2011: The Year in Knitting (and Crocheting!)

It seems a little late to still be talking about 2011 when 2012 is well underway, but what the heck… I’ve always been a bit behind the times. I realized that it’s been a while since I updated y’all on my yarn crafts, so here’s what I was up to in 2011:

For one thing, I learned to crochet. You might have seen the baby blankets I’ve made. As lovely as they were, knitting them took FOREVER AND A DAY and I heard that crochet goes much faster. Since I wanted to make myself this lovely afghan from Lucy of Attic 24, I thought I’d better learn to crochet. First, I got some practice making these two projects:

Skulls + potholders = skullholders!

Skull + baby hat = skullholder!

I made the potholders for LF from a pattern from The Happy Hooker, the sister book to Stitch n Bitch. The baby hat was an original pattern that I came up with all by myself (a first!). It was for Baby R, born in the spring to 2 very hip friends living in Boston.

So then I started working on the afghan, in the middle of the summer. Not the smartest idea I’ve ever had. It is huge, and I’m still not done. The good news? Sasha loves to cuddle up in it, and so does TC. It’s not quite big enough for two people, but I’m getting there slowly but surely.

This is not Sasha cuddling on the blanket-in-progress, but rather his confused expression at being planted there for this photo op.

I put the afghan project on hold and went back to knitting. I decided to make a baby sweater for TC’s nephew Nathan, who turned one in late October. Making a sweater is sort of a big deal, but I figured that making a baby sweater would be less of a big deal while still legitimizing me as a “real knitter.” I was knitting down to the wire, and despite some major issues, I managed to pull it all together by the birthday party. I was super relieved that: (1) it actually fit him (he is a long, skinny baby whom I had to measure in secret… yes, I’m that sneaky) , and (2) it was pretty darn cute, to boot.

Nathan, looking so handsome in his sweater.

And finally, Christmas presents! I wanted to make a cowl for TC’s mom and sister, but was told by certain parties that they didn’t like cowls or turtlenecks. So, I made a hat for his mom and a scarf for his sister instead. The hat was a quick knit and done in time for Christmas, but I’m embarrassed to report that I just finished the scarf yesterday. Bad Jen!! Well, at least it was finished before… Chinese New Year? Happy Chinese New Year, LJ!

The "hurricane hat" I made for TC's mom.

Peek-a-boo! LJ's seed stitch scarf.

I already have a long queue of projects for 2012 about which I’m quite excited. I wish I had more time to work on them all!

p.s. You can check out any of these patterns on my Ravelry site.

Adorable in Green

Hey, remember when I knit two baby blankets for two dear friends a couple of years ago and then the babies were born on the same day? Well, believe it or not, THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. On January 4th 2011, both EF and TT gave birth to baby boys! And guess what? I knit little green gifts for both of them! This is bound to happen a third time, right?

Ronin, son of TT, was the recipient of the first hat I ever knit “in the round.” It’s a pattern from Stitch ‘N Bitch called, “umbilical cord hat.” Luckily, it turned out cuter than it sounds! Ronin is the little brother of Aiden, for whom I made baby booties — one of the first things I knit, period. He’s also ridiculously adorable. I mean, just look at him. *swoon*

Ronin: "I make this hat look gooood."

If you’ve been following my blog, you might recognize the blanket pattern on EF’s baby boy Russell. It’s the same one I made for LS’s baby girl Evie. One major difference was that Evie’s was made from soft acrylic, while Russell’s was made from cotton. I love how both of them turned out, but they do look and feel very different. EF says that Russell snuggled with this blanket for a while after the photo shoot was over. Mission accomplished!

Russell is a happy baby, and a cutie to boot!

Gratuitous and adorable baby foot photo.

I can’t wait to meet both of these babies in person in a few months!

P.S. If any of you out there are knitters/crocheters, you can friend me on Ravelry. My username is stitchinjen.

So Snuggly!

Congrats to M & L, who had an adorable little girl named Evelyn (aka Evie) almost 2 months ago. To welcome her into the world, I knit her a snuggly raspberry tic-tac-toe blanket. It was slightly easier than the hooded baby blankets, and I was quite pleased with the results. Most importantly, it’s very soft and I’ve been told that Evie likes to sleep with it. I’m excited that I’ll finally get to meet little Evie in a couple of weeks!