Tag Archives: baby cardigan

FOs

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Friday, May 26, 2023

It’s been a beautiful but cool day. We did squeak in coffee on the porch before the breeze started to make it too cool and I got one shawl blocked last night and another this morning. I have a few ends to weave in on one and ends to cut on the other (even though I wore it to work today). This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and the weather is supposed to turn warm (or hot!) on Sunday. I don’t love hot …

The first FO is my Orbit shawl in Urth Uneek Cotton yarn. I think I “won” this yarn in a drawing at work and it’s been in my stash for a year or two. I have decided that I really like long, narrow shawls (aka scarves) in the warmer season for a “pop” of color. This yarn was asking to become something and I really didn’t want to have to buy more or have any left over. So, when I researched different projects for this yarn, I initially wanted to make the Easy Scarf by Diane Augustin but I decided that knitting the Orbit shawl was going to be a little bit more interesting. I used one skein of Urth Uneek Cotton and I searched for the pattern on Ravelry’s “pattern ideas” tab for the yarn.

I have to say that knitting this shawl/scarf was fun enough. Not difficult for sure. But I didn’t love the way the colorway transitioned from the fall-like colors that it started with and then it transitioned into springy-y colors. I don’t love it but it’s ok. The most displeasing piece of this project was the knot in the yarn. It was early in the skein and it was a tiny knot. I am so glad that I found it and that I pulled on it (and it came apart). In my humble opinion there should not be knots in premium yarns. Yarn companies should do better. This knot had to have been tied by a human being and it should have been pulled and discounted immediately.

My second FO is the Falderal Shawl by Romi Designs. This was a MKAL for 2023 and I had never knitted a Romi pattern and I chose to start with this one. I am really (really) happy with this project. It was fun to knit, Romi provided plenty of support and videos to help knitters through the “rough spots” if they didn’t have a lot of experience. I work on Fridays which was when she had the live zooms but it’s all good – they were on her YouTube channel.

I chose two colors of Emma’s Yarn Practically Perfect sock yarn in a purple speckle and a deep purple-y gray. (Details are on my Ravelry project page.) Purple is not my “normal” color choice and I’m trying to live outside of my comfort zone a little bit. But I loved knitting this shawl, it was challenging but not too challenging and there were a few new techniques that I learned by watching the playback of the live sessions. It’s always fun to knit lace and then watch the magic happen when it’s blocked. I really didn’t know what it would look like until it was sopping wet and being stretched out on my guest room bed … and bonus, it dried yesterday when I was at work! It’s really dry here in Maine right now and that worked to my benefit!

On the needles and hoping to be a FO soon (very soon!) is my Tybee cardigan for Sylvie. This is a free pattern from Berroco for a little cotton cardigan with a shawl collar. Raglan sleeves make it easy to finish up at the end. Bottom up construction with only a couple of short seams. I love the feel of the Vivo cotton yarn. It’s a thick and thin yarn so the sweater will be easy to care for (machine wash, dry flat). I love the colorful yarn that stripes randomly. It’ll be a cute sweater for cooler late summer days or evenings.

I think I will be spending a little bit of time, too, before I cast on another significant project*, finishing up a few more Arne and Carlos mini Nordic jumpers for my Advent calendar. I think I’ve found how I will display them in our house. I can’t wait to try it but first I have to finish the knitting. I think I have enough yarn to make the rest of them. (Crossing fingers!) #19 is up next.

I have a pair of socks for daughter #2 on the needles. She picked the yarn out of my stash and I want to have the socks finished for her birthday. I won’t have a problem with that and I have plenty of time. The first sock is nearly complete – toe decreases are in process. Sock #2 is likely to be next week’s focus.

Gone knitting.

*Oops! I did it again. Cast on to do the Old Port hat KAL with Andrea Mowry. I’m using stashed yarn and a couple of left-overs, actually. Starting with the lining in bright pink alpaca and then I’ll be transitioning to charcoal gray and a light gray. I’m not sure which will be color a and color b. Stay tuned.

What a Day .. and a half

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We had our first “plowable” snow Friday night and yesterday. We are thinking we got about 8 inches … maybe 9. It’s absolutely beautiful! The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that we lost power on Saturday at around 2:30pm. The short story is that we got power back this afternoon around 3pm. BUT for a household with two generators, we were mighty cool over that 24 plus hours and I’m really grateful that I have a husband who is creative and can figure out how to minimize our discomfort.

So, how is it that we have two generators and neither one works? Well, suffice it to say that we’re in between generators. Our old one is a portable model that we drag out of the garage and across the yard to plug in and it ran the whole house. But my husband needs a new hip and we thought we’d bite the bullet and get a new, automatic generator hooked up before the winter kicks into high gear. We had our neighbor install (except for the propane) a new automatic generator. We may be able to leave the house in the winter after all. BUT we were told by our propane company that we only had to dig a ditch from the house to the generator and they’d come hook it up … and then they needed a deposit … and they didn’t come. So my husband called them about it and they hadn’t scheduled us. And now it’ll be January 6th before they can come. Meanwhile, obviously, there was a nor’Easter … and several inches of heavy snow … and 24+ hours of powerlessness. Literally.

I’ve knitted through the hours that were difficult and growing cold. Neither of us slept particularly well last night. We were both up at 3am for a few hours … reading with our headlamps, drinking a cup of tea. I was lucky and was able to go back to sleep. This morning the sun came out and we are fortunate to get some serious passive solar heat. The living room was 66 even after almost 24 hours of no heat. Husband got a long extension cord, passed it through the kitchen window and plugged into the fridge so we didn’t lose our food. He also realized that he could plug into a power strip and then we could also charge our phones. And a space heater. And a shop light.

The knitting helped me cope with the lack of comfort. I take the luxury of heat and electricity for granted every single day. The expectation is that we will always have it – and we even flick the switches when we know that power is off. A rude awakening but a reminder, too, about how lucky we are to live here. In the home that we built on the lake that we love in the state that we chose as our home together. In a special country where we are afforded so many freedoms and luxuries. Our “suffering” and “discomfort” was minimal at best but we were among the lucky ones.

I’ve finished the socks for my daughter that I started on the way to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. I love the yarn. They’re happy socks!

They’re plain vanilla socks, my favorite Yankee Knitter pattern. I’ve bought the pattern several times and keep going back for more. I’ve now bought the pattern electronically and I hope I don’t shred that pattern, too.

I realized that I had some beautiful cashmere yarn in my stash that are the perfect colors for a hat for my sweet granddaughter. I have been wanting to knit a hat for her that is a bit larger than the newborn hats that she has because she’s bound to keep growing. I combined two patterns to make the bow hat in a DK weight yarn. I’ll block the pieces tomorrow and put them all together. I hope I love it as much as I think I will. Despite the ladders and some funky color change mess.

Aaand, last but not least is the little cardigan that I’m knitting for Sylvie. She’s getting big enough that the newborn sweater and the Christmas sweater that I made her may not fit. I’ve shipped the Christmas sweater and am close to finishing the cardigan … one sleeve almost finished and one more to go. Add some ribbing around the opening and some buttons and it’ll be ready to go. I love the shade of blue that is an On the Round sock colorway that I’ve had in my stash. I’m knitting a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. (Have a look at my Ravelry project page for all the details.)

So, in addition to finishing the sweater and blocking and assembling the hat, I’ve been trying to decide what project to knit next. It’s difficult to believe that I haven’t got more projects on the needles. BUT it’s time for something new. I just saw a sweater (cardigan) pattern called the Ramona Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith. It’s an Aran weight wool in a grey colorway. I happen to have a sweater’s worth of a heavy worsted gray yarn by Brown Sheep. I think I may be heading down the Ramona path later on this week. I don’t have a dark grey sweater and this will match a lot of things that I wear on the regular. And it’s not complicated. My head is a swimming with responsibilities and I can’t deal with a knitting pattern that requires a lot of my attention.

I also need to knit a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. He surely deserves them for taking such good care of me.

Gone knitting.

Button, Button. Who’s Got the Button

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Basic Baby Raglan Cardigan Sweater

Basic Baby Raglan Cardigan Sweater

The adorable baby sweater is finished except for the buttons.

The pattern used a yarn over (YO) to make a small button hole and it’s a bit odd … thus, it’s going to be a challenge to find an adorable girly-not-too-girly button (times seven). I’ve tried several that I thought would work and they don’t.

Again. The pattern calls for a 3/4 inch button … they seem a little bit to big. And anything other than a smooth circular or near-circular button gets caught in the button hole. Grrrrr!

I am sure that I’ll win at this battle. I can always make my own buttons but I’d like to find something sweet for my niece-to-be.

I chose to use a Knit Picks yarn, Comfy Sport, which was wonderful to work with. I love the way it feels and the colors are great. Price point is very reasonable at and it’s washable. I think that knitted gifts for babies have got to be washable. You can check out the colors that I used on my Ravelry projects page.

This pattern was free on Ravelry and it’s a very simple knit. A beginner could certainly make it … especially if one made it in a single color. Stripes are not difficult but carry the yarn as you go because there would be a ton of ends to weave in if you don’t. With my three colors there were enough ends and I carried the yarn as much as I possibly could. I made the 3 – 6 month size. It required one ball of each color and there isn’t much yarn left. Once it’s blocked and buttons are sewn on, I’ll post another picture. I just need those buttons.

Anybody got any ideas?

Gone knitting.