Bulle

It must be the longest a finished project of mine has taken, to get posted on the blog, but life has been very busy lately, and I survive by triaging my to-to list. So this is the sweater for my eldest daughter which got done last week.

 The pattern was a pleasure to knit, easy and super fast.  I even took it on a car ride, which shows just how desperate I was for some knitting time, because I almost never do that. Only modification was that I lengthened the sleeves to full-length. I used red yarn for the pockets. It turned out very cute.

 

 It was very well-received too, she loves to wear it and pockets always clinch a deal with the kids. My husband suggested I also knit one for our middle one.

I am already well into my next project, which is to be a cardigan for me. And yes, I am still avoiding that baby dress on tiny needles.

Month O'Socks: Knee Warmers

Here is my second finished project for the Month O'Socks, a pair of knee warmers in worsted weight. I modified the pattern to knit the knee caps in contrasting solid color and made the lower leg longer. I have also weaved in several rows elastic thread along the upper edge. Still, these have some tendency to slide down. But overall, these have turned out quite nicely, though I will not recommend the weaving in of the elastic to the faint of heart. It is far worse than having to sew up your knit pieces, but in this case, it was necessary and worth the effort.

Poppy

I took a break from Month O'Socks to knit a hat. This is to be my daughter's school hat this year. She had grown out of her old, generic one and I thought a little variation from the plain uniform hat was in order. Happily, her school is very appreciative of hand knits. It has a lovely shape, covers the ears and has enough stretch to accommodate the ponytails! And the crochet flower adds to the cuteness.

 

As for the pattern, it is a variation of the Aviatrix baby hat. I had knit one of those for my younger daughter and loved it. The pattern covers many sizes and yarn weights. I knit it in DK weight. The yarn is local acrylic.

Rose Trellis Shawl

It is knit, blocked and photographed. In the end, I did not have enough yarn in the end for an elaborate edging so I did a simple garter st border with a (k2tog, yo) row in the middle, for both ends. It turned out quite respectably proportioned at 27 X 81 inches, blocked. I am very happy with it, looks prettier than I had hoped. Now, on to look for a new project.

Little Things

 Lately, I have been sticking to small and simple knitting projects, so that when I do get some knitting time at the end of a long day, I have something mindless and relaxing to work on. Besides, it is simply too hot to handle any bigger projects.

   I managed to complete this pair of pants for the baby. I used this pattern earlier to make a pair and loved it enough to knit another.

And also a pair of ribbed tube socks that use up leftovers.

Next on the needles is a pair of socks for my husband, using self-patterning yarn. It has been the most relaxing knit I have done in some time, very therapeutic.

Of Baby, Sleep Deprivation and Knitting Lessons

They say, "A woman's work is never done". That has to be especially true when that woman has a newborn baby, one who wants to be entertained all the time she is up and refuses to sleep anywhere except in her mother's arms. That baby is our Ms Cuddles and I being that proverbial woman, find it extremely difficult to start my daily work around the house, let alone complete it. Add to this baby busyness, two older kids currently having their summer vacation, who need to be fed, clothed and supervised with their homework, and the most mundane household tasks like cooking and cleaning feel like ill-afforded luxuries. And then the baby gets her vaccination and develops fever and colic as side-effects. That meant little sleep for us during the next few nights. The week passed in a drowsy blur. Alhamdolillah, Ms cuddles has got better now. She is almost two months old now and starting to coo and smile back, mashaAllah.

Needless to say, there has been little time for knitting. However, in my foolhardy way, I offered the older children some knitting lessons. They must have been bored out of their wits, because they jumped at the chance and we have had a couple of introductory lessons. They have learned knit st so far and even managed a few rows.

 

I am so proud. My son continues despite his father's teasing and my daughter has been impressive. She shows skill equal to her older brother and better attention span. They are eager for more lessons but I have been fending them off for now. And interestingly, the first project they both want to do when they are able to knit is socks!

Pepita

I started this pair of baby overalls in order to use up some odd balls of fingering weight. I thought it would be a quick knit, but I must be overconfident of my knitting speed because it took me almost a month to get done. The facts that I got lesser time to knit this month due to the new baby and all, and that I found this pattern a bore, did not help with the progress.

I drew a heart motif over a grid and knit a row of these across the chest. The rest of the onesie was done in 2(red): 3(orange) stripes. It was a bit tricky, as the start of the round shifts at waist and then again on starting the legs. I opted out of knitting the feet as I could not be sure of having enough yarn. So, I am glad to finally have it off the needles.

I am not sure how it has turned out, though the crotch and butt shaping seem odd to me. Just happy it is finished.

Lace Cardigan

I started this cardigan about two months back. I wanted to take this DROPS pattern and make it my daughter's size (5-6 years). So I worked out the maths, knit the body and the sleeves up to the armholes, then chickened out at the idea of set-in sleeves and decided to do raglan sleeves instead. Also, I opted for a round neckline and in the end, I ran out of pink yarn, so had to improvise and do a lace portion in orange color.

All in all, if was an interesting project and turned out OK. The cardigan is a bit large for my not-yet-five year old, but she will grow into it, inshaAllah. My only concern is that the sleeves might be disproportionately longer. Or not. The yarns are Mondial Delicata Baby (pink), Knit Picks Palette (orange) and some KoolAid dyed wool, leftover from my tangled yoke cardigan.

Argylish

This was my side knitting during the Month of Sewing. The pattern was simple with just the right amount of colorwork to keep it interesting and being sleeveless, it got done fast. I used some leftover yarn (Robin DK) from my Cece, though I might frog that cardigan and end up with more. I just hated how lace knit up on it but it works well for kids' stockinette st patterns.

 

Back to the vest, I went up a needle size to make it a bit larger and added several inches to the length. Hopefully it will fit my son for a couple of years. I just wish my stranding did not have to show through, sigh.

Sassy Stripes Socks

A half completed sock had been languishing in my craft closet since December and I might have still been uninspired to work on these, had it not been for my friend, Shells' Month O'Socks (MOS). I had promised, I would try to knit at least a pair, so I got these out and finished them over the weekend. Just in time, MOS ends tomorrow.
   This pair is for my father. The pattern is a simple 3x1 rib and mindless to knit. These knit up quite fast. I love the look and feel of the yarn, which is Cascade Yarns Sassy Stripes.
   Next, I plan to have a MOS of my own, only in my case, it will be a Month O'Sewing. With summer and a new baby imminent, I find I have a lot of small project to do. I will try to blog about the interesting ones.