Little Sister's Dress

It's finished! And just in time, as the baby's due in 3 days. I promise not to make the baby wear it if it's a boy though!

This is my version of the Little Sister's Dress by the genius Tora Frøseth in the 3-month size.

This dress went much faster than I expected, given the 5ply yarn and small needle.

I'm pleased to say there were no problems to report, just a beautiful and very clever pattern. I have experimented with this purl and knit striping technique in small hats before, and enjoy the effect it gives.

I actually didn't make any modifications at all with this pattern.

I did however use three buttons instead of the recommended two as the flower-shaped mother-of-pearl ones I wanted to use were quite small, and the dress looked better overall with three.

I'm very pleased with the result. I've been meaning to make this ever since coming across the pattern years ago. Now I had the perfect excuse!

Another bonus of this dress is that it starts off as a dress, then grows with the baby, becoming a tunic and then a top: very clever.

Helen's Blanket

I just realised that I never got around to posting about this FO that I made a couple of months ago.

This is my version of the Cuddly Cotton Baby Blanket by Whitney Van Nes from the Purl Soho blog.

My friend Louise wanted a blanket for her Sister Helen who was expecting a baby. Well, the baby girl arrived safely and Louise gave her the blanket, but I hadn't posted because Louise hadn't given Helen the blanket yet and her sisters have been known to read this blog occasionally!

Anyway, knitted in butter-soft Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, this was a quick knit, which would have worked for a boy or girl.

The only modoification I made was to pick up and knit the yellow edging. The pattern had called for knitting one very long snaky piece of fabric that would have to be attached, which I thought unnecessary, and I'm sure it worked out much quicker for me in the end.

Like the Lanesplitter skirt which I had made immediately before this blanket, this was knitted on the diagonal, adding one stitch each row until the half-way point, then decreasing one stitch each row until you finished. It's a lovely way of knitting, and the fabric grows quickly.

I was particularly pleased with the softness of the yarn, which I have used before in other projects; it's perfect for a baby and yet is still washable.

Beautiful Booties

Look: beautiful booties in a lovely Christmassy colour. Lovingly made by Louise's Mum for the baby. Aren't they gorgeous!

Ho ho ho.

A Tale of Two Berets

A little while ago, my friend Louise, my best commissioner by far, asked me for a beret. Had I had more time, I would have come up with a design of my own to reflect her wishes, but given that time was running out before the baby came, I decided to follow a pattern this time, and give her the beret for her Birthday.

Now, I'm afraid I didn't get it finished in time for her Birthday, but it was a belated present. Above is my version of the Soft Linen Lace Beret, by Meg Myers which Louise had found the pattern for and liked. I made it in Rowan Cashsoft DK.

It was an easy and quick project (aren't they the best?!), taking a week. I followed the pattern to the letter, and was pleased with the overall result.

When we had originally been looking for a beret which Louise would like, she emailed me a photo of a cabled one from a shop. I looked around and found a similar pattern, which would do. Ordinarily I would have improvised one of my own to suit the exact item she was looking for, but time wasn't on my side.

Voila, the Grey Beret, my version of the Cabled Beret, by Ashley Elva. I hadn't used the yarn before, Louisa Harding Thistle (aran) and liked the way it knitted up, so may well use it in future.

This one was even quicker. The only modifications I made were to skip a whole cable repeat and reduce the no. decrease rounds at the crown, because it would have ended up being too slouchy (not what Louise wanted in this case).

Again, I'm pleased with this one, a two-day project. And more to the point, Louise likes both.

Meanwhile, back to the Little Sister Dress. I have a feeling I'm going to still be on this one when I'm in labour, but they do recommend doing something to take your mind off the pain!

Happy Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Buon Natale, Frohe Weinachten...

I don't know any more greetings!

Surprise Baby Shower

At Knit Night on Tuesday, everyone surprised me with a Baby Shower! I don't know how they kept it secret, but I really had no idea, and I was so touched.

It was lovely; everyone had made their own knitted presents for the baby. Above is Sian's brilliant dinosaur.

These are Lizzie's adorable green mittens, perfect for this weather.

This is Heather's bunny, which doubles as a blankie: how clever.

Don't you love Jayne's teddy? He came in a little box all of his own, and is quite small so perfect for little hands to grasp.

Toad made this beautiful, soft-as-a-feather alpaca hat. Toad is our expert resident spinner and (forgive me Toad for using the wrong terminology) blended two natural alpaca wools in brown and cream/white, then spun them to create a dreamy graduated effect when she knitted it up.

How clever, and it looks and feels so wonderful!

This is a very sweet little Zebra from Icy.

Really everyone, I was so happy to receive these beautiful and thoughtful gifts, and I know the
baby will be too when it arrives.

It's snowing in London! How exciting; this means Christmas is really on its way.

The tree's up and decorated and when I've taken some photos I'll post them.