That's My Deer!

It's time for my annual birthday pattern! Wow, the older I get the faster the years zip by. When I was a kid, I wouldn't have believed it if someone said that, but it's really true. I wasn't sure what to do for this year's pattern. I had at least three rejects before I settled on this one. I like a pattern that makes me smile and is easily recognizable. This one does both for me and I hope it will for you too!

Look, the picture is right side up and in color! If you remember, my last post had black and white photos. I'd like to say that I figured out my new camera, but I haven't. I just went back to my old one. LOL!

When I showed this to my husband, he told me I watch too much "North Woods Law"! He may be right. In any event, both of these were knit with the original Peaches & Creme and I used U.S. size 5 needles. As I've said, you want a denser fabric to make the stitches pop. With different yarns, you need to adjust your needle size for optimum results.

Both patterns are free and are available in the sidebar, or you can click here for the bib and here

On another note, my son graciously renewed my website, so I promised him I'd TRY to post more often. I know you're used to seeing mainly bibs and cloths, but I thought I'd start sharing some pictures of the baby hats I knit for my local hospital. Since my blog is geared for babies, I thought you'd enjoy seeing them.

Thank you all for being my "presents". You loyal readers are the best gift anyone could have on their birthday!

Jelly!

Don't faint! I'm actually posting again! All I can say in my own defense is that I've had an awful year. I was sick for months this past winter and, after the death of my father, my mom has taken a slow and steady downward spiral in her own health. All of which combined to a lack of knitting enthusiasm on my part. In any event, things are looking up and I have a new summer pattern to try and get back in your good graces again!

This is Jelly another "water" themed cloth that has the same stitch and row count as my other designs. I hope it will be a welcome addition for those of you who like to knit sets!

Wait, that's black and white?! Well, I can't get a picture to upload that isn't sideways! My new phone is supposed to take exceptional pictures (the reason I picked it) and it just has a mind of its own. I'm so frustrated with it. I'll have to wait until my tech savvy son comes to visit and can show me how to fix/use it. In the meantime, this can just serve as an inspiration for you to use your own colors!

The links are in the sidebar or click here for the bib and here for the cloth.

Enjoy your summer!

It's Snowing Again!!

It was very quickly brought to my attention that there was an error on Row 12 of the Snow Buddy cloth and Row 16 of the Snow Buddy bib. I was about to send my testers to bed without any supper, however, I realized that we all had discovered that error before I posted the pattern. For some reason, when I uploaded it to the program I use, it took the "test" version and not the corrected one. This has happened to me before and I confess that I have no idea how it happened. I have it corrected now, so you can download it again. This is a perfect example of why I should just stick to knitting and not try to do technical stuff, like a blog!  I apologize profusely.

I also want to remind you that the original Snowbaby bib and cloth have been completely rewritten.  This pattern has been a thorn in my side ever since I created it.  It was riddled with mistakes and so I just rewrote it.  My friend, Tim, once told me that he didn't like to start a row with a purl stitch and since then, I've tried to accommodate him with every new design I create!  The corrected Snow Baby pattern now starts with a knit stitch! Tim, you're welcome! ;o)

Hopefully, I won't have any more posts like this one, however, I confess to being human.  Remember if you're having a problem with the written instructions, you can always double check a row against the chart.

I'm Snow Buddy!

Wow, I can't believe that it's time for my annual birthday post!  It's been quite a year dealing with my father's declining health and his subsequent death a few months ago.  He passed away just a week after his 92nd birthday. He always told everyone that he was "strong as an ox", despite his multiple medical issues. Every time we thought he might not make it through a medical crisis, he'd pull through and surprise us all. I think he finally reached the point where he just wanted eternal rest. He led a very full life that was filled with good deeds for so many people, especially children. He would take old bikes and fix them up and give them to kids who couldn't afford one. He'd stand out in the blazing sun and in the freezing cold, day after day, selling candy to raise money for many organizations. He was most proud of his work with finding funding for under privileged children who needed dental work. He helped countless children to get the dental work that they desperately needed. For all his work, he was recognized nationally as a "Doctor of Smiles". Always a proud member of the Masons, he was thrilled to be asked to become the first Caucasian male ever to be inducted into the Black Lodge of Massachusetts. It was an honor that he cherished. We were, and still are, so proud of him and miss him terribly. He left a pretty big hole in our family.

On a happier note, I hope you'll like my snowman. The idea just popped into my head one day and I thought it would be good to have him make his debut on my birthday!

Many thanks go to my talented test knitters, Denise and Tunie!  It's such a luxury for me to have both of them willing to help me out! Even though I try hard to catch any errors, I'm only human so I'm grateful for the extra "eyes".

Denise knit the blue bib pictured above.  I knit it in red, but it's so hard to photograph that color.  I should have known better and used a different one for the picture.

See what I mean?  It shows up so much better in the blue.

I love snowmen and this one is fairly quick to knit.

The links are in the sidebar to the right, or you can click here for the bib  and here for the cloth.

It sure would be great if this is the only snow we'll see all winter, but I hear that it's supposed to be brutal here in New England. I hope they're all wrong!!

Farm Blanket

I thought you'd all enjoy taking a look at this adorable blanket that a fellow knitter made!

Isn't it pretty?  Cindy gave me permission to share it with all of you. Check out the square with the barn. That's her own design and how appropriate. I love it! Here's a link to the blanket, with all its details, that she posted on Ravelry. Baby Farm Blanket  She used three skeins of Caron's Simply Soft Solids in a pretty green. (My favorite!!) I've never worked with that yarn before, but I love the way the designs look knitted up in it.

Well done Cindy and thank you for allowing me to share!

Who says I'm crabby?

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think that we might actually have a summer after all!  It's been so cold here in New England for so long, it didn't look like we'd even have a spring, but it seems to be changing.  In that spirit, I decided to add another water themed cloth that I named "I'm a Little Crabby!)

I knit it up using Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton! in aqua. I really enjoyed working with this yarn. It's so soft, although I did have to drop down a couple of needle sizes to get the design to pop. It would make a great facecloth or a blanket square.

The bib is knitted up in my old standby Peaches & Cream. It's a good choice for bibs and holds up to repeated washing. At least that's what I've been told. Unfortunately for me, all of my grandkids are well past the age for bibs!

The cloth uses the same stitch width and row height as my other "water" cloths. I wanted them to be the same size in case anyone wanted to use them together.

 

I might have missed one or two, but I think this covers it!

The pdf patterns are in the sidebar to the right. The bib is also here and the cloth is here.  As always, if you find any errors, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know, although I have knit this crab several times! I did a second version as well with skinny legs, but decided I like the original better!  I hope you do too!

Sweet Blankets

Now here's a couple of really sweet blankets that I'd like to share with you, especially since it's Valentine's Day! A fellow knitter on Ravelry, Ellen, shared these with me and I thought you'd all enjoy seeing them too!  She knit them for charity and they're destined for a NICU.

 First, she used my bunny patterns (A Tail of Two Bunnies and Hippity Hop) and combined them with my Heartbeat pattern. She used Caron's Simply Soft Solids and used U.S. size 5 or 3.75mm needles.

Her second blanket used my "water" themed squares and she aptly named it "Water Babies".  I have to confess that I just love this one!

The blankets are naturally small, since they're intended for preemies.  Each blanket measures about 17" X 23".  Both blankets look a bit gray, but they're light blue and country blue.

Aren't they darling?  I'm so flattered that Ellen wanted to use my designs. If you're on Ravelry, be sure to tell her how much you like them too.  Ellen uses "melk" as her Ravelry name and I know she'd love to hear from you!  

Thank you Ellen for giving me permission to share your beautiful work!