After going through a short period where I wanted to stab my eyeballs out with a pair of needles (really really sharp ones), I’m enjoying knitting again. I got inspired from the oasis needlepoint studios so I’ve built up quite a little stash of projects and patterns and have big plans for a whole holiday full of knitted gifts this Christmas. Making stuff is just so SATISFYING, even if the stuff is riddled with errors and the ends are done all wrong and it costs me twice as much to make on my own as just going to Target an buying a stupid sweater. But these are ONE OF A KIND and HOMEMADE and SOOPER SPESHUL so I don’t even care.

Want to see what 10 months of knitting experience looks like?

(Warning: lots of dorky knitting details ahead! Feel free to be bored to death or call me old and lame. I know.)

Green shrug

This is the first adult-sized article of clothing I’ve ever made. I had issues (the stab myself in the eye kind) with the lace pattern, but it turned out all I needed to do was take a chill pill and adapt my counting skillz. The yarn is Serendipity Tweed by the Brown Sheep Company (60% cotton/40% wool) purchased from my awesome friend Megan’s yarn store*, Mothers of Purl Yarns. The pattern is available for free online here.

A better view of the pattern & the shape – I swear I’ve worn this EVERY DAY since I finished it.

Baby Evan’s Toddler Sweater

I’ve had this pattern and this yarn since the week I started knitting, but my plans to start it were always undermined by not having the right needles or not having a button or not understanding how to pick up stitches. I finally got over it, used the needles I had and started, only to realize I was going to have to knit it in an actual big-kid size instead of the baby size, which ended up taking FOREVER, but it totally worth it due to cuteness.

I’m actually happy it’s big, so he can wear it longer. Also, I totally think he looks like a Jedi in the hood, which I think is super cool. Because I’m a dork.

The pattern is the Baby Tunic from Knitting Pure & Simple (and it was a GREAT pattern, everything was explained super well and was easy for even a novice to follow). I’m almost embarrassed to tell you the yarn is Caron Simply Soft Heather in Denim (100% acrylic). Cheap craft store yarn is the bane of “real” knitters everywhere, but whatevs, it’s for a kid and I wanted it to be a)inexpensive b)washable and c)indestructible. Acrylic FTW!

Gender Neutral Baby Sweater – made pre-girl parts revelation

I bought the yarn (Cascade 220, 100% wool) from Megan’s de-stashing basket (for $4, what a deal!) and the pattern is the Plymouth Yarn Co’s Top Down Baby Jacket.  I made the same pattern for my niece and loved it so much I wanted one for my own baby. I left it button-less on purpose, in case I needed to go with something boy-like. Now I think I’ll get a pink & brown ribbon to thread through the holes & just tie it closed.

Pink baby shrug

I had a ball of the Brown Sheep Tweed left over after I finished my grown up sweater, so I traded it in for the same yarn in pink to make my first official BABY GIRL item. I found the free pattern online from a blog called The Shizknit (BEST NAME EVER? I THINK SO) and it was so unbelievable easy I had it done in one evening + 1 nap time. I follow the directions for the smallest size but it ended up being sort of big. Baby Girl might get to wear it this spring and then again in the fall, which is actually awesome.

Gorgeous, no?

I bought this ball of yarn Wednesday night at my knitting group (Di’s Delectables, 50% wool/50% alpaca plus metallic thread) and cannot WAIT to make something out of it. I’m thinking a cowl or a scarf, because it’s only 150 yards, and the colors will be fantastic up near my face. Doesn’t it remind you of an opal? I’m going to need a REALLY gorgeous pin or buttons to finish it.

So there you go – all the stuff I’ve made in the past few weeks. Next up is Baby Girl’s teddy bear to match the one I made Baby Evan (And maybe one extra one, to be given to a lucky person yet t0 be determined. Perhaps a hand-made giveaway? Anyone?) and getting started on my Christmas gifts for all my luckiest friends and relatives. Just don’t expect socks. I hate socks.

*I seriously can’t say enough good things about Megan. Not only is she an amazing knitter, she patiently taught me everything I know, lets me and the baby hang out in her shop anytime we want and is a super friend. I don’t buy NEARLY enough yarn from her to justify spending so much of my time at Mothers of Purl and yet she never complains about my freeloading. Although if anyone ever wanted to get me the best gift ever they could call Megan and get me a gift certificate. I might love them forever and ever. AND EVER. ARE YOU READING THIS DARLING HUSBAND?

Disclaimer, just in case: None of these people have any idea I’m writing about or linking to them and I apologize if they stumble over here and discover how badly I butchered their beautiful patterns/yarn.  I spent huge amounts of my own money on this stuff, no freebies at all.

I don’t have enough to say about anything to make these individual posts (and really, you should thank me for not even TRYING to make any of the following blurbs into 500 word essays) so you get bullet points.

– Is it possible for a kid to drink too much orange juice? Baby Evan is OBSESSED with it, to the point I’m afraid his skin might turn orange. He ate a slice of the actual fruit yesterday so I might steer him in that direction, especially if there is a reason he shouldn’t drink 30 oz of (watered down, calcium added) juice in a day (besides the ridiculous amount of sugar). (EDITED TO ADD: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMGOOOOOOOD. I’m not going to tell you any more than that except I finally discovered something cloth diapers can’t contain and a VERY good reason to cut back OJ consumption.)

– The bridesmaid dress I am supposed to wear on September 5th is not going to fit on September 5th. It fit yesterday, with much pulling and sucking in, but I have officially reached the “popped” part of my pregnancy so my rib cage is getting bigger by the second. I have some material to alter it take it somewhere to be altered but with the way it’s constructed I don’t even know how they’re going to manage that. (p.s. It’s this dress, if you want to make suggestions)(p.p.s. Which is now ON SALE for for $65 less than I paid. I wonder if I can return the one I bought and buy a new one in a bigger size?)(Although it’s only available in one size larger than the size I currently have so I’ll probably still need to have it altered.)

– I’m still knitting and really enjoying it, or at least I was until I attempted to make something-adult sized and lost my everloving MIND. I’m still hoping to have my own version of this done in time to wear it to the bridal shower next weekend:
But I might stab out an eye with a knitting needle before I’m done. (Free pattern & picture from Classic Elite Yarns.) I think from now on I’ll stick to baby-sized items.

– Speaking of things to wear to the shower, I’m looking for a pretty, comfortable, CHEAP sleeveless dress (maternity or just roomy) that would match the above vest knitted in a nice shade of blue-green. And it does NOT have to be boob-accessible.  My next stop is Forever 21 but frankly that place gives me hives, despite their huge selection of trendy, reasonably priced dresses.

– Today is the last day to enter my Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag giveaway! In case you missed my edit the last time, I opened the contest up for Canadians – if you win I will mail you a bag personally. I have one more super-cute, eco-friendly giveaway coming up on Monday and then I’ll take a break on the review stuff for a while.

– Gender Important developmental and birth defect stuff ultrasound for Baby Sandy is on August 4th (LESS THAN 1 WEEK). First round priority text message goes to immediate family & people who might kill me if I didn’t tell them the boy/girl news first but mere seconds later I’ll be peer to peer texting it to the Bebehblog Facebook page/Twitter so some time around 2 pm you can check in if you’re curious. Giant post to follow, of course.

– I FINALLY switched hosts from a company I was less than happy with (see here and here) to the AMAZING AND WONDERFUL Twenty70 Hosting. Kelly has been infinitely patient in transferring everything for me and even managed to find my lost posts last week. Plus she’s charging me less than the old people (shhhh, don’t tell her or she might charge more). Please let me know if you have any delays or problems loading Bebehblog so I can pass them on to Twenty70 and they can fix them with their internet magic.

Phew. I think that’s all. What’s new with you?

–

My sister-in-law Meghan had her baby girl on Friday! Cadence Brooke was born at 2:39 PM weighing 7 lbs and 14 oz. She is the first girl grandbaby in our generation and I am so excited to finally have a niece. I’m also insanely jealous of the crazy number of adorable dresses, headbands and lacy socks I know Meghan has in her nursery. Girl clothes are just so much CUTER.

Since I am full of good intentions but terrible at execution, Cadence’s baby gift didn’t make it home to her family before she did, but should be there soon! Until then, just show Cadence these pictures of her new friend. Computer screens are cuddly, right?

Teddy Bear pattern by Debbie Bliss from the book Simply Baby

Knit with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmarino yarn - machine washable but still SUPER soft. I made and sewed on the little bow to make her special.

I hid the felt heart inside the bear before I stuffed it. If I was more talented I would have embroidered it but Sharpie on felt worked too.

Evan's (former zombie) Teddy sends his love with Cadence's teddy.

I’ve been thinking about taking orders for more bears from some local friends but I’m afraid my knitting skills aren’t really good enough to justify charging money. I guess I could sell them for just the cost of the yarn but the seaming takes SO MUCH time I would hate making them basically for free. I think I need a little more practice before I let my Etsy store dreams get out of hand.

Since learning my new skill back in October, I’ve become quite dedicated to knitting and am really enjoying this hobby. I’ve even managed to complete a few projects well enough to gift them to friends and family, although my pile of badly made baby hats is shamefully large. I just can’t bring myself to give away a project I messed up, and messing up is about 50% of knitting – it’s called “frogging” because when you rip out stitches you “rip-it rip-it”. It’s pretty much the cutest way ever of saying YOU SUCK AT KNITTING and should find an easier hobby.

Since about a zillion people I know are having babies, I bought a book of book of baby knitting patterns to get started on a few specific gifts. I also bought what I thought was enough yarn for three teddy bears in three different colors, one of which would be my practice bear for Baby Evan before I attempted one for REDACTED (Let’s just say someone who might read this). Unfortunately, between mistakes and my inability to judge how much of a tail I need to cast on, I ended up one ear short with my yarn. Then Baby Evan was so excited to play with his new toy he ran off with the snout piece and I cannot find in anywhere. So now I’m waiting for my yarn order before I can remake the nose, sew on the nose and ears, stuff the head, and attach it to the body. This is what the finished bear is SUPPOSED to look like:

ADORABLE! via Ravelry.com

And here’s what my bear currently looks like:

Skeptical cat is skeptical of Headless Zombie Bear.

Of course, since Baby Evan wouldn’t keep his hands of the pieces before they were even stuffed, he’s seeing nothing wrong with Headless Zombie Bear and has started dragging him around already.

Zombie Baby enjoys a snack of headless bear.

I’m tempted to just leave Headless Zombie Bear headless and zombie-fied. I think a headless bear lovie is hilarious and would like nothing better than to send Baby Evan off to his first sleep over with my sad, pathetic first try of a bear and have him explain to people no, it’s SUPPOSED to look like this. I could start a whole trend of creepy, headless stuffed animals. Or maybe that’s where serial killers come from and I should keep my dark sense of humor to myself.

p.s. LOVE THE NEW CAMERA. It makes my crowded room and giant pile of plastic baby toys look all soft and colorful. And I still don’t know what I’m doing. Also: no red eye on my Zombie Baby!

I am ridiculously proud of this scarf, especially considering I did about a million things wrong as far as “good” knitting goes. But hey, it will keep my neck warm so how wrong can it be?

Behold, the bebeh moddle, moddling my scarf: