Confetti Hats

Staff baby shower next Tuesday.



Stash yarn + easy peasy pattern + baby model = cute photos.



I wasn't sure about this yarn when I first started knitting with it. I thought the colorway was a bit ugly, but it grew on me as I knit. When I slapped the finished product on top of Small Child #3's head, it was a hit. The little flecks in the yarn remind me of confetti.

Yarn
Schoeller+Stahl Hobby Kids Color in Kirsch

Needles
Size 6, 4.0 mm

Pattern
Sweet and Simple Baby Hats by Debbie Bodmer

Crafting with Small Children

Small Child #1 has always taken an interest in my knitting. Every time we're together and she sees me knitting, she wants to sit on my lap and help. She's going to be five soon, and so I thought it might be time for her to have her own knitting basket. I stocked it with size 9 needles that are a little shorter than normal and some worsted weight variegated yarn.



She has trouble holding the needles and throwing the yarn, so I am the needle holder and she is the yarn thrower. We got quite a few inches of her scarf done, and we'll finish it this summer when I see her again.



She also learned how to sew.




This is one of those kits with the pre-punched felt pieces. Sew them together and stuff them, and voilà!


You have a bear, complete with lopsided googly eyes.

If you haven't crafted with a small child in a while, I urge you to do so. If you need some inspiration, check out SouleMama, one of my favorite blogs. The author, Amanda Soule, is the mother to four small children and the author The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections. Her blog often features her children's crafty ventures.

Built Tough Pants

This is Ford, and he is built tough.



And these are his new pants.



Working with Rowan Denim... ugh. It's not the cotton that bothers me, it's the dye coming off the yarn and onto the needles. Hopefully I'll be able to get the dye out of my bamboo circulars and DPNs. Note to self—knit Rowan Denim on metal needles.

I knit the legs on DPNs, and that was a big mistake. Ladders, ladders, here and there, ladders, ladders everywhere! I don't know why I can't manage to eliminate the ladders when I knit with DPNs. Another note to self—magic loop all sleeves and legs whenever possible.

I did do a nice job on the waistband, though, if I do say so myself.



Yarn
Rowan Denim in Memphis

Needles
Size 6, 4.0 mm

Pattern
Baby's Denim Drawstring Pants by Joelle Hoverson
Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Spring Break Is for...

Playing in the snow and making your first snowman, of course!



I've been at the homestead for the past couple of days, hanging out with family. In particular, Small Children. Small Children were really excited when we awoke to several inches of snow Monday morning. As a matter of fact, Small Child #2 was dismayed when she realized that Mommy had not packed her mittens and asked if Auntie Kim would be able to knit some fast enough for her to go outside and play in the snow. Heh. Grandma gave them each a pair of socks to wear on their hands and reminded me that I still don't have her mittens done.


Total group effort involved here, as you can see. Small Children work hard.


Hello! Henry's my name and melting's my game. Give me a visor to shield my eyes from the sun, please.

Christmas Knitting in Review—Part Four

It seems only fitting that I finish the Christmas Knitting in Review series before Epiphany.

Small Child 1 attends school where a uniform is required. Her main school color is pine green. Since it's not so easy to find cardigans for little girls in this color, I decided to knit her a sweater. I picked this pattern. It was recommended by my LYS and is top down, which means no seaming. Whoo hoo!



Problem—The pattern is written in these sizes: 2-4, 6-8, and 10-12. Small Child 1 wears a size 5.

Hmmm.

Ravelry to the rescue! Leanne recommended knitting the pattern on a smaller needle. Smaller needle = smaller gauge = smaller sweater. Her sweaters turned out great!

And everything was going along smoothly until I got to the sleeves. I picked up the stitches that had been placed on scrap yarn. A little wonky, but that can be blocked out, right? And I started following the pattern.

BIG MISTAKE! Can you see where this is going?

Smaller needle size = smaller stitch gauge. Smaller stitch gauge = good. Smaller needle size = smaller row gauge. Smaller row gauge, when it comes to sleeves = bad.



I started decreasing according to the pattern, not thinking about the fact that a smaller gauge would result in more rows per inch. I had arrived at the number of stitches for the cuff about two inches up the forearm. I knew something wasn't right. But did I rip it back? Of course not. I kept going and finished that sleeve. And then I knit a second one exactly like it. Like the wonky stitches, I thought that I could just block it.

A few hours later I called the sister-in-law to talk to her about the cardi. I told her of my fear that the sleeves would be too tight. We decided that the best course of action would be to wait to finish the sweater until Small Child 1 had tried it on.


Yes, Sweet Pea, I know that your sweater still has strings on it. Why? Because your Auntie Kim is an IDIOT!

Just as feared, the forearms of the sleeves are too tight. If I could guarantee that Small Child 1 would not grow in the next year, I could probably get away with them. But she's gonna grow. We just know it. The only logical course of action is to fix the sleeves, decreasing based on the actual row gauge rather than the pattern instructions. I explained to Small Child 1 that I would bring the sweater home, fix it, and send it back to her through the mail so that she could wear it back to school in January.

And then I accidentally left the damned thing in DC.

Christmas Knitting in Review—Part Three

Needless to say, the hat I made for Small Child 3 turned out a tad too big. Just a tad.



Better too big than too small, I say. He can grow into it. See, he already has a hat for next winter. I'm ahead of the game on this one.



Small Child 3's modeling skills are a bit better than Small Child 2's modeling skills. I think it's due to the lack of controlled movement. You do have to be fast with the camera, though.



The yarn used is Berroco Comfort DK, which always knits up more like a sport weight rather than DK weight in my opinion. I still have a ton of this stuff left. What to do with it?



Yarn
Berroco Comfort DK in Boy Blue, Rabe, Bittersweet, Barley, and Teaberry

Needles
Size 3, 3.25 mm

Pattern
Garter Stripe Beanie by Mustaa Villaa

Christmas Knitting in Review—Part One

I have one word for Christmas knitting this year—disastrous! Two projects were finished on time and wrapped. One project was wrapped unfinished. And—get this—I still have five other projects that aren't even on the needles yet. That doesn't take into account ongoing birthday knitting.

What the hell was I thinking?

This will not happen next year. No knitted goods for Christmas. You scoff, I know, but I will not fall victim to this December craziness again! I have a new plan... knitted goods only for birthdays. See, this way, they are spread out over the year.

Anyway, on to the Christmas knits! The first project and probably most well-executed was a hat and mittens for Small Child 2.



Trying to get pictures of her modeling the mittens was difficult, to say the least.



Okay, hold the mittens a little closer this time.



Okay, not so close to the camera, closer to you.



Okay, now stop moving!



There... great cheesy smile!

Small Child 1 was willing to model the hat for me out-of-doors, in proper light.





Small Child 1 may have a future in modeling handknits!

Yarn
Berroco Comfort in Rosebud, Pretty Pink, Ivory, and Cornflower

Needles
Mittens—Size 6, 4 mm
Hat—Size 7, 4.5 mm

Patterns
Mittens—Basic Mitten Pattern, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd
Hat—Scrap-happy Celebration Hat by Cosette Cornelius-Bates