Knitting Iris

Mooping Around

Mini Moopies, one for my niece along with the EZ Best Baby Sweater.

The other is for the second-born daughter of our midwife that was with us at the births of both of our boys.  These were the folks we were supposed to visit with on May Day but didn't get to.  Another friend and I were going to do mendhi on her belly that evening, to embellish the scar from the c-section she'd had with their first daughter, except they called and cancelled because she was experiencing early labor.  Two days later we still hadn't heard any news until we ran into a mutual friend and found out that the baby had been born early that morning.  We went for a short visit and R and I each held that sweet, sweet 12 hour old little one.  It meant so much to see that this friend, who had been there to help us and so many others to try and have the kind of birth we were hoping for, now knows birth first hand.   Finally, she and her husband have experenced personally what she has been so much a part of as a midwife.

The little pair of pants are some that I've had around since the summer after E was born and I was making pairs of pants for him that would cover his legs from the sun but still be lightweight.  His were made from linen and while I was at it, for some reason I made this calico pair with a linen waistband.  I think I still wasn't over the fact that we didn't have a girl at that point.  I had intended to give these to the older sister of this new baby but forgot to include them with the other handknits given to them then.

Here's another one of the two Moopies just mooping around together:

Info about Mini Moopy pattern here.  Moral of the story: if there's a free pattern out there somewhere that you really like or think you just might like to make someday, print it out immediately and THANK the person for sharing it.  If you snooze and forget to and they then start selling the pattern, be happy for them that they're doing so, kick yourself, and then then support the artist by buying it.  It's a fun little pattern and I'm thinking that these will be great for teething babies.

EZ Best Baby Sweater

Finally, a different baby sweater!  It's Elizabeth Zimmerman's Best Baby Sweater pattern from Knitter's Almanac, published also in an issue of Vogue Knitting from the early 90's.  The yarn is the same as Elliphantom used here, Knit Picks Merino Style, in Vanilla.  A superwash yarn might have been a better choice, though.  Oops.  Too late.  It's for my 2 month old neice.  My brother and his wife like to dress their babies in white.  This other one was for my nephew, their first born.  The knitting of this one has been done for a couple of weeks and was awaiting only buttons.  Now, it's just awaiting a Mini Moopy to go along with it before it can be sent off. 

Knitting along on this got me thinking, though, that if you're waiting to knit, crochet, or sew, something for someone who's due and they don't know whether they're having a boy or girl, you could always make it in white and then, as soon as the baby is born, dye the finished piece another color based on whether the baby is a boy or girl.  That way you could have the piece finished before the baby is born, except the color.  It's just a thought.  I don't know if I'd actually ever do it myself.

I can't seem to get a picture that captures the true creamy off-white color that this is, nor how sweet this sweater really is.  A fun knit that I couldn't seem to get right at first.  Oh, right, it helps to read ahead in the pattern so that you start putting buttonholes in right from the start.  It reminds me of Alicia's crocheted baby sweater patterns here and here and some other favorite vintage ones (as always, click for a better view):

Vanilla.  That's what the boys have always called off-white since they could speak.  Like ice cream.  So much nicer, don't you think?

Twin Rosebud Cardigans #16 & #17

Rosebud Cardigans #16 and #17, knit from the pattern of the same name in Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, by Erika Knight.  Dale Baby Ull, colors #8523 and #3172, 3 balls each.  As soon as these two sweaters are dry from washing and are pressed back into shape, they're off to our nephews, the two twin sons of C's brother and his wife, in the Washington D.C. area.  I intended to knit these sweaters even before they were born but, as they'd been trying to have children for so long and then their pregnancy had it's complications, not to mention my being faced with the task of knitting not one, but TWO baby sweaters, I was hesitant about starting the knitting, even buying the yarn.

Then, the two babies were suddenly born a couple of months early last summer so I wasn't sure what size sweaters to knit for them.   They were so tiny then that even the smallest size in the pattern would have been too big.   It was summer anyways, and they were in the hospital for the first month.  Then, I had no idea at what rate twins would grow so the sizing still stumped me. 

I had planned on knitting these sweaters in two shades of grey but when the time came to buy the yarn, I couldn't do it.  I was needing to work with something a little more colorful, so I chose the fallish, acorny colors of green and brown.  These were "supposed to" be done by Thanksgiving, and then by Christmas.  Finally they're done.  The recipients are 7 months old and now I'm afraid the sweaters might not fit for more than, oh, a day or two.  Oh well.  Maybe it's time to start knitting a pair of sized 2 year old sweaters for them right now.

Since so many people have asked questions about this pattern over the past year or so, the following post will be about how I knit up this pattern and the changes I make to it.  After 17 of these, I've got it down to where they go pretty fast, even at such a small gauge!

In Due Time...

I was told the other day by the owner of our LYS that she'd heard that when you're knitting a hat for a full term newborn you should aim for the size of a grapefruit and if you're knitting for a preemie, try for the size of an orange. 

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are still waiting.  They are SO ready, now.  I guess I couldn't stand the waiting any longer either, casting on for and finishingr two wee little hats out of two sock yarns, both Trekking, in only a couple of days.  You know that knitting myth/suspicion (not the boyfriend one), the one where you start to believe that you can  influence someone's labor by casting on for a last-minute project for their baby or, if not that, then finishing and casting off or, if not that, then, as in this case, starting and finishing the second one...?  So much for THAT idea!  These were done a few days ago.  Silly me to think that my knitting held that kind of power.  Babies come when they are ready to, thus the phrase "in due time" I suppose?

This is the closest yet that I've come to knitting in traditional candy pink or baby blue for anyone.  They're both knit on #2 dpns over the same number of stitches (80, I think?), the pink one just a few rows shorter to prevent running out of yarn (approximately 5.5 - 6 inches before starting decreases).

The pink one is being modelled by an orange-sized grapefruit, and the blue one is on a grapefruit-sized orange.  So much for THAT idea, as well.

Rosebud Cardigan #15

15!  I keep thinking I'm going to try out a new baby sweater pattern but each time I finish another one I'm so satisfied with how perfectly basic the new one is.  So many people have emailed with questions about this pattern that I've been meaning to do a post about my modifications to the pattern.  I still will do it but this one was started in-between cameras and so couldn't take progress pictures as I knit.  I have two more of these to knit before fall.  C's brother and his wife are expecting twin boys!  O.K.   Parents/relatives/friends of twins out there:  What is the average size of twin babies at birth?  They're due in August but are thinking that they'll be born in July sometime.  I'm trying to determine which size to make so that they will fit in the fall and winter.

For the first couple of these sweaters I knit in the buttonholes according to the pattern.  Either the pattern is a bit off or my different row gauge ends up placing the buttonholes unevenly at the top of the sweater, or both.  Now, I just knit the sweater and put the buttonholes in afterwards, measuring off where they should go to space them evenly, working a pencil point through the knitted fabric within the garter stitch edging, and sewing around the buttonhole using a lazy-daisy embroidery stitch.  In the past I've used the same color yarn as the whole sweater.  This time, the buttonholes are white daisies instead.  I also made the garter stitch edgings one row longer on the bottom and collar and one stitch wider on the front edges this time.   I like it.

The yarn is Dale Baby Ull.  I had knit the whole body, the first sleeve, and was starting in on the second sleeve when I pulled my knitting bag out of the car, smelling something AWFUL.  I has hauled some trash in the car to the dump and the bag had leaked out onto the carpet of the car and up through my bag, staining the finished sleeve beyond cleaning.  ARGH!  I was aggravated but spent that evening finishing up the second sleeve.  Next morning, by daylight, I realized that the bottom edge of the second sleeve had been stained, too! !@#%&!  I tossed them, knitting both sleeves again and needing to buy an extra ball of the yarn to finish.

The recipient of this sweater is now about a month old.  Her father worked in C's shop during this past winter.  I started knitting this before she was born and her very pregnant mom saw me working on it one day and asked what I was making.  I had to try and be nonchalant, answering, "Oh. Just a sweater.", and quickly changing the subject with, "You look great!  So, how are you feeling?  Do you feel ready?" 

I haven't yet met the baby.  Her name is Arnica, so I considered making the buttonhole daisies yellow.  I didn't have any appropriate yellow yarn and preferred the simplicity of the white anyways.

The first flower below is heartleaf Arnica (Arnica cordifolia) that we came across on a short walk with my mom on Saturday to some falls.  The others are from the garden: Trollius (T. europaeus), a double creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens "Flore pleno"), and Euphorbia (E. polychroma).  It's an incredible coiincidence how these all bloom at the same time on either side of the front doorway. 

Check out I came across while writing this post: Botanical stamps from around the world!  I could spend hours there.

Rosebud Cardigan #14

Rosebud Cardigan #14. Finished yesterday.  For a couple we know in Whitefish.  She's 37.  He's 62.  Their son was born last Friday evening.  I'll be bringing them dinner later this week so can bring them a pack of newborn diapers for now (practical) and the sweater which will fit next fall/winter (not so practical, but every baby deserves a handknit sweater, IMHO). 

This one is Dale Baby Ull  #7854,my first one in this yarn.  In the past I've used mostly Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4 ply and also Rowan True Botany 4-ply(discontinued),  Sandnes Lanett Superwash, and a 100% cotton 4-ply of forgotten name.  I've been reluctant to use the Dale yarn because my mom has made several sweaters in this yarn for our boys and they wear holes in them constantly.  She knits the yarn at a much looser gauge than is called for though which I think, reduces the sturdiness of the yarn all together.  I think she uses it because 1) it's Norwegian yarn 2) it's softness = no itchiness whatsoever 3) the wide color range 4) it's the yarn called for in the pattern despite the fact that she doesn't really follow gauge or needle size very closely at all.  A baby, however, is going to put much less wear and tear on a sweater than an older child would.  (Babies grow too fast to wear out their clothes, anyways, right?)  It's also the only superwash 4-ply yarn available locally so that's probably what I'll be using from here on out.  I was surprised at how much I liked knitting with this yarn.  No, it probably won't wear as long as the Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply, but it is quite a bit softer.   Jaeger Baby Merino 4-ply is comparably soft, but comes in a narrower range of pastel colors.

AND more pictures from Panama.  Although technically it is at the very tail end of the dry season, you wouldn't be able to tell in this part of the country.   

Knitted Gnome

I did manage to knit up this little gnome last minute for a friend's baby and would like to try and make another one before the New Year for another friend's grandbaby.  The free pattern is here.  Other cute versions seen here and here.

Some little elves and gnomes have been wreaking havoc around here, so it's going to take a few days to recover.  We're all going through grandma and sugar withdrawals, and most of the snow has melted. Thank goodness for all kinds of new games, books, and toys for distraction.

Recently heard around here:

R:  "Christmas isn't really in the air until Santa is flying."

E:  "Does Jesus like monsters?"

Coversation with R:  R: "What are sugar plums?"  Me: I don' t really know.  Probably some kind of dried plum, sweetened with sugar.  R: I think Santa and the elves are magic enough that they can figure out how to get plum trees to grow at the North Pole."

Hope everyone survived the holidays. Be back in a few days or so.

Rosebud Cardigan #4

The 4th rosebud (un-photographed until now) came to visit the other day, worn by the 5 month old little brother of the original recipient who is now 3 years old.  He was a willing model as he slept on our bed aside the sweater.  I was lucky enough to be present when both of these boys came into the world (outside the hospital) with the help of knowledgeable and generous midwives.   The 3 year old brother was there when E was born but, as he was only a few months old at the time, he spent most of his time breastfeeding while I was in labor.

How fast they grow.  I'm not sure I've ever babysat a child this young before, let alone 6 children at the same time, including our own.  I felt so out of practice.  Fortunately it went rather smoothly.  I'm ready to do this again.  The babysitting...NOT the baby thing, again!  As long as I can knit for them, we don't need to go there again, and there are ALWAYS new babies to knit for. 

Rosebud Cardigan #13

Another Rosebud Cardigan.  This time for a business partner in a building project of C's.  They are Amish, so C asked him first whether it would be appropriate for me to make them a sweater for their baby that is due this month.  He said yes, as long as it was in a dark color.  The color above is much brighter than the navy blue that it really is.  I wouldn't have had this finished or maybe even begun yet if his wife hadn't started having contractions a couple of weeks ago.  They thought the baby was coming early, but she's still pregnant, now.   I decided to put matching blue buttons on this one since adornment on clothes aren't always acceptable in some Amish communities, especially if it's a girl.

Below that are the Sun Prints that we did last week with buttons and leaves.  They work better when the sun is higher in the sky, but it was interesting to see how they turned out with the shadows cast by the low sun.

The blue sky pictures are from last week, too, before the grey skies set in.

Last night the sky was crystal clear, the milky way a big stripe across the sky when I got home late from knitting guild in Whitefish.  Hoping to see some sunshine again today.

Rosebud Sweater #12

This one is going to C's grandfather's wife's daughter in D.C.  (How's that for remotely related?)  I've never met her, but she recently came out to her family, announcing, as well, that her partner was pregnant with their son. 

I used a new yarn for this one, Lanett Superwash, by Sandnes, a norwegian wool.  It is softer than the Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4 ply, and maybe a bit finer.  The dark charcoal grey was the only non-pastel color I could find at the time, but, to quote the queen of knitting, Elizabeth Zimmerman in Knitter's Almanac, "Here is a practical suggestion: make baby things in darker and less delicate colors, so that they visit the washtub less often.  A soft heather-grey outfit is well-suited to a baby's complexion..."

There always seems to be more babies, so...I stocked up for the next two sweaters while in Missoula at Joseph's Coat.