Introducing the latest FO: Sebastian!

Sorry for the blog silence, but I finally finished my 40-week project! Sebastian Francis arrived on October 3rd at 1:06p.m. He weighed in at 6lbs 12oz and measured 20 inches. So far his hair is dark, but his eyebrows are light so we think his hair may grow back in lighter. His eyes have been grey, but today they were decidedly blue (although he's still at the stage where I rarely see his eyes open). I will be so excited if he gets my blue eyes, since his brother and sister have different shades of brown eyes.

I'm still trying to get a new routine in place juggling the needs of a newborn and two toddlers, so blogging may be sporadic for a little bit. I'm hoping to have a guest blogger pop in occasionally, so keep checking back! I do have actual knitting and sewing FO's to show you, plus gratuitous baby pictures - it's just a matter of fitting everything in.

New Pattern: Nivac Vest

	The latest pattern from Domestic Knitter Designs is now available! I'm also excited to announce that this pattern was accepted by Knit Picks as part of their Independent Designer Program! This means you can either purchase the pattern through Ravelry or Knit Picks , where they have a handy "Kit Builder" that allows you to package the pattern and yarn together. Yarn: Knit Picks Swish DK (100% superwash merino, 123yds/50g) Main color (MC): Dusk, 2 balls (all sizes) Contrast color (CC): Dove Heather, 1 ball (all sizes) A quick note on the CC: The vest is shown in the 2-3 year size, and I used almost the entire ball of CC. If you're thinking about making that size, you may want to buy an extra ball just in case, especially if you're not planning to swatch or if you leave long yarn ends. Gauge: 5 sts and 7.5 rows = 1” in stockinette stitch after blocking on size 5 needle.  36-stitch front cable chart = 4.25” after blocking on size 5 needle. Size: 0-6 months (6-12 months, 12-18 months, 18-24 months, 2-3 years) Finished Chest: 21 (22, 23, 24, 25) inches Price: $4.99 through Knit Picks, $5.00 through Ravelry
	I love cabled sweater vests, and I wanted to make a vest that could work dressed up or down. The central cable on the front gives it a dressy look, but the striped back and contrast edges give it a nice twist. The thing I love most about this vest is the variety of color combinations you can choose. I did the sample in a more muted palette, but you could really have fun with the contrast! You could even gear the colors towards specific holidays (red and green for Christmas, anyone?). Have fun and enjoy!

FO Friday - Baby Cuteness!

Have you ever had a day/week/month/year where you and knitting just aren't getting along? Where no matter how much you swatch, you can't get gauge, or the idea that seems so great in your head just doesn't translate to real life? I had one of those weeks last week, and it was really difficult to get through. I felt like I had lost my knitting mojo, so I thought a quick, easy garter stitch project would be just the thing to get it back. I recently found out that my primary care doctor is expecting a baby girl at the end of January, so I whipped up a pair of booties. Even though I'm not a big baby bootie person for my kids, I do appreciate that they make cute gifts. I really liked this pattern - it was well-written and easy to follow, and I think the hardest part was sewing the buttons on!

Pattern: Ruby Slippers from "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies" (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Merino DK, a tiny portion of one ball

Buttons: Little white roses from JoAnn's (from my button box).




I thought I had enough yarn left over to do a matching Aviatrix hat, but I ran short right at the chinstrap. D'oh! So now I have to decide whether to substitute yarn for the chinstrap (which means buying a whole new ball because nothing in my stash looks right), or rip it all out and make a smaller size. It'd be nice to have a little matching set. Maybe I'll take a look on Ravelry and see if anyone has a spare ball...

Thankfully, this was all I needed to get back into the groove of knitting, and I'm feeling much more myself. I'm hoping to get a few things finished up this weekend, both sewing- and knitting-wise. I've still got a week until my due date, and I'm progressing slowly, but I'd still like to get some projects out of the way before Sebastian decides to make his appearance.

Have a great weekend!

FO Friday - Procrasti-hats!

I feel like it's been forever since I've had a FO that I could show you! Between the earthquake and hurricane we on the East Coast had to deal with last week, I needed something quick and easy. Plus, I still can't bring myself to finish the last little bit on Sebastian's sweater (Yes, I dislike finishing so much that I'd rather start a new project. This is why I have a tote of projects that just need to be put together). I finished one of these hats in a couple of days and still had 1.5 balls left over, so I decided to make a second one.

Pattern: Brattleboro Hat from "New England Knits" (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Patons Angora Bamboo, about 2.75 balls. I had 3 balls of this in my stash that I picked up on a whim and never figured out what to do with.

Buttons: From JoAnn's! They're a little smaller than the pattern calls for, but since this yarn has more drape than the Malabrigo used in the pattern, I didn't want to stretch the buttonholes with too-big buttons. Plus, they're sparkly and match perfectly!

I'm not quite sure who these are going to be for. I think I have a recipient in mind for one of them, so I'll probably put the other one in the gift tote until I need it. Of course, I guess I could always change the buttons and let my son have it :) Surprisingly, my daughter who loves to wear hats wanted nothing to do with modeling this one for me.

New (And FREE!) Pattern: Holiday Earflap Hat

	Happy Holidays from the Domestic Knitter! I know, I know. It's only September (tomorrow), it's too early to think about the holidays, and it's still too hot to knit with wool. I understand and sympathize! However, now is the time to start thinking about gift knitting, so I have thoughtfully provided you with a free, easy earflap hat pattern for the special little ones in your lives.
	Holiday Earflap Hat Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted, 1 ball (MC) and Knit Picks Chroma Worsted, 1 ball (CC) Gauge: 5 sts and 7 rows = 1" in stockinette stitch worked in the round on US6 needles Size: To fit a 2-4 year old or 20" head circumference. Finished size 19.5" circumference Price: FREE! One note on the yarn: The hat took almost the entire ball of MC and only about half of the CC, so to be on the safe side, you could buy 2 balls of MC and make a second hat with the leftovers! Two gifts checked off your list! Thank you all so much for your continued support. Please enjoy!

Running In Circles

Whew! I'm starting to get that 'scattered' feeling, like I have too many things going on at once! We've been having napping issues here at Chez Domestic Knitter, so that's been cutting into my craft/blog time. I have been able to finish another quilt top though (just don't ask me about the top I need to quilt before its recipient arrives)! Here is my circle quilt top:

I'm pretty happy with it - I really like the strippy border I added. This top really reinforced how important cutting and piecing accuracy are. It's based on this tutorial, and is 41" x 48". Now I just need to find a good backing fabric. I'm thinking about a dark brown with polka dots that pick up on the pinks and greens. I saw something that might work at JoAnn's, but it was white, and I'm not sure that I want to back a quilt with white. I think I'm going to give this one to Caitlyn for Christmas, so I still have some time yet. Did I tell you that I decided to make each child a quilt for Christmas this year? In addition to having two toddlers and a newborn? I think I need my head examined.

Robert is in love with "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book, so I decided that I'd make him a VHC quilt based on one of the many free patterns out there. I printed out this one and took it to my LQS, where I knew they had the fabric. They also had a sample, so I could see just how big it is...it's really big. We decided that I didn't need to make it the full size, so I'm going to end it at the food fabric strips and do the two borders (omitting the colored squares at the top and bottom). Just as a point of reference, the 64" width is wider than I am tall! So far, I have the two large panels and the fabric to border them. I'm going to start there and buy a little bit at a time each time I make it out to the store. I'll let you see how it's going.

So, I've got Sebastian's Pooh quilt that needs to be re-sandwiched and quilted, Caitlyn's circle quilt that needs backing, batting, sandwiched and quilted, and Robert's VHC quilt that needs to be started. I also started a ridiculously obnoxious quilt top out of some primary color vehicle prints and coordinating solids that will be Sebastian's Christmas quilt...maybe. I'll have to show you that one next, because you can't imagine how obnoxious it is. I had purchased all of the fat quarters together (in a moment of temporary insanity - I must've had the kids with me) and was just waiting for the right way to put them together. All this is totally doable by Christmas, right? Hmm...

WIP Wednesday - Mariner Pullover

I apologize for the lack of posting around here! We're coming into the homestretch of this pregnancy, trying to get things moved around and set up, and there just aren't enough hours in the day. I have been working on my various projects, I just haven't had a chance to get things photographed and written about.

Here is my progress on Sebastian's Mariner Pullover. I'm pretty much done the knitting - I just have to decide what to do about the neck. I'm supposed to pick up the stitches on the holder and continue the half linen stitch for a few inches to overlap the bits on the neck edges (which then get sewn down at the end), and then sew non-functional buttons on top. However, I'm thinking about just binding that edge off, picking up the bottoms of the neck edge bits, and leaving it as more of a square neckline. I think I'm going to seam it together first and see how the neck part looks before I decide on that. My only concern with this design are the sleeves (which I saw from the Ravelry gallery was the main issue). They seem a little long and a little narrow. But then again, it's hard for me to remember how small babies are when they start out, so it might fit Sebastian just fine. We'll have to wait and see.

Time to pick out yarn for the Mariner Pullover, Part Two!