Treasured Heirloom Blanket

October 2011

Shortly before my first baby was due, I was developed an overwhelming feeling that one just can't have too many baby blankets. So I got busy, and this is the result.

It's a freebie pattern, and although fairly simple in construction (simple enough to work on in the car etc) being bias knit meant that it grew and then shrank with every row, and that was enough to keep it interesting.

The yarn I used was Karina Superior Quality dk according to the button band, although it no longer seems to be in production. I picked it up along with various others from my local Freecycle group, and it's great to have been able to make something so useful with it. It's a pure acrylic yarn, and not the softest, but it's warm and washable so I can't complain. And nor can the baby yet!

Pattern: Treasured Heirloom Blanket by Lion Brand Yarns

Yarn: Karina Superior Quality dk

Amount: 5 skeins

Colour way: cream

Needle: 3.5mm

Size: one size

One rarely: here

Seamless Hybrid

October 2011

A.k.a practically the only bit of Christmas knitting I'm planning on doing, what with a November baby on the way. Elizabeth Zimmermann's Seamless Hybrid from Knitting Without Tears is really joyful knitting, though. There's a lot of stocking stitch, but it's made up for by the fact that the percentage system works and the way the body and sleeves are joined and the yoke constructed is fiendishly clever.

This is my husband's second Seamless Hybrid. Maybe next time I'll talk him into letting me jazz it up a bit with a zip, or row or two of Space Invaders across the chest, or a cable-y bit somewhere, but for now it's reassuring to know that plain as it is, it's likely to get an awful lot of wear. I just hope the Eco Wool dk is up to it, as it does feel a bit fluffy.

Why Sirdar have chosen to discontinue this yarn is a mystery to me, as it's one of the nicest Sirdar yarns I've ever used. The decision did mean I was able to get a massive bag of it from Kemps for cheap, although I really must remember to start the intended project right away next time I do that, because one day running out of a discount discontinued yarn is bound to bite me in the whatnot. Fortunately not this time.

Size wise, we wanted a fairly relaxed fit which wasn't going to lose any length, and so settled for 46" chest and 27" length which used just under 1,500 yards. How to do that using a dk is carefully written out on my project page, for the sake of my own sanity as much as anything else, since I KNOW I'm going to make this again. Maybe in some lovely New Lanark dk next time...

Pattern: Seamless Hybrid with Shirt Collar by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Yarn: Sirdar Eco Wool dk

Amount: 13.5 skeins

Colourway: 204 Grey

Needles: 3.50mm

Size: Custom (approx. 46" chest)

On ravelry: here

Starlight Blanket

September 2011

When I was little I used to have a blanket a lot like this, except that some of the stars on mine were pink. Sadly, I've no idea what became of it, but in browsing baby blanket patterns on ravelry (I get the impression that you can never have too many) I spotted this, and had to make it.

Having washed this and blocked it (using a steam iron held about an inch above the blanket so as not to melt the acrylic) I'm a bit disappointed that it hasn't come up softer. I guess this is a useful lesson in the difference between acrylics and baby acrylics.

Fortunately, as it's intarsia, this would have had to have been lined anyway, and so I'm hoping to find some nice snuggly lining to make up for it.

If I was to make this again I'd hopefully drag my heels over sewing in all those loose ends a little less, and look at whether there's any reason the border can't be knitted as-you-go rather than done separately at the end and sewn down. And use a softer yarn, obviously!

Pattern: Starlight Blanket

Yarn: King Cole Moods Duet dk / Patons UK Fab dk

Amount: 1 skein of each

Colourway: 821 Moody Blue / 2302 Yellow

Needles: 3.50mm

Size: One size

On ravelry: here

February Beret

September 2011

So called because that garter stitch and gull lace combination was inspired by Elizabeth Zimmermann's February Baby Sweater, this is a very pretty freebie pattern which seemed to me to be the ideal way to turn some leftover Cascade 220 into a rather lovely birthday present.

As the pattern, like the FBS, was originally written for dk weight yarns (and Cascade 220 is a worsted) it was necessary to modify it a little in order to ensure that it doesn't come out too loose. Luckily someone on ravelry has already worked out exactly how it's done. You've got the love teh internets.

This hat will hopefully end up as part of a cold weather set for a friend of mine along with Susie's Reading Mitts which I gave her last year. It's nice to be able to build up a matching set like that.

Pattern: February Beret by Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers

Amount: 1 skein

Colourway: 6212

Needles: 4.00mm

Size: One size

On ravelry: here

Liesl

August 2011

Another thing for me... well it can't ALL be about baby, now can it?

Some time ago I made Chantal, but it didn't get nearly as much wear as it deserved (particularly considering the price Berroco yarns retail for in the UK), and so it was frogged and turned into Buttercup and this:

A fun and easy pattern which is going to be useful post pregnancy too - in fact I think I probably made a smallish size in the hope that it would incentivise me to get back into shape as quickly as possible. The open front on this leaves plenty of bump-room, though, and that was part of its appeal.

The feather and fan lace comes with a bit of a health warning, in that I found that it grew a lot more than I'd anticipated when I blocked it - so much so that the only solution was to rip back and take some inches off the length. I wish I'd been a bit more thorough and played around with my tension swatch before I started. So much for being able to fit top-down knits as you go!

This pattern includes long sleeve and short sleeve and wide neck and narrow neck options. I went for wide neck and long sleeve (because I can't see much point making anything short sleeved in Alpaca). There was also a picot cast-off option for the sleeves but I like the wavy line you get by just using a knitted cast off with feather and fan.

This is me at 7.5 months, more or less living in Seraphine maternity jeans. :)

Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca

Amount: 2.5 skeins

Colourway: 6212

Needles: 8.00mm

Size: 34"

On ravelry: here

Bellyphant

July 2011

When I was a kid I was a little bit obsessed with elephants, and I still think they're very cool animals. So I really couldn't resist this pattern, especially when I noticed it was called "Bellyphant" on account of the tiny elephants being positioned around the waist band. I'm going so soft in my old age.

I modified this pattern by making the section above the elephants plain rather than striped, and by lowering the neckline by a couple of rows. Jennifer Little comes up with THE cutest colour motifs, but at the risk of being very critical, it does feel a little bit like the design process runs out of steam a bit at that point. The shape of this is virtually identical to her sheep yoke cardigan, and I couldn't help but think it might have been nice to see a different neckline, or a garter stitch trim or... well... something...

I'm not sure about the wisdom of making baby clothes from Felted Tweed - it is machine washable in theory, but I've had one or two bad experiences on that front already, and so I'm going to have to be very careful with it.

It can also grow quite a bit if you handwash it. These pictures were taken after just a gentle steam block, but I'll try and remember to come back and give the before and after measurements when I wash it.

Pattern: Bellyphant by Jennifer Little

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed

Amount: 2 skeins MC, 0.5 skeins CC

Colourway: 170 Seafarer MC, 165 Scree CC

Needles: 3.25mm

Size: Smallest

On ravelry: here

Maile

July 2011

Without wanting to sound like a bit of a one trick pony, a blog called What to Knit when you're Expecting is an incredibly handy thing to have discovered right about now. Especially when it contains free patterns as lovely as this one.

I first bought this yarn with Liam in mind, but it was such a dark grey that the black bits of the colourwork didn't stand out enough, so I ended up using something else.

So apart from having a suitable yarn and this being a freebie, the real appeal of this pattern was that I couldn't reverse engineer the lacy bits at the raglan seam just by looking at them, and I wanted to find out how it was done. I love tackling a project like that.

A lot of people seem to struggle with the section of this pattern where the arms are attached to the body. As I didn't have any 3.25mm DPNs, and I'm not keen on magic loop, I worked my sleeves flat (telling myself that the body had been worked back and forth, so strictly speaking I'd get a more consistent tension that way anyway). I think that must have helped a lot, because I didn't find it too much of a struggle at all.

The buttons (which are ceramic and will no doubt prove horribly impractical) came from Hobbycraft in Leeds.

Pattern: Maile by Nikki Van Der Car

Yarn: Cygnet Truly Wool Rich 4-ply

Amount: 1 skein

Colourway: 0044 Gray

Needles: 3.25mm

Size: Smallest

On ravelry: here