Bit by the Baby Knits Bug

Shortly before I knit the baby hat, I had bought a couple of baby knitting books. My neighbor/landlord was about to have a baby so I thought it would be nice to knit a couple things for her. Deciding to keep trying new things, I decided to make a couple stuffed animals. First I made a little pink rabbit. It was very different for me, because I had to knit a bunch of separate pieces and sew them all together. I also got to buy and use stuffing for the first time.

After I finished I wasn't sure if I was pleased or bummed. As a perfectionist I never think anything is good enough. i had to remind myself that it was my very first time making a stuffed animal and that I should be very proud of myself.

Caron Simply Soft

#9912 Pink
#9918 Plum Wine
White
["easy baby knits - clothes & accessories for 0-3 year-olds" by Claire Montgomerie pg 122-123]

After completeing the rabbit I felt confident enough to make a teddy bear. to save some money, I used a different yarn than what the pattern called for, so I had to compensate for it. Being my first time attempting this it didn't turn out like the pattern as much. The bear ended of being much larger and a little misshapen; I thought it looked a bit like an alien. However, it still turned out quite well considering.

I did my best to scribble out my adjustments as I went along so I could keep the pattern for future use. Someday, I want to try and translate my scribbles and drawings so that I can type it up. I wish myself good luck!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Caron Simply Soft
#9918 Plum Wine
#9912 Pink
White
[I used pages 60-63 of "nursery knits - 25 easy-knit designs for clothes, toys and decorations" by Zoe Mellor as a guide]

I went back and forth between being happy and dissapointed; my boyfriend had to repeatedly reassure me I did a good job. When I finally was able to bring the toys over to our neighbors, they were so happy and surprised. They loved the toys and thought it was so neat that I was able to make stuff like that. That made me feel better about it and I was ready to make some more.

Scarves Coming Out of My Ears!

For my next project I decided to make scarves for one of my favorite bands, Julien-K. They were finally playing in Milwaukee for the first time. I was stoked because I was getting tired of driving out of state everytime I wanted to see them. They are super sweet guys and fun to hang out with.

This meant that I had to knit 4 scarves in less than 2 months because I put it off for too long. It was late in the semester, into the summer, so I had to juggle knitting, classes, work, internship, moving, and social life. I began knitting almost everywhere. I knit on the bus, before classes, at the restaurant I worked at, at home, at my boyfriend's place, at our new place, and even at the bar we frequented daily. Needless to say, I had scarves coming out of my ears.

After knitting the scarves, which were very long I might add, I had to embroider the band logos on each end of the scarf. That was a whole other challenge for me. In the end, I think I made 4 cool scarves. The band loved them (at least they pretended to ;P ).

Caron Simply Soft Eco

#0034 Black
Caron Simply Soft?
White

Here is a picture of Brandon wearing his scarf:

A few days before the concert I decided I also wanted to make a baby hat for Elias' unborn son Jake. I had never made anything but scarves up until then. I busted the hat out; I was up until 6am working on it. After some sleep, I came back and finished it up. Here's the result:

TLC Baby Amoré

#9832 Lt. Blue (Dye Lot: 5176)

#9001 White (Dye Lot: 5190)
[I used the pattern on pages 56-57 of "easy baby knits - clothes & accessories for 0-3 year-olds" by Claire Montgomerie as a guide]

The rib along the middle of the hat was actually a mistake but I think it looks good anyway. I was very pleased with my first attempt at anything other than a scarf. Elias was very excited when I gave it to him.

After my knitting blowout I took a bit of a break (well deserved I thought). When i picked my needles back up a month or so later I had found that I was bit by the baby knits bug....

The Beginning

Yep, that's me a couple years ago on one of the days I'm least proud of. That day had been coming since the summer before 7th grade(1999) when I first plucked my eyebrows at summer camp. My OCD (then still undiagnosed) latched on to that and never let go. By high school my eyebrows were reduced to just a few hairs. During the following years my eyebrows were always extremely thin; I began to fill them in with a eyebrow pencil to make them more noticeable.

As you may notice in the picture I often had marks and scars on my skin. I would pluck to the point that I bled. I dug holes in my face just to get one hair out. I was mutilating myself. I would pluck everyday, multiple times a day. When I wasn't near a tweezers I would pull them out with my fingernails. I knew I had to do something so I went to my doctor. Around 6 months after being put on medication I plucked the rest of the hairs out.

After that day I got more serious about my knitting, which I had unsuccessfully started months prior. I now had my motivation. This was the result:

Red Heart Super Saver [Economy]
#786 Candy Print

My first attempt was a success. A warm, comfy scarf to wear when battling the Wisconsin winter weather. It's not perfect, but nothing I knit is perfect, but that's ok. It's homemade and unique.

Now you have an introduction to why I knit. I will follow with other things I've knit,  my knitting interests, and my knitting stuff. Hope you enjoy my knitting babble. :)