Knitting – Page 3 – Thimbleanna

Brace Yourself, Effie!

15 Comments / January 28, 2019 November 1, 2019 / Knitting, Sewing

Or Batten Down the Hatches. Or something like that! It’s going to be brutally cold this week — I sure wish I didn’t have to go to work — I’d love to just hole-up this week and stay in front of the fire all day in my jammies. Our HIGH on Wednesday is forecast to be -9F (that’s -23 for you Celsius people) and very windy, which puts the windchills well below -40F (which just happens to be -40C). OUCH!

It’s been a busy winter here in ThimbleannaLand. We’re still working over at MeMum’s and the light is finally at the end of the tunnel. A few more months should do it — I’m looking forward to checking that BIG job off of our list. In the evenings I’ve been working on an old UFO sweater, and I’m hoping to wrap that one up in the next few weeks. I also recently finished a few more things for our little cherubs. I made them matching little pink dresses. It was a fun, quick project. The pattern is The Karina Dress from The Freckled Pear and the fabric is a cute little floral that I have in my etsy shop. I made sizes 6 months (which is currently drowning FinallyAnotherGirl) and a size 3 (which is almost just right for FinallyAGirl.) (Sorry for the terrible, dark pictures — it’s winter, you know. ;-( )

I also made a fun little coordinating mustard colored sweater for FinallyAnotherGirl. (FinallyAGirl already has a cute mustard colored sweater, so I made her the sheepie sweater that I showed in the last post.) I loved knitting this sweater and will surely make this pattern again. It’s the Norwegian Fir Top Down Cardigan from OGE Knitwear Designs and I used Cascade 220 from my local yarn shop. It has a little button at the neckline, which was added after I took this picture ;-D.

And here is the cardigan with the little dress. They were made for each other — meaning, I actually planned it this way LOL. I’d decided to make the little sweater, and then I went shopping in the shop and I loved the little pops of mustard in the floral print. I like pink and gray and mustard together and I actually had several other fabric choices in that color combo, which was a little surprising.

It does seem like this blog has just turned into baby makes, but that’s the stage we’re at now. I love (LOVE) sewing and knitting for babies (in particular little girls) and, as you know, they won’t be little for long. Before we know it, they’ll be too old or sophisticated for Grammy’s makes, so I’m making hay while the sun shines (or something while the snow flies LOL.)

Have a great week — February is almost here! Stay warm out there (or cool if you’re down under!)
XOXO,
Anna

Sheepies

13 Comments / January 14, 2019 January 14, 2019 / Knitting, Store

Well Hello — is your new year off to a ripping start? It’s busy, yet slow here. I guess that’s another way of saying that it’s busy, but nothing much going on to write home about. It’s all good though — we have snow on the ground and a working furnace, so we’re happy campers!

Last summer, during my trip to Shetland, I was working on a little sweater for FinallyAGirl. I finished it shortly after I returned from our trip, but couldn’t post it because I was saving it for a Christmas present.

The patter is Sheepish by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting. The yarn is a variegated gray yarn by Swans Island with some scraps of a darker gray for trim and some cute fuzzy mohair yarn for the sheepies. (I used this same yarn on the little pink sleep sac that I made for FinallyAnotherGirl in the fall — warning! — the yarn says it’s washable, but it WILL shrink. ;-8 ) This was a super fun knit and it worked up pretty quickly. I made the 2 year old size (the largest size on the pattern) and it fits our little cherub just perfectly right now. She’s 2 1/2 and, although the pattern calls for size 6 needles, I went up one size to a size 7 and it worked perfectly.

Many thanks for Ms. CityHomeCountryHome for helping me find those adorable little sheepie buttons. I think they’re just perfect for this little sweater!

In other news, Tilda’s BEAUTIFUL new Apple Butter collection of fabrics have arrived in my little Etsy shop. I LOVE this sweet collection! Tilda kind of went off on a little tangent of more modern designs for the last few years, but with her last collection and now Apple Butter, she’s returning to her sweet floral roots. These little retro-chic flowers are just SO adorable!

Ok — must run and cut some fabric. Happy Monday — I hope you have a fun, productive week!
XOXO,
Anna

Baby Makes

13 Comments / October 21, 2018 October 21, 2018 / Baby Oh Baby, Knitting, Quilting

In my last post, I mentioned that I had a few baby makes for our new little FinallyAnotherGirl. We’ve had such a busy fall, I feel lucky to have even had anything to give our new little cherub. We’ve been busy with house projects and they sure do take a lot of time. The past few weekends, we’ve been working on our garage. We’re finally done, and I think it’s cleaner than our house LOL. At least it’s all ready for winter.

Anyway, back to the baby makes. Long time readers might remember that new babies in our family get tied baby quilts. Our littles seem to like the tactileness (that’s not a word!) of those little ties. I squeaked out two little quilts — one just in time to be gifted at the hospital, and the other a few weeks later.

I used the pink Heather Ross Kindergarten print for the first quilt. I backed it with one of Moda’s Home Sweet Home prints and used an old Sarah Jane print from the stash for the binding. Then I tied it with a pink that, as it turns out, is too dark LOL. But, I still like it anyway, and when FinallyAnotherGirl isn’t in her crib, I think she naps on this little quilt. Yay!

For the second little quilt, I used my new favorite print, Happy Moons from Art Gallery. I LOVE those sweet little moons! I backed it with an old Sarah Jane print, again from the stash, and then crocheted a bobble edge. I’m not crazy about the bobble pattern I used — clearly, I need lessons from my buddy Ms. Cutting Cloth.

There was also a little knitting. I knit a little baby sleep sac out of a variegated pink yarn by Swans Island. The colorway is Cherry Blossom and it was a dream to knit. The pattern is from the Baby Collection book (not an affiliate link) by Kate Osborn and Courtney Kelley.

I paired this little sac with a cute little knit ruffle top from Janie and Jack. (Naturally, it’s on sale, now that I’ve already bought it LOL.)

It’s not a terribly practical design (especially if you want to go anywhere and need to buckle baby up in the car seat) but I just thought it was really cute. And I remember how much fun it was to pat my little babies’ behinds when they were wearing a cozy knit garment. Or, maybe it’s just me LOL.

I have lots of other baby things I want to make — baby makes are my very favorite. I just need more time. And with that C-word holiday looming, it doesn’t look like there will be much spare time to be had. ;-(

Have a great week!
XOXO,
Anna

Fuschia, not Fuchsia

16 Comments / April 18, 2018 April 18, 2018 / Baby Oh Baby, Knitting

How’s it going out there? I’m seeing a lot of whining out there from those of us in the northern hemisphere about the winter that won’t die. Here it is April 18th and we’re supposed to get an inch or two of snow tonight! You won’t hear any complaining out of me though — I love winter. I can keep wearing sweaters and mittens! ;-D

When we were in Utah a few weeks ago, I dragged SweetiePie to a little yarn shop and asked her to pick a color of yarn so that I could make FinallyAGirl a new little sweater. I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for a cute little size 2 sweater, designed by an Australian Instagram friend. I LOVED knitting this cute little sweater, even though it felt like I took forever to get it done.

I mis-read the pattern and made a mistake when I got the yarn, so my gauge turned out a little large. It’s ok though because we’re going into summer here, so I’m hoping this sweater won’t fit until next fall/winter. The yarn is Louet Gems in the Fuschia colorway. (And, yes, I know that’s spelled wrong, but that’s the way it’s spelled on the yarn band.) It’s a machine washable and dryable {gasp! I would never!} 100% merino yarn. I was using needles that were really too small for this yarn (trying to get gauge LOL), so it was a little hard to work. I love the final result though — the texture is soft but still firm, so I think it should hold it’s shape well.

The pattern will be released soon and it’s called the Daisy Basket Cardigan. Debby made the original with really cute little daisy buttons. I found some daisy buttons, but I didn’t like their color with this hot pink, so, when I saw these little kitty buttons, I couldn’t resist.

I love how Debby divided the bottom from the top of the sweater. That row of slanted stitches is just so sweet. And the basketweave pattern has such a wonderful texture — I just want to keep fondling it LOL. I think this little sweater will be so cute with dresses and blue jeans — I can’t wait to see it on FinallyAGirl.

And look at this cute little book that I found to give her with her new sweater. It’s all about how much Grandma loves her little Bunny.

When I saw that Grandma knits, wraps her little bunny in pink quilts AND makes cupcakes, well … I knew this little book was coming home with me! I MUST give this book to MY little bunny!

Ok, back to work boys and girls. I’ve been painting trim in the house and as much as I love to paint, it hasn’t been that fun. It’s taking too long — bring on the weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

A Little Valentine Cardigan

13 Comments / February 14, 2018 February 14, 2018 / Knitting

Happy Valentine’s Day Little Lovies! I hope your day is full of CHOCOLATE LOL.

I finished the little sweater that I made for my littlest Valentine this week. It’s been a fun, fairly quick project and hopefully it will fit her ;-D.

The pattern is from the book Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss and it’s the “jacket with moss stitch bands” in the 12-24 month size. The pattern calls for size US2 and US3 knitting needles, but, because I’m a fairly tight knitter, I had to go up one size to US3 and US4. I went to my local LYS to choose a yarn, and they recommended Bossa Nova Sport by Molly Girl Yarn in the Sandcastles colorway. It’s a superwash merino mix, so it’s very soft and the finished knit has a really nice drape. But, to be honest, I’m not really a fan. I would have preferred something, I don’t know … maybe a little more “crisp”? If that makes any sense at all. The stitches don’t seem very well defined, and to my eye, just not as pretty as, for example, the little baby dress I knit for FinallyAGirl a few months ago. Plus, the yarn had a few little green marks in it that I couldn’t get out. I would have taken the yarn back, but I didn’t discover them until I was half-way through knitting the back of the sweater. It looks like someone took a little green ink pen and pressed it into the back. Oh well … no picture, but if you see it in person, don’t look LOL.

I love the simple look of this little cardigan, and hopefully FinallyAGirl will be able to wear it with some of her adorable little dresses and tops. I tried a new-to-me technique for sewing up the seams. I usually just hold the pieces right sides together and hand stitch them, like you would fabric, but I’ve never liked the way the seams look. This new method is a bit tedious and time-consuming, but it gives a seamless look and I love it. I’ll definitely be using this method again.

Also, I thought I’d made a mistake in knitting the buttonholes, as they’re to the side of the seed stitch button band instead of the middle, but I double checked the picture in the book, and that’s the way they’re supposed to be. My OCD self is a little bugged by it — I like that they’re off center, but then I don’t. Not sure if I might change that if I were to knit this little cardigan again.

This project is a little Valentine present for our little cherub. I played around with a few different ideas for wrapping it up before I sent it off to her, but in the end, there wasn’t enough room in the mailer with the other little goodies that I sent, so I just sort of squished it into the envelope. Wrapping Fail. ;-(

Oh well. Everything can’t be perfect LOL.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
XOXO,
Anna