knittin' for littles

i've been running around like a mad-woman latey, and work has been kicking my ass--thus the lack of posts. even so, i've been knitting when i can, even though i have way less time for it than usual. i spent some time this past weekend project-wranging and trying to assess my overall knitting progress. i haven't gone ANYWHERE on the baltic sea stole as it takes all my concentration not to mess up. some people won't let me work on it on sundays because they think i am BORING when i knit it--it's probably true. however, i have been making some headway. get ready for a long post about knitting! (tom, you may as well stop reading now...)

this is the garter stitch baby cardigan from simple knits for cherished babies, which, if you recall, i hae made before. i really love this pattern, and i like how it comes out with this mission falls 1824 cotton. it's a heavier gauge yarn than the pattern calls for, which makes for a sturdier garment; i like that in a cardigan. it's got a wonderful hand, and the colors are fabulous--they remind me of beach glass. i am also all about these little wooden buttons. i think this will look smashing on kimmie's new baby boy, matthew!

this is the same sweater as the cardigan above, but this one's for baby matthew's twin sister katherine (katie). these itty bitty babies are only a couple of weeks old and are quite a long way away from fitting into these sweaters, so i am not in a gigantic hurry to get them finished. (plus--hello? it's a hundred degrees out, even way up north in michigan!) however, they're fun to knit, so they are going quickly anyway! i can't decide which of these two buttons to use on katie's sweater, although i am leaning heavily toward the green ones. you can't tell from the picture, but the grey ones are actually iridescent shell buttons, and also look smashing. any opinions would be welcome and appreciated.

ah, ella's hoodie. i finally sucked it up and did the finishing work on this on sunday. i am embarrassed to say that i have procrastinated sewing up the casing for the drawstring on the hood and finding a button for this thing since NOVEMBER! ugh! seriously, people--that's just crazy. that said, i think this might be one of my favorite things i have ever knitted. i LOVE the noro silk garden and the way the colors just fade into each other. (look at this detail!) i am going to block this tonight, and hopefully ship it off to little ella in a couple of days. it's going to swallow her whole, but that's kind of the idea. hopefully, she will be able to wear it for a couple of seasons.

yet another basket weave baby blanket made from paton's melody. i just keep knitting this thing--it's so fast and practical, it's almost hard not to! this one's for our friends, jeff and carrie's new son isaac who was born in may. i knitted this in two days, and then it took me a month to get around to weaving in the ends. i picked something bright this time, just to try something different, and as you see--there's some pooling and flashing going on up there. it doesn't really bother me, but it's something to consider if you are thinking about using this yarn for anything.

in addition to all this, i am also about 2/3 of the way through yet another felted bag, this time in red. that's my current knitting-in-the-dark project for. you know--movies, road trips at night, and such. i also started another baby blanket for a co-worker who will be having a second squeaker in january. that one's my knitting-in-front-of-the-tv project. and there's still the baltic sea stole in the wings as well--that one will be on hold until i can find a day to myself somewhere in my crazy life.

in other, un-knitting-related news, the hippie's been away at a conference since last saturday, and it's time for him to come home. i miss him! look how cute he is knittng me some pippi kneestockings. how i do love my man!