So it's time to start another, wouldn't you say? And since I just heard that friends are expecting, I have to, right?!

No more details on this one for a while (except on Ravelry). I'm trying to keep it a surprise for the parents-to-be, who might be watching.

The itty bitty football hat (from Itty-Bitty Hats of course) now has a friend: it's an itty bitty football! I sort of tweaked my golden snitch ball pattern from Charmed Knits, spacing out the increases and decreases a bit more and voila, a football. And I stuck a little bell inside with the stuffing so it's like a baby rattle. (This was all Seanna Lea's idea by the way, left in the comments when I first posted about the hat. Brilliant, thanks!! Oh, and as you can see, I went with no pompom on the hat - thank you everyone for your opinions.) Now hat and football are on their way to new baby boy.

But before they go, and just because you gotta see how cute this helmet-style cap looks on a baby, wee one will model the football hat for you.

Isn't that the cutest thing? If she were a boy....

I know, I live in New England, the Patriots blah, blah, blah, but I can't help it, I don't like football. I do love this little football helmet hat from Itty-Bitty Hats though.

It looks just like one of those old-timey leather helmets (except for the baby blue color of course). Probably provides just as much safety too, huh?

This was knit for a friend of the family for his very first grandson. They're from Texas, so I think the football theme should be well received by the daddy. Here's my question though. I'm so tempted to add a little something fun to the top of the hat like a pompom (like Dani added to the hat she made last year and Dani is my guide in all things itty bitty hats!) or even the little sprout dobber thing that the original pattern calls for (Dani also tried one of these). But I don't want the dad to think that the hat has been girl-ed up somehow. What do you think? Cute enough on its own? Daddy should just live with a little pompom? Help!

Yes, somehow I've found myself casting on for yet another itty bitty hat. But after all the girly, flowery, pink-y hats I've made from the book, this time it's a boy hat, the football hat.

before wee one

after wee one

Is it just me or has everyone been having girls? Finally an acquaintance that's having a boy! I had to actually go out and get some appropriate blue yarn, since my scraps and my stash have all turned pink. I'm using this new Crystal Palace angora blend yarn called Bunny Hop. It's very nice actually with a lovely hand and sweet colors. There isn't however a good taupe-y brown color for the football. I spied some hideous olive-y brown Calmer at my lys the other day that would have done, but then I kept thinking what the blazes am I going to do with the other 170 yards of this yucky colored yarn?! Lucky for me, I have some connections. Dani has knit just about every itty bitty hat in the book (scroll through her 2007 gallery to see them all!) and has some football brown leftover for me to borrow. Hooray!

I did some finishing a couple of weeks ago - another baby sweater for another Knitsmith. Look at Vicky's cutie patootie pink and purple raglan in Butterfly Cotton.

For the record, Vicky knit this sweater in a sweater class and learned how to do all the seams, so she CAN seam but she was just done with THIS sweater, if you know what I mean. So I stepped in to seam it up. How can I turn down a raglan seam? And in those colors.

mattress stitch, I think I love you

and in garter stitch too!

I was hoping that finishing this little sweater would inspire me to pick up my white bread top, katy, or maybe even pop, and get them finished, but no, it didn't.

Inspired by Lisa's great project wrap-up, I've been seeming up sweaters in waiting in an attempt to clean out my knitting basket. I finished the model NBaT last week and now two children's sweaters for fellow Knitmsith, MaryLinda.

Cascade Quattro

MaryLinda doesn't like seaming. But I love seaming up MaryLinda's sweaters. Always a lovely yarn and great basic patterns full of my favorite seams: raglan seams, mattress stitch seams, rolled edge seams.

And here's another one almost done.

Tahki Laña wool

Now giant white bread sits all alone in the knitting basket with dozens of ends everywhere, still missing one sleeve and a collar. But, I fear I might be all seamed out. Summer cottons are beckoning.....

Just to balance out the sh*t list.

First I gotta mention banff and sooty mango, my two favoritest sweaters of all, which by the way were both results of major reknitting (I cut the ribbing off of sooty mango and reknit it and banff was knit out of the yarn from a failed cardigan!).

Next, these socks, one of the first pairs I ever knit. The recipient recently hinted that she would love a couple more pairs just like them. When they ask for more, it's definitely a hit!

Finally, there's nothing like adorable babies to restore your faith in your knits.

Happy baby in daisy sweater.

Happy baby in mya sweater.

And it's not technically a KNIT hit, but I get a kick out of this recently finished (and now pompon-ed) crocheted beret that I made for charity. B. let me take his picture wearing it, but made me promise that he could see the picture when it was done. When he looked at the picture, he immediately smiled and said, "hey look, it's my blankie!" See the little bit of it in the corner?

We have a winner! The biggest knit hits of all have got to be my very first projects, the baby blankies for my boys.

I love knitting.

My knitbuddy and neighbor, Shannon is doing a little volunteer knitting for the charity organization Graceful Stitches. She received her kit, knitted the fun kids poncho, and then turned the pattern page to find crochet instructions for the matching hat. Knowing that I pretend to know how to crochet, she brought the pattern and remaining yarn over to me.

oh, how I like the look of crochet rounds

This little poofy beret hat is so adorable. The openwork is very pretty, especially in this duo-tone yarn. Unfortunately, I didn't have a picture of what the pattern was supposed to look like while I was working on it and so as the hat got bigger and bigger, I started to get worried. But I checked all my stitches and my numbers, so I knew I was following directions correctly. Finally came the last two decrease rounds and the thing went from being much too big for me to not even fitting on my head anymore. Voila!

why do the little boys always get the long lashes?

Still to come, the giant pompon for the top!

Thanks to Santa hubby, who took the boys to a giant indoor playspace this weekend (here they are running past the "do not run" sign!), the elves got lots more holiday knitting done.

First another pair of Morehouse Merino bear paws mitts, these for a little friend of the boys.

And then a finished pressie for mom. Mom, STOP reading now please.

everyone but mom, click to peek!

What I hope will finally be the perfect hat for my mom. I've made mom a couple of hats before. She liked the first, but it was too small for her hair. The second was bigger but I made it on the fly with some leftover yarns when I heard that she wasn't wearing a hat at all! But see, she's got this purple coat (another even longer story) that she seems destined never to get rid of and the green hat didn't really go with it. So while at the craft store picking up the wire to make the weasley hangers I saw a poor "orphan" skein of purple Homespun sitting by the cash register. I took it as a sign that I should simply give in and make mom a giant purple hat. I think I've succeeded there. To be sure it was big enough, I knitted it on 24" circulars in the round! That should be enough ease for almost any perm, yes?

And progress was also made on mom's jess.

no peeking, mom!

Back's all done and I'm working on the huge, drapey collar. This sweater is so cool. Now I remember why mom and I decided that we HAD to have one!

3 days to finish this and the weasleys. The elves are making coffee.

Remember picture day at school? I was always laying my best clothes out the night before and hoping for a good hair day. Well, it's a relatively good light day today here, so I thought what better time to get all the knitting photos taken.

First up, the boys' Phildar vests. I used five skeins of Phildar's oh so fabulous fantasia yarn for these. The pattern called for three skeins for one vest, but a little bird told me that there would be some leftover, so I got five skeins and hoped for the best. Here's what I had left over. Now that's what I call cutting it close! I should have some action shots of the boys in their new vests tomorrow.

Hey, check out what I found in the magazine section of the family stationery store: a german version of Phildar's baby catalog, the one from last year that has both the giranimal pattern and the pattern I used for the new fantasia vests. Yeah, I have it in French, but it was so neat to see it all in German, I got it anyway.

And finally pictures of the back of sooty mango in all its sootiness. I've only taken the back out of the project bag twice to photograph and I'm already picking little light linty bits off of it. Oh boy! Despite the black being a big lint magnet, I think I'm going to like this sweater. I'm making it a snug fit, mostly because my continental gauge tightened up a little. And I'm hoping that with a little tip from ssk, the ribbing on the sleeves will be better than on the body.

Who would have thought that I'd be making scarves? I'd pretty much written off knitting accessories (socks, hats, scarves) because I would simply prefer to make a proper sweater. That is until the plan to knit chemo caps was born. Several caps later (and more still in the planning stages) and now my mother has me knitting scarves for a child she sponsors in the Ukraine through the Crimean Women's Humanitarian League of America.

Here's the first one all done. I used "Joel's Scarf" pattern from Sally Melville's The Knit Stitch (I just got the Purl book, by the way - thanks, ma!) and some bulky Sandnes yarn that was in the sale bin at my LYS. I'll also be making garter stitch scarves for his sisters. I think there are four of them. I've picked out several skeins of Lamb's Pride Superwash in various girly colors for theirs.

I wonder if there's anyone who could get me knitting socks again? I'll tell ya, though, that's gonna be much harder!

First finished project of the fall finishing fiesta...

This is Kristi's bulky baby bibby knit up in Berroco's Pronto yarn. And I simply can't say enough good things about both pattern and yarn. The pattern was so clever and easy to follow. The garter stitch version would really be an excellent project for a beginning knitter (no shaping, no picking up stitches, no setting in sleeves, and yet it doesn't suffer for the lack of them like some beginner patterns do). I love moss stitch, though, so even though it was more work, I had to work it up that way. And the yarn is extremely soft and just as pleasant to work with. I was worried that it might be too bulky for me. I'm not a fan of real bulky knits. Knit on 6mm (US10) needles, this was as bulky as I go. But I'm getting more comfortable at this gauge. Don't be surprised if you see some more bulky knits from me in the near future!

The finishing fiesta is about to begin! I've got four projects in or on on their way into the finishing basket (holiday island, ribby cardie, giranimals II, and the ladybug sweater). So this weekend I sat down, cracked my knuckles a few times and did a little warm up: I finished a sweater for a fellow Knitsmith, who's not a fan of seaming. She'll be finishing the neck, but I did the seams for her.

Isn't the color pretty? I don't know the yarn, but the color name is french clay. Now how's that for a name?!

Fellow Knitsmith, Shannon, has been making some kids chemo caps for her boyfriend's patients at Childrens Hospital here in Boston and I decided to join in. I'd often thought of doing some sort of charity knitting project, but nothing really motivated me to actually put down my own knitting and start something for someone else I don't know. Until now. In fact, I'm a little startled by my sudden need to make these caps. I guess it's some sort of hope that by making them I can keep my boys from ever getting seriously ill. It's bittersweet knitting, that's for sure, thinking of the sick little one you're making the hat for. But I'm trying knit through the sad and scary thoughts to produce something very special.

So here are my first two: a wee little yellow cap in Wendy Velvet Touch yarn. If you haven't felt this yarn, you must! It is perfectly baby soft. The Snuggle teddy bear wishes he were this soft!

And the second is a young adult size version of the lace cap from Rowan's Calmer Collection, which I knit up with a skein of all seasons cotton I had left over from my Smooch tank. I really liked this pattern - it's hip and young, much more stylish than your basic hat.

I hope these will be nice and soft and pretty for girls. I've got some ideas for boy caps too, which I hope to finish for next week.

More smooches: Wendy presented her finished Smooch yesterday - knit in record time, I'm sure! And it would seem that just as Wendy was finishing, Bonne Marie was casting on for her Smooch. Finally, all the way from Hamburg, comes a picture from Inga of her own Smooch in progress. We're everywhere, baby!

Less smooches: I relaxed yesterday by ripping out my old Smooch. Here it was looking more smoochy before and a bit less smoochy after. I'm so tempted to cast on for another one, but I do recall that I said I would try to rededicate the summer to the baby knits piling up in my to-do basket. I think this old Smooch yarn will find a much better home in one of the pipsqueak sweaters for the boys.

Normally, I'm not a good swatcher. However, since I'm still a little restless with what I'm presently knitting, I actually sat down and spent some time yesterday swatching. Here's a bad picture of a swatch of the Classic Elite cotton yarn I won at the Knit-In over the weekend. I'm hoping I can stretch the ten balls into a little sweater with three-quarter length sleeves. After knitting up the swatch and thinking about possible patterns, I started asking myself whether I should really start knitting yet another top for myself this summer. Aren't there some other people I should be knitting for, that I've planned to knit for?! So I ambitiously started another swatch, this time of the baby wool called for in some summer sweaters I'd planned to make for the boys. Not sure that I'm 100% ready to work at this gauge again, but if I wait too long, the boys will grow too big for the size I'd planned and then I won't have enough yarn. Hmmmm....

I'm thinking of rededicating the rest of the summer (except for the planned knitalongs, of course) to baby knitting. The boys' summer sweaters first, then the minimono set which still has to be finished, another baby sweater for another baby on the way in the family, and then there's the second bug sweater and giranimals jacket that I'd love to finish up.

Oh, I finished the second sleeve of the Becky sweater too. A girl can't swatch all day, you know!

In the comments on my last post, Meghan asked for recommendations for baby patterns. I don't have too many books with baby patterns, because I don't have too many friends with babies to knit for, but I my favorites are Double Knits by Zoe Mellor and Pipsqueaks from Kim Hargreaves. Of course, the Phildar layette and baby catalogs are also wonderful. (You can see the most recent ones at the Phildar website or browse through them all here. The latest one is available in english at knit 'n tyme.)

From what I hear, a lot of people really like Simple Knits for Cherished Babies and if I expected to make a lot of baby items, I think that would be the next book I'd pick up. And, in my humble opinion, you just can't go wrong with any of the Debbie Bliss baby books.

That's all my recommendations. Anyone else care to share her/his faves?

I finished the tiger set for my little nephew. Now, I've got some adult mittens to make (can't reveal the recipient in case s/he is reading!). So far I'm enjoying the mittens more than the socks. They're very uncomplicated, sort of like straight heel-less socks. I have yet to make a thumb though, since I've only ever made thumbless baby mittens. But I'm hoping that it's not too tricky.

If I can make it through real mittens, I'd like to make myself some gloves (someday!). I have some Rowan dk cotton that I bought for Native, but I ended up thinking that the color (grey) was too dark with the other colors in the sweater, so I saved the yarn for gloves. I can always use another pair of gloves. My hands get cold very easily and it seems like I'm wearing gloves outside and in the car from September through April. I usually just buy a new (cheap) pair every year. But this year I've got the yarn and plenty of patterns for basic gloves, so I just have to collect the patience, I think, to do all those fingers. I hope it's more like making ten i-cords than knitting ten baby socks!

I am so bored with these Christmas gifts, but they have got to be done this week, so on I go. I've finished another pair of baby tiger socks and have begun some matching mittens. Man, will I be ready for something new (or old) in January! In an attempt to console myself, I bought some more yarn for yet another project. I picked up a bag of Rowan wool/cotton in a beautiful brown for a vest for my husband. I'm so excited to try out this yarn, as I have seen so many other knitbloggers make beautiful garments with it.

And unrelated to knitting, but too funny not to include, the boys got some cute little baby backpacks from Oma for Nikolaus (December 6th, when German kids get little stocking stuffer gifties) and they just love them! They demand to wear the backpacks ALL DAY LONG. Sillies!

The tiger socks are done and will be delivered today to my neighbor along with the flowery hat and mittens set for her kids for Hannukah. Just under the wire. Whew! Now I've got to pick up the rest of that Opal skein and see if I can squeeze a pair each of baby mittens and baby socks out of it for my little nephew for Christmas. These will have to be sent to Germany no later than next week, so I've got to get cracking if I'm gonna make it.

Oh, and I can tell you right now that I will be breaking down later and going to the yarn store. I can feel it coming.

So what was I working on at Knitsmiths yesterday? Glad you asked. I finished up the first tiger sock. I think it's pretty cute. I've got to get this pair done by Thursday, since they are a Hannukah present. Then I'll get to work on the pair for Christmas. Oh, and big thanks to Kim for the tip on how to prevent holes when doing a short-row heel - it worked! - and Emma for the sizing help - I think it's just about right!

(As promised, I took a few photos of joining the stitches to work in the round, for anyone out there who hasn't used double-pointed needles before and is unsure of how to get started. I'll post them later today.)

Well, one hat at least. I finished the hat and mittens for my neighbor who's expecting a girl. Yeah, I got to make flowers! I think I'll try to work on the tiger hat today. If I get a couple of these odds and ends out of the way, then I can return to some of my more self-indulgent projects (finishing the crazy continental, continuing the Dale bug sweater and redoing Elizabeth III).

But I'm still not thinking about this.

Elizabeth is back on the needles, finally. I've begun reknitting the back and have completed the edging and short row shaping. Here's my progress so far (and here's a close-up of the detail that I love so much!). The yarn survived its wash and straighten process and feels good. I'm really enjoying knitting with it again. This is a great way to enjoy using this yarn some more without destroying my budget!

And I finished the second of the eight planned stripey baby socks. Here they are so far. I still haven't decided if I want to make matching pairs or not. What do you think?

Woo hoo, yarn delivery today! I got the Opal tiger yarn from the friendly folks at Carodan Farm, and in record time too. I've should have plenty of time to make up some little tiger socks for my new nephew for Christmas.

I haven't knit very much in the last few days, but I did get to the yarn store! I bought some yarn for two adorable winter hats for the boys - a bear hat and a tiger hat. I want to get these done before Halloween so that the boys can wear them as we greet people at the door.

The pattern is from Zoe Mellor's Double Knits book, which I just love. It's got pairs of patterns (modelled by twins) and they're just so cute! I'm trying to make as many as I can before the boys get too big for the designs (up to 3 years). I'm also planning on making the sweaters from the cover.

I did do some knitting, enough at least to finish my first short-row sock. Here it is!

Right now I can't handle the thought that I will probably go back and frog quite a bit of Elizabeth I , so I'm on to something entirely different: socks! These will be for the boys. I have quite a bit of yarn left over from their vests, which I recently finished (see this year's finished projects), and have decided to make them a couple of pairs of matching socks out of the leftovers.

Ahhhh, socks. What a pleasure. Small, simple, no massive gauge or sizing concerns. Just cast on the right number, knit to a goodly length and make a toe. To keep it interesting I am going to try doing short-row heels for the first time. I prefer the look of short-row heels to heel flaps and not having to pick up is a plus, but we'll see how they come out.

I found a clear pattern at Children in Common charity knitting site and got this far. Then I tried the heel, hated it and got back to here again, then tried it again, hated it and here I am again! Finally, after finding some tips here at Wool Works, I got around the heel. And voila!

Now I just have this one to finish and then seven more!