Waldorf Doll In Progress

Ok, so I felt bad after posting that I might not get to the Peanut's xmas doll. I ordered him a rocking horse as his big gift, but I am now doubting it will get to me in time. (Long story.) Anyway, this was my other main gift I had planned and that would be pretty lame if I flaked out on that one too!

I snapped this pic Saturday night. Not bad for one day's progress, right?

He now has hair but needs a hair cut.... latching that hair in took FOR-EV-ER! This week I'll be adding on his arms and making him an outfit.

Doll Kit from Dancing Rain Dolls

WIP

I have another baby gifty in the works. I'll tell you this, it's a plushy and it's for my friend's new lil man. I'm going up to hang out with them on Thursday so I hope to have it done by then.
For the first time I am using cotton yarn to make a plush. I hope that the fibers don't relax too much and make the toy too floppy. I usually use acrylic, like RH Soft, for plush. But I figured cotton would be soft on lil gums if he wanted to chew on it and it would get softer with washing and wear. Besides, cotton just seems more... babyish?

a return to hooking

After a couple months away from my beloved yarn, I am finally picking up a hook again.
I only planned on taking August off, but here it is October already. Gotta keep going with these Christmas blankets if I'm going to finish them on time! I'm going retro with Bro#2's zig-zag afghan. Here's a sneak peak.

If only I could nurse and hook at the same time...

Projects for September

Hello there! Another post with lack of knit/crochet content.
My sweet baby is of the extra fussy sort. (What qualifies as colic?) So, I am totally wrecked from lack of sleep and am in desperate need of some sort of schedule. But of course he is completely adorable and I am completely in love! It's just taking the physical toll everyone warns you about. This month I want to work on getting things somewhat in order and giving myself some fun projects to do.

Project List for September:
*KoolAid dye some yarn
*Make Tickle Turdle crochet diaper wrap
*Finally finish the legs on that knit NB soaker I started months ago
*Start/Complete bro #1 christmas afghan
*Tie-dye Onesies to sell
*Last of baby gift returns
*Start next book club book, A Prayer for Owen Meany

awww-yeah

I made so much progress on bro #3's afghan that I need to go get more yarn! I about 2/3 of the way through the main part and then I have to do a border. I might even get to start another x-mas blanket before the end of the month. I'll probably finish that NB Soaker today too. So productive!

I'm back!

A friend had a new baby a couple of weeks ago. Inspired to make her a gift, I dug into my stash and started out Sunday. I'm about 70% done. Here is a preview.

New WIP

Here is my progress thus far on the "5-hour" sweater. Um, I've probably spent about 5 hours already and just finished the yoke/neck. I tried to start by making a hood, but that was too confusing. So I just went back the original pattern. Oh well, I guess that is my learning curve. I'm making it a nice heather grey with a few ivory stripes at the end. That will be cute with jeans. Ooh, and I really want to buy baby chuck taylors! I think I'll have to wait a bit on those.
Like how I used funky paperclips as stitch markers?

Knitting ADD

Ok, so instead of working on said UFO's, I started a diaper cover using my kool-aid yarn. This is my first time knitting in the round.
Note to Self: When the pattern calls for 16" circular needles, 27" may NOT be subsituted.
I tried to make it work, but it was taking a super long time to feed the extra cord through, etc. Off to AC Moore again today to get the correct size and I'm moving right along. Doesn't the yarn look all cool and stripey in this pattern? Fun stuff.

Nesting?

Ok, I don't know if it can be considered nesting when it has nothing to do with getting ready for baby. But I suddently had this desire to organize my stash/sewing/guest room yesterday. I think it was all the time I spent checking out other knit/crochet blogs Saturday. Anyway, I wanted to find all of my WIPs, works-in-progress, or are they UFOs?, unfinished objects, that are stashed about so that I could actually complete some of them.

Oliver surveys the chaos:

Oliver tries to escape the camera:


In the end I unearthed the following UFOs
1) bibs that still need buttons
2) lamb stuffed toy
3) baby blanket to sell, about 90% finished
4) extra yarn for the un-christmas scarf, but where is the scarf?
5) random failed scarf designs
6) a couple unfinished envelope bags
7) an unfinished diaper wrap that I didn't like... so I unraveled it... (it won't let me post a pic, I'll try another post)

The Un-Christmas Scarf

Ok, so I started this scarf with the good intentions of giving it to my hubby for Christmas. Since this is not a 2-hour scarf, I did not complete it in time and now have lost a bit of interest (as usual).



It is knit holding two strands of Cashmere Luxury Aran (45% Merino, 49% Microfiber, 6% Cashmere) on size 11 (US) needles. The color is closer to the first pic. The close-up looks washed out for some reason.
The pattern is row 1: knit 3, purl 1 row 2: knit all the way across. It makes this cool, knobby texture. It is a pattern I adapted from the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.

I miss bulky

So I have been stuck on the same project for awhile now. I finished the burgundy shawl and am on to a pretty aqua one. (The burgundy one took less than a week, probably like 4 hours of actual work.) However, this yarn is actually a normal worsted weight and it is taking me forever to get any distance on it. I got so used to the bulkier yarns or holding two strands at once, that I forgot how much slower it is with worsted. On the other hand, it looks really intricate and pretty, but it really is all double crochets.
For the pattern go to http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/cms-rippleshawl.html

I'm making mine with Red Heart "Soft Yarn" in Turquoise because it is much cheaper than the LB Microspun and it has a nice subtle sheen to it. I am still working on the first skein, so I'm guessing it will take about three to get it to the length I want it.