Baptism Gown in a new medium

Usually I knit these with my yummy stretchy cotton, but alas, I couldn't find any in white. Instead I decided upon a 50/50 Merino/ Bamboo sport weight blend called Galileo by Knit Picks. Both being very fine and silky straight fibers, there's not much crimp, and the only elasticity is created by the ribbing effect of the cable patterns. Befitting a spring time baby, this is short sleeved, and hopefully won't be too hot or heavy. It's no lace knit, but it's certainly not worsted either. I purchased 6 skeins for this project, but only used four. I could make booties or a hat, but neither would be worn. My last Baptismal gown had a matching hat, but it was worn for like a minute and was practically a waste of time and energy.

Silk Alpaca Sweater

For Christmas I got a gift certificate from my sister-in-law for a semi-local yarn shop, FiberSpace. So a month or more ago we made our way up to Old Town and I spent my certificate on some super soft alpaca silk, sport weight yarn. I purchased 4 skeins  so I'd be sure to have enough for whatever child-sized project I decided upon. I made this raglan cardigan with just three skeins. So I have one more skein left for a beanie or something...maybe a pair of teeny socks.

This sweater was cast on at the neck and knit on two needles much like a yoke sweater, almost in the round, except it's a cardigan. Then I placed the sleeves stitches on holders (a string of yarn) and proceeded to work the rest of the way down on the straight needs. Then the sleeves were knit with double points. So there are no seams. All I did was tuck in the tails and sew on the buttons after I was done knitting.

Project Pumpkin Pants

It started out as a skein of plain Aryan wool. I poured a dash of vinegar into the bathroom sink, then added orange flavored kool-aid (1 packet unsweetened) and enough water to cover the whole skein. It resulted in a very pale orange yarn. Then I repeated the process using 1 packet of black cherry flavored kool-aid, and this helped to darken the orange a bit more.  After it dried I had a nice variegated peachy orange color.    And now we have a new pair of longies for the baby.   The longies are knit in the round from the top down. The body of the pants were knit on circular needles, and then the legs were knit on double point needles.

Baby's Alpaca Sweater

I started this about 20 days ago...that's a long time for me...and long time in the life of a quickly growing baby. But it's still big enough for my little one.

The yarn came from an impulsive purchase at a local shop. It's 100% alpaca wool, and just looked so chocolate and pinkilicious! I had to make my princess something girly with this.

On the Needles

I decided it was time to start knitting again. There's still plenty of unpacking to do...but I need to unwind.

So, I went looking for the socks I had cast on during our drive to VA...but couldn't find them. So I cast on something new. You'll just have to wait and see what this will be.

The yarn is Lion Brand fishermen's Wool, Natural Brown. Casted is 68 st on size 6 circular, 2k/2p ribbing.

Socks!

My friend gave me this lovely yarn for Christmas a couple years ago. I've started socks with this before back when I was first learning...then tore it out. A few days ago I decided to knock out a pair of socks for Charlotte. It's going to be COLD when we get to Virginia, and she's going to need them. I'll be starting a pair for Peter soon.

Again, I made these up as I went along, using a generic toe up method, on double points, and then added a gull wing stitch on the side, ending with ten rows of ribbing. Absolutely seamless!

More Delays

This dress will take a while longer to finish. I ran out of Aegean Sea colored yarn with just three inches to go on the last bit. "No biggie, I thought, just go online and buy more", because this was not a discontinued color last I checked. But wouldn't you know it, they were out of stock for this color! My heart sank thinking about how I might have to rip this whole thing up and start over again. I e-mailed to see if they were going to restock Aegean Sea. Thank the heavens, they do expect more in...and I could care less if it's not from the same dye lot, seriously I don't care if there's a shade difference, I'm not starting this dress over again.

But I've got to wait for it to come into stock, and then of course there will be another week more to wait for shipping of said yarn to my house. This will probably be a record for longest duration to finish dress start to finish. And this my friends is another reason why I shy away from custom orders now. I'm stressed out enough as it is, and this dress is for my own daughter. I can't take the pressure of making all this magic happen in a timely manner for customers, who's feedback I so highly value.

Snow Cap

I intended this to be a winter cap for Peter. It's made from a nice merino wool yarn, same yarn from the wool soaker I made last month.

However, it turned out too big, and is likely to become a gift for someone older and bigger.

I had Peter try it on and he declared that it was too itchy. Well, guess I'll have to get him something like silk...or cotton...and try again later.

A fabric sample of my stash

I've got a new match...now I wasn't really thinking this was the right season for this fabric...and it's a rare mama who finds this sort of print appealing, here it is Jen.