The Thrill of Surprise

One of my coworkers is preparing to welcome his first tiny human into his family.  As is the custom, I was asked to make a baby blanket for the wee one.  They have chosen to keep the specifics as to which brand of tiny human will be joining them a surprise.  With this in mind, they have chosen yellow and gray as their colors, and requested something in a chevron.

Everyone has that Grandma, Aunt, Neighbor, etc. who keeps the chevron blanket on the back of their couch since the dawn of time.  And that blanket is almost always yellow, or orange, or brown.  I couldn't, in good conscious, do that to this new child.  I used all my knitterly knowledge to override the request for yellow and went for a gray-scale instead.  The baby will thank me one day.

Within days of being asked to make this blanket, said coworker's mother also requested a blanket, with one caveat.  This blanket had to be gender specific.  And since we don't know the gender, she was actually asking me to make TWO blankets.

So, three blankets later and this baby is covered.

I was struggling with creating the same blanket three times so close to Christmas.  The monotony was eating away my will to live.  The only thing I could do was vary color block size or order.  I got through it.  Now we just need Baby Bean to arrive and see which blanket gets used.

Chevron Baby Blanket knit with Juniper Moon Moonshine in "Dew," "Moonbeam," "Conch Shell," "Charcoal," and "Cotton Candy Blue."

UPDATE: Baby Bean made his arrival shortly after New Years, and the gender specific blanket was his "going home" accessory.  He seems to like it.

It's That Time of Year

Every year I get a few requests for these earwarmers/headbands.  They work up quickly, they're comfortable to wear, and they're durable.

I always use Patons Soy Wool Stripes.  It's discontinued now, but eBay still has plenty.

I have a few of these I've managed to keep for myself over the years.  The pattern is mostly just in my head as I've played with the number of stitches and decreases quite a bit, but the original can still be found on Knitty.



I think I have a few extras stashed away somewhere as well.  You never know when you'll need a last minute gift.

And Another One...

I have been making these laptop covers for years now.  They might be my most requested item.  They are durable, stretchy, thick, and bouncy (so I've been told).

The plethora of colors and buttons available give it just enough customization that I never have to change the pattern and I always seem to be able to make a cover perfect for its intended recipient.

As many of these as I've made over the years, I believe this is the only one living an international lifestyle.  This little number spent a few weeks in a box and made its way 11,000 miles to the other side of the globe.

From what I hear, it's enjoying itself quite nicely.

Babies Everywhere

Today my dearest friend is welcoming a son into this world.  Personally, I’d rather he wait until tomorrow, but I’m sure his Mommy hopes he comes sooner than later. 

This new tiny human will be the little brother of Mr. Nickel.  Nickel has been featured here a few times looking dapper and handsome in his knits and I can’t wait to see how they look on the new little guy. 

I wanted Baby Boy #2 (yet to be named) to have a blanket all his own, as is the tradition.  I used the same pattern with a different color yarn.  Nickel’s blanket was made long before I knew he was on his way so the colors had to be gender neutral.  This little man was different.  We knew he was coming, and we knew he was a he.  Hopefully this blanket suits Baby Boy #2 as well as Nickel’s blanket suits him.

Nickel and Baby Boy #2 have a cousin who isn’t quite ready to make his appearance.   As far as I know, he’s also known as Baby Boy #2 for the time being. 

His older brother didn’t get a blanket so I don’t have anything to compare this one to.  I chose a neutral color so it would match the nursery and a pattern that would bring out the tweed in the yarn.

I hope it warms his winter nights for many years to come.

Congratulations , Mommies.  I can’t wait to hold your little ones.

Watch What You Say

I think I've mentioned before that Mommies should be careful what they say within hearing range of me or my yarn.  One Mommy in particular made a casual comment about the striped socks on her daughter's tiny feet and how she just loved funky socks.

I told her I'd make her some and she promptly told me that it was silly because the feet on tiny humans grow at an alarming rate and she would grow out of them too quickly for it to make sense.

I firmly disagree.  The glory of hand-knit socks is a wonder that all feet, no matter the size or growing speed, should get to experience.

And I promise to make more for the little one for as long as her Mommy desires.

UPDATE:  Today I received a picture of this little one wearing her yellow socks.  As her Mommy says, they fit her perfectly, at least for now…

International Footwear

While most of the socks I make for people are birthday socks, sometimes situations arise that call for unbirthday socks.  

Australian climate doesn't often allow for woolies, but where there's a will, there's a way.  Socks are always in season.

An Aussie came to visit me this month and I couldn't let him fly home without something special made just for him.  Knit with Patons Kroy Socks in Eclipse Stripes, he seems to love them.  Considering he put them on, took a picture, and sent it to me with no prodding whatsoever.

I see more woolies in his future.  If only he needed warm knits... 

The Kindness of Strangers

Many years ago, I was moving into my apartment and rushing like mad to get everything ready before Christmas so Jack and I could be settled.  It quickly became apparent that there was no way that deadline was going to be met, but my little boy asked Santa for a new bedroom and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure he got it.  I enlisted all of my closest friends, many of whom have received baby blankets featured in this blog somewhere, and we got all the painting done and carpeting laid and furniture moved in.  But Jack was missing bedding for his new room and my bank account was hovering dangerously low.

One afternoon, a friend of mine showed up with a Christmas present for me.  She refused to say who it was from.  I was to believe in Santa and accept the gift without question.  Underneath all that wrapping paper was a complete Lightening McQueen bedding set.  It seems one night after hours of painting, she had stopped at the local pub.  A good friend of hers, and someone I barely knew at the time, asked her why she was covered in paint.  She told that friend my story and mentioned the bedding conundrum in passing.  My anonymous benefactor instructed her to purchase whatever Jack needed, even though we were mere acquaintances at best.

I did some detective work and eventually found out who my Santa was.  I knit him cabled socks that year as a thank you, cloaked in my well-known desire to knit socks for everyone.  

That was several years ago, and he recently told me that the heels were wearing thin.  And so, all this time later, these are my official Thank You socks.  I have no idea if you'll read this, and you may not think it was much, but you were integral in helping make my son's dream come true that year, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

May they warm your feet for years to come.  And know that there will always be another pair whenever you need them.