Appreciated Knitting

Is is so nice when you give a knitted gift and it is actually appreciated! I was tickled pink to receive these pictures from my co-worker - showing her daughter in the little sweater I made for her. I had already posted a picture of her in the sweater with matching cap back in March when she was born. You can look back on my old post and see how much she has grown! It's nice to see that the sweater still fits, and that she has gotten almost 10 months of wear out of it. It looks very cute with the little green pants outfit.

It has been truly fun to knit little outfits for all the babies that were born at my workplace. (3 boys and 2 girls!) It exemplifies one of the many reasons I love knitting. I am relatively new at my workplace, and my little act of kindness has helped me get closer to my colleagues. Plus, of course, I love children and don't have any of my own, so it's kind of a surrogate motherhood thing.

Blue Ribbon Red Mittens

I've already posted about the Mitten Tree project that I do with the kindergarten children here at my school. Here is another pic from that event that one of the teachers just shared with me. Here, I'm showing the children my favorite hat and mitts. The mittens took the blue ribbon at the Wisconsin State Fair last year. (The vest I'm wearing took second place a few years back) When I shared that little bit of information, the children applauded!

Because these mittens are special, I did not donate them to the mitten tree. I told the children that I was saving them to wear after Christmas when I knew Santa was bringing me a red coat. You should have heard the uproar that caused! How did I know I was getting a red coat? Did I talk to Santa? Thinking fast, I said, well--I had only asked for one thing, and I had been really, really good this year. I was 99% sure I was getting a red coat. Never having had little ones myself, I did not realize how quickly one can create controversy.

So, Santa did deliver the red coat, and I wear it to school with my red hat and mitts. My prediction came true, and the children are truly in awe of me.

Baby Cardi with Baby

Here is another pic of the Baubly Baby cardi, this time with baby. She is such a doll, and I was happy to see how well it fit!

Bubbly Baby Cardigan

 
Voila! Here is the finished baby cardi. I hope it fits. I made up the pattern and relied on memory and judgement for the proportions. I'm sure it would fit a newborn, but the baby is already 6 months old and the arms may be a bit short. I have more yarn, so I'll rip it out if I have to, but of course I'd rather not. It is made with 3 colors of cotton (sorry, I don't remember the brand) to which I added some Berroco FX yarn. I made it in cotton because I wanted it to be washable for the Mom, but I'm not sure how these baubly things will hold up. It may not fit baby for many washings anyway. That's Ok with me, as long as she snaps a picture of the little darling looking cute.

As soon as I finish one project, I have to start another. I should make the 5th baby sweater. The mom is on maternity leave, and if I start it now, I could probably have it done when she returns. However, I'm slightly babied out for the moment. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a cute sweater for a one year old a little later.

I should make 2 knitted bracelets. One is a special order/sale and the other is a gift. They only take 1 and 1/2 hours each, so I probably will get around to making them this week and the recipient will not feel like they waited long.

Enough of the shoulds! What I really, really want to make is something with my luscious Italian angora that I bought at Stitches Midwest 2006. It has been calling to me from the stash for all this time, and I have always put it aside for should knit items. Enough is enough! I'm going to knit something for me for a change. I've already started swatching. Depending on how the swatches look, I may knit a bolero from a Rowan mag a few years back or perhaps it will be something from Adrienne Vitadini or the cute little short sleeve front tied sweater that I saw on Knitty.com, or perhaps an original Knitter's Journey if all else fails. Whatever it becomes, it will be soft, fluffy, and elegant. I can't wait!

Knitting Lessons

Allow me to introduce my newest knitting buddy, "E." (Shown here with Mom's permission) E was the winner of the Knitting Lessons that I offered for our school fundraiser/raffle. We got together for lessons over the Christmas holidays. E is a star student and is certain to be a State Fair prize winner some day. She already has two projects on the needles, a scarf and a purse. I can't wait to see her progress when we are back at school.

I've been a bit slow at working on my own projects. I'm currently working on baby project #4, for the 4th of 5 babies born to coworkers in 2007. Here it is in progress.



I just finished the second sleeve, and just have to sew it together and add the button band. I have the cutest jelly-bean-like buttons for it. It should be cute. Watch for a show and tell in the near future.

Mitten Tree

Well, I did my Mitten Tree thing again. It was such fun. This year I read the book The Mitten Tree to the children and I contributed a record 11 hats and 6 pairs of mittens. Here are pics.


The wonderful teaching day I had with the children was followed by sad news the next day that my brother passed away. I was greatly comforted by the support of coworkers and knitting friends, and though this has been a very sad time for me, I feel truly blessed that I have the love of coworkers, students, family, and friends. I hope that all readers of this blog will enjoy the love of family and friends over the upcoming holidays. Peace.

Teaching children to knit

I taught knitting to 2 little girls and their Mom yesterday. The girls are incredibly cute, ages 7 (just barely) and 9. It was only the second time I tried to teach such young children,and I made the mistake of trying to teach them casting on. It was perhaps further complicated by the fact that 9 yr old is a lefty and everyone else is a righty, so I thought I'd accommodate the 9 yr old and teach her continental knitting while everyone else learned the American way. That wasn't a good idea either.

Despite the initial frustration and floundering, we soldiered on and all learned the knit stitch at least. Mom mastered everything - casting on, knitting and purling. The 9 year old is highly motivated, and I'm sure I will have a future State Fair winner there. I will have another knitting lesson with them over Christmas break, and I hope to get pictures then.