Another Confection Baby Shrug

This was such a fun pattern to make that I couldn't help but knit another one last evening. This "Confection Baby Shrug" is such a cute, quick pattern and used a single skein of Jaeger Yarn's "Chamonix" in colorway 904 (a muted grayish purple). I really did enjoy knitting with the Chamonix and will buy more skeins of this yarn - it's a mix of angora, wool and nylon. The finished knit was thick and soft (I did knit the shrug on size US 6 needles which is a small needle for this bulky yarn but I like the thick knit it produced).For the back on this shrug I put in a panel of “King Charles Brocade”:
1st row (right side): P2, K2tog, (K1, yo)twice, K1, sl1, K1, psso, P2
2nd row and every alt row:K2, P7, K2
3rd row: P2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, sl1, k1, psso, p2
5th row: P2, k1, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, p2
7th row: P2, k2, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k2, p2
8th row: Same as 2nd row
I repeated these rows 4 times total.

A Quick Pic

I've always had a fascination with windmills. When I was a child I made my parents pull over to take pictures and look in awe at the various windmill fields in California. This week I came across this old charmer...

Free Online Pattern: "Confection Baby Shrug"

This is a cute, quick pattern that can be made up in a matter of 2 quick evenings. I am mailing out a baby shower gift this week and wanted to spruce up the purchased dress with something handmade. I browsed Ravelry and came across this free pattern from Tonya Wagner called "Confection Baby Shrug." She rates the shrug as "easy" and I have to agree. It's not a super beginner pattern since there are some increases and lots of stitches to pick up around the edge - but if you have knit almost anything before this pattern should be easy for you.
I chose to knit this shrug in Rowan Yarn's All Season Cotton in color #178 Organic (an off white) on US 5 needles. It took just a tad over 1 skein of yarn. I did shorten the arm length from 3 inches of stockinette stitch to 2 inches because I wanted it to be more like a 3/4 length sleeve for a summer baby. I also knitted the sleeves in the round since I hate any seaming and I am sure glad I did that. There is no reason why you would knit them flat and seam them unless you're not comfortable knitting in the round on double pointed needles. The only other changes I made was knitting a lace pattern down the back panel. The pattern is written as knitted in plain stockinette stitch the entire way. In the middle 9 stitches on the back panel I knit a panel of lace:
1st row (right side): K1, yo, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2, yo, k1
2nd row: Purl
3rd row: k2, yo, k1, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1, yo, k2
4th row: Purl
5th row: k3, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo k3
6th row: Purl
I repeated these rows a total of 5 times for the back panel (for the 3 month old size). The resulting lace panel I think is suitable for a baby girl or baby boy. It's an easy 6 row repeat and spruces up the shrug a little.
I hope you all go over to Tonya Wagner's blog called "The Shizknit" and check out her patterns!

Chunky Knit Cardigan

I finished a fun project this last week - the "Chunky Knit Cardigan" by Erica Knight published in the book "Simple Knits for Cherished Babies". I love this book! The patterns are classic, simple, straightforward patterns. I have made almost every pattern from this book numerous times in various different yarns. They are a pleasure to knit. OK, enough about the book, let's talk about the project! I knit in a single evening (ok... it was a slightly long evening!) this sweater out of my current favorite yarn (Mirasol Yarn's Cotanani). The Cotanani is a cotton and merino wool blend with lovely stitch definition and super soft. The colorways I chose were navy and burgundy (even though I would describe the colors as purple and purple-blue heather). I was even happier with my choice of Cotanani when I read about the Mirasol Project. Mirasol yarn is a Fairtrade yarn (the producers receive a fair price that covers sustainable production plus an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects) and a percentage of each sale of yarn goes directly to the Mirasol Project. Great yarn that is also helping people in Peru - how can you not love this yarn?The sweater was knit on size U.S. 7 needles. And I knit the sweater to pattern. I still haven't put buttons on the sweater yet (I haven't found some that I love yet). I did, however, knit the sleeves in the round and also attached the shoulders using 3-needle bind off to minimize any seaming (if you follow this blog you will know that the motto "the less seaming, the happier Sarah") All in all, kudos to Erica Knight for another great pattern.

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July! It's a beautiful day here in Michigan. Last night we celebrated the fourth with my parents and my sister and her fiancee at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village. The Greenfield Village is an 80-acre village that is a replica of the mid 19th century. There is a replica home of Thomas Edison's library and the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law in addition to many other interesting sites. It was a perfect backdrop for a patriotic celebration. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra played a concert while all 10,000 concert-goers sat on the lawn and enjoyed a picnic. Our family has been doing this for almost all 17 years that the concert has been taking place. This year we had homemade fried chicken (courtesy of my mother), Barefoot Contessa's panzanella, pesto pasta salad, fresh fruit salad, and a three berry pie for dessert. It was all delicious.
So we had a terrific Independence Day celebration and I'm wishing all of you a fun 4th of July as well!

Free Online Pattern: Better than Booties Baby Socks

Here is another pair of baby socks that is my favorite pair to knit for charity. You can knit a sock a night and I have the pattern memorized already! Really, if you're looking to do some charity knitting or looking for a baby sock pattern check this one out! This time I did the decorative top edging but I decided that I would focus on the beautiful Panda Silk yarn by Crystal Palace Yarns and I knit the socks in plain stockinette stitch. They turned out beautiful I have to admit!
I also used up a left over skein of "who-knows-what" and made another pair. Take a peek...

My First Quilt

I've been taking a monthly sewing class at a local quilt shop for the past several months. It's been enjoyable to see all the other ladies handiwork and think about how wonderful it would be if I could be as talented in the sewing department as they are. This last month I set my reservations aside and decided to jump feet first in quilting and bought fabric for my very first attempt at a quilt. It calls for 20 fat quarters! And man was it hard to find 20 fabrics that I liked that all went together. I felt like I was buying out the whole quilt shop!
But here is my stack of fabrics...
I'm really excited about this project. With the expert guidance of my mother (an extremely talented quilter) I'm sure this will turn out beautiful. Cross your fingers (and toes) for me!!