Good news on the family front: I am going to be an auntie (again!) However, this time, it is my own sister, Mimi, who is pregnant. She is due in early October and just found out last week that it is a girl! Mimi and Daniel have lots of life changes happening right now: they are moving to central California next month and then baby comes in the fall. Kris and I are quite excited to get another west coast trip in this year to go meet baby (and to explore more of the central coast!)
…as you can imagine, any time a knitter hears about a baby – and in my case, many babies, as several friends are also “with child” – the mind wanders to all the possibilities for little knits. I have not ventured deeply into baby knit territory yet. My knitting resumé includes two baby blankets, a bib, and a pair of booties.
…I can add one more baby blanket to the list now…
Cotton Ball Baby Blanket – cuddly and snuggly in every way. I got some cones of undyed unmercerized cotton at WEBS awhile back. Initially, I intended to do some weaving with them, but instead, I decided to make a nice gender-neutral baby blanket with two strands knit together. Simplest of the simple – stockinette with garter ridge edging. Luckily, I have some more of this yarn for another one – it was such a simple and enjoyable knit that I already want to make another one!
Baby knits seem like the ideal way for me to do some major stashbusting. This blanket was a great stashbuster (perfect for the Ravelry Stanley Cup Stashbusting KAL) and I have several skeins of yarn that fit well in the category of baby knits:
Do you have a “go to” baby knit? Any ideas for the yarns I show here? I have a lot of baby knits queued up over on Ravelry (and I received some emails and private messages asking me if *I* was going to be making a big announcement… nope… other than the fact that I will be an auntie!) but I would love to hear from you if you have a favorite – specifically little and quick things for small amounts of yarn – booties, hats, or toys!
sorry – more ideas….for stuffed animals i really like ysolda’s elijah. Also, the Celestine Sox pattern works well as well.
I always knit Debbie Bliss’ baby raglan sweater. It is very fast and simple, but can be jazzed up with a funny message on the front or a beautiful cable. Trellis from Knitty is a beautiful heirloom type piece for someone special, though it can take some time.
Great news and good for all those lovely baby knits. I don’t have a favourite knit for babies. Although my friend did like the cardi I made her girl from my pattern. Little booties are always so nice to make too.
A row of Saartje’s booties all lined up (and on display at a baby shower) would be so cute. Definitely knit EZ’s baby surprise. Any of the above yarns would work, it will be fun for you to knit and the new baby will love it. (But I’m sure she’ll love whatever you make!)
The baby blanket is gorgeous. It looks so smooshy and soft. Congrats on bein an Auntie!
Of course it’s been mentioned already, but you really can’t go wrong with EZ. Both the Baby Surprise Jacket and the February Baby Sweater are entertaining and beautiful.
I may have seen this in your queue, but I want to make this Country-Kiddie Rav link. I’ve got so much sock yarn lying around, and some in cute kid colors, so I’m hoping to give it a shot sometime soon. I haven’t made many baby knits, but I definitely like the appeal of a small and quick knit!
This is cute. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hip-to-be-square-blanket
Congrats Auntie Lolly!
I’ve often used the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece to knit the Child’s Placket Neck sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
There’s also a cute pattern on Ravelry for “leg warmies” which are pretty handy for wee babes: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/legwarmies
Also – Love the story of your Penguins game. I live across the harbour from Meegie, where Sid the Kid is from, so you can bet we’re cheering for the Penguins too.
My go-to baby knit is the Curlicue Blanket. I have one more section to knit on my fourth one. It’s simple and interesting at the same time. I know there has been some blog talk about the sections not lying (laying?) flat but mine block out just fine.
BSJs are also fun for smaller amounts of yarn. You can always do stripes!
Congrats on being an auntie. I had my two nephews and one of my nieces overnight on Friday. I love being an aunt. And then I love to send them home!
I’ve only made one pair of the Magic Slippers, but I’m definitely going to make more. They’re super quick, very un-fussy, and a great way to use up leftover bits of sock yarn. Other than that, I’ve made two BSJs and they’re always a big hit. Congrats on becoming an auntie!
This is just what i’ve been looking for to knit for a friend’s baby! Would you mind terribly telling me how many cones or how much yarn you used?