More Finished Goods!

     I'm apparently really on a baby roll.  Larissa called me a few weeks ago asking if there was any way possible I could make Easton a pair of baby mittens and a matching hat.  Since I was already planning on making him a hat for Christmas, I said, "Of course!"

     I had just finished my first hat in Swish, and it turned out to be very stretchy, so I decided to use that pattern again (Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby Hat), and found an easy thumb-less pattern for baby mitts (Basic Baby Mitts). She told me to use whatever yarn I had on hand, but clearly this was an opportunity to place a Knit Picks order (plus I needed to order yarn for a project for my little sister), so I picked up a skein of Swish Worsted in Dublin and one in Dove Heather to make the perfect MSU set!
Once I finally got to knitting it, it was super quick - mittens took about an hour apiece, and the hat was two easy nights of TV knitting.
     Up next is my sister's wrap around sweater using Biggo.  We'll see how it goes!

Lots of mini-knitting

Knitting for babies is so much better than knitting for adults.  My Zora is still sitting, unseamed, waiting for the day when I get the motivation to spend a few hours finishing it.  On the other hand, I've finished two cardigans, two pairs of thumbless mittens, five hats, a sleep sack, and two blanket squares since doing the final Zora knitting.
My latest FOs are the Owlie Sleep Sack with a matching hat (I just finished the hat last night and haven't taken a picture yet).

 I shelled out the big bucks for Malabrigo Rios, and it was totally worth it.  They are super soft, and I love the semi-solid look.  I'm also a big fan of the color, which is closer to the full picture.  I know babies are born with blue eyes in general, but since Evan and I are both blue-eyed babes ourselves, it's looking pretty good that little Rocky Balboa will be sporting them as well.  The teal-y color of the Owlie set should look really, really good on the kid. He's clearly going to be a good looking kid ANYWAY, so this set makes me really happy. I honestly don't know how often it will get used - my main purpose for it was to have a nice prop for his newborn pictures.  Kristy, our photographer, is pretty awesome, so I'm sure she will get some terrific shots.
I'm thinking with my leftover Malabrigo I'm going to make another Hermione hat.  I have about 66 grams leftover, which is enough for just about any hat, but I'm a huge fan of the Hermione hat I made last Christmas.  I probably don't need another one, but I'm not sure what else I'll do with the yarn, and I don't see any other hat patterns that are calling my name. I've also found a cardigan I'd like to make for myself (with NO SEAMING, I've learned my lesson) out of the yarn I bought at a fiber fest at the end of September. It was supposed to be a vest, but based on the gauge I should be getting, the yarn is just not going to work.  The pattern calls for either a worsted or bulky yarn, but I think it would work much better with bulky, and this 'worsted' is more like a light worsted.  I have six weeks-ish left until this baby shows up, so I'm thinking I should get a bulk of my knitting done now! Odds are, I'll just sit on Ravelry and look at stuff, though, instead of actually knitting. . .

Finished!

Tada! All done! It is such an awkward size, I had a hard time getting a picture of the whole thing in all of its glory.

It is approximately 60" long, 30" in diameter. Just a little bit bigger than that, I think.  I followed the Vernal Equinox pattern, with one small adjustment. I was tired of Clue 4, so instead of doing 4 repeats, I did 2.5.  Other than that, I followed the pattern.  I used 1.64 skeins of KnitPicks Shadow Kettle Dyed in Begonia (discontinued) and used a size 4 needle.

It actually worked up pretty quickly, despite having it on the needles from April 4 until June 23. I'm sure I could have finished it in a month if I'd spent more time on it and less time on everything else I was also making (baby set, socks, blanket, etc.).  I made it with a wedding in mind and wanted to have it done well before it was needed. Since the wedding isn't until August 7, I'd say I did it! I'm so happy to have it done, I love it. I definitely have grown a lot when it comes to knitting lace. I didn't use a single lifeline, and as far as I know, there aren't any mistakes in it. Knitting my Swallowtail and Haruni first has taught me a lot about reading my stitches and making sure my rows match up.  It was really easy for me to see if I was off a stitch or two, which happened a few times, so I was able to just tink back a little instead of having to rip multiple rows.  As soon as I was done with this, I went online and bought some more yarn - this time to make another Haruni or two. 
All in all, I'm super happy with how it turned out. I can't wait for the chance to wear it!