Thursday, November 7, 2013

Creating for Baby list...Nesting for a Knitter

Yes, I took a hiatus from blogging but I have been busy.  I've been busily dyeing yarn for orders and when I wasn't doing that I was making things for my impending little one.  I also have been working on items for my Etsy store and for a holiday market in December.  So I'll break it down for you.  This post is about nesting, well nesting in my knitting life.  I've completed the Deepwater cardigan (you can find it on Ravelry).  It's made out of a silk cotton blend that will cover me with my belly and all.  Keep in mind it isn't a maternity cardigan, I just made it one.


I figured that would be priority in my personal projects, I mean I need something to wear when it gets chilly and I don't want to look like a giant marshmallow in a ski jacket, that would fit but be too hot.  The great thing about this cardigan though is it is double breasted so I can use it after Reece is born to be discreet when the need arises to breastfeed while wearing said cardigan.  Spoiler alert I am going to use terms like breastfeed if the necessity arises.  If that bothers you cross your eyes for second when you come across the mention of it and skip to the next sentence.  If that doesn't work you will have to figure an effective way to cope.  On to the next project.

I was going to make Reece a blanket.  Everyone told me not to because I was going to get a bunch from everyone else, which I completely appreciate and will use every last one, but dang it I'm his Mom and he will have handmade things from me.  So I picked out a simple entrelac blanket I found on Ravelry from Nikki in Stitches and went to town.


Now I used a washable worsted wool, so it's a little bigger that what the pattern called for and I finished it with a welted edge but I think it turned out great.  Yes, these are the colors I picked out for Reece, well the Hubby and I picked them out together.  But it was a fun knit and weaving in the ends was kind of cathartic for me, and there were ALOT of ends.  **Tip:  When picking up stitches along an edge, especially one with alot of ends it is best not to weave the ends in before you pick up the stitches.  The stitches aren't distorted and easier to see.**

Okay last item on the Creating for Baby list: The Crocheted Owl Basket.  This is also found on Ravelry and is a real quick crochet project.  Somehow in looking through all the things that are baby Hubby and I decided if there is an animal theme added to the color scheme it would be woodland creatures, but mainly owls.  So what did I do? I made a giant owl basket for diaper storage, since we don't have a conventional changing table.


Yes, the owl is full of diapers and yes I have it sitting on the diaper pail box. Fitting don't you think?  I made it out of 4 strands held together of some Cascade Eco Wool that I had in my stash (that is 2 hanks by the way).  I crocheted it from start to finish in less than a day.  **Tip: Make sure your gauge is right or you will run out of yarn.  Read the directions carefully! Also crochet the eyes first before you do the body.  **

That is the end of my Creating for Baby list.  I don't plan on making anymore things for Reece pre-delivery.  Once he is here you bet your bottom I will have a ridiculous amount of baby pattern creations happening because I will have my own little munchkin model to help me with sizing. SSSHH don't tell the Hubby.

Oh on the Hubby, he did up this cute little number for $25 bucks. We had two dressers, they have been in the family for 60 years, both were red at one point but one had been sanded back to natural wood.  Hubby made a custom changing table top to fit perfectly onto the top of the shorter dresser.  He then sanded everything, painted it cream (we picked out this together, there are too many types of cream to choose from),  and then put these drawer pulls on it that we just happened to have a whole bunch of.  We tried going the cute epoxied button drawer pull route but that was a diy disaster.  We will use those for some other project for Reece just not the nursery furniture.  Here's a picture of the changing table dresser, the taller one still has to be outfitted with drawer pulls so it didn't make the shot.


If you stayed for the entire post, congratulations!  I will make sure I don't wait so long in between posts again, it will save you a minute amount of time staring at a computer screen.  Join me next week to see all the things I have been creating for fiber fiend enjoyment!