Tuesday, April 28, 2009

kimono baby...


Although I knit this adorable kimono sweater for baby Wes before he born, I haven't had a chance to take a picture of him wearing it until last week. If you're in need of a quick baby gift, this sweet little sweater takes no time at all. In fact, I'm even thinking of knitting another one out of a spring yarn- maybe the Organic Cotton from Rowan. The pattern is a free ravelry download called "Garter Stitch Kimono" by Joji Locatelli. I used just 3 balls of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino on a size 4 needle. I think it's pretty cute, and I think baby Wes likes it too!

I'm just wrapping up the "Monica" tank for Scarlett out of Rowan Dk cotton, and then off to start my "Whisper" cardigan with the Malabrigo lace that came in last week. Of course, it arrived while I was away in Disney with the kids, so I didn't get first dibs on color, but that's ok, they're all pretty beautiful (I'm thinking Hollyhock)!!! Happy knitting, he's a pic from our trip!!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Nothing but Blue Sky's...

It's no secret that we love the yarns from Blue Sky Alpacas! We're always so excited to open our shipments, whether it's a new delicious color way, or a simple organic cotton. Their yarns are gorgeous, their colors are to die for, in fact the only thing I can complain about, is that when I choose their yarn for a project (for instance right now, "Rosa" by Kim Hargreaves), it takes me forever to pick a color, seriously like over a week!!

Erika knits non-stop (I'm jealous), she just finished her "Dulce de Leche" sweater designed by Marnie MacLean of Twist Collective. She knit her new favorite spring sweater on a 3 needle, with 7 skeins of Alpaca silk in "Peapod". We were all drooling over it on Saturday, it fits her so beautifully. The pattern had some w&t's that she decided not to do, but I'm sure she'll post her modifications on her ravelry page. Then of course we needed to put a call into Sarina from Moving Mud, Erika needed buttons that were just right, and of course, they're perfect! A black and white swirl with splash of green, oh life is good!!



My cousin is having her first baby this May, and I thought, since I finished (almost shhh) the "Babette Blanket" for Scarlett and loved the pattern so much, that it would be perfect in the Blue Sky cotton. I figured on an H hook, crocheting blocks 1 through 5 would be the perfect size for a baby blanket, and it was!! It measures about 32" by 32". I used 4 colors of cotton, 1 skein of each, except for the color I chose to crochet the border in, that requested 2 skeins. The pattern is so applicable to any yarn, and any hook size. It's a mindless crochet project and the end result is always so much fun. I used one of a new color ways that was introduced this season called "Jasper". Blue Sky spoiled us this season once again with new color ways in "Hand dyed Cotton" and "Alpaca Silk", and we have them all!! Happy knitting and crochet!! If you're going to be looking for me tomorrow, I'll be standing in front of the Alpaca silk trying to decide on a color for my "Rosa" sweater- so far I'm leaning toward "peridot".