Keeping Up With The Cohens

Baby Blanket For Baby James

Our nephew James was born June 12, but it took me a wee bit longer to get his blankie knitted and shipped off. I thought, since the blanket was delivered and there are no surprises now, that I would share the pictures of it with you.

It's knitted using two strands of yarn held together. We knew it would be a boy, so I used the somewhat "in" colors of light blue and chocolate brown. This is a fun block pattern from a small booklet called "Quick Knit Baby Afghans," by Evelyn A. Clark. The patterns in the book are really nice, and I recommend them if you have a babe to knit for. They are just fun enough to keep your interest without being too complex.

Baby Hats in a Jiffy

My wonderful awesome family doctor just had a baby with his wife. I made the baby these. Super easy and quite quick. I have two more I am making for another friend's wife. They too just had a babe not too long ago. I love making these because they go so quickly. I'm actually thinking about trying to sell them on Craigslist. How much would you pay for hand-made baby caps, customized for whatever little tyke you're buying for?

Inspired Again

It's getting to be the time of year when I like to knit. This summer it was difficult to get motivated, partly because of the heat (who wants to think about wearing knit hats and scarves?) and partly because we had the house to focus on. But then, my friend Dana made me this avatar, and it inspired me to get knitting again:

Isn't that just the cutest cap? I want to make one just like it. But meanwhile, here's the first project I'm working on for fall:
 

It will be a cap with a broken rib pattern. I love this pattern, and I've adapted it slightly to make it my very own. I'm hoping that if I can get it down to a science so that each one only takes me a few hours, I can sell some and make some extra cash. Especially if I knit them in UT orange and white. With the weather getting chilly again, they should sell like hotcakes.

Taking orders now!

What projects are YOU working on for fall?

My Blue Sky Scarf

I just finished this the weekend before last, just in time for our "Dogwood Winter" day. So I got to wear it one time before the weather warmed up too much. Hooray!

I knitted this using a pattern Melise gave me: Classic Elite Yarns "Sinful" Ribbed Scarf. Scroll down to the bottom of the linked page to download a PDF of the pattern. It's a very simple pattern, easy enough for beginners, but fun and different enough for more medium to advanced knitters too.

Instead of using the Classic Elite Yarn, "Sinful," though, I used one of my most favorite yarns in the world: Blue Sky Cotton, in color 616, "Sky." It's a lusciously soft yarn that knits up like a dream and looks amazing in this pattern. It feels good on your skin, too.

This scarf took me many months to complete, simply because I would pick it up for a while, then put it aside. It's a good project for that because it's not too complicated, and very easy to pick up on the fly. It was worth the wait though, and it's my new favorite scarf. Now I just have to wait for cooler weather! But I'm not in any hurry...

Baby Blanket for Jasper

There it is: my first large project! It's a small afghan for my grandson, Jasper. I knitted it from a pattern in the book "Quick Knit Baby Afghans," by Evelyn A. Clark. The pattern is called "Cuddle Up." I used two colors of yarn held together: Sky Blue (508) and Pale Green (587) in Caron One Pound. It knitted up pretty quick, considering it was a large project, and it was fun and interesting enough to keep me going despite the length of the project. I am usually a very small-project-attention-span kind of girl, but this was a fun one. And hopefully yielded an heirloom.

Meanwhile, once I get photos of Jasper with the blankie, I will post them here.

Expelliarmus!

I knitted this for my friend Becca, for Christmas, to "expel" the cold (pardon my horrible pun):

It's a Gryffindor scarf, and it was a lot of fun to knit. If you want to knit one for yourself, go here to Atypically Knit for the pattern. She gives very detailed directions for each and every house color's yarn choices, too. I might have to knit one for myself. I'm thinking Ravenclaw.

Been Busy...

With these...

And this...

It's the Boarder's Beanie, designed by Lauren Sanchez for Lorna's Laces. It's my new favorite pattern. The yarn called for is, of course, Lorna's Laces, but I used Noro Silk Garden on the top two and Noro Kureyon for the bottom one.

The top photo shows the beanie I made for Timmy B (the one on the left) and me (the one on the right), and the bottom one I made for my friend Barbara. I am so pleased that they are well worn by two of my wonderful friends! As a matter of fact, here's a photo of Timmy B in his:

(Thanks for the photo, Timmy B!) I love the way the cap matches his eyes! ;0)

This is my new favorite pattern, and it super easy to make. If you like making hats (like I do), you'll really enjoy it.

Knit & Quibble East

I've tried to get into the SnB group here in Knoxville, but for some reason, even though I've been a few times, I'm just not invested in it. I finally realized why. In L.A., the knitting centered around my group of friends, not the other way around. So when I go to SnB here, it's not the same. I went to the K&Q more for social reasons than for anything else. And I miss it.

So it's high time we started a K&Q, East-Coast Version.

Here we are, at our inaugural meeting on Sunday afternoon! From left to right: Cynthia, Becca, me, and Zander behind me. Cynthia I met at a SnB meeting, and Becca I know from Tombras. We had a blast, and I can't wait to have more get-togethers like this! Knit On!

Free Baby Cap Pattern

I adore making caps. I especially adore making caps for kids and babies. So when Bradley's step-daughter announced her pregnancy, it was a perfect opportunity for a knitting extravaganza! (It was also a perfect opportunity to call Bradley "Grandpa," but I digress...)

Here's a little cap I modified from several different patterns. Feel free to use it if you want to.

For a baby-sized cap:

Materials:

• 1 Skein Baby Bee "Little Britches" in color "Playtime" (I also use Red Heart Soft Yarn a lot)
• Size 7 circular needles and size 7 double-pointed needles
• Stitch marker
• Tapestry needle
• Pompom maker

Gauge: 4-1/2 stitches per inch

Knitting:

• Cast on 60 stitches.
• Place marker, then join yarn to begin knitting in the round. Make sure not to twist stitches.
• Knit in st st for 4-1/5 to 5 inches.
• Begin decrease: *K8, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• *K7, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• Switch to DPNs: *K6, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round. (There should be 14 stitches on each needle, divided equally between three needles.)   
• *K5, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• *K4, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• *K3, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• *K2, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• *K1, K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• *K2tog. Repeat from * to beginning of round.
• You should have 6 stitches left. Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Bind off. Weave in ends using tapestry needle.
• Create appropriately sized (or not, your choice) pompom using your pompom maker and yarn of your choice. Attach to the top of the cap.
• Viola!

Note: You can adapt this for a newborn by casting on only 50 stitches. Work per the pattern as marked.

Please let me know if you come across any errors in this pattern, and I'll fix it right away. And please, e-mail me pics of your own creations. I love to see the gorgeous projects everyone else is working on!