Totally Unravelled

I have signed up for Ravelry (I know I'm behind the times) ... but it seems to be a bit dangerous. On my first little Ravelry outing ... before I knew it ... half a day had passed by ... and that is dangerous!

I have added a couple of my knitting projects to my profile and I hope to make my Hugs, Kisses and Cables pattern available soon. It seems to be a wonderful forum to find out tricks and hints from other knitters - over come those parts of a pattern that you might be struggling with ... alternative ways to use patterns ... I fear there will be many many more hours (erm days) spent perusing the information available ...

I'm really struggling with the Sylvi pattern from the Twist Collective. My gauge was perfect with size 10 needles ... but then when I began knitting the pattern the sizing was totally off and the size small was turning out to be smaller than an extra small. After 60 rows or so I decided to unravel my knitting and start again with a bigger needle size (US 10.5) and try the size medium pattern. But it is still knitting up too small. It is really hard to know whether to keep going and see what happens or start over yet again ...
... and if I start over again - how do I start? Bigger needles? Bigger size?Maybe using my own choice of yarn was a mistake ...
Maybe I knit super tight (I think I do) ...Maybe I should just stay clear of trying to make clothes (maybe I'm wimping out too soon) ...
Or maybe it is the reason why hand knitted things are so special and unique - they all turn out a little different?
Do you just learn how your knitting style will change a pattern? Or will I have these endless debates with myself for ever more ...

Little Rose Cardigan

It never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from each new project I tackle. And I might sound a bit simple - but I was really beginning to think I might know how to knit. So I felt probably over confident when I decided to knit my first piece of clothing (admittedly - a very miniature clothing for the little bunny.)
It didn't take very long to make all the pieces ... learning to make cute edging was fun ... ... but learning how to sew together the shoulder seams using a grafting technique - that was a serious mental effort (especially when your pregnant brain is functioning like a peanut) ...

Diagram from Patonsyarns.com

... and realizing that in order to make my seams beautiful and neat on the inside of the garment I really need to adjust the way I "dec2" ... lets not share photos of the dodgy bits!

I only made one little rose for the front of the cardigan. I followed the instructions making the rose with the specified US6 needles - but it was really too big - so I unravelled and remade the rose using US3 needles. Putting 3 additional roses down one side still seemed too much - do you think I was wrong to leave it at one rose?
I found the perfect colored pink button from my recycled button stash ...... although I wonder if pink was the wrong color? (Cascade Yarn - Cash Vero DK 036) Pretty predictable for a girl bunny ... but I felt knitting in white cashmere for a little one was just asking for trouble!

Knitting Clothes

I really started knitting to knit bunnies and other knitted softies. I don't know why I have never knitted any clothes before (apart from the odd hat, one scarf and a pair of dodgy mittens) ... probably because I haven't had faith that I would make anything worth while or even wearable. Now I have the cardigan/coat pattern to take on ... but I little thought popped into my head the other day - soon I will have the perfect model to experiment with - an innocent child who will (for the initial part of her life at least) wear what ever I put her in!

And this is what I have found for her first little knitted outfit ...... I plan not to torture her too much with anything too experimental. But I really think this is about the cutest little baby cardigan I have ever seen - lets hope I do it justice!

Four

Back in December the lovely Kathy from Lizzie Jane (check out her adorable spring bunnies) tagged me to:
1. Open the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2. Choose the 4th picture and post it on your blog.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same.

Here is my photo (step 1 & 2 completed!):
(Step 3:) This is a padded baby book that I made back in March 2008. The book is made from material scraps (surprise) and was lovingly sewed together to help a little one count from 1 to 5. How? By counting the bunnies of course! Initially I thought it was a rather sweet project but then I realized I had probably totally lost the plot - because any small child who is still in the padded book stage is not going to be advanced enough to recognize a bunny - let alone count bunnies from one to five. So this is a project that just went into the 'needs more thought' box. I had always meant to make another padded baby book with big colorful shapes (no advanced number or alphabet skills needed) ... but that is a project that is still on the 'to do' list. Here is a better picture of the book ...
My husband is ever hopeful that a certain little man in our family will learn to count soon ... he certainly looks like he is concentrating hard!!(Step 4:) I'm terrible at being tagged - I'm sorry ... but please consider yourself tagged and play along - take a look at your fourth picture in your fourth picture folder - what will you find?

I Have Giraffe Envy - Meet Gerald

I really really want to be good at making cotton sewn softies - but it seems to be a skill that eludes me. I'm always a bit upset with the fabrics that I end up choosing - that amazing skill some people have of throwing different fabrics together to make things look utterly beautiful is totally absent in me. Is there a book I can read? A course I can take? I'm always way too practical and perhaps I need to be more daring?

Recently I've been having giraffe envy (check out delightful softie giraffes at Hop Skip Jump) . Don't ask me why it has been giraffe envy ... because I actually have craft envy with most things I see. (That list of 'want to make' only gets longer these days.)

So off I set to make a giraffe. I tried to pick good colors - but then I've never been known for my wild and crazy choices - so safely I opted for orange and brown - at least if it is orange and has a long neck someone might recognize it as a giraffe?
Meet Gerald. Gerald is a lonely giraffe so we decided to take him to the Central Park Zoo to see if we could find him any friends.
We searched the map of the Zoo - but unfortunately there are no giraffes ...
... but don't tell Gerald ... because we told him that the Llama's were a type of giraffe too ... and he seemed happy enough with that.

Bunnies and Bears

The post arrived yesterday and it was quite the most exciting delivery I have had in a while.

My Christmas cards arrived from Catherine at Bumpkin Bears. Catherine's handmade bears are so gorgeous and perfect and I have totally fallen for all the beautiful drawings she is now sharing with us.
AND a huge parcel of trim (seriously there is so many lovely pieces - all as beautiful as the other ... ... although the pink bunny trim did catch my eye!) came from Anne at Bunny Hill Designs - as well as a lovely card congratulating me on the bump and a dear little bunny named Flora ...... who will be a perfect addition to that very meager bunny collection I have ;-)

The knitting goes on ...

What is at the top of your tree?

I am feeling guilty about my blog. I worry I am lacking in crafting news these days as I am currently buried in my Hugs Kisses and Cables blanket - which will soon be finished - if I can just keep going. At times it feels a little bit like a knitting marathon ... only the serious athletes will survive! Here is a little sneaky peak at my progress.
I'm already pleased with this blanket as it is my very own pattern. I've actually written the pattern down - which I am trying to diligently check (and check again) for any mistakes. I also really love the yarn I am using - it is so soft, easy to work with and the hanks (478yds each!) are just enormous - so it goes a long long way.

With Thanksgiving behind us for another year - I can now fully concentrate on the glitter and excitement of Christmas ... and this Christmas is going to be extra special as my sister is coming to stay with us! (My lovely sister wins the prize for being the most excited about the impending bump!) And Christmas has really begun early for me as I won (yes I actually won something - woo hoo!) a beautiful package of trim from Anne at Bunny Hill Designs. Anne (a faithful bunny lover too) is a very lovely and very very talented lady - do not fail to check out her blog.

In the meantime - with my lack of crafting news - lets talk about decorating Christmas trees!! I faithfully put up our tree on December 1st ... (it is a fake tree - because in a small apartment - coping with constantly dropping needles and then the final fight to get the dead tree back out the door and down in the elevator without covering every inch of floor and stairs with needles ... well I just would prefer not be be cleaning up needles until spring arrives ... my husband would prefer the 'natural smell of pine' ... but he is not the one who cleans ... and it is a rather good fake tree ... Can I stop justifying the fake tree now?) ...

So as I began to say ... I faithfully put up our tree on December 1st and the poor thing looks a little bare in the decoration department - so I'm probably a bit too thrilled about being able to take my sister down to the Union Square Holiday Market (has to be done at night for the extra sparkle effect) ... and pick out some additional decorations. I might have to concentrate on more bunny decorations as we seem a bit short of those ...
... cute bunny, bucket and birdies ...
... slightly scary fir cone bunny (actually I think it might have been bred with a squirrel!) And what would you put on the top of the tree? An angel? A star? What about a beautiful Ballerina Bunny?