Umbilical Cord Hat and Booties

Here's the first of many finished projects I'm finally getting around to writing about and just to warn you the first of many many baby hats that I've knit. They're just so addicting... So portable, so fast and so darn cute! These I knit before Miss Mabel was born. The hat and booties took just 1/3 of a skein of Misti Alpaca. I don't have the band anymore so I'm not sure of the weight but I'm pretty sure it's a sport weight. The color is the palest of pink and so incredibly soft. These will be a "go-to" for gift knitting because they require so little time and yarn and are such a luxury. The hat pattern is of course from the first "Stitch 'n Bitch" book. The bootie pattern is a great match to the hat, here's the ravelry link. The only changes I made were to omit the ribbing at the top to create a rolled cuff, mimicking the brim on the hat. I also omitted the eyelet section because I didn't want to include the ribbon on this pair.

Louise Cardigan

Louise Cardigan from Vintage Baby Knits
3-6 months
Louet Gems Fingering Weight in Cherry Red (2 skeins)
Size 3 Needles

I was so anxious for this book release and I have to say it's one of the first knitting books that completely lived up to my expectations. The book itself is gorgeous with beautiful photography and great layout. The patterns are perfect and it was so hard to decide which to knit first. This baby girl in my belly is going to have a full knitted wardrobe by the time I'm through. I ultimately decided to start with a project I already had yarn for. This louet sock yarn was originally going to be a pair of Baudelaire socks but it seemed like a perfect match for this adorable sweater so I made the sacrifice. I've knit with the louet gems one time previously and I can't say that I'm a huge fan. I think it's got a little bit too much twist in it for my liking, it makes the stitches uneven and bumpy looking. Blocking helps quite a bit but I think I prefer a smoother yarn for projects where there's a pretty large section of stockinette where the uneveness is really obvious.

The pattern itself is so incredibly simple and oh my, so fast! I was a little daunted at first by knitting with such fine a yarn and such small needles but it took less than a week for me to finish, it literally flew off my needles. I love the way it's constructed, from the bottom down, in the round. The only seaming was the underarms and sleeve seams. I made some covered buttons with fabric from a vintage apron that I had in my stash and I love the way they look with the sweater. This is by far one of the most satisfying projects that have come off my needles in awhile and I can't wait to knit more from this book. I've got some yarn on the way for another project that I'll hopefully be able to start this week.

Congrats to Kristen on her first book. In my eyes it's a smashing success... I can't remember the last knitting book where I really loved 90% of the patterns. I hope there's more to come from her.