Ladybugs

First, I need to apologize for my last post if I gave the impression that I was going to permanently stop posting bib and cloth patterns.  I only meant that I was moving on to other things temporarily.  Apparently, this caused some confusion judging by the number of comments and personal emails I received.  I'm flattered to hear from so many of you, but I'm sorry if I scared you into commenting!

I'm still working on the t-shirt pattern.  I've knit a couple more, including this variation with a butterfly and an eyelet trim:

Check out the cute button:

I also did a plain version with a ladybug:















It's hard to see in this picture and I'm not as thrilled with it as I hoped I would be.

Both were knitted with Universal Yarn Cotton Supreme.  This is a worsted weight and may just be the softest yarn I've ever felt!  It's 100% cotton and is put up in 180 yard skeins.  It's wonderful to work with and each shirt only took one skein.  I didn't have a lot to spare when I was done, but I didn't feel like I was cutting it close either! 

I was inspired to make a ladybug soaker to match.

I found the pattern on Ravelry here.  It was so much fun to knit. Sandra has so many cute patterns and I can't wait to try a few more!


You only use two colors at a time.  I used Cascade Sport 220 which might not have been the best choice for a soaker.  However, because the yarn is stranded, it adds an extra layer to make up for the lighter weight.  When I reached the crotch, I needed to keep the thickness so I used the same method I do for the heels of socks.  First row is "slip 1, k1, etc" and the next row is purled.  I was pleased with the results and it's just a fluke that the butterfly shirt also matches the soaker!

As for the shirt pattern, I'm still trying to work out the kinks.  I can already tell that it needs to be longer, however, before I go any further, I need to have Baby Ruth (or "Babe Ruth" as she's known in our family) try it on.  It might be important to have a shirt that actually fits, don't you think?? 

Finally, I want to address a question that Ally left me in the comments.  She said she was having a problem with her I-cords looking neat.  I  have a couple of suggestions.  First, after you're done knitting them, give them a couple of good hard tugs.  Also you can do what I do and pin each end to an ironing board and stretch them out, then give them a good steaming.  Don't let the iron touch the fabric, but hold it above it and really hit it with steam.  This is also how I block my bibs.  Of course, you could always try using my crochet method.  Crocheting the ties is pretty easy and so fast.  I will admit that you almost always have to steam them with this method.  They look like curly fries otherwise.  Hope this helps!

T-shirts!

Well, judging from the underwhelming response to my last two patterns, I guess I should just move onto something else.  Like baby t-shirts.  I searched for a pattern that would match up with the one I had in my mind, but nothing really came close.  As is the case for most of the things I do, I decided that the only way to get what I wanted was to do it myself! 

I hate sewing seams, so I knew I wanted a top down shirt, but I also wanted to be able to slip it off and on easily over baby's head.  This would require a placket.

Of course, I had to add a little design to the front.

And to the bottom:

I think it came out really cute.  You start at the neck and work back and forth, while also working the design on the front until the placket is deep enough, and then it's worked in the round until the depth of the armholes is reached.  You then slip the sleeve stitches onto waste yarn to work later and knit to the bottom.  I wanted small sleeves, so when I picked up the stitches, I just did the tiny ribbing at the edge to finish them off.  It was really simple.  The tricky part was figuring out how many stitches to cast on in the first place.  I was trying to avoid a Flashdance look!

I have tons of ideas for other designs, but one that popped into my head was this lacy one:

I love this version!  The lace will make it nice and cool on a summer day!  It's not completely finished as I haven't found the right button for it yet.  I finished the placket off by just single crocheting around the edge and making a buttonhole at the same time.  I thought it made more sense to finish it once I knew how big the button was.  I didn't want to have a loop that wouldn't stay on the button or one that wouldn't fit over a button!







The peach version has fewer stitches around the neck so it isn't as floppy.  I can see lots of things I'd like to improve upon.  Both versions are knit with cotton.  The aqua shirt is made from leftover yarn from the blanket.  (Jeannee by Plymouth).  The peach is Aslan Trends Pima Clasico.  It's supposed to be machine washable, but I haven't put it to the test yet!

I'm contemplating trying to write up the pattern, in case anyone else might be interested, however, I've never written a "sweater" pattern before so I'm not sure if I'd be any good at it.  I know what I did, but can I explain it well enough so you'd know too?  I can see that it would be fairly easy to adjust the size up or down, but if I decide to do it, I think I'll just stick with one size.  I've learned that I can't please everyone!




Hablas espanol?

No.  I don't speak Spanish* despite taking it in college.  (College was a long time ago!)  However, if you do speak Spanish, then you might be interested to know that a very nice knitter from Spain asked me for permission to translate my patterns.  There's a Spanish group called "Nuevos Baberos" which can be accessed here.  They have already translated the heartbeat bib:

This is one of my favorite designs so I'm happy that they chose this as their first bib.  The direct link for the pattern is here.  I'm not sure if they've done any others, because I don't speak Spanish and I have no idea what they're saying.  Hopefully, if they're talking about me, they're being nice!

(*Yes, I do know that I need an upside down question mark in front of Hablas, but neither my keyboard nor Blogger will let me insert it!)

A Tail of Two Bunnies

Every year I always try and post a brand new pattern on the anniversary of my blog.  That was my intention this year also, except that I completely missed the date!  I thought it was the last day of April but it turns out that it was April 1st instead.  Well, so much for that idea!  To make up for my poor memory, I decided to post two patterns for you!

This is "A Tail of Two Bunnies".  When I was designing Ruthie's blanket, I wanted to add a bunny to the mix.  At first, I designed the bunny with the tail and was pretty happy with it, until I realized that almost all of the other designs in the blanket were head shots. The bunny with a tail stuck out (to me anyway) and so I went back to the drawing board and drew just the bunny's head.

I couldn't decide which one to post, so I just decided to do both and, since this is basically the same bunny, I combined the two into one pattern.

I want to thank my good friend, Denise, for helping me out.  She did a knitting marathon of both designs so I could post these as quickly as I have.  With her permission, here are her bunnies:

Didn't she do a fabulous job?  Then again, she always does a fabulous job, both with the knitting and with catching my typos!  I'm so lucky to have her helping me out!

You can get the pdf file by clicking the links in the side bar, or by clicking here for the bib patterns or by clicking here for the cloth patterns.

I wish I knew how to post a poll, so I could see which design is your favorite. You'll have to leave me a comment with your pick!

Finally, you might be interested to know that my original post was April 1, 2008.  Four years ago!  It just doesn't seem possible.  I'm so grateful to all of my followers and to all of you kind enough to leave me your comments.