Preparing for the arrival of Baby Boy Bybee

Or as John likes to call him, Arlo.  I hope that Hilary and Kyle like the outfit.  And if not, I hope they are brave enough to say so, and I will donate it to the pregnancy crisis center.

This sweater design is very popular for newborns, hence its name, Puerperium (newborn)
I think the duck buttons are the perfect finishing touch!

Baby blankets .. and more baby blankets

Our oldest daughter Hilary and her husband Kyle have announced that they will be adding a baby boy to our family in March.  This has me in the baby blanket mode, and I have done 3 patterns that are all different from each other and from the normal baby blanket.  None of these are blocked yet because the youngest daughter has not returned my steamer that she borrowed to steam out the wrinkles from her wedding dress.

The pinwheel blanket measures over a yard across, and was knit from 3 skeins of Caron Simply Soft.

The center-out blanket is done with a skein of Pound of Love.  It was the closest to a non-traditional baby color that I could find.  It measures 26" across. (I am not sure what the "best" size is for a baby blanket, so I'm making them how I like.)

The eyelet blanket was done in baby yarn from Big Lots, and $2.50 for 2 skeins, which I did not use all of to make this 24" blanket .  I am told that the yarn that is sold at Big Lots is name-brand manufacturer yarn that Big Lots buys from the manufacturer and re-labels, since they are not allowed to sell it under the manufacturer name.  Whatever the deal, this is the softest baby yarn I have used in a while.  It reminds me of Plymouth, which I used to make a baby sweater for my friend Kim's Madison when she arrived 4 years ago, and I loved the stuff.

Knits for (f)all seasons

I saw the pattern for these cute pumpkins and had to try it.  They were like Lay's potato chips:  I just couldn't stop at one.  The skein of Caron Simply Soft that I had in Mango made 8 of them, so I gave away several.  Then I realized I had some knitted and crocheted pine cones (thanks, Covered in Prayer crocheters) and some knitted leaves, so I put together a centerpiece with all my fall fiber, and added some cinnamon-scented pine cones.

Thanks for the encouragement, knitting group

Although I miss my every Wednesday knitting in Cheyenne, (Cindy, are you there?) I have enjoyed being back to my monthly group in Jeff City.  They have been very encouraging to me in the past few months, and the camaraderie is wonderful.  One of the projects I had started last month was my pink socks.  It is simply a twisted rib stitch, and I used the sock generator guidelines from Liat Gat, toe-up-2-at-a-time.  They are really leg-hugging, so I didn't worry about much of a cuff.   Since the yarn was Lion Brand Sock-Ease, where the label says "one ball makes a pair," I took them at their word and knitted until I ran out.  Less than a yard left from a 438-yard ball.  That's the beauty of toe-up, you just knit till you run out.  Many of the gals were interested in how the stitch worked, so here's pics:

Quick mindless knits

I have been doing some quick mindless knits while I await the word on whether the upcoming grandchild is a boy or girl so that I know what baby knits I am starting (maybe we will find out this week).  So I found this bag, adapted from a quilting pattern, adapted from origami box folding.  It is a stockinette (or garter, but I like stockinette) rectangle, 3:1 ratio.  It is then folded to form this shape.

My rectangle was 13" x 39" (the bottom is 17") and was knit from a couple of balls of Berroco Comfort that I had lying around.  Once it was folded, I didn't like the stockinette roll, so I picked up stitches and did an I-cord bind-off, and continued the bind-off into a standard I-cord for the strap.

The website for this bag is http://www.toltyarnandwool.com/blogs/blog/15166929-tolt-folded-bag-with-veronika  I seem to be doing fairly well, as it was posted to Knitting Paradise on August 31 and it is finished on September 2!

Gerry, when you go to the website for this, she has links to a quilter with a bag like this.  You quilters have all the best ideas!

Finally got up the nerve ....

to knit garments for myself.  I am never happy with the fit after I make them, and wish I had spent the time on something else.  But this time, I took advantage of some good hints: 1-Find a garment that fits you well, and use those measurements. 2-Get yarn that suits your pattern. 3-Get a pattern that is well-written.  Using those hints, these are what I came up with

Picked up the yarn at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $1.97/skein -- I love a deal on I Love This Cotton ;-)  So the sweater cost me $6 (the buttons may cost more than the yarn!).  The pattern is Sleeveless Pullover from the LeisureArtslibrary.com website.  I got the yarn because it matched the skirt I had bought in June, but had nothing but white tops to wear it with.

Linum Tee

Got the most wonderful Rowan Lenpur Linen DK weight yarn, and looked for just the right pattern.  Finally found it in the Knitscene Summer 2014 magazine.  Now I'm all set for Tiger games --MIZ-ZOU!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming

The wedding is over, and now things can return to normal, if there is such a thing!  The weather was temperate for August 2 in Kansas City (mid 80s), the venue looked beautiful, the truffles were a big hit, and as for the bridal couple, judge for yourself:

 

John and the girls

Taking a break from setting up the reception

And now, I can return to knitting and spinning, which have taken a back seat to wedding preparations.