happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling
I know… it looks shapeless and weird, but that’s exactly how it’s supposed to look.After you finish it, it’s supposed to fold a certain way and hey presto! A little sweater. That’s why it’s called a Baby Surprise Jacket, after all.
It’s so much fun to knit this. I keep trying to fold it to get at least an idea of how big it will turn out to be, but it doesn’t make any sense yet, so I’ll just have to wait and see.
This post by Alissa about the name of her blog reminded me that I started this blog as a knitting blog way back in 2006 when I did a lot (a whole lot!) of knitting. But these days… I’m trying to get back to it, but somehow the projects I try don’t really “click”. You know, that special something you need to pick up those needles as often as you can, because you just want to keep knitting.
I am working on something though, and I thought I might as well show you.
I have a lot of single skeins of cotton yarn that I bought at a thrift store years ago. And I’m kind of struggling to find something to do with them, but too frugal to just buy a whole lot of new yarn. So I started knitting a striped top, figuring I could just knit a tube and add some narrow shoulder bands if I don’t have enough yarn for sleeves. I weighed the part I have knit already and the rest of the yarn and I should be able to get a long enough body, but I can’t really get myself to knit much on it. Maybe I should just frog it and use the yarn for something else.
I also have been thinking about knitting a sweater for our grandson. We’ll be seeing him in May and than probably not until he is one year old in December. So if I make him a sweater in a 1 year size (80-86 in European sizes, I think) he should be able to wear it in Fall and maybe throughout winter. I would like to make a Baby Surprise Jacket. It’s on that list of baby things I never got to make. The fact that the sleeves usually come out a bit short may be perfect for a crawling toddler. There’s still a lot left over from the beige and dark blue that I used to knit a sweater and a vest for him before, so I could do stripes. And while I’m at it, maybe I could knit some matching pants? Now that I’m writing this I have to admit there is at least a little bit of a “click” there…
(edited to add: after I wrote this post I cast on for a BSJ and I’m loving it!)
And here’s the last one (for those of you who didn’t read the other posts: I decided rather last minute that it would be nice to give our three girls, the two son-in-laws and our soon to be born grandson hats for Christmas).
I made it semi-matching with the father-son hats, since this is for the mom-to-be. I ran out of the dark blue yarn, but I thought these eyelet holes are similar to, but also a nice change from the stripes. I actually really like this one.
I couldn’t help myself… I just thought it would be too cute, even it was just for a picture to satisfy this crazy knitting granny. I made a hat for the father to be and a much smaller one for the baby to match. There’s not much else to tell about them, just simple stripes and a bit slouchy, because I know J. likes that.
After I finished the baby blanket I itched for a small, simple project. And well… if you have been around here for a while, you know. I just wanted to knit a hat.
So that’s what I did, using the scraps of the blanket. The ribbing is a simple twisted k1, p1, and after that just plain stockinette stripes. So much fun!
After struggling a bit (a lot actually) last week, trying to be positive, but actually having deleted a lot of whining about how slow I was going, something shifted. It’s as if accepting that it would take a while to finish this blanket, made me more motivated to pick it up.
There was a whole lot of knitting in the weekend and on Monday morning I cast off and started weaving in ends. I finished it on Monday evening. On Wednesday I worked up the courage to try and soften the scratchy (acrylic) yarn and that worked quite well. It’s a lot softer now, though the dark blue (that was the scratchiest), could use another round. Maybe I’ll wash everything one more time before we go to the Netherlands.
I basically followed every step in this blog post, except for the dryer, since I don’t have one. Oh, and she mentions “ice cold water”, but I just used what came out of the tap (that’s almost lukewarm here).
Anyway, I’m really happy with how it turned out. I think I will try this pattern (or something similar) again (but with better yarn). It’s perfect for this baby’s parents, who like simple and basic, but also things that are slightly different. It’s big enough to cover the bottom of a standard playpen, so of course also plenty big to wrap a baby in, or to cover him while he’s sleeping. I hope it will be used a lot.
Now I’m thinking hard about what else to knit. I’m not really done with the baby knitting yet, but we had to switch airlines (KLM canceled our flight – the third time this year) and TUI allows only one piece of hand luggage. That means I have limited space to take stuff with me. So I cast on for an adult sized hat last night. That also needs to come with me (no need for a hat here), but isn’t as time sensitive as itty-bitty baby clothes. I guess knitting bigger baby clothes would be a solution. Or finally work up the courage to try knitting (or crocheting) toys.
Endless possibilities…. I think that’s why I love knitting (and crochet and sewing) so much.
Yes, there is a pattern there. Knitting, gardening, watching the sunset, repeat. Oh, and a silly cat.
It was a good weekend.
Wishing you all a great start to your week.
Last week I was working on the second row of the lighter blue, so I’m definitely getting closer to the end. I only need one more repeat of every color to get the desired size (big enough to cover the bottom of a standard playpen).
It’s going slow, but it’s actually really nice to take my time, add a few rows every day and see it grow over time. It makes me feel connected to it, and the people I’m making it for.
This post almost was never written. Not that I had issues with it, on the contrary. I had been thinking about what pictures to take and what to write, but I got so distracted with other things that I forgot to actually take those pictures and type those words. Go figure. Serious case of brain fog (I’ve been sick with who knows what (tested negative for C.), still very tired, but feeling better).
I’m knitting away on the baby blanket, though it’s not going as fast as I’d like and I’m not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. The pattern is great, there’s nothing wrong with that. Easy to remember, but not too boring.
It’s the yarn. I thought I was buying a “real brand”(Red Heart), instead of the vague Italian (?) stuff I bought at the other shop, but it’s so scratchy and squeaky, that it’s just not fun to work with and quite hard on my slightly arthritic hands. I found out you can soften it up with hair conditioner and laundry softener. I am going to do that when I’m done knitting, but I’m not brave enough to wash a skein of yarn. Seems to me that it will become a tangled mess, even in a laundry bag. Maybe I’ll try with the brighter blue I bought, but decided to dismiss for the blanket.
(for those wondering why I’m using acrylic yarn: 1. both parents of the baby are allergic to wool, 2. it’s the only yarn available on the island, 3. budget)
Anyway. I do love how it’s turning out. Each color change makes it look better. In the end, it’s going to be a great (and soft) baby blanket.
I didn’t knit much these past few weeks. Last time I posted about my knitting (4 weeks ago!), I was pretty optimistic about finishing this sweater soon, but I didn’t feel like knitting a lot and we watched an awful lot of series and movies at night (I don’t knit while watching something that I really want to get into). Oh well.
I am working on the sleeves now and I would like to finish it before our trip to the Netherlands. I hear it’s rather cold there, so I could use an extra sweater.
I don’t like how the bottom rolls up though. According to the pattern it would be okay if you knit with cotton, but I’m not convinced I like this look. I may decide to add a small garter stitch border. I don’t think that would look too bad (at least not worse than that rolling).
My crafty to-do list is short:
– finish cardigan
– find something to knit during our stay (it’s not permitted on the airplane, but I figure I’d better take something – I always miss it when I don’t).
linking up with Chris’ Tuesday To Do
NOT A STATION 