Izumi

On December 19th, my beautiful Granddaughter, Izumi was born.  We were fortunate to arrive the next day and to stay near her for 2 weeks.  Ours will be a long distance relationship, coupled with sharing photos and videos, Skype and visits as often as feasible.

Last Fall I had made 3 sweaters for her to give at the baby shower.  One of them was this Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise sweater.  This was knit with my handspun yarn from a few years ago.  I love how the thick and thin yarn worked out on this.  And the square buttons were the perfect touch.

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So, on New Years day, my daughter-in-law and son brought Izumi to visit at our Air BnB, and she was sporting this sweater.  I think that the colors look beautiful on her.

It has plenty of room to grow into, but worked perfectly on a 2 week old.  It makes me happy to see her in it.

I know that every parent/grandparent thinks that their baby is beautiful, but she is just gorgeous, and has been since birth.

And here is the proud Papa.

Radio Silence is Over

I have been conspicuously absent in my postings this summer, and it was all for good reason.  My son and DIL are expecting a baby in December, and I have been knitting away to present these items to them at the baby shower.  The shower was held last weekend, and attended by all of Ethan’s high school friends, some from college, and many of Dan and I’s friends.

It was a lot of fun, and they received many nice gifts which will go a long way in helping them to get their young family established.  It was nice to celebrate, as we never really had a large wedding celebration like there was for Sofia and Mark, where I knit her this beautiful shawl.

So, here goes, fair warning that there will be a lot of photos here.  Most made with Dale of Norway Baby Ull, which I had to stock up on.  For those of you still looking for the one place in the US that carries it, you need to go to Heart of the Mitten.  Not quite sure why they are limiting the sales just to this store, but at least it is still available for the time being.

First, a pattern that I have knit more times than I can count.  It is an old booklet that my mother had from the 50’s, and as a child I knit baby sweaters from this for my mother’s friends and family.  I used a variegated sock yarn, and Baby Ull of course.  This is a wonderful baby pattern, as the raglan sleeves work well for a newborn.

And a matching hat

This makes such a cute set.

Next, I believe that this is from the same booklet.  And, this also is a pattern that I have made in the past.

This sweater got matching booties and a hat.

Then, I needed to make an Elizabeth Zimmerman baby surprise jacket as well.  I had made one from some of my early handspun a few years ago for my niece, and my sister loved it.  So here it is with handspun yarn, and some funky square buttons. It is so incredibly soft and squishy.

And lastly, my favorite baby booties, Christine’s Baby Booties that really stay on.  A free pattern from Knitty.

And of course, they needed a hat to go along with them.  These were made after we knew that the baby is to be a girl.

More in the work now that are gender specific…

Just for Ria

I was going to title this Baby Ria, as that is what we all called her this summer on vacation.  But, she is no longer a baby, and that is a title that I think that she would like to not have carry over.  So, I finally finished the sweater for Toddler Ria, and sent it off last week.  It arrived, and I received a lovely video of her trying to put it over her head.

 

Totem jacket with handspun yarn…

Modern Mitered Mittens

I was given 2 skeins of Noro yarn recently.  While I was intrigued by this yarn when it first came out, and even made a shrug and a sweater out of it many years ago, and although I like and still wear those projects, this is not a yarn I would purchase today.  Many new knitters love this, as it makes a simple pattern look more interesting, although there are a lot of manufacturer’s putting out long repeat yarns now that did not exist a few years ago.  The yarn is weak (easily pulls apart), and can be scratchy.  Wanting to make something out of this yarn, I searched on Ravelry, where the new search engine lets you put in the type of yarn, yardage, and what you are looking to make (sweaters, accessories, etc.).  The Mitered Mitt pattern which blogger Kathryn Ivy wrote about adapting, and using Noro yarn was the perfect pattern for me and my 2 skeins.  The original mitered mitt was published in the Knitter’s Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmerman, May project.  I had to check this book out of the library, I can’t believe that I did not own it, I am sure my husband feels the same way if you saw my knitting library.  Perhaps it is in there somewhere, I am famous for purchasing books that I already own.

This book gives pithy directions for a variety of projects, one every month.    I adapted my mitered mittens to work for modern-day living of needing to unlock cars with a press key, text (not me for those of you who know me), and access that appendage that sets us apart.  I am giving these to my friend Theresa, just have to show them at knitting tomorrow night.  I made the gloves very long, so they would tuck into your coat and keep wrists warm.  I also used a size 3 needle versus the size 6 used in the aforementioned blog post.  The density of the fabric appealed to me, and  I had a bit of trial and error to find out what worked best.

Project Specs
Pattern: Mitered Mittens
Pattern Source: Knitter’s Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden #249, 2 skeins (220 yards, with a small amount left over)
Needles: US 3 DPNs
Date Started: 2/12/11
Date Finished: 3/6/11
Finished Dimensions: 13 1/2” inches long

They did a pretty good job of matching up.  And the texting thumb:

And it snowed again yesterday.  Cold all week, and I need spring.  A bit for each room of the house: