With little one on the way I have been completely consumed with knitting bitty things for baby. Two hats, one from stash, the other planned complete with little fair isle elephants. My latest is a sheep, who looks more like a snowball with a tail right now. Last night at knitting group I shared the book I recently purchased, Itty Bitty Toys, that the sheep pattern came from. The knitter who looked through it was thrilled with the patterns and got me thinking that maybe I should knit a doll for baby. I'm not really a doll person, but I know so many little girls are.
These little animals in pants, shoes and bloomers might just be the hybrid to cross me over into loving dolls. Made by Blabla, they come in trendy colors, patterns and the latest cool animals. And if dolls don't float your boat, there are mobile's for baby's room, backpacks for bigger kids and a few items for those who are still kids at heart.

I'm anxiously waiting the arrival of our little baby girl and aside from fretting where she'll room in our small house, I've started nesting and knitting. This is sure to be the start of a new phase of knitting projects for me. I have to agree with so many others that knitting baby items is fun and so quick to complete. I can't wait to put this on our cutie patootie and get a proper photo though.

I don't even own an i-phone and I want to knit these!



Check out the tutorial and disco sounds over on Wonderfully Akward's blog.

Came across Oeuf today. Yes, that's the sound I make too if I get socked in the stomach, stub my toe or generally feel unwell. Maybe there is a different way of pronouncing it that escaped me?
Any who, they sell beautiful knit items I just couldn't wait to share. I have a list in my head started of the goodies I must have someday, starting with the 3 pack of knit mustaches. Then maybe a racoon tail or two. I know, adorable!
Aside from all of that cuteness that made me want, want, want, there is a good side too. Fair trade baby. So the Alpaca might be getting the shaft, but the workers are at least treated with dignity.

“Egg-stra” Special Sock Kit. This sock pattern was once more designed by Rosemary “Chappy” Chapman, this time in honor of my sister. The Teal color of Trekking in this kit is the official color designated to ovarian cancer, and has been specially dyed just for this cause. Every design aspect of this sock, from the cuff to the toe, is a reminder to us that ovarian cancer can be beaten if we, as women, unite. Skacel will be donating $15.00 for each kit sold, to the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research (www.marsharivkin.org). Our goal is to raise $100,000. Please note that kits purchased through both Jimmy Bean's Wool and Webs will have their entire purchase price of $25.00 donated to the center! Read more...

See who else is knitting the Egg-stra on Ravelry.

Purchase the kit online:
Jimmy Beans Wool
Webs

Art is all around us, even in something as mundane as knitting. Being able to see and explore the possibilities, Casual Profanity gave us a gift. This tiny gem was a matter of being able to see the beauty in the ordinary.

Today I delivered a little holiday cheer to my two favorite dogs. Somehow I think I got so much more delight out of it than they did, but they were sports just the same. So Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for my family and friends, their love, support and health (and for friends that will let me do this to their dogs).



Pattern: To Humiliate The Dog

Anthropologie is always one of my favorite stores and websites to haunt for eye candy and inspiration. Their catalogs are always dreamy and I'd step into one if I could. With the weather getting cold, I took a peek to see their latest scarves for winter. While they still have their typical soft and drapey antho-style pieces, here are a couple that caught my eye. Fox stole anyone?

The knitting group I hang out with (shameless plug here: Terrible Knitters of Kent) held a yarn swap this weekend. The idea was to bring in your excess, uninspired and unwanted yarns, pool them with everyone elses e.u.u. yarns and then raffle off the goods to those who wanted them. Any left over yarns were to be given to a local knitting charity.

I don't know how, but I walked away with a lot of very nice yarn. Much nicer than the basket of Sugar & Cream I came in with. Who was I kidding when I bought all of that? I don't even use cloth dish cloths. Aside from being delighted to have a basket full of beautiful new yarn, this will help keep me inspired and (hopefully) out of the yarn store for a while.

I hadn't planned an excursion beyond the funeral I was attending, but a lazy morning reading the paper lead me to the days happenings section, and much to my delight, a Sheep-to-Shawl was going on in the very town I was in. So with only an hour left of the S-t-S I dashed over to what was probably the smallest knitting event I've seen. But one with miniature pony rides and a really cool vintage hat display nonetheless.

There were 4 booths, 5 if you count the painter who didn't have a lick of fiber portrayed in her work. Two vendors feverously spun away from huge baskets of freshly sheared fleece. Another was working on some miniscule version of what I believe was tatting. And then there was a woman demonstrating how the raw fleece was combed and combed until the fibers all lay the same way, and then spun it up. The finished product was smooth, lumpy, and somewhere in between. She pulled bits of puff that didn't quite get tangled in, doubled it up on it's self and voila! Hand spun yarn was born.

Many of my friends come away from events like this with arms cradling their newly acquired stash. My score was not to be had that day. A certain yellow yarn I just can't seem to locate is out there somewhere waiting for me, and so my purchases amounted to a $4 cat toy and a strip of raffle tickets that only left my wallet lighter. Ooh, and these adorable stickers I have no idea what I'm going to do with.


I'm sure one of these days I will venture into the handspun yarns, but for now I have a small collection of yarns large enough to keep me busy well into the next few years.

This was a super quick knit. Slightly challenging to decipher how to sew, but ok if you trust the pattern.

They're finished and on my feet. Are all handknit socks this comfy? Or is it because I have spent so much time knitting them and I love them so much?

We've been skipping Christmas gift giving for a few years now, much to our and our families relief. Still a few things slip by and we all end up getting a gift. This is one of my knit items, a mini sweater Christmas ornament complete with a hand crafted hanger.