Some FOs!

Specifically, the last of the baby knits. I'm really glad to be done with those and on to the Christmas knitting, especially as it is getting so close to the end!

1. I already talked about the Baby Tart hat and Saartje's booties that I made for one co-worker out of the Takhi Cotton Classic:



2. But then I used the same yarn in different colors for the Sweet Baby Cap and more Saartje's booties for the second pregnant co-worker.



I didn't use the needle size directed by the cap pattern, because the pattern was written for sock/baby yarn weight. I used the same size needles I did for the tart hat (US 5's--4s for the brim), and it seemed to work out fine. I also didn't put ties on the hat, because I didn't like the way it looked. I have no idea if this hat will fit on a baby's head without the ties, but it sure looks cute! The other thing I'm really proud of with this hat is that I finally figured out how to carry the unused striping yarn up the side of the hat without having to cut it for every row! It was pretty easy--you just have to make sure to pull it pretty tight each time, or it gapes a little. That was so liberating! The last hat I made that was striped I didn't know how to do this, and I almost went mad from the number of ends I had to weave in. I swore I would never do anything striped again, but now there are all SORTS of stripey projects open to consideration. I feel so smart. :) Anyway, the hat is bigger than the tart hat, so that is also good. This was for a co-worker who didn't know whether she was having a girl or boy, and she ended up having a boy, so it worked out well. The tart hat recipient was having a girl, and she said, "How did you know?!" Uh, I just guessed. How awesome is that?

The yarn itself, I'm still on the fence about. It wasn't that soft, but I bet with repeated washing it will soften up, although I hope that won't make the colors fade. The best thing about the yarn is the great range of intense colors that it comes in. The worst thing is that it is pretty rough and cord-like. It won't be my first choice for baby stuff in the future. I think I'd prefer a blend, just for the softness factor. I'm not a fiber purist by any means...

3. Then finally, I present, the finished the Baby Baseball Tee from Knit 2 Together (although if you follow that link in the pattern name, you can get it for free from Canadian Living!). I wrote about this in my last post. I used size 3 needles for the garter stitch bands, and size 5s for the rest of the body. The yarn was Plymouth Jeannee yarn, which we already discussed as being a bargain for baby knits, although the color palette is extremely limited. I mean, this sweater is so neutral that I really couldn't figure out how to jazz it up in case Nicole had a girl. I finally ended up with one pink button and one blue one, as seen below:



As usual, the pink counter is probably skewing the color a bit, but the buttons are very matte and creamy looking, so they actually go pretty well on that gray background. I think she's going to have a boy anyway. Some of the cute features of the pattern include the cute slits on the side of the sweater, and of course the little pocket in the front:



but my favorite part was the placket. You were supposed to knit the button bands in the contrast color, but I'd run out of that, so I knit them in the main color, and I think they turned out pretty nice that way. Also, check out the tag! Spanky got these for me as a present, and I have only used a couple so far. I should have put one into the Trellis I made, but I forgot about it! D'oh! Also, you can see in the pictures how uneven my sewing stitches are... I need to work on that.



You can click any of the pictures to make them bigger, but I think it takes you to the flickr page, so you have to go back to the post when you're done looking.

I gave the sweater to Nicole, a development editor on my team, at our holiday lunch out on Thursday, and she really loved it, I think. She said her husband would love it too, so I hope he did. I like them both a lot. So, along with the Trellis and the baby kimono/booties I made earlier, that's FIVE BABIES DOWN!!! So far, three have been boys and one a girl, and Nicole isn't due until late Jan, so we'll have to wait on that one, because she still doesn't know.

I'm now working full steam ahead on my assistant's scarf. I'm doing interlocking balloons from Scarf Style, and I'm really enjoying it.



I started this in Richmond, and had to stop because of the babies, but now it's really speeding along. Unlike pretty much everyone else's I've found, I can not really memorize the pattern (actually, I live in constant worry that I'm going to inadvertently screw it up even though I'm actually looking at the chart!). But I'm through with one ball of Gedifra's English Tweed, and there are three left. The scarf is currently at 13 inches, and so I'm estimating the final scarf to be 52 inches, which is at least long enough to wrap around your neck once. It won't be as long as the one in the book, but will definitely be better than the ratty grey and maroon striped monstrosity with the moth holes that he's wearing now. I can't wait to finish this and give it to him. The good thing about my assistant is he's really nice and sweet, and I think he's going to really appreciate it. I hope he actually wears it.



The yarn is interesting. I've never used a tweed yarn before, and it's definitely rustic, but there is 10% angora in the mix of 70% merino and 20% polyamide, so at first touch, it doesn't feel too soft, but the more you handle it, the softer it seems. It's definitely a more masculine yarn, and I think it looks pretty good in the pattern, don't you? It's a fun, relatively easy knit, as long as you can read a chart, and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a more complicated-looking scarf. I'm hoping to be done with this by next Wednesday. Anyone want to lay bets?