YOP 9/WEEK 2

Hello again!  So nice of you to drop by.  It was a busy week for this lady.  I was out of town last weekend and arrived back at my home Monday afternoon tired and just wanting to sleep in my own bed.  Not much knitting got done while I was away.  I was appointed navigator so the main idea was for me to keep my eyes on the road and help with directions.  Even though there were 4 days with little knitting going on, I still have things to show you.

First up................some FO's.  Yup plural!

The baby outfit is done and ready to be given to the expecting parents.  The gender was revealed, hence the blue buttons.  The hat is from the Little Boy Blue pattern but I deleted the cable pattern it asked for and substituted the cable pattern from the "Wee Sherlock" sweater.  I wanted the two pieces to tie into each other.  I made the size 3-6 months as I wanted the little guy to be able to wear it into the spring.  Even the booties are 3-6 months.  Speaking of the booties......I had to go up 2 needle sizes to get those things bigger than newborn.  The pattern was written for 3-6 months but I think someone has teeny tiny babies.  All the babies in our family have good sized feet when they come out LOL.  

This was such a fun knit and quick too.  The yarn is a 70% acrylic/30% alpaca combo called "Cozy Alpaca" and super duper soft.  It is washable but not to be put in a dryer.  The yarn is worsted weight which is one reason it knits up so fast.  This is the second time I have made this sweater and will do it again when it is needed.  The biggest plus to this sweater is the buttons going down the side.  If you wanted, you could use shank buttons and there would be no issue of the car seat seatbelts causing the buttons to dig into the baby.  Nor will the buttons dig into the baby if he/she is being held over your shoulder.  Win Win!

Once the outfit was completed, baby mode was still happening in my mind so:

A garter stitch baby blanket is in the making.  This is made with Bernat Pipsqueak yarn.  As you can see, it is squishy and very cuddly.  This is very hard for me to work on for long as it is quite warm on my lap.  I wish I could be making this in the winter but baby boy is arriving in the middle of November and will be living in New York.  He will need WARM stuff this winter.

For these projects I did need to purchase yarn for the outfit.  There was not one yard of cream colored worsted weight yarn in my stash!  Unfortunately, I over bought and now have almost 2 skeins of the yarn left.  I would have returned it but I already caked it up.  OOPS.  There is another baby being born in September (a boy again) so I might see if I have enough to make just the sweater for him.  There is a short sleeved version of the sweater and that might be an option for the remaining yarn.  The September baby will be living here in Arizona where the winters are mild.

OK.  Onwards to other items I am knitting.

I know this doesn't look like much............yet.  This is "It Really Fits" top down cardigan.  It is a pattern from Knit Picks and I am loving it.  I am using Debbie Norville Everyday Yarn.  This yarn has been in my stash for about 9 years!  It was on clearance at JoAnn's and I grabbed every skein that was in my local store.  I am sorry you are not able to see the rich eggplant color of the yarn.  I tried to capture the color but nothing seemed to help.  Now that the baby outfit is done and the blanket underway, I can give this a bit more attention.

And of course there is this:

A Rose City Roller sock.  This time I did the heel flap instead of the FLK heel.  I do my flap a little different than most people.  My first knit row is SL1 K1 and repeat across.  My second knit row is Sl1 *Sl1 K1 repeat from * across ending with 2 K1.  This gives the flap a diamond looking pattern and is just a tad more cushy than the normal Sl1, K1 each knit row.

The socks were my traveling project last weekend.  Now you know how little knitting got done!

Since we have been home we have been playing catch up with our daily routines.  There has been menu planning, grocery shopping, laundry, errand running, re potting of plants and lots of cooking and baking.  

I am still trying to find the perfect bread recipe for my bread machine.  I have 2 more to try this week.  I think the main issue is trying to keep it fresh for a few days.  There are bread bags ordered and will be delivered this week.  Hopefully they will help.  The fact they are reusable is a big plus too.  I have been using a Lock n Lock bread box but the bread drys out within a day no matter what I do.

Here is how my list looks now.

YOP 9 GOALS

Finish Boxy Sweater started in 2015

Finish Eva Shawl started in 2011

Finish Forrest Path Shawl started in 2018

Summer Top for me
  Spotting Clouds ( this time with fingering yarn )

Cardigan for me
  It Really Fits  Cardigan 7/1

Short Socks
  Rose City Roller 7/4
 
Regular Socks

Project bags/totes

Market bags

Produce Bags

Tissue Box Covers

Plastic Canvas Nativity bought in 2009

Bookmarks

Shawls for both Prayer Shawl and Personal

Blanket/Throw
  Polly Plum Squares
  Baby Blanket  7/12


Dishcloths
  DW Pattern (no longer available online!)

Doilies/Table Runners

Baby Items
Wee Sherlock  7/2>7/9
Little Boy Blue  7/10>7/10
Easy-Peasy No Sew, Stay On Baby Booties  7/11>7/12

Purchase of yarn is prohibited!!!!!  I have over 21,000 miles of yarn to play with this year.  (38,481,140 yards)

Any other project that falls into my lap.

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting!!!!!!