Recycled sweater baby kimono

It is cold out there! So I dug into my stash of sweaters for recycling, and picked a nice green one, perfect for some baby cardigans. I used this tutorial  and included pattern for the kimono, and a version of this for the bias tape. Cutting the pieces and putting together the wool part was quick and easy, but I am not very good at bias tape making, and it took 3 times as long. It was fun, though, and I enjoyed making things that should fit but without the need for them to fit perfectly. I learned a couple of new techniques in this project, which is always a plus. Now I need to make another one! I have the wool part already cut, so all I need is another color for the trim and, hopefully, an improved performance in making and attaching it.

Some details about the bias tape: I used a fat quarter and cut strips of about 2″ wide, and that made almost 6 yards of bias tape (a great deal!) The tool I had bought to fold the tape, however, did not work well at all for me, so I did the whole thing by hand (hence the time-consuming element). Perhaps I should design a bias tape making tool first!

Baby hats

I got this idea that I have to make two hats for the boys ASAP, or the sky will fall on our heads! So I put everything else aside and, thankfully in just a couple of evenings I had my 2 hats. With 44 stitches cast on, it was fast and easy. There is no actual pattern for those, just a 1×1 ribbing hat with a quick decrease for a rounded top. For more specific information, check my ravelry page. I used this great yarn I bought lots of, Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton, which is really soft and makes me happy. As for the size, I used a hat that came in our pile of gifts. I don’t know what size it is, but I erred on the larger size so I get a little more wearing time out of them.

The kitties were unimpressed with my success, but after several tries I managed to persuade Skid to model one of the hats for me. She doesn’t look very happy, does she?…

I am now all set to make something warm for boys to wear, like cardigans. I won’t be knitting those, however, not for newborns who will outgrow their clothes faster than it would take for me to make them!

Baby shoes

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, and are now in the throws of indigestion and holiday sloth! Ours was quiet, we didn’t travel anywhere this year, so we stayed home with the cats, cooked, and enjoyed some quiet time at home.

Meanwhile, I have a confession to make: I don’t know about you, but every time I see baby ultrasound photos on blogs I like to follow, I have mixed feelings about it. My initial reaction is, of course, to be happy for the new mother and the happy times that will follow for her. However, I find the images themselves are either a little too creepy, or a little too personal for posting for all to see. I am also aware that the blog I followed with great interest for perhaps years, will never be the same (especially if that is the author’s first baby). I expect them to disappear from circulation for a while, and to see primarily baby stuff in their creations afterwards. I admit that somewhere in my selfish part, I am a little disappointed to loose a blogger I have enjoyed following for a while.

Now it is time for me to eat my words, and perhaps revisit all these new mothers’ blogs for projects and ideas for things they made for their own babies! I actually disappeared quite a while ago due to my unsettled weekly schedule, but for the last 7,5 months I have had another good excuse: the exhaustion of creating 2 new lives while working full-time, and tackling (yet another) move during the first trimester. The twins are expected anytime in February (I forbid them to show up earlier than that, and I hope they will listen to their mother!)

As expected, the closer we are getting to D-day, I only have baby in the brain, so the only recipient of handmade gifts this Christmas was my brother’s 6-month old girl. A couple of days ago I tried my hand at a pair of baby shoes, but never tried myself. Mine look a little wonky, and I am aware that one looks larger than the other, but this was just my fault for making the elastic too tight on the second one, and once I fixed that they were much more even

The pattern I used is very well written, and now I am ready to make more, this time for my 4-legged bundle of joy, as well as for what seems to be a surprising number of newborns among friends families (a total of 8, with ours!) I presume I might go the way every other blogger I mentioned before, and be either elusive or talk primarily about baby crafts. But I do have lots of great ideas for making practical, eco-friendly and pocket-friendly baby projects, so some may even find my posts interesting.

But for now, enjoy the best week of the year, the post-Christmas / pre New Year’s week!

Non-felted slippers

Weather has cooled down enough lately, that knitting is back in full swing. I decided to start with a quick project (albeit in 4 parts), and welcome the colder weather to follow with warm feet!

This is my first pattern for socks (of sorts) that is knitted flat and then put together in the end. It was interesting to see it unfold, or rather fold into a 3-dimensional slipper, that only needed a seam along the bottom.
I am planning to make another pair for L., and have matching slippers this year Cheesy, I know! I will have to do quite some math to figure out how to make the pattern longer, but I am counting on my experience in making socks more than my math skills anyway.

The pattern, Non-felted slippers, is a free one I saw on Ravelry, but I don’t remember if it is available simply online (sorry). I used yarn from stash. Bulky yarn is called for, but I used just worsted-weight yarn held double throughout the project, and it worked just fine. Both yarns are a bit rough on the touch, which makes them sturdy and somehow very appropriate for something I ‘ll be stepping on. Now I ‘m all set for the winter! Hurrah!

Hiding

I feel like I have been like Sunny here, hiding. The summer passed by so fast, and so unsettled. I look forward to getting back to a fall routine, with less travelling and more nesting and crafting. Lots of sewing projects planned, and quite a lot of knitting too. I can’t wait to get my paws on my needles, curl up with a kitty (or three) and make stuff!