R&R Hoodie

R&R Hoodie

$5

The classically cool hoodie - A wardrobe staple for both men, women and babies alike! I designed this hoodie for Rowan, with the quintessential kangaroo pockets, zipper and hood, and it has become one of his most worn handknits because it just seems to always be appropriate. The hood fits snugly over the head (and stays on!) so it doubles as a hat on cooler days. Don’t let the zipper scare you off! Though it takes a bit more effort during installation, it more than makes up for it in ease of use.

This hoodie is the very first thing that I knit for our Rowan. I knit a whole bunch for him before he was born, but they were all for "the baby". After Rowan was born and the dust settled a bit I naturally wanted to design something special for him and when I asked Chris what that should be, he immediately said "a hoodie with a zipper and pockets". He didn't even have to think about it! So, mission accepted, I cast on for this simple little hoodie, worked my way through the body with the pockets no problem, the sleeves and the yoke were a piece of cake. I knew that I wanted to trim out the fronts with a really neat i-cord edging… all that was left to sort out was the hood. But oh man, that hood! My mom and I must have knit no less than a dozen prototype hoods between the two of us. I had gotten it into my thick skull that I really wanted a very specific type of hood. One that would fit snuggly, would stay on and wouldn't be too bulky. The design I came up with is sort of like the heel of a sock. It took forever to get it the way I wanted it, but it was so worth it because in my opinion it really is a very cool hood!

Rowan has a little cousin named Ross who was born only 2 weeks after him. I knit Ross his own little hoodie (R&R actually stands for Rowan & Ross!) and for Ross' version I experimented with adding a bit of colour and I love the results. The i-cord edging around the fronts really is the perfect spot for adding a pop of contrast and why not play around with a different coloured zipper while you're at it? I'll be knitting a new hoodie for Rowan soon (he's just about outgrown his Lucky Penny hoodie!) and I'm thinking it'll be grey with a neon green zipper. Fun right? And if you like that scalloped colourwork pattern as much as I do (I used it on a Schoolboy Vest too!) you're in luck because I've got a free pattern coming out next week that features this motif, so you'll be able to apply it to all your Lucky Penny knits no problem. Stay tuned!

So lastly, we've got to talk about that zipper! I think that a lot of knitters (myself included) are a little apprehensive about sewing a zipper into their hand knits. But I'm here to tell you that it's really not that bad! It requires a little bit of careful positioning and pinning, some easy sewing and that's about it. The very first sweater I ever knit for Chris had a zipper, and though I'm not in any particular rush to hand sew a zipper into a man sized sweater any time soon, for a little sweater like this it was a piece of cake.  

So there you go! This concludes Lucky Penny Baby week! I hope that you enjoy these patterns and that you get a chance to knit them for the sweet little babies in your life. Tomorrow is Rowan's birthday. He will be 1 year old and I am excited and nostalgic and overwhelmed all at the same time.  

Lucky Penny Baby Collection

Lucky Penny Baby Collection!

$12

Well gang, I've been working on this collection of baby boy knits for over a year now. The first pattern I worked on was the Keyfit Baby Blanket, I blogged about it being almost complete last February, more than a month before Rowan was born! Rowan will be 1 whole year old next Friday (boohoo, don't mention it!) so it's fair to say that this collection has taken me longer to wrap up than it took to make a baby. 

Anyways, lets not dwell on that. It's out now and I love it! I guess the good thing about taking so long to get things organized is that I have had a full year to test out these designs with my own baby boy and I can now tell you, with total sincerity, that we have used and loved every single piece. This collection truly makes up Rowan's knit wardrobe staples. In my humble opinion as a mom, these are the classic, baby boy must haves. 

I probably don't have to mention this, but I'll point it out anyways just in case anyone is on the fence about it, but this collection would obviously be perfect for a baby girl's wardrobe as well. I'm all about the little boys these days, but that's because he's all I know! But don't let all my talk of little fella's trick you into thinking that your little lady couldn't rock everyone of these pieces. 

So, because I've spent an entire year fussing over these patterns I am going to give myself permission to stretch out the chatter about them for as long as possible! Haha. I mean one blog post would not be enough for me to get this out of my system. So today I'm just here to let you know that the collection is live and available for purchase, and next week I'll be back with all the details on each piece. Oh, and tons of baby photos, since next week is Rowan's birthday week. You've been warned!

Patterns are available individually, or sold together in the collection for a steal! 

R&R Hoodie

Schoolboy Vest

Frosted Alpine Hat

Keyfit Baby Blanket

Booties and Hats!

Here's our boy, all geared up for his first stroller walk. We just made a short trip around the block, but it was fun! Chris and I spent a lot of time walking around our neighbourhood waiting for Rowan to decide that it was time to join us. Having him here now to walk with us is certainly a treat. We've tried a few newborn hats in the past 5 days, and the best one by far is this Easy Peasy Newborn Sock hat.  This hat is awesome. I knit this hat to go with my Moss Sunnyside Baby Cardigan and he wore it when we came home from the hospital. It really stays on, has tons of stretch and is really cute. Knit up in Purple Label Cashmere it can't be beat!

Pattern: Oh! Baby Baby Booties by DoubleDiamondKnits

Yarn: TFA leftovers in Blue Label and Purple Label, plus a bit of BMFA (the multi's). 

Ravelry project page here. 

This isn't the first time I've hopped on the bootie train. There is just something about these adorable little socks (or are they baby shoes?) that get me hooked. Once I start I just can't stop. 

I knit the purple pair because I wanted something to match the “in case we have a girl” outfit. They were so cute I decided to knit the red pair (in cashmere!) because babies need cashmere too and because I have the perfect pair of black and white striped pants that need bright red booties to go with them. Then the multicoloured pair, because multi’s are fun. Then the seabreeze pair with the sand soles because most of my baby wardrobe is those shades and now we’re ready for any occasion! Huzzah!

You saw Rowan sporting his Seabreeze booties in his first picture on Sunday, they look adorable and are pretty great. Full disclosure... they don't stay on bare legs as well as I had hoped they would. However, with pants they stay on much better. That super soft baby skin is just too slick for the booties to really stay on well. He'll be wearing them regardless, I have all the patience in the world when it comes to those adorable little feet. 

Sproutlette Dress

It's no secret that I love a little knitted dress on a baby. I've knit a few for friends and family and even though we don't know whether we're expecting a baby girl or a baby boy I couldn't help but have visions of knit dresses floating around my head. After all, my baby's wardrobe can't be all yellow and ducks, I had to make a few special knits for my "in case we have a girl" pile. 

Sproutlette is a sweet, spring inspired baby dress with a squishy garter stitch yoke, a pretty leafy lace detail and a really fun scalloped eyelet edging. The keyhole opening in the back makes it easy to get on over baby's giant head and is also the perfect spot to use a signature button! 

Available in 3 baby sizes: 0-6 month (6-12 month, 12-24 months) this dress can be knit using your favourite skein of fingering weight yarn. The two smaller sizes require just under 420 yds and for the larger size you'll need a second skein (just over 500 yds). I knit the largest size myself and in order to squeeze it out of one skein I opted to shorten the length and make it more of a tunic, to be worn with leggings, which is a fun option too. 

Sproutlette Dress pattern page on Ravelry here. 

More details and yarns available on my website here. 

Guernsey Square

About a month ago I asked my mom if she needed any yarn from me, I try to keep her busy with a steady stream of TFA knitting projects. She said no, that she couldn't focus on a new knitting project until after the baby shower. When I got off the phone with her I called my sister and ranted away because my mom was getting too worked up and stressed out over the shower, it was a month away and she was so focused on it that she didn't have any time to knit! My sister pretended to agree with me that mom was crazy and we left it at that. Little did I know that she was working on two secret knitting projects for me the whole time! Sneaky, sneaky. She completely fooled me, which was tough for her I know because we usually spend a lot of time talking about all the fun, crafty projects we're working on. I'm sure that keeping these secrets was not easy for her. But the surprise was so worth it! I had no idea she had been working on these knits and they blow me away!

First up is the Guernsey Square Baby Blanket that she knit in TFA Red Label in the Natural colourway. This blanket was created by modifying Jared Flood's Guernsey Triangle pattern into a square! I'm going to bug her to put good notes on exactly how she did that on her Ravelry project page.  Stay tuned for that! The Guernsey Triangle pattern was first published as part of the 2012 Year In Colour Club and done up in Red Label it is stunning! 

I happen to have a stack of knit and crocheted baby blankets that I've made myself, actually, there is one other that my mom knit for me, I'll have to blog about that one soon too! That woman is too prolific, I can't keep up! But all of my other blankets are DK weight and are bright and colourful. This fingering weight, neutral, textural blanket is really something special. Something different for those occasions when baby needs an elegant blanket. 

The nursery is coming together beautifully. Since these photos were taken I've added a lamp, a few more books and a bit more organization. We are almost there!

Dove Petals

Ok gang, I think that this is officially the last FO I'll post from 2012, then we should be all up to speed and I can enter 2013 with the rest of the world!

Voila, Cascade by Raya Budrevich, knit in TFA Green Label Aran Weight yarn in the Dove colourway. This colourway is a perpetual favourite of mine and I really love it for this adorable pattern. The pattern is girly enough, the grey colour with shades of lavender and pink shining through adds a nice subtle touch. I think that the Green Label is probably the absolutely perfect base yarn for this pattern. The stitch definition is so crisp so those petals really pop out. 

I made a few mods to this pattern which I've done my best to detail on my Ravelry project page here. The original pattern is great, but in my opinion these simple mods take it over the top to perfect! 

Even though we don’t know wether we’re expecting a little girl or a little boy, I let myself indulge in this super sweet girly pattern to put in my “just in case it’s a girl” pile of knits. I’ve opted to make a larger size so if we don’t have a girl it will be the right size to gift to my niece Annika for her birthday! Win-win. I knit this sweater in one weekend, gotta love teeny, tiny aran weight knits. They just fly off the needles. 

I've had these buttons for a little while now, I picked them up thinking that they were sweet and would work well on a baby girl knit one day. I'm really pleased with how nicely they flow with the petals down the front of this cardigan.  

It seems as though every baby knit I make immediately becomes my new favourite, this one is no exception, it makes me giddy for all it's cuteness!

Sophisticated Striped Gramps

First things first... today is Chris' birthday!!! Yay! Happy birthday to the love of my life, TFA wouldn't work without you babe. 

Another baby sweater. I kinda got the baby sweater flu big time back in December and it took 3 fresh baby knits for me to shake it. I'm not fully convinced that I'll ever really get baby knits out of my system, but for now I've gotten to a place where I can at least sleep at night without waking up feeling the need to cast on for something wee and adorable. 

This sweater is a hybrid of the Gramps pattern (for the construction and proportions) but inspired by the Baby Sophisticate pattern (for the garter stitch edgings). Add to that a dash of rainbow stripes and this little cardigan is perfect. Following the instructions for the Gramps I knit a size 6-12 months, but I think that this sweater turned out kinda huge. I know a few 2-3 year olds who it would fit quite well. The sizing doesn't bother me at all though, I mean really, how big is a 6-12 month old anyway? It'll fit the baby eventually, that's all that matters to me. 

I knit this sweater using Green Label Sand as the main colour and leftovers from my Mitered Square Blanket for the stripes. I love it. The stripes turned out exactly how I wanted them to. 

Ravelry project page here. 

Golden Oak Cardigan

This sweater is beautiful. I'm not sure what more I can say about it. Ravelry project page here. Blog post done. 

Joking, there is always so much to say about knits, no matter how wee they are! I hadn't knit a new little something for my bun in the oven since I knit the Coolbreeze Baby Cardigan back in September. Now that most of my Christmas crafting is behind me, I was really excited to start a little something for the baby. Baby sweaters knit in Purple Label Cashmere Sock yarn are almost definitely my favourite. It is just so incredibly soft and snuggly, the thought of cuddling a baby swathed in this material is heavenly. I can't wait! 

The pattern is the Little Oak Cardigan by Alana Dakos, and really, it's a delight. I'll go ahead and repeat what everyone who's ever knit this pattern before me has to say about it: it's just the right amount of simple, bottom up, stockinette stitch. Then, right when you might get bored with it, it's time to work the very complicated cable section for the yoke. Before you can get too sick of the complex cables, you're done! Then all that's left is the button band, and I love button bands. So really, this knit is perfect. 

I really love my Gold colourway for baby knits. It's soft and warm without being too pastel or sweet. I happen to love a lot of colourways for baby knits (Pink Grapefruit, Seabreeze, Dove, Frost...) but Gold is definitely high on that list. As an interesting little coincidence, I ordered the fabric pictured above for my crib bedding while working on this cardigan. Isn't it neat how the two complement each other so well? 

WIP's that are almost FO's!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Our weekend was lovely, low key and just the way I like it. We didn't do anything monumental, but we were able to scratch a few more Christmas gifts off of our shopping/crafting list, make a tiny bit of progress on a few small projects going on around the house and I managed to get lots of knitting done. Perfect. No special FO posts yet, but I've got 3 projects that are so close to the finish line I can taste it!

These mitts are a second run at the new mitten pattern I'm working on (sneak peeked here). The pattern has been sent to the test knitter and I'm hoping to have it ready for you all very early in the new year. The bright Jewel cashmere lining on this pair is to die for! Cannot get enough of it. I should be finishing up the lining/blocking/pattern editing later on this week. 

Which brings me to my next almost FO... I lined 99% of these mitts with some leftover Purple Label in Gold that I had after completing this small project. I had to crack into a new skein for just a few yards at the tip of my mitt. I love knitting with Purple Label, and I love the Gold colourway, so I decided to let the happy Gold knitting continue and I cast on for an adorable little baby sweater. This bad boy has been blocked and is just missing the perfect buttons. The pattern is the Little Oak cardigan by Alana Dakos.

After finishing one little knit I immediately cast on for a second. This fella still needs to be blocked, buttoned and oh yeah, there are a few ends to weave in too! Full details to come. 

one tiny FO for one very special WIP!

I've finished knitting both the mama version and the baby version of this lovely sweater and I am very, VERY excited. I love my new sweater, but even more than that I love my mini-me version because it's for my own baby!!!

That's right, team TFA is growing by one member who will be joining us in April. Chris and I are over the moon about our expanding family and I am so thrilled to finally be sharing the news with you all! Honestly, ever since we found out we were expecting I've been looking forward to the day when I could share it with the blog. You guys are always so supportive, and telling you is like telling my big, happy, knitting family!  

I think that this is the first week that you can really see a little baby bump if look you hard enough. I can't wait to watch this baby grow!

This wee little sweater is hands down, without a doubt, the number one thing I've ever knit. I've knit lots of adorable baby sweaters, but this is the first one that I've knit especially for my own little angel. I will cherish it forever. 

Both patterns now available!

"Baby Keepers"

My mom has a big box in her basement marked "Baby Keepers". It's full of baby clothes. My family has a long tradition of hand-me-downs. A lot of our wardrobe as kids came from my older cousins, and then got passed on to our younger cousins. But some things, mostly handmade, were just too special for my mom to pass on, so instead she squirreled them away in a big box and now that her first grandchild is on the way (my brother's baby is due this July and we're all so excited!) it was time to go through the box and pick out some of the special keepsakes that will get passed on to him. 

Mom and I did that earlier this week. I recognized most of the adorable baby knits from seeing them in old photo's, or even remembering my sister wearing them. But I haven't really looked at them since I've become a knitter. I picked out a few of my faves to share with you today because I was so surprised to see that even though some of these things are over 30 years old, they're still totally hip. 

Most of these sweaters were knit by my grandmother, she tended towards simple shapes, embellished with either seed stitch or garter stitch, sometimes both. When she hit upon a pattern she liked, she stuck with it (hence the photo above featuring 4 sweaters with the same yoke motif!) 

I love them all! But then again, you know I love just about all wee baby knits. But obviously, knowing that Grammy stitched every stitch in these precious little sweaters makes them all the more special. 

It's show time!

As you read this Chris and I have piled all of our yarns into one very large rented econo-van and are driving down the 401. Next stop... Knitter's Frolic! So excited. We're bringing more than ever this year. The booth will be bursting at the seams with colourful yarn. Lilia and Mom will be there helping. With any luck Julie and her new baby(!!!) will be making an appearance. There is just so much to look forward to. I used to get really stressed around show time, but now that I'm used to the chaos I look forward to it all. 

The plan is for Chris do stay busy doing some live tweeting during the show, check us out on Twitter for to the minute Frolic excitement. 

So, for those of you going to the Frolic... see you on Saturday! And for those of you who can't make it, I leave you with this, the most adorable things in the entire world:

Say it with me now: Aaaaaaw!

Saartje's booties in some crazy leftover sock yarn. Amazing. Raveled. 

Handspun Garter Yoke Baby Sweater

Every time I finish a wee little baby sweater I block it, sew on the buttons and I think to myself: "This is it, this is the cutest little thing I've ever seen. I can't possibly knit anything any sweeter." But eventually I cast on for another little sweater and I end up feeling exactly the same way about it. This little guy is no exception. I'm gaga over it. The handspun paired with Frost DK. The contrasting colour bind off on all the hems. Those perfect buttons that look like they have glimmering drops of water on them. Sigh... it's almost too much. 

Knitting this sweater made me realize how much I love handspun yarn. It never disappoints. So full of texture and intrigue. I think I might carve out a bit of time this weekend to do some more spinning. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. I hope to spend mine spinning, knitting, cleaning out my garden and generally chillaxing.  

Pattern: Garter Yoke Baby Jacket by Jennifer Hoel.

Ravelry project page here. 

Baby sweaters are the new socks

I recently read this blog post by Jane Richmond about why she likes to knit socks. I couldn't agree more with everything she says. However, I'm fining that recently, knitting baby sweaters hits all the same targets for me as socks do. They can be small, portable, mindless, they don't really have to fit, they can be knit with just a single skein of yarn if you want. Best part is they are always adorable, no matter how simple the pattern. I'm currently working on a little number that has the added satisfaction of using up a very special skein of handspun yarn. I really do love spinning, but I treasure my handspun skeins so much that it can be really difficult to find a project worthy of one! I spun this skein way back in November 2009 and have been hoarding it ever since. I love the way it's working up so far. The pattern is the Garter Yoke Baby Cardi by Jennifer Hoel.

Of course, having said all that, I still have a pair of simple stockinette socks on the needles just in case.  

Sheep! and Oh Stella...

I've admired this Sheep Yoke Cardigan pattern for a while now and the other day, while routing around in my non-TFA stash I stumbled upon the perfect yarn for this project. I'm not sure why I initially bought this bag of Dale of Norway Falk yarn, but I have a few skeins of grey and several contrasting pastels, including blue, green and yellow, a perfect match for this pattern! It feels so good to use up stash yarn! My non-TFA stash isn't huge, I've given away most of what I don't love. My stash doesn't weigh on me very heavily (I know that some knitters have major stash anxiety! I get it, but I don't have it) nevertheless I'm still happy to put a few skeins of languishing yarn to good use. I have enough of all of these colours left to make a second cardigan, and I think that someday I just might. 

I used 2 strands of a mystery mohair yarn that I also found tucked away in the stash to knit the sheep, the extra fuzziness just makes me so happy! I rarely add embroidery to my knits, I have a vague recollection of having embroidered a stem onto an apple on a baby cardigan years ago... But after embroidering the faces and feet onto these sheep I'm a total convert. This sweater went from "oh, sweet" (above) to "OMG s h e e p !!! This is the cutest thing I've ever seen!" with the addition of the embroidery (below). 

This sweater is probably somewhere in the size 6 months range, I think I'm going to stash it away and save it for my brothers baby who is due in July and will be roughly the right size around Christmas. 

Remember this wee little number I knit last year?

It was a sample knit of my Sunnyside Baby Cardigan that I knit in the Moss colourway that has since been discontinued. Since I can't use it as a sample anymore I washed and re-blocked it, thinking that I'd probably give it to my brother (he's going to have one very well knitted-for baby!) After a soak I lay the sweater down in my office in front of the baseboard heater to dry, and of course of all places to park her behind Stella chose to sit squarely on top of the sweater to gaze out the window. Picture me walking into the room, seeing her sitting there and sighing: "Oh Stella..."