Group efforts

I can't believe I've yet to share this project; it was finished a couple of months ago. It's a blanket, for my little one, knit by her mom, aunties and grannies. Each knitter started with a ball of yarn & the same size needles; they cast on the same number of stitches and knit in garter stitch. The finished strips really show the difference in each knitters' tension.

The blanket is now keeping a very small human cosy warm. There's something really satisfying knowing that 3 lapsed knitters picked up the needles again for this project. Even better to know that my tiny baby is wrapped in a woollen hug made by the women in her family.

Finished baby knits

I've been working my way through a pile of almost-finished baby cardigans & have made progress!

Some of these projects have been languishing for years, literally, so it feels good to have completed them finally.

Pattern; Angle by Tora Froseth

Yarn; Debbie Bliss Rialto 4 ply (blue & orange) and Schoppel Wolle Admiral Ombre (barely visible yellow). 

Button from This is Knit

This one has been months in the making - I made a few errors & had to rip sections due to simply not paying attention to the pattern. I may have fudged it a bit in the end but am happy enough with the finished result. I would make this again, but actually pay attention!! 

Pattern; Classic Cardigan by Debbie Bliss

Yarn - Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

Button from stash - I suspect from Studio 54 in Blackrock

I cast this on probably about 2 years ago & it has been languishing for want of a lot of sewing in ends. The pattern is unnecessarily complicated - it has you knit the front & back sections separately, from bottom to underarm, & then join & complete the top. I am convinced, based on patterns from her Essential Baby book, that Debbie Bliss creates her patterns based on sewn garment shapes rather than taking full advantage of knitting techniques. This time I knit from the bottom to underarms in one piece. If I am to make this again, I will re-work the numbers & work it from the top down in one piece with added-on button bands.

Pattern; Offset Wraplan by Sara Morris

Yarn - Malabrigo Rios.

Buttons from This is Knit

I knit this at the tightest recommended tension for the yarn - 22 st per 10 cm. 

This was my first time using the yarn & it is lovely & squishy. However, the garment seems to have grown wider after a wash. I attempted to knit a 9 months size, but this seems wider than my almost-3-year-old niece. It's intended for my own bump in progress & will do as an outer layer in the winter months, I hope!

Pattern; Offset Wraplan by Sara Morris
Yarn; Debbie Bliss Rialto DK
Buttons from stash
The pattern as written seems very short in the body, so I just kept knitting for an extra inch or so.

Pattern; Beyond Puerperium by Kelly Brooker
Yarn; Louisa Harding Kashmir DK
Buttons from Hickeys
Another one started a very long time ago & abandoned in the UFO box for the longest time. This finished cardigan is about a 3 months size, so I'll likely keep it for my own. I tend to give gifts in bigger baby sizes to allow room to grow.

This brings my finished baby cardigan count for the year so far to 13 (including languishing UFOs). Now I just have to make sure they all get to their intended recipients in a timely manner - before the child grows too big!

UFO progress

I've been making some progress in actually finishing some knits recently. The stash of baby gift knitting has been growing.

 

 This doesn't mean that I have cleared the entire mess of unfinished objects from the work basket though. Still plenty of ends to weave in & last little bits of sewing to finish...

Better get a move on; these babies are being born whether or not my knits are finished!

Sewing for small people

 

I've been sewing some bits for a certain small human; I've made two slings from instructions based on this tutorial by Jan Andrea. The first sling was made using blue & lime green cotton fabrics from Murphy Sheehy. I was reluctant to entrust a child's safety to one measly layer of fabric, so used a thin lining with thicker cotton fabric. As a result, the pleats were very thick & my sewing just a bit messy. I also suspect that I cut the fabric a bit wider than the recommended 30''.

My second attempt, on the right, is sewn in grey & blue finer weight cottons. As the fabric is lighter, there was not as much bulk to sew through at the pleats. I'm happy with my attempts to sew some practical items, but am still waiting for the little one to arrive, so have yet to test these out. It is my intention to use these slings while pottering about the house etc, as little ones like to be held, and I like to have my hands free to do stuff!

I've also been working on my first attempt at a patchwork quilt; cot-sized. I was a bit overwhelmed by proper instructions & patterns in quilting instruction books, & decided to just jump in & sew. As a result, it's not the most aesthetically pleasing or planned quilt, but I am satisfied with this as a first attempt at patchwork. I used various cottons in aqua greens & blues collected over the last few years, & arranged square-ish shapes in offset rows, a bit like a brick wall. My sewing is not properly squared, and my assembly of the wadding & backing layers is far from perfect, but I don't think a small human will really mind too much.

I do intend to attempt more patchwork quilting, but will actually follow instructions & a plan next time, instead of making it up as I go along! 

Nesting

I'm anticipating a new arrival, and seem to think that the only way to prepare for this small human is to knit all the things. I would usually stick to 6 months plus when knitting for other people's babies, as they grow so quickly, but have made a few cardigans intended to be suitable up to about 3 months for my own.

Pattern; Linnie by Justyna Lorkowska

Yarn; main colour - Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

contrast colour; Schoppel Wolle Zauberball, plied before use

Buttons; from Hickeys Fabrics

Modifications; I cast on using the MC before changing to the contrast; I increased by an extra 8 stitches before separating for sleeves. Instead of making the button holes as part of the main garment, I knit on button bands afterwards. I did not use the contrast colour at the cuffs or end of cardigan as written in the pattern.

Pattern; Tomten by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Yarn; Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

Buttons; from Hickeys Fabrics

Modifications; I knit this in 'sport' weight tension rather than the DK weight tension recommended in the pattern, with the aim of making a garment suitable for approx 3 month old size. I added extra length to the hood, by knitting an extra 8 garter ridges. I picked up & knit stitches all around the edges & knit for 2 garter ridges in the main yarn; then one garter ridge in the contrast colour, and then finished the garment with icord bind off & icord button holes.

Pattern; Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn; Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
Buttons; from stash
Modifications; I added an icord edging around the neck & front of the cardigan

Ends

Trying to work my way through some of the very many unfinished knits in the pile is proving to be very tedious. I love striped things, but there is a disadvantage; twice the ends to sew in. This may take some time...

Decisions, decisions...

 I do love my button jar, but sometimes find that it leads to having to make tough decisions.

After much deliberation, may I present some new finished objects - a range of baby cardigans.

 Pattern; Demne, by Annie Cholewa

Size - newborn (with room to spare)

Yarn; Debbie Bliss Rialto DK - I used just a fraction under 2 balls.

Buttons - from the stash. Probably from Hickey's from a while ago.

This pattern has you provisionally cast on many times, just to use some special cast off. I didn't bother with the cast off, but unfortunately, didn't read ahead, so ended up otherwise knitting as directed. It seems unnecessarily complicated, though I have yet to sit down & figure out the sensible way of knitting this. I'm happy with the finished garment but will likely avoid the pattern in future.

Pattern; Beyond Puerperium by Kelly Brooker

Size 3 - 6 months

Yarn; Hedgehog Fibres sock in Hunter

Buttons - from the stash. Probably from Studio 54 in Blackrock.

I've knit this pattern several times already. It's a simple pattern, but the assymmetry is just a bit different enough that I think every knitworthy child should have one. The fact that it is written in a variety of yarn weights adds to the appeal. As per previous projects using this pattern, I omitted the button band stitches while knitting the body of the cardigan, & picked up & knit the button bands later; this time in the form of garter stitch ridges.

Pattern; Garter Yoke Baby Cardi by Jennifer Hoel

Size; the pattern is written for 6 - 12 months, and in DK weight tension (22 st / inch). I knit it as written, but in an aran weight yarn. I'd estimate the size at 9 - 12 months

Yarn; Rico Design Essentials Soft Merino Aran

Buttons; another lot in the stash; from Studio 54 in Blackrock

I quite enjoyed knitting this & am satisfied with the end result. The pattern gives a few options for the button bands. I knit 3 garter stitch ridges & then used an iCord bind off (incorporating button holes in the icord).

Of course, all these new cardigans, started & finished since the end of January do mean that I have been neglecting pre-existing works in progress. Time to lash into the WIP basket & get some projects finished!