Hey Baby!!

Hello and "Happy End of May" from Winston Cooper and me. June 1st tomorrow! I can't believe the time has just slipped away. Hopefully Jenny Girl and I will be blogging more often soon. But in the meantime I thought I'd do a quick update.

It's been a busy spring, we've both been busy with work and life in general, but there has been knitting. And I know Jen is enjoying her book blog, so if you like to read as well, go visit her over there.

My main knitting focus this spring has been baby knits. I have a new grandbaby on the way so it's been all baby all the time for me.

Every baby needs a blanket.



Pattern: Baby Blocks by Ann Norling (it's from one of the Debbie Macomber books)
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare - Superwash Merino Worsted Weight
Amount: 6 skeins
Needles: Size 8 us

And a warm sweater, hat and socks... even one born in August??




Pattern: DROPS b17-23 (used this for the sweater and hat)
Yarn: Brooklyn Handspun Soft Spun - Superwash Sock Yarn
Needles:Size 1, 3, 4, us
I picked this sock yarn up last year at MDSW and assumed it would become socks but I decided to use it for the baby. The soon to be parents had some fun times kicking around Brooklyn with friends while dating and engaged so it seemed like it was meant to be their baby boy's sweater.

And of course, a baby sheep hat! I love this pattern and was so glad DD did too.



Pattern: Baby Sheep Hat by Melissa Burt
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare - Superwash Merino DK Weight dyed with Wilton's and the black will be Knit Picks Swish DK in coal.
Needles: Size 6 us

Now, SIL, he hasn't seen it yet. He might not want his son running around in a baby sheep hat but he does like the Converse booties, so I'm planning on making those as well.

And on a personal knitting note, sadly, Vienne has been finished but will never be worn. I'll be frogging it and re-purposing the yarn. After blocking, the V is much too deep and wide for me. It slips off my shoulders!! Ughhh!!


Happy Knitting!!

Bonsoir Mes Amis

I know, it's corny but I couldn't think of another way to start this post about my current WIP. It's Vienne, a free sweater pattern by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes which is available on the Knitting Daily site. Kristeen has a new book out, called French Girl Knits. So it seemed appropriate to dust off my high school french.

This started out as a KAL, but I'm not going to point fingers (or knitting needles) at any fellow knitters who left me knitting all by myself. I don't mind being abandoned. But now our plan for the three of us to wear our matching, spring sweaters on the same day and parade around the Drexel campus will never be.

I'm using Plymouth Royal Silk Merino in a kind of pale robin's egg blue. It's a really nice yarn. I got it on sale at Webs. Very nice to knit with.


This sweater uses an interesting technique, new to me. It's knit from the top down but starts out with a provisional cast. The left shoulder is knit from the top of the shoulder down, (front and back) and then the right shoulder is done the same way, with stitches for the sleeve cap picked up. There's a nice little lace pattern to keep it interesting. The two sides are then joined and it's knit in the round for the lower body.

I've made a little bit more progress since this photo was taken (by moi). The body is just about done and I'm ready to start the sleeves.


And as much as I want to sit and knit sleeves, I just got back from Borders. I bought Kristeen's book. It's a very pretty book, lot's of very pretty, french girl patterns. I also bought Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits. I'll be curled up on the sofa in 'new knitting book' heaven. The sleeves might have to wait for tomorrow. That is, if I can get Winston to move over and share the sofa.