Rio..

...de Janeiro? Not quite.

It's the Rio Dress knit for a family friend's newborn daughter. As a matter of fact, she was born earlier today, a healthy baby girl. 

I modified this slightly; I skipped the horizontal seed stitch band right about the skirt, and I shortened the length. I made the 6 mos size, I'm thinking this will hit at about her knees and I like it like that. 

Bringing Home Baby Kit

No Mom, I'm not pregnant. But baby projects are great stash busters!

Using some Malabrigo Worsted left over from Uhlan, I made Snug As A Bug Sleep Sac and a hat to match. Tomorrow, watch for an update on the stash bust!

Bicnic

I intended to give this as a gift to a family friend who is expecting in September. However, I forgot it was a size 12-18 mos (I usually make a 6 mos), and I really love it. I think I'll save it for my eventual children. (No Mom, I'm not pregnant). 

I used Knit Picks Palette in Turmeric, which I had originally intended to use for Color Affection. I had picked out three colors for CA, but once they arrived I didn't like the combination. I liked all three colors, I just didn't like them together. 

The pattern is Bicnic, by Solenn Couix-Loarer.

Mitered Square Blanket

This partially-finished blanket had been languishing in the bedroom closet for a long time. When I started it, I intended to throw it on the couch in the living room to tie everything together. However, at the time I was single and living on my own in a tiny apartment. It was tiny, but it was cute and it was mine. I loved it. It was July 2010.

I moved out of that apartment, and moved again after that. That living room didn't exist anymore. When this stash busting project started, I picked it up again. I had I think 5 completed large squares, some of them were sewn together, others weren't. I found my notes (I made a smaller version), and started cruising. My husband fell in love with it, and insists that we save it for our eventual children.

Baby Surprise Jacket

Continuing the tradition of knitting a sweater for when friends and family are expecting, a friend gave birth to a boy early in July. Continuing the tradition of using up stash yarn, I used leftovers from a sweater I made for an expectant cousin two years ago, Garnstudio Drops Merino Extra Fine in 09 (brown) and 15 (light blue). I made Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket.

I did run out of yarn before I was finished, and I didn't have anything on hand to substitute that wouldn't look like I had run out of yarn, so I did buy another skein of the brown to finish up.  

The pattern was interesting in that I couldn't really figure out how it would all come together. I followed the pattern blindly, and it only really made sense after I had cast off. I wish I could explain it better, but once you bind off, the jacket wants to fold in a couple places and then it all works. Up until that point, I kept my fingers crossed. 

Wooly Sheepy

After I had been knitting a while--that is, some of my projects turned out mostly all right--I started a tradition: I knit a baby sweater for each baby in the family. And sometimes close friends. This tradition started three years ago, when my cousin Cora and her husband had their first child, a smart and smiley little boy. They recently had their second child, a little girl, and I'm a little late in mailing the sweater.

Sheepy Time, by Laurie Undis, published in Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting (2010). 

I added to the tradition this time:

A stuffed sheep of my own design. I wanted to incorporate a lot of texture, so the body uses bobbles, the belly is reverse twisted stockinette stitch, the neck is stockinette stitch, the head is moss stitch. It sounds like a lot, but when you hold it in your hands, it's just enough to make you want to feel all of them.

The construction is different, cast on at the butt, then knit the underside; then the body, picking up stitches at the CO edge; the two parts are then joined, and the neck and head are worked in the round.

The pattern is available for free(!) as a Ravelry download.