Welcome, Spring!

I've been wanting to try one of Susan B. Anderson's reversible toys ever since I saw them in person in early March. I decided to start with her "Egg to Bluebird" pattern since it was small. It was also Mom's favorite toy at the meet and greet, so I made this as a little present for her!

Here's the egg with the bluebird tucked inside:

Little bluebird coming out of his shell

Is winter over yet?

Turn the egg inside out and a bluebird appears, ready to take flight!

Love this little toy. It's so clever!

Baby's "homecoming outfit" is done!

I finished the set! I am seriously in love with this little outfit. It is so soft and sweet. I can't wait to pack it into my hospital bag!

The toggles look intimidating to make, but they were actually really easy. You just make an i-cord, knot it, and then sew the end of the knot onto the knot itself. You pull the i-cord through a few stitches and voila! An adorable alternative to buttons.

Below is a picture I took of the sweater (before it was totally done) with my 1st blue sweater so you could see the size difference. The cream sweater should fit a 0-3 month old, and the blue sweater is for a 6-9 month old.

Updated pics of layette

Baby socks are done! I love working on this little sweater! The yarn feels so soft. I enjoy seeing the sweater come together as I finish each part. I am working on the two front bands now, and then will make the neckband and the sleeves. I think I'll bring the needles and yarn for the sleeves tomorrow on the train in my new knitting travel bag!Mom made it for me--isn't it so cute? I love the dupioni silk and the patchwork scene of the Dutch girls walking and knitting (click on photo to view larger). I used to try to walk and read when I was a kid--now I wish I could walk and knit sometimes! (Or at least listen during my class and knit...do you think my professor would go for that? :) )

Love the interior fabric too...thanks, Mom! It will be perfect for putting into my purse to knit on the go!

What Should I Knit Next?

Ideas? All I want to do is knit for baby!! Vote on the right side of my blog.

Pure and Sweet Layette

I bought yarn this weekend at the Susan B. Anderson event and couldn't wait to jump right into my next project! I'm going to make the "Pure and Sweet Layette" from Susan B. Anderson's "Itty Bitty Nursery." I think this could be the perfect "coming home from the hospital outfit!" I have only made the hat and one sock so far, but I think they are just sweet as can be! The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton and it feels so soft.

I made the bootie a little on the longer side since we have a feeling Baby is going to be on the bigger and longer side! :) I'll post more as I continue...working on finishing the second sock now and then I'll be on to the sweater!

What a Hoot!

This is another Susan B. Anderson pattern. It's knit on super chunky Spud & Chloe "Outer" yarn. The hat knit up quickly, but it took me a few tries to figure out the gray forehead section. I think the hat should fit baby when he's about 8 months to a year (but who am I kidding? I have no idea!).

Owls are all the rage now. Love this quirky, funny bird.

Update...in response to Mom's comment, we both decided to try on the hoot hat! Doesn't look like it'll fit us, but now you all have a good visual for what our baby might look like in the hat--just picture a combination of the two faces below. ;)

I finished the sweater!!

(Click on photos to enlarge)

What do you think? I'm pretty happy with it! The seaming was a bit of a challenge--I wasn't sure how to do it at first, but I found a few tips online and also got some help from a really nice fellow knitter on Ravelry who has made this sweater twice! Once I started seaming, it went pretty quickly and I was able to sew all the pieces together in two evenings. Tonight I spent a few hours just weaving in all the loose ends and attaching the buttons.

I made the 6-9 month size sweater since the baby will be born in June and shouldn't need a sweater too often during the summer months (although you never know with this crazy weather!). I really hope it fits him at some point--I'm proud of my first sweater!