Preemie Baby Kimono

When I joined The Lucy Ladybug Knit-Along, I set a personal goal of contributing one bereavement set per month. This is not a requirement of the group, just something I determined to do on my own. Well, it dawned on me at the beginning of this month that I let July slip by without knitting a stitch for Lucy, so I pulled out some yarn, needles and a favorite pattern and cast on right away before August became a memory too.



PATTERNS: Preemie Baby Kimono and Knitted Preemie Hat
YARN: Kraemer Yarns Little Lehigh (blue) and Red Heart Soft Baby (white)
NEEDLES: US 5
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
Chest cicumference = 10"
Length from neck to toe = 14.5"
Hat circumference = 10"

I've used this pattern or a variation of this pattern at least four times now. The simple, classic style is one I never get tired of. It's my first choice for a boy's set, but would be nice for a girl too.




I wanted to make the gown a little longer, but I had to stop when I got down to the last little bit of yarn. See the two thin stripes of blue yarn in the hat? That's all I had left!




It's not neccesary, but I always like to include a ladybug somewhere on the set as a remembrance of LucyBug.

Embellishment

Inspired by Jan, I dug out the needle felting kit that I bought over a year ago, but never used, and tried my hand at adding some embellishment to one of the bowls I made the other day.



Not bad for a first attempt. I found it was easy to position the yarn into a design with a few stabs of the felting needle and then remove it and reposition it if wasn't to my liking. Once it was right, multiple stabs of the felting needle permanantly embedded the yarn into the bowl. The yarn I used was White Buffalo, which is unspun wool. It worked great for needle felting.

Felted Bowls

I had another one of those days where I just couldn't stop knitting the same thing over and over again. This time it was felted bowls, based on the pattern from the book One Skein. I've used this pattern before. Yesterday I experimented with different sizes and shapes. It was a lot of fun. Each bowl took less than an hour to knit. I knitted and felted them separately so I could make changes if I thought I needed to.


As you can see, I ended up with several nice ones. It's interesting to see how various yarns felt differently even if they are the same brand.


The first bowl I made was the charcoal one, knitted from Wool Pak. The blue bowl was next and is made from Lopi. These two bowls were knitted exactly the same and felted to the same size, but shaped differently when wet. I thought briefly about shaping the blue one into a square, but changed my mind. It would work though.


I experimented with stripes on these bowls and I really like they way they turned out. The red and blue bowl was knitted from Wool Pak also. There is quite a difference in texture when you compare it to the charcoal one. Also interesting is that it was knitted to the same size as the two previous bowls, but it felted to a smaller size. The brown and natural bowl was made from Cascade Pastaza.

All bowls were knitted with one strand of yarn on 45 stitches using size US 11 needles except for the brown one which was knitted on size US 10 1/2.

Hats, Hats...and More Hats

This weekend was spent knitting hats. They are so quick to finish, I find it hard to stop once I get started. These black and gold hats are for The Preemie Project's Hawkeye donation. All are sized to fit a baby weighing 6-8 pounds and knitted with Caron Simply Soft worsted weight using US 7 dpns. I'll make booties to match later.

The hat on the left was inspired by a picture of one Mariella made called Violet Seed from Hip Knit Hats: 40 Fabulous Designs. I didn't have that book so I just "winged" it. The proportions didn't turn out the same, but it's still cute. The two hats in the middle are striped versions of this pattern and the pattern for the hat on the right can be found in the book, Knits From The Heart by Kristin Spurkland.

Here's a three color version of the Kristin Spurkland hat.

You can see the ribbed pattern better in this picture. It's different than any I've used before and I really like it. This hat was just barely off the needles before it was wrapped and given as part of a gift at a baby shower on Sunday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! Yarn used for this one was Lion Brand Cotton-Ease worsted weight. Needles were US 7 dpns. I changed the number of stitches cast on since I used a heavier yarn, but of course since I was in such a rush, I didn't take any notes.

Yarning in Utah

For those of you not familiar with the term yarning, let me explain. It simply means to shop for yarn. I'm not sure if yarn must actually be purchased, but every time I go yarning, I come home with a few skeins for the stash. And if John is with me, I come home with more yarn than if I go by myself. He was with me this time...

Black Sheep Wool Co.

Here I am outside the store before any yarn was purchased. This shop has become a regular stop on my trips to Salt Lake City, since it is very close to where we usually stay. I believe the owners are beginning to think I live in town. I always find something good here. This time I found some lovely sock yarn I had never seen before--Sunbeam St. Ives (80% Wool, 20% Nylon, Machine Washable). I was told that Nancy Bush has been using this for her socks lately. Looks like good stuff. I had a hard time deciding on what color to buy, so I came home with several. Good thing it's reasonably priced.


The Needlepoint Joint
This shop is located in Ogden, Utah. I had never been to it before and judging from the name, I was afraid it might not have much for knitters. Boy, was I wrong! This store has everything. I was so involved in yarning, that I totally forgot to take pictures, which is a shame because the shop is located on Historic 25th St.--a beautiful location.

When I go yarning out of town, I try to buy something unusual or least something my LYS doesn't carry. I came across a brand of yarn in this store called Cestari. It's manufactured in Churchville, Virginia and is described on the label as AN ALL NATURAL, VERY UNIQUE YARN. How could I pass that up? I bought the 75% cotton, 25% wool blend in a 3 ply D.K. This yarn comes in other weights and blends including 100% wool. Other purchases included a vest pattern (probably for this yarn) and a small sock darner to add to my collection.

There was a display of knitted pumpkins in the back of the store. These were the best I've ever seen. Some were felted and some were not. There must have been over 20 pumpkins, no two alike. All were variations of three different patterns, which the shop gives out for free. I came home with the patterns, but I wish I had taken pictures so I could remember all the different ways they were made. Well, I guess I have an excuse to go back now...not that I needed one.

Back Home

Just returned from Salt Lake City. And though our reason for going there was to attend a funeral, we still found time to enjoy the beauty of Utah. Drove to Silver Lake Tuesday evening to escape the heat of the Valley.

The temperature was about 20 degrees cooler here. It was just what we needed. The air was refreshing and smelled like fir trees. It's a smell that reminds me of Christmas.


There were many people here this time of day. Lots of families hiking the easy trail around the lake or fishing. John didn't bring his fishing tackle on this trip and I know it was torture for him to see the fish literally jumping out of the water to catch a bug for dinner.


The Trekking sock is coming along nicely. I only hope I'll have enough yarn to finish it. It's hard to tell right now.

On Wednesday evening we drove through Emigration Canyon and enjoyed the beautiful sights there.




Yarn shops were visited on this trip too, but I'll save that for later.

Knitted Soap Socks

I'm heading out the door in just a little bit for a very brief trip to Salt Lake City. Before I go I want to show you two more soap socks I knitted recently.

I really love making these and giving them as gifts. This pattern, Fish Net Soap Sock, is from a small collection designed by Barbara Scoville and published by The Heirloom Knitter in a small pamphlet style book called Heavenly Cotton Soap Socks...and More. It includes four patterns for soap socks and two patterns for french hand mitts. I found it at Black Sheep Wool Co. which is coincidentally in Salt Lake City. Hopefully I'll have time to stop by on this trip and maybe buy another book or two. I always find something interesting in this shop and it's very close to our hotel.