Scrubbies

I made these scrubbie face cloths for my SIL. She really enjoyed the first one I made for her a few years ago. I somehow lost the pattern and couldn't find it again even though it was a free internet pattern. Fortunately, my neighbor located her copy again so I was able to make 3 more in no time flat.

Transformers Hat with Charted Autobot Symbol

I'm really having fun knitting basic hats and adding a charted design with duplicate stitch. This time it's an Autobot symbol hat that I created for my son. He loves Transformers! He was quite happy that I finished his hat now that winter is approaching.

I've included the chart I used below in case anyone else wants to create an Autobot hat. I'll probably type up the simple hat pattern soon I've been using for these hats so that others can create these hats, too.

Colts Baby Hat with Charted Horseshoe

I had previously knit a Colts hat for my brother last year. Now that he has a son, I wanted to knit him a hat, too. Since a 12 month old's hat would be way too small for the original chart, I decided to go back to the drawing board and design a smaller horseshoe.

I knit this hat in the round, and used duplicate stitch to add the smaller horseshoe just like I did with the original hat. Since the hat is a gift, I tried it on my daughter's head to make sure it fit properly. I think it turned out well, so I've included this littler charted horseshoe, too.

Birthday Shrug

I whipped up this shrug for my friend's daughter's 6th birthday. I used a pattern that I found on the DIY website from the show Uncommon Threads. The episode was entitled Hooked on Shrugs. I used one skein of Lion Brand Colorwaves and some Patons Allure, both from my stash. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Freeform Sweater Close-Ups

Here are the close-up views of the freeform sweater with links to larger pictures.

Fronts
Back
Right Sleeve
Left Sleeve

Juice Pouch Bag

I whipped up this bag for a friend. I made her another one with juice pouch straps, but it didn't hold up. I substituted the straps this time around and made the bag 1 row of pouches wider.

My First Freeform Garment

I finally finished my first freeform garment--a cropped sweater for my infant daughter Keira in size 12 months. It should fit her in a few months when she turns 1. I started the sweater before Keira was born, took a break from it, and then went full-speed ahead until I finished it.

I drew out a template for the sleeves, fronts, and back based on a knitting schematic so I'd get the correct sizing. I had to make the sweater a little wider and the sleeves a little shorter in the end to make sure it would fit my daughter. It was easy to do since all I did was add some freeform bits to the width of the sides in front and back after I had already sewn the sleeves on. That widened the body and shortened the sleeves at the same time. After seaming up the sides, I added a sc border to the sleeves and sweater edge, which added a nice finishing touch. It also gave me an opportunity to add a buttonhole for a button I had in my stash.

I'd say I gravitate towards the circular shapes, shells, and garter stitch shapes the most in my freeform, probably because they're easy, quick, and look good. I also love to throw in bullions here and there, too. I tend to overthink the color and texture blending while freeforming, which slows me down, so it's good that I can at least make up some motifs quickly once I finally decide on the yarn to use.
I'll have to post more pictures of it being worn once my daughter is big enough for it.

Labor of Love

I finally finished the Vogue Knitting Baby Cardigan. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. For a baby knit, this sure did take a long time. I started this last summer before my daughter was born. I lost interest in it after she was born, mostly because of the weird shoulder shaping that I just couldn't seem to figure out, and the second sleeve became monotonous.

I finally got a chance to use my embroidery stitch book since I had really never hand embroidered before at all. The french knot was the most difficult for me to master, but I found a great video tutorial that helped me figure it out.

The sweater took longer to complete in the finishing stage, too. I ripped out the colloar and redid the back neckline because I didn't like how it dipped in the back. It made the back piece look shorter than the front even though they were the same length. If I were ever to make this sweater again, I would not place the middle back section on a stitch holder until I were finished with all the shoulder shaping. After that was said and done, I noticed that my buttons were placed too low, so I fixed them.

Here are the sweater variations:

• Yarn substituted: Knitpicks Shine Sport in pink
• Modified the back neckline and added 2 extra buttonholes

I'm glad I perservered and finished this even with all the setbacks and changes. It definitely was a labor of love, and Keira should be able to fit into it soon.

Sewing Kit

I went to Sarnia Artwalk last Sunday. It's always neat to see what other craftly people are doing, and I like to support independent artisans. While there I found an adorable halter dress sewing kit by Stacey White of Snug N Luv using Amy Bulter fabric. Stacey has some adorable things for sale and is quite talented!

I'm hoping to find a spare moment to sew this dress together for Keira. I don't think it'll fit her this summer, though, but definitely next summer.

Finishing Projects

I have so many projects for my daughter that I need to finish up so that I can post them. Right now I'm working on the following:

• Kids' Club Skirt--It looks like it won't fit her anytime soon. It was supposed to be 12 months size but looks like 2 years instead.
• VK baby sweater designed by Michelle Rose Orne--I just have to weave in ends and add the buttons.
• Freeform sweater--It now needs to be made larger for her, which is easy with freeform.

In the meantime I managed to make another Economical Baby Blanket. I just need to add the birth information and will take a picture of it. If I get around to it, I'll post instructions for how to add the edging to the blanket along with the modified edging pattern.

There are so many other patterns I want to try out for Keira before she gets too big. The problem is that I don't have time to knit them all. I probably will need to get out the calculator and resize the patterns for a larger size and/or use bulkier yarn for the project to get a larger size. A lot of the baby patterns use fine guage yarn, so I substituting sport or worsted weight yarn will proabably do the trick. It's a good thing I have a large stash!

Upside Down Daisy Hat

I finally took a picture of my daughter wearing the hat I made for her. She's pretty much outgrown it, so I'll have to make her another one for next winter.

Colts Baby Items

I made this blanket and embroidered two onesies for my brother's baby, who was born on Valentine's Day. My brother is a big Indianapolis Colts fan, and he wanted his child to be one, too! I was glad to hear that the gifts were well received!

I got the cotton Colts fabric and white fleece at JoAnn's. I then digitized a Colts horseshoe and logo with my Digitizer Pro software and embroidered it on the fleece with my Janome MC 10000. I shrunk the horseshoe design for the onesies before I embroidered on them. I've gotten the hang of embroidering on knits finally after many failed attempts. The key was hooping the stabilizer only and using a basting stitch to anchor the clothing to the hoop.