Author Archives: affiknity

As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket: Take 2

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I have added more sizes for As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket. The blanket comes in 3 sizes now.

Stroller Blanket: 22″ x 30″

This is the smallest and is perfect for draping over the baby in a car seat or a stroller. Easy to manage and carry around and of course, quickest to knit up.

Receiving Blanket: 28″ x 36″

Big enough to swaddle a baby and keep it warm, but small enough to make it easy to carry around.

Crib Blanket: 36″ x 52″

The biggest size available, can be used for years to come, a perfect present (as well as these items for gift).

Happy Knitting!

Photo copyright: Knitcircus

As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket

New Pattern: Tee Cruise

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Remember the contest I hosted on my blog sometime back in which I asked suggestions for a name for a new pattern? The pattern is now christened Tee Cruise. That means Lori (Indulgence on Ravelry) from Things from Strings is our winner. Lori, thanks so much for your suggestion. It conveys everything I wanted to through this pattern. I have sent you the pattern as a Ravelry gift. Hope you enjoy knitting it!

I had a lot of wonderful suggestions and many names were shortlisted and Tee Cruise won by a small margin. Since I had so many great suggestions, I do not want to disappoint the others, so I will have a pattern giveaway soon.

The pattern’s idea originated way back in March when summer was starting (in this part of the world). The pattern has come a long way from ideation to pattern proposal to getting yarn and making the prototype. In the end, I have a very satisfied feeling that the pattern turned out exactly like what I had in mind.

Special thanks to Nupur and Kashmira for helping me in getting the yarn. Thanks to this pattern, I met a wonderful crafter and now can call her my friend.

Ravelry Pattern: Tee Cruise by Anjali M.
Yarn Suggested: Knit Picks Simply Cotton Worsted
Needle Size: US #7 4.5 mm

Tee Cruise is a summer gift to encourage a child to go out and play, because don’t you know, it’s summer? This summer tee is perfect to play under the blue sky and roll over the green grass. The folded up sleeve bands and the contrast colored placket add the right amount of jazz to appear cool by the pool under the scorching sun.

The tee is knit from top down from the neckline and knit flat until the placket opening. The body is then joined in round. The collar and button bands are knitted later by picking up stitches. The sleeve bands are knitted by picking stitches from under the sleeve edge and the end is sewed on in place. It comes in a good range of sizes: 12 months, 2T, 4T, 6, 8, 10, 12. For more details, visit the Ravelry pattern page: Tee Cruise.

Keep watching this space because I will be back with a giveaway.

New Pattern: Swirl Wrist Bag

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My knitter friends in Bangalore aka Bangalore Ravelry Brigade had a Potluck lunch planned last week. In the last minute, I was asked if I could bring along a handmade gift. I don’t sew (which is considered faster than knitting), and I am not that good at crocheting that I could just whip up something in a hurry, so that left only knitting I could fall back on. I didn’t have enough time to search for patterns on Ravelry, sort through them and finalize on one, so I took the easy way out and created something on my own and that is how Swirl Wrist Bag was born.

Swirl is a seamless wrist bag with garter stitch base and slanting eyelets on the body. It comes with three options for the strap: garter, stockinette and i-cord. Swirl is quick to knit and is perfect as a project bag for knitters and a wristlet bag for muggles non-knitters. It is ideal for newbie knitters who want to try out provisional cast on, lace and i-cords. The instructions for lace stitch pattern is provided as written instructions and chart.

SIZES
One size: 7” base and 9” height.

MATERIALS
Any Heavy/Worsted Weight Yarn

GAUGE
18 sts and 20 rows = 4” in
Stockinette stitch
Gauge is not critical for this project

To download the pattern, click on the image above or on the button below.

 

Chocolate ice-cream

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… with mango sauce and cream. That’s what this blanket reminds me of.

When my friend Anuradha broke the good news that she is expecting, I decided I will knit something for her baby. I was thinking of making a sweater and a hat – something small so that I can knit it in my busy schedule. To my surprise, Anu decided to take up knitting too. She started with a hat and made a cardigan and a vest. Now that she was making these stuff already and was a knitter herself, I couldn’t possibly give her a teeny-weeny sweater, could I? I had to make something good enough for a knitter. That’s how this blanket got created.

Crochet has been on my need-to-learn-this-skill-because-the-FOs-are-so-awesome list, but never got around to doing that. When I was finalizing a blanket pattern for Anu’s blanket, I decided it had to be crochet. One, if I don’t learn crocheting now, I probably never will and two, I have heard crocheting is way faster than knitting. I used the Neat Ripple Pattern by Lucy (or Attic24 as she is known in the crochet world) and loved it. She has detailed photos for crochet newbies like me. The photos were a big help!

After an initial swatch, I had enough confidence that I can finish this blanket. Next step was the choice of colors. I had bought this yarn from Pydal’s for what would have been a vest for my hubby. I soon realized that this yarn is too flimsy and has no stitch definition, so the most natural choice was a baby blanket. I had lots of brown and just one skein of yellow and off-white. After a bit of calculation, I decided to do a row each of yellow and off-white for every five rows of brown. I knit until I ran out of the off-white yarn.

There are so many mistakes in there that I can’t count. For starters, the edges are wavy and uneven. Expert crocheters tell me that the edges are meant to be wavy, so one less mistake to worry about. The starting rows are too tight, so the blanket is narrower at one end and wider at the other. Since it’s a blanket, I hope it’s ok and I hope the baby doesn’t  mind.

I worked on this blanket for an hour everyday for 3-4 weeks. It would have taken even lesser if I wasn’t so new to crochet. So, it is true, crocheting is definitely faster. My next blanket is going to be a crochet blanket.  I have even bought yarn for it. Going off to look for patterns. Crochet ville, here I come!

Link to Ravelry Project.

As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket

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© Knitcircus

When I was expecting my baby, I decided to knit a blanket for that soon-to-be-arriving special person. Ravelry, with its load of baby blanket patterns, failed to find me something good. I decided to make up the pattern myself. I had very specific requirements: no holey laces, it should have some texture, it should be simple, yet interesting to hold my attention.  The end result is As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket. This blanket is being overused well used since the last 20 months.

So why am I blogging about this again? That’s because the pattern was released today. My pattern is part of the latest Knitcircus issue.  Can you see me jumping with glee?

Inspiring…

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Davey Hulse took up knitting because he couldn’t keep his hands still and wanted to do something with his hands all the time. He started knitting and was disappointed with the knitting books and patterns, so he decided to write one himself. Did I mention he is blind? His book The Touch of Yarn has instructions and charts in Braille.  Read the full story here.

There are many reasons why this story inspires me. I see quite a few physically challenged people around who want people to take pity on them. There are some who stoop to begging. Amongst all those miserable people, Davey shines through. Instead of sitting in a corner and sulking that he is blind, he took up knitting in his free time. How many blind people do you know who can knit? I know none!

After being disappointed with the knitting books, Davey decided to write his own. He wanted to help other blind people who might get interested in knitting. He did not want them to get discouraged and he wrote his own book to cater to them. It shows how positively he treats life. Instead of complaning and whining that the knitting world does not care about blind people, he is sincerely doing something to change this world in whatever little way he can. Since morning, how many things have you complained about? Weather, traffic, the guy who you almost hit on the way, your work, your boss? And what are you doing about those things? I am reminded of Gandhi’s words – “We must be the change we wish to see in the world”.

Itsy Bitsy – Knitting baby stuff

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It’s been ages since I have talked about any FO. That does not mean that I haven’t done any knitting, but just didn’t have the time to write about it. Well, what have I done during the hiatus? Lots of things actually.

It’s difficult to choose a pattern when it comes to baby sweaters. All the patterns look so cute. One pattern that stands out is Baby Sophisticate. It is cute, no doubt, but it also has a distinguished look to it which gives babies that grown-up look. I personally think kids look cute when they act all grown-up. I almost made this for Anya, Rima’s little princess, but when Rima knit the same one for her, I decided to knit something else. I am keeping this one for a baby to come along and claim it. The yarn is 3-ply yarn from Pydal. Really soft and has a nice sheen to it. The only problem is the yarn is so thin that I used 3 strands held together for this cardigan.

I decided to make this Pebble vest for Anya. Just when I was about to sew the buttons on and mail it to Rima, she too made the same vest for Anya. I didn’t want to send this vest, but since the day of Anya’s arrival was nearing, I decided to send it anyway, consoling myself that the one Rima made is bigger and mine is smaller, so can be used immediately. The DK yarn is from Pydal and is soft and squishy.

The vest looked so adorable, I made another one for Ninad. I modified the pattern to make it a bit bigger and knit the body in round. This vest looked great too, but I realized that this yarn was not the best choice only after I started using it. The yarn is so squishy that it doesn’t hold any shape at all. Anya’s vest can be easily used by a 2 year old, that’s how stretchy the yarn is. Now I am feeling guilty for using this yarn for Anya’s vest. I should have used a tried and tested yarn. Sorry Anya and Rima if the vest turns out to be unusable.

The moment I saw this pattern on Knitty, I knew I would knit it some day. Kids and ice-cream go well together, don’t they? I was waiting for an opportunity to knit it and I got it when my mom asked me to knit a sweater for my brother’s kid. I finished the front part in just 3 hours. Intarsia was addictive. It’s another matter that I took 2 days to finish the back and 2 weeks to finish the sleeves. One cute sweater and a great pattern. The only drawback is it is not knit in round, but intarsia can’t be knit in round, so that’s how it is. The 8-ply yarn is leftover yarn from Ninad’s blanket. I love this yarn. It’s strong and has good stitch definition. It’s thick, so knits up fast.

So, this is what I had been upto. I also made a adult size sweater for my husband, but that’s for another blog post, when I get to write it.

13 months

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Wait a minute, jumping from 11 months to 13 months directly? What happened to 12 months update? Well, the ever so important 12th month milestone came and went and yeah, I did not update. I am still a novice when it comes to balancing home and work and I still have to learn that art. After a month of being a full-time employee, I feel I am not doing justice to either work or home. When I am at work, I worry about what my baby is doing and feel guilty for leaving him back at home. When I am home, I feel bad for not paying enough attention at work. In the midst of all this, blogging takes the least priority.

Anyway, so what happened on Ninad’s birthday? We had a quiet, family affair where we cooked some good food and enjoyed with close friends and family. Ninad had a few friends come over (all below the 12 months mark) and they had a great time. There were 5 babies in all and they made sure we felt their presence. My house resembled a day care center and it was fun.

Ninad has become a big boy now, officially a toddler and he is making sure I know it. Overnight, he has transformed into this stubborn, troublesome monster of a kid and I wonder where my innocent and sweet child is. He gets mad if he doesn’t have his way. He realizes that I go away somewhere in the morning and won’t let go of me whenever I am around. It feels nice in a way, but I dread when that day will come when I have to go to work with tears in my eyes.

Ninu can officially ‘talk’ now, even though it’s just three words. He can say ‘Amma’, ‘Pa’ and ‘Ka’, the latter means crow, by the way. He sometimes say ‘bhoo’, meaning dog, but I don’t know if it is an accident or he actually means it.

My in-laws and my sister-in-law’s kids paid us a visit during Christmas vacation. My sister-in-law’s daughter took an instant liking to Ninad and it was mutual. Ninad just adores her and he would go behind her wherever she went. The little girl, all of 7 years, was so full of sisterly love that she would volunteer to watch Ninad when I was busy in the kitchen. She would sit with him and show him toys, sing songs and tell him stories. She even picked up a few Kannada words so that she could converse well with Ninad. The two little sister-brother pair, sitting there together, getting to know each other and showing affection – it was a sight to watch. Such strong was the attachment that on the day they left, the little girl went back crying. I felt bad for her and Ninad. She has promised to spend her summer vacation here. Hope that works out. Ninad would love to have his sister over.

That’s about it. Ninad is growing each day, learning new things and teaching me new things. Sometimes I wish he grows up fast and becomes independent so that I can go to work with no guilty feeling. On some days I feel he should be this sweet little child forever and never grow up.

Pretty sweater for a pretty baby

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My friend was impressed with the Feather and Fan blanket I gave her and asked for a newborn sweater. We knitters are just waiting to knit something, so I readily agreed. I love the delicate, lacy sweaters which look so cute on girl babies and I always wanted to knit one of those. Unfortunately, I didn’t know any girl babies to knit for. Sanskriti came along and has opened a lot of doors for me. Time was a restriction, so I made this simple, yet pretty sweater for the pretty Sanskriti. There is something wrong with this photograph, the edges are jagged. Because of the black background? The sweater in reality is much better. Really.

I am impressed by the construction of this sweater. You start knitting from the neck edge, knit the yoke, divide for body and sleeves, knit the first sleeve (flat, not round), then close the sleeve seam back up so that you are back at the underarm join, knit the body across, knit the sleeve, back at the underarm join and then finish off the sweater. Umm, did it make sense? Never mind. It means you don’t have to break yarn and rejoin yarn for sleeves and body. You have only one loose end to weave in apart from the cast on end. You need a bit of crochet skills for closing the sleeve seam. Hey, does this count as my first crochet project? I guess not.

On other knitting stuff, remember that kimono and Twinkle sweater I made? The kimono doesn’t fit yet and the Twinkle is not all that practical. I had to sew on press buttons for the sweater to make it useful. It doesn’t really help in keeping my baby warm, but it does look cute. Sweaters that Rima and Sanhita gave are big and won’t fit yet (intentionally so) so what this means is my little fellow needs a sweater. I search for patterns on Ravelry and the only ones I like are all girlish. I want to knit something that looks like a sweater meant for a boy. Any suggestions?

Baby and the blanket

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I started working on this blanket when my friend told me she was expecting. I was into a few rows when my baby made an appearance and the blanket had to be kept aside. I picked it up again a few weeks back when I realized my friend is due in the third week of June. I would have finished it on time, if not for the early appearance of the baby. My friend’s immediate family had not yet arrived in Bangalore and the baby decided to give a surprise to everybody. This cutie pie is the reason I could not meet Rima this time. Since my friend didn’t really have any help, I had to be with her in the hospital all day long. Sorry once again Rima, I hope you understand! This is Sanskriti when she was 8 hours old. Don’t miss those pink cheeks!

Now about the blanket. This is the classic feather and fan pattern adapted for a baby blanket. I changed the original pattern to make the purl ridges appear every 8th row instead of every 4th row. This makes the feathers sparser and I like this effect.

Original pattern:

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: *K 2 tog 3 times, YO, K1 6 times*
Row 4: Knit

Modified Pattern:

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: *K 2 tog 3 times, YO, K1 6 times*
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: *K 2 tog 3 times, YO, K1 6 times*
Row 8: Knit

I used Vardhaman 4-ply acrylic yarn and held it double to speeden up the knitting. Six feather and fan for a row and fifteen repeats of the 8-row pattern. I was not sure of the gender of the baby, so I used red. Now that I know it is a girl, I am making a sweater for her in pink. Hope it fits.

Rav link for the project.