I finally finished my hat!  Funny how when I am knitting something for myself, I really don't feel that drive to finish it quickly.  Anyway, I finished my seed stitch hat and I am so happy with how it came out!  And of course I added a little knit rose to the side because that's how I roll. The funniest part is, my mom just bought a little hat like that for my grammy and it cost her about $30.  The one skein of yarn I used only cost me $3.50.  :)   I will be making lots of these for the Making Strides auction next October and maybe some for Christmas/Birthday gifts next year.  May even need to make one for myself in a few other colors.  
Anyway, I wish I had a pic to post right now, but Darling Husband left the camera in school over February vacation...so that will have to wait.  In other news, started the baby gifts for my friend S's little one.  I really need another break from baby stuff.
I saw my aunt the other day and she mentioned how she always wears the shawl I made her around the house.  That is a big compliment to me since she is a big knitter too! 
That's all for now...

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

That's what little girls are made of!  As I've mentioned before, lots of baby girls on the way!  Yesterday I went to the baby shower for my cousin K (actually my husband's cousin, but I consider her mine too).  She is expecting her baby girl "R" in March!  Lots of pink and purple yesterday.  And ruffles.  And bows.  And extreme cuteness!  I made Baby R a blanket, matching hat and booties, a sweater, and a mini blanket.  On the Wednesday before the shower I decided she needed that mini-blanket so I was able to put that together in record time!  So glad I did, I think it's nice to have a smaller blanket to put over her in the car seat or swing or bouncer or whatever, when you don't want the big bulky cover.
Mommy K seemed to really like it, and I was pretty proud of my work, too.  I loved the patterns and colors I chose, too.
Here's the big blanket.  I did a diagonal pattern that uses increases which create a beautiful eyelet type border.

 

Next is the matching baby hat.  After I made it I decided it needed a little sass, so I learned really quickly how to knit a rose.  Voila!

The sweater wasn't exactly how I thought it would come out.  I thought it would be more striped, but this was what I got.

And finally, the mini-blankie.  No matter how many times I make it people never get sick of this basket weave stitch.  Looks soooo complicated but if you can knit, purl and count, you can do it!

I was pretty nervous about giving these as gifts because it was the first time I made some baby stuff where I'd see the mommy to be actually OPEN the gift.  I knew K would like them, but still I was nervous because I am still a novice.  Well, I didn't need to worry, I got a lot of compliments.  Yay!

I am going to take a quick break from the gift-making and make a little something for myself for once.  Yes, seriously.  I am going to attempt to make a seed-stitch hat.  I have the stitches cast on and everything!  February vacation I will concentrate on Baby J and Baby W.  Both girls.  Lots more girly colors to come!  Good thing the hat I am making is blue and not pink. ;)

Mellow Yellow

Here's the first baby gift of 2012!  I made this for my mom's best friend's grandbaby.  They didn't know if it was a boy or girl, so I went with the standby of yellow.  It looks really bright in the pics but is much softer in natural light.  Unfortunately when you live in the woods like I do, you don't get much of that inside the house.  And any sunbeams we do get through the window are hogged by the dog! So yes, this color looks very lemon-y in the pics but is much nicer is person.  I made a basketweave blankie and a garter-stitch hat to match.  My first baby-hat ever!  Still not brave enough to attempt knitting in the round yet, so it's not a fancy hat, but still cute. 

Mom mailed this off to the new baby this week along with her gift.  Hopefully they like it!
I also have more baby things that I've finished but I can't post them until after the upcoming baby showers.  :)

Happy New Year and a Baby Bonanza

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  I know I did.  I even made my own marinara sauce for my homemade lasagna.  It was yummy!  Everyone loved their gifts that I made for them.  My mother in law was the recipient of my first afghan (the creme and peach one a few entries back) and she loved it.  It was a birthday present for her, but I didn't actually get to give it to her until Christmas Eve (I was in A Christmas Carol every weekend from Thanksgiving to Dec. 18, soooo...didn't get to see her to give her the gift).  My mom loved the color of her scarf and hat.  I felt really bad that I couldn't give her the blanket I was planning to, but there was no way to fix the error I made and get it finished on time.  My great aunt and grammy really loved their shawls, too.  Gram put hers right on!  And my great aunt is a knitter herself, so to get a compliment from her was a big deal to me.

Anyway, now that Christmas is over, I need to focus on the Baby Bonanza that I find myself in the middle of.  I have lots of hats, blankets, booties and sweaters to make for all my family and friends who are expecting in 2012.  And that's just the ones that are pregnant now.  Who knows how many more are going to come along this year.  It seems to be the Year of the Baby Girl.  Selfishly, I want someone to have a boy so I can knit some blue and green stuff!  Yes, I know, that's gender stereotyping, girls can have blue blankies too.  But, I prefer girlie colors.  Though I am going to go outside the pastels box for one gift, which I am excited about!  Pics to come.  In the meantime, Happy New Year!  I personally am hoping that 2012 is a great improvement over 2010 and 2011.  Both were pretty bad.  So I am ready for a good year!