FO : Baby ruched cardigan

After a very good trip to Cuba (which I will talk about in a couple of days) I way up to some knitting time. I choose to knit a pattern I bought for my baby, whose is already 9 months olds !!! I make it just in time because it fit her, ok it's still big enough but we always need layers for a baby.

No more chat just look at the spec

Pattern : Baby Ruched Cardigan by Terri Kruse

Yarn : Knit Picks Stroll Tonal 370 yards in color Queen Anne (about 80% of a skein)

Needle : 3.5mm and 3.75mm circular needle

Size : 2T

Mods : I didn't increase on the row 11 as written and I just knit forward. My final cardigan is a big 18 months or a small 2yo size. Also I did not add any closure of button and prefered to let it open

I really really love the yarn I used and I already have it in mind for my next order to Knit Picks ! It's so soft and I like the smell if it too. Maybe I can plan a sweater for me with it...but just after my Thermal that I going to dig out of hibernation soon.

I am very happy with the result and even more because my daughter say "da!" when I made her to try it which mean something like "yes" to her. Knit from stash and more I knit the pattern I had in mind when I bought yarn ! Wow I'm getting better to this...

A quick knit to knit my mojo back

Yes again I leaved you for a very long time, I don't know what I have with Spring time but I never have time to blog frequently. I have to say that I have a LOT going in my personal life a little topo would be :

- Final exams at the university on April 21st
- We are going to Cuba on April 23rd and getting married out there :)
- Our condo is on sale
- So you imagine we bought a new home we are moving into this summer
- I'm going back to work on May 16th...unfortunately

and I have to run after my daughter now that she's crawling around and climbing on every piece of furniture low enough for her to grab !

Plus I lost my knitting mojo after hitting a wall with my latest project I was doing in March, a cardigan for me that turns to be too big and I was disgusted to find out only after I did the whole body and a sleeve...

Tuesday I was browsing on Ravelry and I found my mojo back when I saw the pattern of Celestine Sox, I had to make it right away !

So here are my knitting results :

Pattern : Celestine Sox by Berroco Design Team
Needle : 2.75mm
Yarn : Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in color Gypsy Rose about 192 yards

I did no mods out of stuffing it also with a plastic bag to make noise when my daughter grab it and a bell inside for more fun. So far I don't know who have more fun my man or my baby girl... :)

PS... I only used material that I already had at home !

FO : the rebirth of a UFO

Yay !

I pick up a old UFO (cast on July 5th 2010 during my nesting time) and kick myself to actually finish it ! It wasn't that hard after all and didn't took so much time. Sometime we only need a little push to work on a UFO and mine was that the size of the dress is a 12 months and it will fit Florence very soon.So had to finish it soon to be able to dress her with my knit...

Here are the specs and notes :

Pattern :  04 - Cardigan, Robe et Chausson by Bergère de France (from the magazine Tricot baby)

Needle : 3.5mm and 3mm

Yarn : approx. 400 yards of the violet yarn (unknown yarn bought from Wal-Mart in clearance section) for the cache-coeur and approx. 412 yards of the white (bernat  baby sport solid).

Notes: the pattern is the first french pattern I ever used in my knitting life... even if it's my mother tongue I hate how the pattern are written in french. It seems clearer in english and easier to read too. And my other concern about this particular pattern is that it involved a lot of seaming (they don't know about seamless knitting in France ?) and also way too much finishing (embroidery, seaming, grafting, etc) endless !!! That's why this project was a UFO since last July. I decided to go simple and abandon embroidery, bottom seam and the buttons for the cache-coeur. It took me less than 3 hours to finish everything.

Important : the strap for the dress are very short and I make 1,5 inches longer on the back. The booties are cute but unusable. They don't stay on feet and they are too short. And another important thing is that you don't need to seam the dress too high to let your baby move the way she like!

Finally I am happy to be done with this project and happy to be done in time to be able to put it on Florence and enjoy her wearing it !

FO : one day project...

Yesterday my day was filled with helping out my daughter to try move forward (still not done) and knitting while she was sleeping. The best part is that I used up every little bit of yarn left from the 2 bubble cardigans I made for the girls and the pattern was free ! :-)

Ok let's talk about my new project :

Pattern : Leafy Accordion Hat by Charlotte Bouchet (avalaible both in english and in french)

Needle : 3mm

Yarn : Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport all every yarn left from both cardi.

Notes : since I ran out of the main color (malted milk) before having completed enough ridge I only used up the leftovers of the other color to continue in simple stockinette stitch.

The pattern is very stretchy and it may fit over my head if it was longer ! Good to know if I ever want to make another one. I was worried because I used smaller needle but I wanted to have the same size of stitches than the cardi. I am very pleased with how it turned out and ever more because Florence decided that she like it and wanted to keep it on her head (for now...)

FO : Little Bubbles for Florence

Yay another FO and this time I took pictures right away... good me

Second time I knit this pattern and with the same kit I only switch colors to fit my leftovers. I have barely 30 cm left of the purple and almost nothing of the green yarn too ! Yay 2 points for using leftovers :-)
 
So here are the spec of my brand new FO who made it the same day to the blog...

Pattern : Little Bubbles Baby Set Pattern by Nina Isaacson (unfortunatly no longer sold as a pattern alone or a kit, it's now part of a ebook on Knit Picks website)

Yarn : Knit Picks Simply cotton sport in haze heather, camel heather, malted milk, green tea heather, duchess heather.



Needle : 3mm circular

Notes : I really enjoyed knitting it for the second time. Since the pattern is made very small I decide to go for the biggest size but with some addition here and then to lenghten and widen it a bit to fit a real 12 months size. And compare to other clothes in my daughter closet is closer to a 18 t-shirt in popular brands. So she have a little room to grow in it.


First for the body I made one more bubble pattern at the shoulder. Then 17 rows of green, 12 rows x 3 of one row stripes, 6 knit rows and cast off. I pick up 70 sts at each side and k for 6 rows, for the button row (at the 3rd row) : k4, yo, k2tog, k8 repeat 6 more times and k4.

For the sleeve : pick 7 sts under the arm on each side instead of 5 (making the kimono sleeves). K for 7 rows, decrease row on row 8 (k1, k2tog, k til 3 sts before the end, ssk, k) and on row 16. k one more row (17 total). Then one row stipe 12 of each color combo. k 1 row in purple, p 1 row repeat 3 times and bind off all sts.

I highly recommand to weave in ends a few times while knitting this if you don’t wanna be frustrated at the end of it… :-)

Busy busy...

Life is full of activities, baby entertaining, knitting and school... pfff and I wonder why I don't have time to blog these days! I have 7 FO to show in the next few weeks, including 2 free patterns coming and tomorrow the FO about the latest test knit for Lily Kate from Joli House blog will be online and you will see the result of my hard work on this cute bag of her : Latrigg.

Here a little preview picture for you to enjoy...

My daughter is now 6 months and after 3 full weeks of saying «maman» all the time now she learns «papa» (dad) and say it all day long, keeping the mama calling when she's crying... :P She's so funny.

Bubbles again

I am knitting a Little Bubbles cardigan for Florence with the leftovers of the one I knitted for my niece Rosalie (2 points stash busting + using leftovers). I am only the color in a different order to make it look completely different from the first one. I hope to be done soon to be sure it will fit her... if you remember the size 6-12 was barely fitting her at 4 months and a half, now at almost 6 months I hope that the bigger size (12-24 months) will be just right for her.

I am already in the fourth of fifth bubble row when you read this so quick knit and this time I remember to weave in end not only at the end of the project.

Just need to shop for cute button... they don't count as stash huh?

Happy Birthday to me !

Yeah today it's my birthday and I wish to myself a lot of yarn and knitting time and also a healthy baby for all the year of my 27...I already had my birthday gift from her on January 2nd she said "Maman" for the very first time !!! I love her so much.

She already enjoy wearing handknit cardigan !! How lucky I am !

A new WIP ...

Back in France, I went to Bergere de France a few time (once a week to be exact...) and bought a cute little story book with 8 personages in it who take action. The best part you must have guess well : they are knitted !!! So I went a bit crazy and bought the whole thing to make all the dolls and I just begun the first one between Christmas and New Year holidays.

My first doll is Alice, a little pink princess, she is so cute and I truly enjoy knitting her. My plan is to make them all for my daughter first birthday on August 7Th. Yes she will be 5 months old on Friday ! My god, where times goes ?

Here a little preview of Alice

For those who want the same the book title is : Doudous au pays des merveilles.

FO : Little bubles cardigan for Rosalie

Last September, on the 17Th to be exact I became an aunt for the second time of a charming little girl named Rosalie. This little one is the second child of my brother and they have everything for her. So it was pretty difficult to find an idea of gift for her birth. I am a bit late with my post and gift too but I manage to knit an adorable little cardigan for her.

I choose from Knit picks in sale the Little Bubbles set in purple, it was under 10$ when I got it, just perfect ! I quickly cast on for the cardigan itself but since I did it just before we left for France,I didn't bring it so it slept in my knitting bag for about 5 weeks and at the beginning of December, I finally went around and finish it in a breeze. Super cute and adorable, but TONS of ends to weave in which is a bit annoying to me.

Here are the complete specs :

Pattern : Little Bubbles Baby Set Pattern by Nina Isaacson (available on Knit Picks website)

Yarn : Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport

Needle : 3mm

Here it is modeled by Florence

I adore the buttons my mother found for the cardigan ! Rosalie is much smaller than Florence (she was born 40 days later) so it fit her just perfectly, I am very proud ! The 6-12 months size is barely a 6 months in regular clothing size, so be aware of it if you plan to knit this. I will try to see how much yarn I have left and maybe do the cardigan or the hat for Florence. Just repeat to myself weave in end often during the process to avoid procrastination at the end in finishing ! :)

Already 46 days for my little princess

Hello !!! Already 46 days since I gave birth to my lovely princess... the time goes so fast since she's in my life ! ...and it's wonderful. She kept me busy and away from my knitting but I do enjoy taking care of her so much that I don't mind. She's a very calm baby and as you can see she's now smiling for about 10 days !!! This is the mommy's and daddy' paycheck for rough moment don't you think ?

I just begun knitting again yesterday so I will be posting more again ...

FO : Tri-Peak hat

Yes I actually had time to knit since I gave birth to my daughter... awesome ! :)

Let be honnest, she was sleeping on me and that was only stockinette but I am still very happy to be able to knit a bit, let's see the specs.

with my proud father

Pattern : Baby Tri-Peak Hat by Woolly Wormhead

Needle : 4.5 mm

Yarn : Lana Grossa Teddy print in a lovely varigated color (received in my last swap box) about half a skein (80 yards)

Cast on August 15th and cast off August 17th

Super cute and neat project, perfect to keep a small baby warm outside or inside. the yarn is very very soft and I really enjoy knitting with. I still have about 1.5 skein so I will find another cute project for baby Florence to match, maybe a cardigan ?

with great-grand-mother

Welcome to the world Florence

It's been a little time since I posted here, you may excuse me when I present you my newborn daughter : Florence...

She was born on August 7th at 16h05, weight 8 pounds and 52 cm.

Sneak peek on a wip

A little preview of my current project...

FO : Baby stroller blanket

Yes I finally finish THE blanket for my daughter and I am very proud of it ! So I also decided to publish my pattern, not that it's so complicated but it may be useful for any knitter that what it and likes my work on this one. So here are the instructions for my first free pattern ever !!

Pattern : Stroller baby blanket by Sophie Bergeron

Needle : 3.5mm

Yarn : Bernat Baby Sport in white and popsicle blue about 150 gr of each color (478 yard of each color)

Pattern :

The blanket has been created to be perfect size for a stroller, a car seat or also to carry around in little hands. I choose acrylic yarn to be easy on care and mom budget too ! Contrast colors are also great for our kids eyes and are easy for them to focus on. Also with two different texture it will be a great exploration for the little hands as well.

The little story behind this blanket is that the day that my love, Nicolas, and I found out that we were having a little girl at the ultrasound, we bought the stroller in a turquoise color that we both love and then my boyfriend came back from the end of the row at Walmart with two huge balls of Bernat Sport Baby and his best smile asking if I can do something for our daughter to go in the stroller. So I cast on for a blanket without any other though and I finally made something from my mind completely.

Finished size is : 24 inches 1/2 by 24 inches 1/2

Squares instructions :

Using 3.5mm needles, CO 72 sts

Row 1 : k 36, place marker, k36

Row 2 : k 2 sts before marker, ssk, k2tog, k til the end of the row (70 sts)

Row 3 : k all sts

Repeat row 2 and 3, 2 more time (66 sts)

Attach contrast color

Stockinette section

Row 1 : p until 2 sts before marker p2tof, p2tog, p til the end of the row (64 sts)

Row 2 : k all sts

Repeat row 1 and 2, 3 times (58 sts)

Continue with main color

Garter section

Row 1 : k 2 sts before marker, ssk, k2tog, k til the end of the row (56 sts)

Row 2 : k all sts

Repeat row 1 and 2, 3 times (50 sts)

Repeat stockinette and garter section one after the other alternately until there are 10 sts left on needles. Using main color.

Row 1 : k3, ssk, k2tog, k3 (8 sts)

Row 2 : k

Row 3 : k2, ssk, k2tog, k2 (6 sts)

Row 4 : k

Row 5 : k1, ssk, k2tog, k1 (4 sts)

Row 6 : k

Row 7: ssk, k2tog (2 sts)

Row 8 : k2tog

Leave a long tail to sew squares together later on.

Using any color contrast you like, make 16 squares and sew them together. I begun with 4 bigger squares together and then I assemble the 4 big squares together and weave all ends in too.

You can add a liner to hide the wrong side, personally I will buy white polar fleece to add some comfort to the blanket and made it easy for me to wash it as often as needed... :)

Let me know if you do this little blanket for your own little kids !!!

Only thing left for me now...have my own bundle of joy and be super hot with my matching blanket and stroller ! Hip mama, watch out I'm coming !

FO : Pea Pod baby set

Yes finally got buttons and time to put them on too...

Specs of my new creation

Pattern : Pea Pod Baby Set by Kate Gilbert

Needle : 3.75 mm

Yarn : Cascade Yarns Eco + in kiwi green about 0.6 skein

Cast on November 28th 2009 and cast off May 4th 2010 (doh!)

Size : 6 months

Mods : none except using very cool buttons... :)

Pattern is very clever but once more I think than arms a little strange and makes a bulky seam to attach the arms too. Anyway I'll have my own model to play and make adjustements soon enough now...

FO : Flakey socks

Another quick FO in 2010, cast in and cast off on May 21st, perfect to work on my colorwork abilities and quick enough to make a pair in a few hours...

Here are the spec ...

Pattern : Flakey socks by annipurl

Needle : 4 mm

Yarn : leftovers of Cascade 200 from my own Tilted Duster and my daughter's jacket I recently made

Mods : none except using a bigger yarn and it makes me end with bigger socks, fitting a 2 or 3 years old I think... but that's ok she will grow soon enough anyway !

Can't wait to see her now... less than 9 weeks remaining before my due date.............................