I knit this for my niece Zoe Echo, and her parents chose it as her coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit.  My sister is anti-pink (as am I), so I was relieved when she said she liked it.  It was supposed to be a wee shirt, but apparently they like to wear it as a dress with her legs hanging out.  

The top is the Eyelet Vest from Debbie Bliss' Special Knits: 22 Gorgeous Handknits for Babies.  The hat is the Petal Baby Hat by Bonnie Brann (http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/babypetalhat.htm).  I used Bernat's Cool Crochet yarn in Neopolitan Shades.  I used a deep chocolate ribbon and an antiqued button closure.









Zoe rocking the outfit:



http://kat-bryan.com/_mgxroot/img_1128557111_16434_1183414163.jpg

Because every infant with a knitting aunt needs a stuffed dinosaur, here is Zoe's Mr. Stegs.

He is based on the dinosaur pattern from x-treme knitting (http://www.xtreme-knitting.com/photos-dinosaurs.htm).  I knit him in Paton's Moonglow, Moonlight, which is a kick-ass yarn.

Like most dinosaurs in their natural habitats, he was difficult to photograph.   

Even though it's 100 F in Tucson where my niece lives, she still needs cute accessories.  Plus, I live in Northern Ireland in the cold, so it's hard not to make hats all year round.  :-)

Kittyville's Lil Devil Hat knit in Sugar n Cream, Country Red.  Being modelled by a beverage, of course.





And a cute little hat and mary jane slipper set.  The hat is Stitch Marker's a little hat (http://larissmix.typepad.com/stitch_marker/2005/09/a_little_hat.html)
 and the mary janes are from a free Lion Brand pattern called T-Strap booties.





 

Though I may be living 5000 miles from my sister and brother-in-law, there was no excuse not to spoil my niece with handknits.  So wee baby Zoe Echo in Tucson received these all the way from Belfast!

A little green sweeter from an old Spectrum pattern (#7148) with little flower buttons.  Knit in Tahki's Cotton Classic.



A little cream hoodie with sparkly buttons based on the baby baby pattern from Jil Eaton's Minnies.   Knit in Knit Pick's Crayon, Buttermilk colour, which is not as dark as it appears. 

[Sandra's Romana pattern]

I knit Sandra's Romana pattern  for my sister's birthday.  Pattern here: http://strikam.blogdrive.com/archive/cm-01_cy-2006_m-01_d-26_y-2006_o-0.html

The yarn, freedom spirit by Twilleys of Samford, inspired me.  The colours remind me so much of fall and the outdoors.  Living in Northern Ireland, it's been chilly.  It just occurred to me that it might not be the most appropriate gift for my sister and her 110 F weather in Arizona!     She loves hiking so it'll eventually be good in higher altitudes. 

Let me know what you think.

As librarians, my coworkers and I like to base our Halloween costumes on storybook characters.  This year I was Mary Poppins!  We had a costume parade today at the library and everyone seemed excited to see Mary in all her supercalifragilisti cexpialidocious glory.  The kids at the library seem very well behaved in her presence.

My inspiration was the original Disney film and the recent stage revivals.

I had to make the hat after searches proved useless.  I used super heavyweight charcoal felt (they didn’t have black), doubled, with a sturdy interfacing between.  Then I hot glued some flower and berries. 

My cat, Frances, "helped" by holding down the excess felt.

The umbrella came from the Sears men’s department after an exhaustive search at Target, Wal-mart, Macy’s, and Kohl’s.   The bird-head umbrella was just impossible to find so I settled for this classic black one.

The ruffled shirt, bowtie, and gloves came from a vintage apparel store.

I already owned the shoes, skirt, and red pea coat.

Now with real children!



Candy for everyone!

When my best pal Cyndi announced she was going to be 4, I knew a special gift was in order.  I loooooooove the Philadelphia Chickens book/CD combo (http://www.amazon.com/Philadelphia-Chickens-Sandra-Boynton/dp/0761126368/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt/002-2146058-5004855?ie=UTF8) by Sandra Boynton (http://www.sandraboynton.com), so I decided she'd be receiving it. 

And then a tiny little piggy with silver wings inspired me to make her a puppet.  Maybe it's because her mom runs a puppet troupe that she is too young for.  Maybe it's because I had recently found puppy puppet patterns (the pattern is sometimes here http://patriot.net/~annette/patterns/puppets/index.html).  Or maybe it's because this is my favourite song on the album.   

Either way, behold the pigggy puppet! 



Here we see the silver wings, thus indicating that this piggy is in fact the Piggy Express piggy.



I barely had to adapt the pattern. I made the toddler size.  The piggy snout is just some i-cord I sewed on. 

And the happy birthday girl!  (Sorry for the bad scan)



Go run to your nearest library and check out this book/CD.  It's kid music that's actually fun! 

More pictures available on my FOs set on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29872969@N00/sets/72057594106276565/

And for those of you who don't know the lyrics...

Pig Island
by Sandra Boynton

There is one perfect place in the whole wide world,
Where noses are crinkled and tails are curled,
Where squeals are happy and smiles are bright,
And the wind is gentle all day and night.

Pig island! Pig island! What a beautiful place to be.
They play on the beaches, the colour of peaches,
There by the turquoise sea, oh my
Under a blue, blue sky.

All over pig island there are piggies galore,
I know that there must be a million or more,
They piggy songs as loud as they please
And wiggle to sleep in the coconut trees

Pig island! Pig island! What a beautiful place to be.
They play on the beaches, the colour of peaches,
There by the turquoise sea, oh my
Under a blue, blue sky.

The only way to get there is by piggy express,
You’ve got to close your eyes and whisper “ooo yes”
A tiny little piggy with silver wings,
Touches your hand and slowly sings,
 
Pig island! Pig island! What a beautiful place to be.
They play on the beaches, the colour of peaches,
There by the turquoise sea, oh my
Under a blue, blue sky.

My cousin's new daughter Courtney Rose arrived months ago, but pics of FOs are better late than never, I figure!

Initial baby arrival care package included a Miss Dashwood (http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTmissdashwood.html) that I knit out of Sugar 'n Cream cotton.  I ignored the instructions for ear flaps and it became quite a nice little sunbonnet.


I don't have a shot of Courtney in it, so I improvised at work...


Great for girls and boys....


Close-up


I finally got to meet the wee one a few months after she was born.  Which gave me lots of time to finish up her Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch (http://www.bust.com/knithappens/thebook.shtml).  I doubled the yarn (a washable, decent acrylic) so it turned out nice and big.



Did I mention that it truly was BIG?


Everyone was happy until I touched the baby...  What a screamer!


Let me know what you think!  More pics in my FO Flickr set: http://flickr.com/photos/29872969@N00/sets/72057594106276565/

My cousin's new daughter Courtney Rose arrived months ago, but pics of FOs are better late than never, I figure!

Initial baby arrival care package included a Miss Dashwood (http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTmissdashwood.html) that I knit out of Sugar 'n Cream cotton.  I ignored the instructions for ear flaps and it became quite a nice little sunbonnet.


I don't have a shot of Courtney in it, so I improvised at work...


Great for girls and boys....


Close-up


I finally got to meet the wee one a few months after she was born.  Which gave me lots of time to finish up her Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch (http://www.bust.com/knithappens/thebook.shtml).  I doubled the yarn (a washable, decent acrylic) so it turned out nice and big.



Did I mention that it truly was BIG?


Everyone was happy until I touched the baby...  What a screamer!


Let me know what you think!  More pics in my FO Flickr set: http://flickr.com/photos/29872969@N00/sets/72057594106276565/

I finished my Sophie bag!  It was my first time knitting in the round, picking up stitches, and felting.  I am so pleased with the results; it was an Easter gift for my mother.

I used Patons Classic Merino Wool in Petal Pink.  I knit the entire thing holding two strands of yarn together, so it took 2 skeins.  Also, I really didn't want those twisty handles, so I just made one big one.

Sophie Bag pattern: http://www.magknits.com/warm04/patterns/sophie.htm
Patons Classic Merino Wool: http://www.patonsyarns.com/product.php?LGC=classicmerinowool&SPP=999&PHPSESSID=313079021c25796aff9ffc300e9be3e2

Here it is pre-felting:


An attempt at another picture....Luka says "What?  Aren't all photographs about ME?"


Two machine-washes, some buttons and rhinestones, and a lining later, here is my finished bag:


The back has a few sparkles as well


A close-up of the lining...it's this beautiful moleskin I fell in love with.  I'm glad I only had to buy 1/2 a yard, though - it was pricey!


Elmo loves it!  (Can you tell I took these pictures at work?)

For the whole saga, check out my blog: http://iamnotmarian.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/04/20/all-hail-my-sophie-bag.html