My newest friend is dressed up and ready for ballet class! She was much more complicated than the sheepies or bunnies from prior years, but very satisfying. I won several Knitables patterns in a facebook giveaway, so she may have a bunny, panda, or fox friend to share clothes with some day!
I have never bought any Paintbox Yarn, but I have downloaded several of the free patterns designed for it. The Tropical Swing Tank looked like a perfect gift to make for a friend's baby who turned one year old today. It was fun to raid the yarn stash for three skeins that would work well together. The pattern was created by a British designer, but it had American terms in parentheses in case of confusion. The only one that was a surprise to me was "YRN", which looks like an abbreviation for YARN, but actually stands for "Yarn Round Needle" -- what we colonists generally call a yarn over or "YO" for short. This was a fun, easy project, and there is more yarn in the stash for the next first birthday party!
Red Heart sent a look book full of cute 18" doll clothing just when I was ready for a break from my very complicated fingering-weight white cardigan, so I raided the yarn stash and found some oddments to use. Abby loaned me Princess Petunia for a few days and was surprised to see her modeling a new outfit when she was ready to go home! Love My Doll was a fun pattern, especially the heart on the front of the sweater. I knit the messy bun hat in the round with double-pointed needles, which worked well and saved me a seam. The only problem with this outfit is that Abby thinks she needs a matching messy bun hat for her birthday, despite the fact that nobody wears hats in Texas! The baking ensemble is crocheted, but the stitches are simple enough that I didn't have any problems. The pattern has several more pieces, but Princess Petunia only needed these ones! The toque is just a little loose on her head, but it's very cute and works okay for playtime. The yarn I used (Caron Natura from a clearance order several years ago) is pretty stiff, so a more pliable yarn might work better.
The little doll clothes were so fun to make. . .maybe Princess Petunia will have more outfits to try soon! My sisters give great birthday gifts. One example of this is 60 Quick Baby Blankets. Shortly after receiving it, I looked at all the pictures inside with one of my adorable nieces, and she said her favorite item in it was the little lamb at the back of the book. So here is my very first attempt at knitting a sheepie. We'll call him Shaun. I still had plenty of black and white yarn and stuffing material, and thought maybe the adorable niece's younger brother would like a sheepie, so. . . . . .then there were two sheepies! Shortly after Shaun the Second arrived on the scene, the aforementioned adorable niece and nephew and their two older siblings came over to play. They announced that the sheepies' names were Shaun and Shauna, and that everyone needs a sheepie, so. . . . . .now we have a whole family of sheepies!
And they all lived happily ever after. The End Mathematics of The Great Christmas Sweater Project: 3 nieces + 3 nephews = 6 hand-knit sweaters Oatmeal-colored checkerboard for 8-month-old Seth. Basic Blue for Benjamin, age 19 months. Lavender for Abigail, age 3. "I like purple!!" Rainbows for Aviona, age 3. Big Brother Blue for Jonathan, age 6. Favorite Color Green for 8-year-old Emily. |
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