Whisper Cardigan : Finished!

I have had so many things lately that I have wanted to blog about, but haven’t got around to, so I still have some catching up to do!  Hopefully I can post a few more things and pictures before the baby comes.

Remember this pattern and yarn I showed you a long time ago?  I FINALLY finished it!  It was a victorious moment once it was knitted, hand-washed, blocked, and all dry and ready to wear.  Especially because a cardigan knit up in fingering weight yarn is not my typical knitting project. I am always more of a project knitter rather than a process knitter- I enjoy the end product more than the whole (sometimes long) process.  I’m just a sucker for more of a quick fix.  But at last, now I have a stylish, lightweight cardigan to wear!

I really like the design and construction of this cardigan.  It’s easy and doesn’t require a lot of counting and thinking, so it would be a great project to have around and work on continually, in between other projects.  Once I started this over the summer though, I was very determined to get it done before the baby comes.  I know this will get a lot of wear, especially next spring and summer, but it’ll even be great to wear indoors this winter.

I am so glad I finished this project, and am now onto making another cute little number for the baby boy on the way.  That little work in progress will show up here soon.  …Both of those works-in-progress, that is!  =)

Whisper Cardigan project page on Ravelry here.

A Few More: The Mommy-Made Collection

Continuing on in sharing a few more little baby knits that are done and waiting around to keep our baby boy warm and cozy, from the ‘made by mommy’ collection.  If this little guy takes after his mama at all, he will love to always have several soft and stylish knitted hats for the cold winter.  He is due to arrive sometime in October, so these little Pumpkin Hats were a Must-Have for his collection and will be so cute on him around Halloween and for the rest of Autumn.

I just love the little stem on top, the leaves, the wide rib, and these colors in Malabrigo Twist.  This yarn is so great for hats as it’s so soft and a great weight that knits up quickly.  I’m thinking this one turned out a perfect newborn size to bring him home in.  Ravelry page here.

I love the pumpkin hat so much I couldn’t make just one, so he has another that is slightly larger.  This set was knit up in Berroco Vintage, with a coordinating pair of my favorite little crocheted loafers.

The little crocheted button loafers are so tiny, definitely newborn size.  I expect they’ll fit him for about a week, maybe two, so hopefully I remember to take some photos of them on his little feet while I can.

Ravelry project page here and here.

The other baby booties made for him are the Oh Baby Baby Booties, also made in Berroco Vintage.  They’re cute, simple, practical, and will no doubt stay on his little feet and keep them warm.

I meant to share these on the blog a while ago, so now I’m almost caught up and can share the current work in progress! =)

Little Coffee Bean

I have been wanting to share some of the little numbers out of the ‘Knitted by Mommy’ collection that our baby boy has waiting for him.  I’ve shared pictures with friends so far but haven’t kept up on the blog… so thought it would be fun to post a picture a day of what I have made thus far.

At the beginning of my pregnancy I had thought I’d have a heaping pile of these cute little baby knits made by now.  But sadly, that is not the case.  I hope to still whip out a few more and catch up a little with my heaping pile of patterns.

Earlier this summer I made this Little Coffee Bean Cardigan.  I just love how little and boyish it is.  Made out of Berroco Vintage, which is a machine-washable worsted weight that I got at my LYS, the cardigan is so practical to keep him warm this winter.  The top-down, raglan style pattern is super easy and fun.

If you click on the picture you can see the cute little polkadot buttons that I think are great with the stripes.

I just love how small and precious it looks in my husband’s hands.

And the cute little baby hat to go with it…

The pattern is Bobbles for the Whole Family, and it’s a great one for a quick, cute hat in all sizes.  I’m going to have to make a few more in some other colors and yarns to keep him warm this winter.  =)

Sweater and hat on Ravelry here, and here.

A Little Spring Break

So I haven’t posted here in so long, I almost forget how.  I have been taking a little unannounced break from blogging lately.  I am in kind of a creative/knitting ‘funk’ these days, and even though I have cooked up some yummy dishes lately that are definitely post-worthy, I’ve been having a bit of a dry spell with blogging and such.  I will start posting again soon, but for now it’s nice to have a little break.

One more little thing to announce and share, there is a fun give-away happening today over on my absolute favorite knitting blog, Tanis Fiber Arts.  Tanis has an amazing blog and her very own line of quality, hand-dyed yarns in the most gorgeous colours.  Her knits and blog posts are always impressive and inspiring too.  So if you are a knitter and love to get your hands on all the beautiful yarn you can, check out her Giveaway today!

Hope you’re having a great week!

Happy Saturday and a Photo of the Week

Just wanted to pop in real quick since I’ve been MIA for the last couple of weeks.  I’ve had the most horrible chest cold/bronchitis this last week that has been a really hard one to kick.  I have been doing a little cooking, and have made several wonderful things that I would love to post so hopefully I’ll get one of them up soon.  It’s just been feeling like a lot of work to blog, and I haven’t had the energy to do much of anything.

My February WIP is coming along slowly but surely.  Yes it’s March and it’s not done yet.  But I think there’s a good chance it would have been finished by now if I wouldn’t have been totally wiped off my feet with the cold this entire last week, does that count for anything?   I feel like I’m turning in my homework late or something. 😉  I do need to finish this project asap though, so I can start my knit for March!

I’ve been making the Stockholm Scarf, pattern by Julie Crawford at Knitted Bliss. I just love this scarf, it’s an infinity scarf/big lacy cowl and it’s going to be so cushy and luscious I can’t wait to wear it.  I’m knitting it in Malabrigo Rios, which is a kettle-dyed, worsted weight, superwash merino wool and it is just gorgeous.  My color of choice is Teal Feather, and it has a touch more of a teal/green-ish tint to it in real life than how it’s shown in the picture.  I’ve really, really been loving so many shades of blues and greens lately, particularly teals, turquoise, and emerald.  So the rich color of the scarf makes this project very enjoyable, although the repetitive stitch pattern is getting tedious by now and is going very sloooowly.

Oh, and yes that is a little peak at the finished Will-built coffee table that I showed you a while ago.  The DIY coffee table, sofa console, and two side tables have been finished and in the house for quite a while now so I’ll hurry and get pictures up soon!  They turned out great and are very well put to use. =)

Pretty Off Piste

My creamy cabled Off Piste hat is done.  It is very soft, comfy, and cute, what more could you want in a hat?  Aimee, owner of Knit N’ Needle Yarn Shoppe, really did an awesome job designing this.  The pattern is super fun and pretty easy.  I made this with Malabrigo Twist in Natural and just love that yarn.

So I had to settle for the self portrait thing for now.  I might add on a better picture later, but couldn’t wait to share…

Lately I have really developed a love for cream + cables.  I love them together, so soft and winter-y and the natural color makes the cables really stand out.

My thing for white/cream combined with cables started earlier this winter when I was watching the movie The Holiday.  There is a beautiful cabled cardigan (cashmere of course) that Cameron Diaz wears when she’s in the little (oh so perfect) English cottage and meets Jude Law’s character.  I instantly fell in love with it and googled it for a pattern to make one just like it.  I was surprised and so happy to find the Fireside Sweater that mimics Cameron’s cardigan.  There’s a beautiful Fireside Sweater on Posh Knits.  Mine will look just like that.  =)  Isn’t it the perfect winter cardigan?  Maybe I’ll be super ambitious and tackle that for my March project.  Heck, I better start on that now if I want to finish by the end of March.

Even though I finished this in February, I’m still calling it my January knit for my Knit 12 in 2012 project, along with the cowls.  I have three weeks for a February project, and I’m still stuck on hats!  I almost want to make another Off Piste but somehow make it a little chunkier.  So I have a fetish for hats.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure I’ve made up my mind on what to make this month, I’ll be back soon to show you the work in progress. =)

::Ravelry:: project page here.

My Three Cowls

At the beginning of the new year, I made a goal to knit (at least) one item each month for myself.  For my January project, I chose the Off Piste hat, since most of the knitting I did for the month was finishing a couple Christmas gifts.  Oh, and after I finished up the gift knitting I just got the sudden urge to make a few cowls for myself.

The sudden urge, or need, to make these came to me after several days of taking Jackson for walks in cold, windy weather where I about got my cheeks frozen off.  They make a pretty cute accessory, can now serve me well for all practical reasons of staying warm, and they used up some leftover yarn in my stash. =)

And now my Off Piste hat is close to being finished…

I really did want to have it done by the end of January, as I still have to hurry and decide on my February project and get that started.  There are so many things I want to make, it’s kind of hard to decide which to do next!  I might pop back in here over the weekend and show you the few I have in mind, and you can take a vote to help me decide. =)