A Draft from the Past - Toddler's Romper and Bonnet

This size 2 years, McCall's romper is made in one piece and has a matching sun bonnet.  It also has a matching doll and doll outfit.  Be still my desiccating ovaries!

McCalls 2322, vintage pattern for toddler's romper, bonnet and matching stuffed doll

In these days of sun awareness, the bonnet is perhaps ironic in contrast to the bare legs, arms and back of the romper. 

It is an impractical garment on so many levels.  Ties in the front because you totally trust a toddler with a self tie in front - yeah, right.  Solution - knot the buggery ties so hard that you lose all traction on that toilet training when the "Mummy, I need to gooooooo!" moment comes, as it so inevitably does.  That tie would definitely have to be extended to wrap around to the back.

The pattern instructions suggest lining the romper but state that it is optional.  It therefore gives no  instructions for how to go about lining the garment which is quite at odds with the over-engineering of the doll pattern.

Transfer for decorative stitching on doll

The doll pattern comes complete with original transfer to mark the decorative stitching.

This pattern is completely intact down to the transfer paper. It was never made by the original owner.

I am tempted to make this in a bright gingham or sweet Liberty print just because I can and not because it would be useful to anyone.

Burping Babies

Apparently burp cloths are a thing.  I don't remember them being a thing 19 years ago when I was last involved in baby raising - we had old nappies to throw over the shoulder or lap for burp time, but there are fewer of these around now.

I do seem to remember my mother making some for my sister-in-law when my nephew was wee - he turns 16 this month.  Mum raided my stash and used vintage flannelette which had come from a friend's grandmother's stash.  It has to be at least 40 years old now.

I had many metres of mint green and a slightly fewer metres of white and it is so much softer than anything I could buy in shops now.  But plain flanelette isn't very visually appealing.

My research showed that a cute print on one side and flanelette or a soft knit on the other is the done thing. I found a simple downloadable pattern and then lengthened it by two inches in the middle because one thing I do remember about burping babies is that it can dribble a surprisingly long and sitnky way.

The children's print fabric in stash was quickly used up so I cast about for other fabrics.

And I had a lone fat quarter purchased secondhand.

1 fat quarter - 2 burp cloths

 I've been saving lovely cotton fabrics from shirts rescued from the free bins at the local tip shop.  I harvest the shirts for buttons and other trim but can't bear to throw away gorgeous fabric with a lot of wear left in it. The fabric was intended for hankies or other small projects but if the fabric is soft enough for hankies it's soft enough for burp cloths.

Fine cotton from woman's pyjama top

This soft cotton twill was a large Pierre Cardin man's shirt.

Burp on that, baby.

Bonnet

What 7am looked like yesterday.

Working on a commission to be delivered on Sunday.  A soon to be born grandchild is in need of a bonnet and better-than-boottees socks. 

The socks will take 6 hours to complete so I'm working on the bonnet first.  The design and yarn was left to my discretion, as long as it was white.  The vintage Patonyle (60% wool, 40% nylon in 25g balls) has been in stash for some time.  It was purchased second-hand and I have 3 balls. The bonnet is going to take just over one ball and I'll get the socks out of the remainder of that ball.  A lovely set for 50g of yarn.

The pattern is vintage Patons and written for for 3ply, but using smaller needles in a ribbed/lacy ribbed garment means sizing won't be an issue.  This will fit from about 3mos on. As we don't know the gender of the baby, I'm figuring lemon ribbons for the ties.  All materials are from stash.

Keeping Mum (happy)

And this pair of baby socks is the fourth pair of sockees completed in the last couple of weeks. Mum's hairdresser's daughter had a little girl recently.  Mum commissioned these for little Chiara.  It's Patonyle left over from socks I made Mum.

TOF's Mum commissioned 3 pairs of baby socks for her expected great grandson (see last post), which I was happy to supply out of left overs, including these ones from a Moda Vera sock yarn (Mum got the big version for Christmas).  Sorry forgot to photograph the others.

There's another pair on the needles and then the commissions are fulfilled.  Next up, baby jackets in self-striping sock yarn.

The Shiner

TOF's niece is having a baby in April so of course knitting is in order.  After checking with the grandmother-to-be, I opted for a blankie, any number of socks and some little jackets.

Spotlight had 8ply Sports Support yarn for $1.99 a ball during the after Christmas sale.  A 50/50 wool/acrylic blend, it's quite nice on the hand but I suspect may pill a bit.  This gorgeous royal purple is in the "Plum" colourway.  A very scientific poll of knittes and their fellas last week decided that the colour should be "Shiner".

The pattern is adapted from a freebie on the BBC website.  It's a diagonal garter stitch square knitted from 4 x 50 gram balls of 8ply yarn.  Improvised the ruffle edge from the remaining 2 x 50g balls as I wasn't fussed on the lace edging (little fingers, eyelets, not a good combo),

Using a 150cm circular needle, I knitted up stitches all around the edge (from between the edge bumps) and joined in the round.  The frill took almost every bit of the two balls.

First Round:  K1, Kf&b, repeat all around
Second Round: Purl
Third Round: Knit
Fourth Round: Purl
Fifth Round: K1, Kf&b, repeat all around
Sixth Round: Purl
Change to 4.5mm needle
Seventh Round: Knit
Eighth Round: Purl
Continue alternating knit and purl rounds until sick to death of doing 600+ stitch rounds, or the ruffle is deep enough, or in this case, until the wool ran out. (about 10 rounds)
Cast off in knit, or if enough wool, a picot cast off would be nice.

Finished dimensions 22" along each side.

I love this blankie and will knit it again and when I do it will be a little larger and the frill a little deeper.

Big read

One of the activities I let go when I took on more responsibility for Mum’s care was book group. More than that, I stopped reading altogether, having little brain power left at the end of the day. Every effort is being made to get to at least a couple of the meetings this year and even to read off list books.

Our book for discussion on 2 February is last year’s Booker Prize winner, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I was excited as the prospect of reading it as I’d enjoyed this author before and I once was a Booker junkie, reading as many of the short list as I could before the big announcement. I was excited until I saw the size of the book – 651 pages. Seriously? 651 pages? You really need 651 pages?

Mantel’s hero is Thomas Cromwell, who is often portrayed as Henry VIII’s Machiavellian henchman responsible for the reforms that led to the formation of the Church of England. Here he is a self-made man of intellect, ability and passion. Entirely human and entirely sympathetic.

I’m still not quite over resenting the 651 non-skimmable pages, but I am yet to see where the editing could be done to make it shorter. The prose is dense and intense but it is not wasteful. Some passages need to be re-read to gain a complete understanding, and the family tree and cast of characters at the front of the book is necessary, even if you have an average or better acquaintance with Tudor history.

There are still a 250 pages left to be read and I’m thoroughly enjoying the journey. This is slow reading at its best. Knitting to accompany such a demanding (but completely enjoyable) read is necessarily simple. Adult and baby socks have been knitted to it and just now a garter stitch baby blanket. Complicated knitting and this book do not mix.

Normally I would recommend borrowing a copy from your public library but this time, Canberrans, if you can buy or borrow a privately owned copy do so. The ACT Public Library has 32 copies and as of this morning 143 requests on them. This means the loan period is reduced to two weeks and trying to get through this in two weeks is impossible unless you have those two weeks to lie in the shade and read.  Although it does wonders for the concentration to have such a deadline.

WIPeou 2009 - Baby Cardie

PATTERN: Pretty sure I got this from the back of an old Woman's Day.

YARN: Mystery 8ply cotton purchased in an op-shop many, many years ago.

ISSUES: Well it's been sitting for at least 4 years in this state - with only one side band and the neck band to go. I don't like how the bands came out and I don't like the chunkiness of it for a small baby, although the pattern is very sweet, and I really hate the way my seams came out. I could have redone the seams and I did try to unpick it but the cotton shredded in the process. Hideous.

ACTION: Binned.

Get out of Gaol Free Bootees

Socks for Aiden knitted in recycled and rescued blue crepe 4ply weight yarn on 2.5mm needles, using Mim's pattern.

It's quiet .... maybe too quiet.

It sure has been quiet on the finishing things front around Taph Towers of late.

I knit and kint and knit and nothing gets finished (3 whole days and nothing finished - impossible!). People who like their gratification instantly or possibly sooner probably shouldn't be knitters. But I do so love it. I'm not me without knitting - I know because I've tried the not knitting and it just feels wrong.

The blanket for the Old Flame's mother is about halfway there. This is because I revised the finished size downwards, but it was based on a very scientific try-on-over-my-lap-and-his method. TOF's parents are considerably smaller than we are (cuckoos, anyone?) so if the rug fitted comfortably over my lap and part of his lap, I was obviously halfway there - at least. Right?

There are a some flaws in the blanket (a couple of purls that should have been knits), but I am embracing my limitations and going with a few imperfections. Perfectionism is part of the reason that 22 WIPs were identified at the beginning of June.

I did not, however, embrace the imperfections of the current sock in progress. Last week was a bit hectic, so only the cuff of the second sock was knitted (despite planning to finish it). Just as well because the nagging, "this doesn't feel quite right" feeling which plagued me during the knitting of said cuff turned out to be not the wrong sized needles, as suspected, but the wrong freaking pattern. Why I would knit a 1x1 rib when I always knit 2x2 rib cuffs? Also, why I did not check the other sock which was in the knitting bag the whole time when I first began to doubt is also beyond me.

We'll blame workplace deadlines and stress and let it go. Another hectic week this week with many teleconferences and meetings in which I could not knit means I've lost a week with the sock. Feeling a little less love for the project right now. Second sock is now unravelled and cuff reknitted and will be worked on in the coming week.

Maybe.

We have an unexpected arrival. A former member of my team and the world's loveliest person whom I fail to keep up with regularly because I am in the top ten of world's worst people, has just welcomed her first grandchild. A little boy - who is too big for the baby stash boy coloured socks. Obviously Aiden needs socks and I must provide them - now.

This weekend I knit baby socks. Next weekend we return to the scheduled knitting.

Luckily another dear friend's daughter produced a daughter who has been gifted with a matinee jacket (the pink one) and socks. I was prepared for Ruby.

See saw

Day one brought both my first FO and first set-back.


The Pretty in Pink socks are done (thanks to a staff meeting and a lunch break). They are pressed, beribboned and in the pressie box for the next baby girl.

However, I got a bit muddled with birthdays. The Old Flame's mum's birthday is July, it's his Dad who was born in October.

What to do about the blanket? Give it to his Dad instead? Not sure he goes for mauve all that much. Knit like buggery and hope to get it done by 6 July?

There are exactly 5 weeks until 6 July. Presumably it will need to be ready a couple of days before that, but we won't quibble about that. I estimate I need to knit 3 balls of Studio Mohair each week until b-day to finish. Not entirely sure I can manage that, so what I'll do is knit it this week, review progress and revise estimates accordingly. It might have to be an "on the needles" gift, but I'd like to get it done ASAP.



I'll be helped along by this, though. A very sweet colleague (also a knitter) bought me this at Spotlight over the weekend. She reckons I'll need another cup for the extra caffeine required to complete this challenge.

WIPeout 2009 - Pretty in Pink Baby Socks

PATTERN: Mim Felton's Baby to Toddler Sock Pattern
YARN: Kanebu Kintting Yarn Chuboso 4ply from the Smith Family a few years ago.
PROGRESS:

• sock 1 - done
• sock 2 - knitted to gusset

ISSUES: I'm bored - these were the fourth pair in quick succession.
ACTION: Just bloody knit it. They'll be finished in a lunch hour or so if you do.

Little socks, maaaaan

I don't knit during live theatre performances or these would have been finished at the Cheech & Chong gig at the Royal Theatre in Canberra last night. Nor was I paying $150 (for an unspecified charity) to meet the fellas afterwards, so you'll have to make do with sock posed on speaker box.

Mim Felton's Baby to Toddler socks pattern in Patons Dreamtime 4ply on 2.5mm needles.

Bootee Call

We have a few babies due (or just joined us) in my work and friend circles.

Mim Felton's Baby to Toddler socks in Patons Dreamtime 4ply on 2.5mm needles. About 6-9 mos size.

The only modification to the pattern was to continue the ribbing down the foot for a bit more grip.

Easter Saturday Lunch & Knitting

Finished Object: a pair of baby socks over a leisurely and lovely lunch at the Poacher's Pantry.

Long weekend, great weather, great food, entertaining knitting. Bliss.

Diddle liddle liddle lum

Not socks for an infant Jake the Peg - a "pair and a spare" of baby socks.

Years ago when baby knitting was pretty much all I did, I tried to always make a "pair and a spare" for people I knew because babies are expert bootee losers.

Scraps of Patons Dreamtime 4ply baby wool - each sock takes about 5g total.

Scrap Happy

I love using scraps of yarn - makes me feel extra specially thrifty. I also think of it as housework because I'm tidying away all those scraps. "No, I'm not sitting here knitting, I'm tidying up" - totally believable.

Socks for Aneka and Chris's baby, 10g Patons Dreamtime 4ply on 2.5mm bamboo needles

A pair of socks for a baby due on Friday. I prefer to make a pair and a spare of baby bootees/socks, but was 1 measly gram short of three socks in this yarn. Fear not, the last 4g are going to be contrast heels and toes of another set. This is the Left Over Baby Sock pattern by Matthew Hesson-McInnis.

And then there's a 'phone sock. Not entirely sure how this happened - I was playing around with the idea of a toddler sized sock out of this small amount of hand painted 5ply crepe and was suddenly seized by the need for a 'phone sock. The yarn is just too pretty to give away.

For my old Nokia. 32 stitches in double rib for 48 rounds and a three-needle cast off on 3.75mm dpns.

Time Thief Watch Cap Jr.

The arrival, imminent and actual, of the children and grandchildren of friends and colleagues has prompted several requests for a baby version of the Time Thief Watch Cap in the popular slip stitch pattern.

Yarn: 8 ply (dk) yarn. You'll need about 40g of the main colour (mc) and about 20g of the contrast colour (cc).

Needles: 1 x 40cm 3.75mm circular needle; 1 set 3.75mm dpns. The whole hat can be knitted on dpns if you prefer.

Notions: 1 darning needle for the endy bits, 1 stitch marker of choice.

Tension: 22.5 stitches and 30 rows over stocking stitch (or thereabouts)

Time investment: About 3 hours.

Sizing: To fit 0-3 mos (3-6 mos, 6-12 mos)

PATTERN

Band:
Using mc, cast on 72 (80, 88) stitches.
Place marker and join in the round.
K2, p2 rib for 10 rounds.
Knit 1 round (for turn up ridge)
K2, p2 for 3 rounds

Body:
Knit 9 rounds

Colour work pattern:
Round 1: Using cc, k1, slip 1
Round 2: Using cc, knit
Round 3: as row 2
Round 4: Using mc, slip 1, knit 1
Repeat rows 2-4, 4 (5, 6) times
Next round: Using mc, slip 1, knit 1
Continue in mc only, knit 2 rounds

Decreases: (change to dpns when necessary)
Round 1: *K6, k2 tog, repeat from *
Round 2 and every even round: knit
Round 3: *K5, k2 tog, repeat from *
Round 5: *K4, k2 tog repeat from *
Round 7: *K3, k2 tog, repeat from *
Round 9: *k2, k2 tog, repeat from *
Round 11: *k1, k2 tog, repeat from *
Round 13: k2 tog across round

Finishing:
Cut yarn leaving a tail of about 10cm (4"). Thread tail onto darning needle and run through all remaining stitches. Remove dpns and draw tail tightly. Pass the threaded needle through the cat's bum at the top and weave in. Weave in all ends. Turn up the brim at the turning ridge and bung on nearest baby's noggin.

Things you might like to know about how I knit this pattern.

• It's called the Time Thief Watch Cap because, quite literally, I knit it in stolen time - walking to work, standing in queues, during staff meetings, at red traffic lights (shhh) etc... It takes about 30 mins for the cast on and final decreases time, the rest is bonus knitting time.
• The fabric is meant to be reasonably tight to increase the moisture repelling properties and warmth of the hat.
• I used a cable cast on, you can use whatever method you prefer.
• I hate joining in the round so I knit the first round as a row and join at the beginning of the second round. The small gap is sewn together at the end with the tail from the cast on.
• When slip stitching, some people slip purlwise and then knit as normal in the next round. I slip knitwise and in the next round knit the slipped stitch through the back of the loop. This stops the stitch twisting.

Matinee Idol

Much chain dragging has happened on these little jackets. Don't know why, really.

The Happy Spider dyed the yarn and 100g is just enough for a simple little jacket size 3-6mos.


The first was the green one with a picot neck and hem and garter stitch sleeve bands and turned under hems on the fronts. I really don't like sewing up, the whole point of knitting these in one piece from the top down is minimal sewing up. The picot edges and front bands make it rather a chore. Also, I'm not so fussed on the ribbon tie for babies. I've sewn this ribbon down so it can't come loose and choke the little bugger. I love the yarn, though, and the reverse stocking stitch is even better than the stocking stitch. There's a small lace detail down either side of the fronts on this one.

The next was this bright yellow and orange number. I changed the pattern to a single rib neckline, garter stitch front and sleeve bands and hem line with 5 little buttons down the front. It's a sunny little number.

Lastly, my favourite pattern variation with moss stitch bands. The yarn is silky soft and more purple than the photo shows. I used vintage buttons that are sweetly irregular.

Baby Chrissie likes the pink one the best.

not completely idle

Sunday before last for Bek's baby shower/Tupperware party - we have mini cupcakes iced in lurid pink for girls and striking blue for boys. The ones in the middle are iced with the fruit of the passion. I thought it was funny at the time but I was a little punchy.

I really did finally put handles on Mum's loofah. I believe this was meant for her in April but that cr****t nylon is such awful stuff I managed to forget all about it. The handles ended up being cannibalised from a Bay Swiss bag. By all accounts it's fantastic and does the job. It's rough and Mum reckons it will never wear out. Just as well because I ain't touching that stuff again - not even for her.



Now to yarn reclamation.

Here is a lovely cabled jumper with bobbles (ugh) on the bottom picked up at Vinnies for $1.

Washed skeins weighted by water filled chip packets (new Smiths chips, a lot like Pringles but with reusable packaging on sale at Woollies for 99c each a couple of weeks back) dripping into the shower stall. There's a really good photo of the skeins but Blogger is being unco-operative.

Here it is wound into beautiful centre pull balls and weighing in at 683g. That's a lotta hats for the homeless for next winter for $1.

The Finishing Post

Much to report for a week of non-blogging. Well I tried to blog but blogger buggered it up.

I may have fallen off the Use What You Have Month (UWYHM) wagon, but I've still completed several projects from what I had.

We have, for your viewing pleasure:

The Knitting Cape

The pattern is A capella from Knitty.com. My version is not elegant but it's serviceable.

No, knittydoll, unfortunately the Knitting Cape does not confer on the wearer knitting super-powers, like the ability to knit lace in an instant with no tedious unraveling when a YO has been missed! It does, however, keep this knitter toasty warm without all the bulk around the arms that too many layers of clothes adds.

This was knitted from two strands together of the homespun donated by my SIL's godmother in February. It used about 400 g. I will admit to buying the buttons ($1.80 from Big W) because I had no suitable ones at home. You can't see them in the pic because I hadn't sewn them on at that point, but they are now firmly secured and are a lovely mother-of-pearl finish, very thin and about the size of a 10c piece. There are four of them. I added the ruffle on the bottom, knitted in garter stitch with increases in every 4th stitch for 4 rows because cr****t and fringes are forbidden in this house.

I will admit to not really liking this wool when it was donated, but knitted up it's just lovely. The pearly grey colour gives way to mauves through to indigo with some pale pink and crimson.

Java Jarmies, Versions I and II

We rise early in the Taphophile household. We like to greet the day slowly and with generous doses of caffeine. Now that the weather has turned in Canberra, my early morning plunger of coffee is usually tepid after the first cup and stone cold by the third.

As I was finishing the ruffle on the Knitting Cape, I pondered the problem and immediately solved it. What was needed was a cosy for the Bodum. A few calculations later and we have Java Jarmies Version I.

It's double rib with the homespun knitted on two needles with a button hole flap to accommodate the handle and a v-shape in the centre front to accommodate the pouring lip. The bottom 3cm is stitched together.

Version I didn't have quite enough length in the button hole flap (only 6 stitches). Version II has 12 stitches which is too long. Version III will have 8.

Now there's one for work and one for home and have to create them for the other sizes and styles of coffee presses in the house. It works really well and the coffee stays at a drinkable temperature for about an hour, even in the arctic reaches of the kitchen.

Cap for Claire

A member of my work team loved the donated yarn so much she demanded I knit her a cap. She also demanded a jumper but that was never going to happen even had there been enough wool.

I used the Mark Thrailkill's Watch Cap pattern again and it worked a treat. The model here is Baby Chrissie. There's about 150g of the donated handspun left. Not sure what it will be yet.

Matinee Idols

The handbag usually contains a matinee jacket or other small and portable item of knitting. These two are the latest versions.

The aqua is sweet and the yellow is really very buttery. There will be more of these in the months to come as they are knitted in one piece from the top down on a circular needle and after the sleeves it's all plain sailing. Also, stash contains an awful lot of 3ply.

Beau's Beanie

Beau is the boy-manager of the Starbucks which is the SnB and BookCrossing venue. He is a lovely man who is very supportive of both groups so I thought he needed a little knitterly gift. This was knitted from the leftover Wedding Hat yarn to Needle Beetle's Sea Cap pattern.

He whipped it out of the bag this afternoon and stuck it straight on. He appeared delighted with it and it fitted quite well. Don't know about you, but I get very nervous giving knitted gifts, so his response was quite a relief.

Several things have been started, unravelled, restarted, unravelled and chucked in a box and some progress. More later.