of his first handknit wool hat, and I needed something for his little head now that we're starting to take more walks!
My lovely sister, Emily, had a baby boy named Isaac on December 22, 2008. So Levi has an identically-aged cousin...unfortunately, they live 16 hours away, so Levi might not get to see his cousin as much as we would like. I got a new sewing machine for Christmas (I can sew a straight line now...so my problems of the past may have been partly to blame on my awful old machine!) and I tested it out by making another kimono - one for my nephew Isaac.
This kimono turned out better than the first two I made - thanks in part to my new sewing machine. I love that it is so simple, with the solid brown fabric, but made special thanks to the bird trim. I can't wait to see pictures of Isaac in his little bird kimono this summer!
My sweet little boy, Levi Paul, was born on his due date, December 11, 2008, at 11:50am. He takes up nearly all of my time, but I have learned how to hold a sleeping baby and knit at the same time, so stay tuned for some knitting posts soon!
There is still no baby to wear it...but yesterday I sewed the buttons on this sweater and it is now all ready to go! I used a pattern in the Sublime pattern book #600, but used the Sublime washable merino rather than the baby cashmere merino silk yarn. It's called the "vintage car coat," and looks absolutely adorable on the baby boy in the picture.The only thing I hated about making this sweater was sewing together all the pieces. I think there is a good reason I tend to stick to circular knitting with minimal finishing - I am terrible at seaming, and pretty impatient with the process too. The sweater is really cute though. It has two buttons on the cuff of each sleeve, which is a pretty nice touch...although the buttons I bought are a little heavy, so our baby might get a muscle work-out from wearing this sweater! I made the 3-6 month size, so hopefully it'll fit him this winter. With my luck, it'll fit perfectly in the middle of the summer.
I think this might be one of my favorite recent projects. These little bears were really enjoyable to make, not terribly time-consuming, and I think they are absolutely adorable. I was browsing through the handmade gift guide on marthastewart.com and saw the "Tooth Bears" template...I have always loved the look of simple hand-stitched dolls and toys, so I started cutting.
I'm thinking of changing the pattern slightly - expanding the length of the ears and adding whiskers - to make some felt bunnies...because honestly, I enjoyed making these guys so much I can't imagine not having a hand-sewing project to work on!
My friend Rachel came over today to teach me how to make a baby kimono for our (hopefully) soon-to-arrive baby. She made one for her daughter, Maeve, and I thought it was so adorable, I had to make some too.
When I saw this post on purl bee for the "cozy quick blankie," I immediately bought enough organic cotton fleece and rick-rack to make a blanket for myself and one for my sister. It seemed like the perfect quick but cute project for a new baby. I chose Amy Butler's midwest modern fabric for my sister's blanket, and some tree and bird fabric I had in my stash (and had intended to use for baby stuff) for myself. I figured that since I can (almost) sew a straight line, this project would be fairly simple.
All-in-all, I ended up with two respectable (and usable) baby blankets, but they aren't perfect. Next time (if there is one) I will tape one of the layers to the floor - like you would for basting a quilt. I think that would help. Also, I will never buy expensive organic cotton fleece again and instead would use economical 100% cotton flannel for this blanket if I ever were to make one again. Then I could make each blanket for under $10, rather than the $30 I spent on each blanket. I guess you could say it was a learning experience!
Wow, it has been a while! I thought life would get easier after finishing my dissertation, but between teaching, doing research, and preparing for our new addition (due in December!) I don't seem to have a whole lot of extra time right now.
