A Hat for Ruby

My brother has a new granddaughter, Ruby, and although she was born this past August, I couldn't decide what to make for her. I have lots and lots of patterns for little girls, but I never have an opportunity to actually make any of them. Usually, I'm pretty prompt with gifts too, but for some reason, I kept putting this one off. Now that I'm going to see my brother for Thanksgiving , I really had to come up with something fast! I decided on this sweet little hat. It's a free pattern that you can get here. I went back and forth trying to decide on the color and then decided to go with a bright red, or a "ruby" red, if you will. I used the Cascade 220 Superwash and U.S. Size 8 needles. It looks just like a little tomato.

It was so much fun to knit and fast. I did the whole thing in about two hours. The pattern calls for k2tog, but I read that someone said the leaves twirl better if you slip one, knit one and then pass the slipped stitch over, so that's what I did. I don't know if this is actually better than the written pattern, because the original is pretty darn cute too, but it worked beautifully, so I can recommend it.

Since the hat was so quick, I decided to do a pair of socks to go with it. I had the idea to try and incorporate the leaves in the toe of the sock, so after a couple of false starts I ended up with these:

I cast on 32 stitches on a U.S. 5. They are really tight and I think they'll be pretty cosy. I'm not so sure that the leaves really work, but they do look cute together. My first version had the colors reversed, but I decided that it looked too much like an olive!

I didn't even bother with a second one. This will probably end up as a cat toy, since one of my cats really has a thing for baby socks!

I'm pretty sure that the socks will fit, but I am a little uneasy about the hat. Babies heads are always so much larger than they look!

We are the Dinosaurs

My grandson, Jack, just turned 5 and for his birthday, his parents decided on a dinosaur theme, so what's a grandma to do, except knit something with a dinosaur on it! Jack loves orange and I just happened to have some in my stash. A few years ago, I made another sweater for him out of Plymouth's Stone Cotton, which has now been discontinued. I really liked this yarn. It washes well and because it has a little acrylic in it, it can go into the dryer as well without shrinking. When I found out they weren't making it anymore, I started buying it whenever I came across any, so not only did I have the orange, I also had a few other colors. This sweater was based on a pattern by eweCanknit. This is a great line of intarsia patterns which can be found here. The sweaters are so basic so I just used their measurements. This dinosaur is from an old Leisure Arts pamphlet that I found on the ebay. I was contemplating charting my own T-rex, but this one was perfect.

Jack has a little brother who just happens to wear the same size even though he's only 3. Micah was a big help, as he very patiently let me try Jack's sweater on him as I was progressing with it, to check for length, etc. It's only fitting that his patience should be rewarded with a sweater of his own. His favorite dinosaur is the anklyosaurus. Try finding a chart for that one! I had no choice but to chart it myself. If you've ever seen a picture of this dinosaur, he's truly homely. Very spikey. I used some purl stitches to try and make him a little bumpy. I'm not so sure he's as recognizable as the T-rex, but Micah knew him, so that's all that mattered!

Since both Jack and Micah were getting dinosaurs, I couldn't leave out the baby. Marty ended up with the stegosaurus. You might recognize him from the bib pattern. I just tweaked him a little bit to fit on the sweater. Because I wanted the sweater to be easy to get on and off, I put a placket in the back, just like the turtle sweater.

I found these little stegosaurus buttons which fit in with the dinosaur theme nicely. Don't you think?

Three cute sweaters all from the stash. If only they had actually made a dent in it. I still have some red, just enough to make a fourth sweater. Maybe the boys would like a little sister? Hmmm, I wonder if there were ever any cute dinosaurs?

Turtle Love

I seem to have acquired quite a bit of green yarn so while digging through my stash, I decided to take another stab at modifying the Turtle Butt into a pair of longies. The first pair I made were too small to fit around chubby legs and so they are waiting in my pile to frog and repair. In the meantime, I started a new pair in very "turtley" colors.

The variegated is Cascade 200 Hand Paint in Forest and the solid green is called Palm, also by Cascade. This time, I'm fairly confident that the legs will have a lot more room. Of course, while I was working on the pants, I thought maybe he should have a sweater to go with them and what goes with Turtle legs, but a turtle sweater........

All the patterns that I found called for DK weight or they had raglans, or something wasn't what I wanted, so in the end I came up with my own. I used the measurements for an 18 month size and just did the math myself. I wanted a placket in the back to make it easier to get on and off and I just happened to have these turtle buttons.

The lighting wasn't very good for this picture as it doesn't look anything like the true color and I'm not so sure that the butons really match, but they are on the backside, so I decided to use them anyway. The sweater is knitted with Cascade Superwash as I wanted it to be easy to launder. I charted the turtle myself and embroidered the shell with Cascade Heritage sock yarn. Oh yes, sock yarn:

There HAD to be socks to match the pants. Cascade makes this yarn in the Forest color just like the 220 wool. It was the first time I've used this yarn and I just love it. The socks are so nice and soft and the yarn holds up really well to frogging as I ended up ripping out this pair a couple of times. I wasn't happy with the proportions I was using and since I didn't have a pattern for these either, it took a couple of tries. I made a second version, which I actually like better, but I gave them away before I took a picture! Here's the sweater and pants together. Cute, eh?

I just love the striped longies that I've seen posted on Ravelry, so I decided to make a coordinating pair with this whole turtle theme.

Hmmm, there is a definite trend here with the Cascade yarn. Cascade 220 wool, Cascade 220 Superwash wool, Cascade Heritage sock.....I wonder if the company is hiring?

A Few Good (Snow) Men

Alli has been at it again! Here are a couple of her latest (and cutest) designs! I'm so lucky to get to be her guinea pig or pattern tester, I mean. This first one is called "Let It Snow".

And this one is called, what else, "Snow Day". Both are available for sale at her website for only two bucks! They're so cute, I can't imagine anyone not loving them.

Because I let it slip how fond I am of snowmen, Alli sent me the following chart from Knitwits Heaven just for fun. This is an older pattern, but it fits right in with the others. I knit it in Peaches & Creme baby green and I wish that I had used a color that wasn't quite so light. I think the design would show up a little more. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make another one. Darn!

"Boo" Baby!

Halloween around this house is quite something to behold. Last year we had over 350 little trick or treaters and that didn't even include my little grandsons! I have to start buying candy at the beginning of October to spread the cost out over the month. Still, it's so much fun to see the "little" kids. Here then, is a Halloween bib and a wash/dish cloth for the event. I'll post the directions here, but I also have them listed as pdf files under my free patterns.

I used Peaches & Creme in Sunburst and Yellow. I debated about doing one in white, but this is a bib after all. Hmmm, strained carrots, peas, sweet potatoes? You get the picture!


On another note, lately, I've had quite a few inquiries as to what method I use to cast on the stitches at the beginning of the rows. I like to use the knitted cast-on or the cable cast-on. It really doesn't matter which one. I say use whichever one works best for you. You can check out the great knitting videos for all these here. Try them and see which one you prefer!

"Boo" Baby Washcloth

Copyright 2008 by Elaine Fitzpatrick. Permission is granted to reproduce this pattern in any medium, as long as it is distributed for free and this copyright notice remains intact. Permission is also granted to produce items from this pattern for sale.

Size: approximately 8" X 8 1/2" wide

Materials: One skein of worsted weight cotton.

Needles: U.S. Size 6 (4 mm)

Gauge: 4.5 sts. per inch, not critical

Abbreviations:
k = knit
p = purl
sts. = stitches
dec. = decrease
dpn. = double pointed needle

Pattern: Cast on 38 sts.

Rows 1-7: knit across row.
Row 8: (wrong side) k11; p3, k10, p3, k11.
Row 9: k8; p2; (k1, p1) 2 times; k10; (p1, k1) 2 times; p2; k8.
Row 10: k8; p2; k1; p2; k1; p10; k1, p2; k1; p2; k8.
Row 11: k7; p1; k2; p1; k2; p1; k10; p1; k2; p1; k2; p1; k7.
Row 12: k8; p4; k1; p5; k2; p5; k1; p4; k8.
Row 13: k7; p1; k4; p1; k12; p1; k4; p1; k7.
Row 14: k7; p6; k1; p10; k1; p6; k7.
Row 15: k6; p1; k6; p1; k10; p1; k6; p1; k6.
Row 16: k7; p6; k1; p10; k1; p6; k7.
Row 17: k7; p2; k5; p1; k8; p1; k5; p2; k7.
Row 18: k5; (p4, k1) 2 times; p8; (k1, p4) 2 times; k5.
Row 19: k9; p1; k5; p1; k6; p1; k5; p1; k9.
Row 20: k5; p5; k1; p16; k1; p5; k5.
Row 21: k10; p1; k16; p1; k10.
Row 22: k5; p6; k1; p14; k1; p6; k5.
Row 23: k11; p1; k5; p4; k5; p1; k11.
Row 24: k5; p7; k2; p2; k1; p4; k1; p2; k2; p7; k5.
Row 25: k14; p2; k6; p2; k14.
Row 26: k5; p9; k1; p8; k1; p9; k5.
Row 27: k13; p1; k4; p2; k4; p1; k13.
Row 28: k5; p7; k1; p4; k4; p4; k1; p7; k5.
Row 29: k11; p1; k4; p2; k2; p2; k4; p1; k11.
Row 30: k5; p6; k1; p3; k1; p6; k1; p3; k1; p6; k5.
Row 31: k11; p1; k14; p1; k11.
Row 32: k5; p6; k1; p6; k2; p6; k1; p6; k5.
Row 33: k11; p1; k6; p2; k6; p1; k11.
Row 34: k5; p6; k1; p14; k1; p6; k5.
Row 35: k11; p1; k3; p2; k4; p2; k3; p1; k11.
Row 36: k5; p6; (k1, p2, k2, p1) 2 times; k1; p2; k1; p6; k5.
Row 37: k11; p1; (k2, p1, k1, p2) 2 times; k2; p1; k11.
Row 38: k5; p6; (k1, p2) 5 times; k1; p6; k5.
Row 39: k11; (p1, k2) 5 times; p1; k11.
Row 40: k5; p6; k1; p3; k2; p4; k2; p3; k1; p6; k5.
Row 41: k11; p1; k14; p1; k11.
Row 42: k5; p6; k1; p14; k1; p6; k5.
Row 43: k12; p1; k12; p1; k12.
Row 44: k5; p7; k1; p11; k1; p8; k5.
Row 45: k13; p1; k10; p1; k13.
Row 46: k5; p8; k1; p11; k1; p7; k5.
Row 47: k12; p1; k10; p1; k14.
Row 48: k5; p10; k1; p9; k1; p7; k5.
Row 49: k11; p1; k9; p1; k5; p1; k3; p1; k6.
Row 50: k5; p2; k4; p6; k1; p9; k1; p5; k5.
Row 51: k9; p1; k9; p1; k7; p1; k10
Row 52: k5; p6; k1; p7; k1; p8; k1; p4; k5.
Row 53: k10; p8; k6; p2; k12.
Row 54: k5; p28; k5.
Row 55: k38.
Row 56: k5; p28; k5.
Row 57: knit across row.
Rows 58-64: knit across row.

Bind off and weave in ends.

"Boo" Baby Bib

Copyright 2008 by Elaine Fitzpatrick. Permission is granted to reproduce this pattern in any medium, as long as it is distributed for free and this copyright notice remains intact. Permission is also granted to produce items from this pattern for sale.

Size: approximately 8.5" from neck to bottom and 7 3/4" wide

Materials: One skein of worsted weight cotton if you are using the bib for meals. If, on the other hand, you want to use it as a “drool” bib, I recommend using a superwash wool. The cotton has a tendancy to absorb the moisture, whereas the superwash wool will wick the moisture and keep baby nice and dry!

Needles: U.S. Size 6 (4 mm)
Gauge: 4.5 sts. per inch, not critical

Abbreviations:
k = knit
p = purl
sts. = stitches
dec. = decrease
dpn. = double pointed needle

Pattern: Cast on 12 sts.

Row 1: knit across row.
Row 2: Cast on 3 sts., knit across row. (15 sts.)
Row 3: Cast on 3 sts., knit across row (18 sts.)
Row 4: Cast on 3 sts., knit across row (21 sts.)
Row 5: Cast on 3 sts., knit across row (24 sts.)
Row 6: Cast on 3 sts., knit across row (27 sts.)
Row 7: Cast on 3 sts., knit across row (30 sts.)
Row 8: Cast on 2 sts., knit across row (32 sts.)
Row 9: Cast on 2 sts., knit across row (34 sts.)
Row 10: Cast on 2 sts., knit across row (36 sts.)
Row 11: Cast on 2 sts., knit across row (38 sts.)
Row 12: knit across row
Row 13: knit across row
Row 14: knit across row
Row 15: knit across row
Row 16: (wrong side) k11; p3, k10, p3, k11.
Row 17: k8; p2; (k1, p1) 2 times; k10; (p1, k1) 2 times; p2; k8.
Row 18: k8; p2; k1; p2; k1; p10; k1, p2; k1; p2; k8.
Row 19: k7; p1; k2; p1; k2; p1; k10; p1; k2; p1; k2; p1; k7.
Row 20: k8; p4; k1; p5; k2; p5; k1; p4; k8.
Row 21: k7; p1; k4; p1; k12; p1; k4; p1; k7.
Row 22: k7; p6; k1; p10; k1; p6; k7.
Row 23: k6; p1; k6; p1; k10; p1; k6; p1; k6.
Row 24: k7; p6; k1; p10; k1; p6; k7.
Row 25: k7; p2; k5; p1; k8; p1; k5; p2; k7.
Row 26: k5; (p4, k1) 2 times; p8; (k1, p4) 2 times; k5.
Row 27: k9; p1; k5; p1; k6; p1; k5; p1; k9.
Row 28: k5; p5; k1; p16; k1; p5; k5.
Row 29: k10; p1; k16; p1; k10.
Row 30: k5; p6; k1; p14; k1; p6; k5.
Row 31: k11; p1; k5; p4; k5; p1; k11.
Row 32: k5; p7; k2; p2; k1; p4; k1; p2; k2; p7; k5.
Row 33: k14; p2; k6; p2; k14.
Row 34: k5; p9; k1; p8; k1; p9; k5.
Row 35: k13; p1; k4; p2; k4; p1; k13.
Row 36: k5; p7; k1; p4; k4; p4; k1; p7; k5.
Row 37: k11; p1; k4; p2; k2; p2; k4; p1; k11.
Row 38: k5; p6; k1; p3; k1; p6; k1; p3; k1; p6; k5.
Row 39: k11; p1; k14; p1; k11.
Row 40: k5; p6; k1; p6; k2; p6; k1; p6; k5.
Row 41: k11; p1; k6; p2; k6; p1; k11.
Row 42: k5; p6; k1; p14; k1; p6; k5.
Row 43: k11; p1; k3; p2; k4; p2; k3; p1; k11.
Row 44: k5; p6; (k1, p2, k2, p1) 2 times; k1; p2; k1; p6; k5.
Row 45: k11; p1; (k2, p1, k1, p2) 2 times; k2; p1; k11.
Row 46: k5; p6; (k1, p2) 5 times; k1; p6; k5.
Row 47: k11; (p1, k2) 5 times; p1; k11.
Row 48: k5; p6; k1; p3; k2; p4; k2; p3; k1; p6; k5.
Row 49: k11; p1; k14; p1; k11.
Row 50: k5; p6; k1; p14; k1; p6; k5.
Row 51: k12; p1; k12; p1; k12.
Row 52: k5; p7; k1; p11; k1; p8; k5.
Row 53: k13; p1; k10; p1; k13.
Row 54: k5; p8; k1; p11; k1; p7; k5.
Row 55: k12; p1; k10; p1; k14.
Row 56: k5; p10; k1; p9; k1; p7; k5.
Row 57: k11; p1; k9; p1; k5; p1; k3; p1; k6.
Row 58: k5; p2; k4; p6; k1; p9; k1; p5; k5.
Row 59: k9; p1; k9; p1; k7; p1; k10
Row 60: k5; p6; k1; p7; k1; p8; k1; p4; k5.
Row 61: k10; p8; k6; p2; k12.
Row 62: k5; p28; k5.
Row 63: k38.
Row 64: k5; p28; k5.
Row 65: knit across row.
Row 66: k6; p5; k16; p5; k6.
Row 67: knit across row.
Row 68: knit across row.
Row 69: knit for 13 stitches; bind off next 12 stitches knitwise; knit remaining stitches. You should have 13 stitches on each side. Place first 13 stitches on a holder and work on remaining 13 stitches in garter stitch as follows:

Shoulder shaping:

Knit one row even.
(Right side) Dec. 1 st. at neck edge every other row 2 times. (11 sts.)
Knit one row even.
Dec. 1 st. at shoulder edge every other row until 5 sts. remain.
Knit one row even.
(Right side) Dec. 1 st. at neck edge and 1 st. at shoulder edge. 3 sts.
Knit one row even.
Slip these 3 sts. to a dpn and work an I-cord for approximately 12 inches. Fasten off and run end down through middle of I-cord.
Join yarn to neck edge and work remaining side to correspond to other side.