My textured shawl

But, this shawl did not go to waste. I have been using it a lot as a baby blanket! The triangular shape works really well for a baby blanket, if you ask me. It is easy to wrap him up. It hangs nicely over the edges of the stroller or car seat. And it is very soft and warm so he loves how it feels.

Baby shawl

I will most definitely plan to make a triangular baby blanket as a gift in the future.

Super-soft Owl Hat

Pretty cute, eh!?

The hat needed to be soft as it will be worn next to bare skin. I spent a while searching for various cashmere yarns and finally decided on Trendsetter Kashmir (which is 65% cashmere and 35% silk). I thought it would be perfect for the owl hat pattern. This yarn is so so soft – I wish I had a big blankie made from it. For some reason, I thought I’d only need one ball for the hat but, alas, I needed to purchase a second ball. The first ball ran out just before starting the decreases. Oh well, I’ll just have to figure out what to make with just over 3/4 of a ball of this luxury yarn.

In addition to going back to work, I also took on another job – Daisy girl scout leader. My troop is made up of 16 kindergarten girls. Although we only meet once every three weeks, it is pretty time consuming for me. It has been pretty enjoyable so far.

Ava gets her pins during our first meeting.

As for crafting, I’ve only been doing a little bit of knitting. In fact, I still have one outstanding Christmas gift! I’ve been plugging away at it little by little but now that the end is in sight, I’m afraid that I’m going to run out of yarn. Fingers crossed!

Nap time

I wonder how long she will be this interested in her little brother. For now, she’s infatuated.

Miss A's and Her New Hat

Although the yarn’s weight was off, I decided to make Ripley by Ysolda Teague. It is such a cute pattern and fun to knit. I love how the pleats give it the perfect amount of slouch. She looks so stylish and I don’t even have to fuss with her hat. I made the version with more slouch and the lacy brim.

Sassy Pants

I’m also thinking about making a matching neck warmer with the lacy edging and maybe some mittens. I’ll have to head back to the store to get some more yarn. Too bad

The new yarn stores, by the way, are:

Michigan Custom Boutique & Fine Yarns in downtown Plymouth, MI. They have a rather pitiful website but the shop is lovely.

Center Street Knits in downtown Northville, MI. Their website is here and this shop is also very lovely.

Both of theses are 100x better than the other shop that is close to me (and now I don’t have to go there again!).

Thomasina

Because I feel bad for making people wait so long (there has been a great deal of interest in the pattern based on the photos posted earlier) that I decided to offer the pattern for free for a short period. Get it while the getting is good. Just head over to Knitzi.com to get it for free until November 14.

Thomasina Toe Design

In general, my sock philosophy is “little work for big pay off.” I love patterns that have elegant complexity despite a simple techniques and stitch patterns. Thomasina was designed to show off a semi-solid yarn – the simple lace will show up nicely with a nearly solid colored yarn while the stockinette sections offer a canvas for the subtle beauty of the yarn. The lace panels are very easily memorized – mindless knitting – but the designed toe and heel offer something a little more spicy. The novice could easily substitute a plain toe and heel and still have an stunning sock to show off.

So get the pattern and give it a try. I’d love to see what you do with it!

I’ve made her costume every year except the first one. That year, she was about 7 months old and dressed as an octopus. Since then, she has been: a lamb, a princess, a butterfly, a pirate, and this year she is Batgirl. She asked for a store-bought costume for next year. What a stinker.

We looked around for lots of Batgirl pictures before designing the costume. I must say that there are a lot that aren’t appropriate are a 5 year old. Eventually, we picked an inspiration photo and got working.

The Inspiration

Little Batgirl

I hit the fabric store with a vague idea of what I wanted. I found the shiny, stretchy purple fabric right away and knew it was perfect. From there, I just added a bunch of accents. I used one of her summer dresses as a template then made 2 layers – the shiny purple (a bit see through and not very warm) and a black jersey lining. The cape was a bit of a disaster – I’m not going to talk about it

She asked for a knitted hat. I found a great pattern to go with the costume the whipped up some matching fingerless mitts to tie it all together. I really like the idea of knitting costume components – she is sure to be warm!

I can’t wait to hear what she wants to be next year!

Here are a couple pictures of him modeling his knitwear:

1 day old, wearing his knit hat. Perfect fit!

Toasty warm in his tweedy wool and alpaca blankie.

He has to grow into the rest of the things I knit for him as I made them on the larger size. I do need to make him a new hat now – that little blue one is already a bit small.

The bat-hat

Here are the details:
Pattern: Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap
Yarn: Rowan Wool Silk in Velvet Purple. DK weight.
Needles: Size 6 to make it small enough for a 5 year old head.
Mods: Just the smaller needles and of course, the bat-ears.

As for the costume, here is my todo list:

• Make gloves (knitted to match the hat – one down, one to go)
• Make mask
• Add wrist straps to the cape
• Make a matching candy collection bag

Plenty of time!