Baby blankets for Africa

While I am in my lull waiting to be inspired for the next great project, or starting in on my 2010 resolutions...I have been working on a baby blanket. In Africa many newborn babies die because of the cold. A lot of Africa is desert, so even though it is very hot in the day time, it is also cold in the night.

The blankets need to be about 30 x 30 inches. They can be made from cotton or acrylic yarn, NO wool is recommended! They also like light colored yarn. I'm not sure why this is??

If you feel inspired to help, or just need to knit something for someone else, you will find all the information you need at the Global Health Ministries. http://www.ghm.org.

Cute Baby Hat

Here it is!! The baby hat for my friends baby that will be arriving any day! Yeah, I got it done before the baby arrives.

One of my favorite things about this hat is that the finishing is so simple. All I had to do was sew up the small seam from where I started the join for the "knitting in the round" and tuck in the tail at the top of the hat.

So, after a quick sew of the seam and a tuck in of the tail on top, the hat is complete!


The self patterning yarn just adds to the cuteness (is that a word?) of the hat. The color possibilities are endless.

A Knitted Baby Hat

A friend of mine is going to have baby #6 very soon! I am making a baby hat for the little one to wear this winter. The self patterning sock yarn is so adorable for a baby hat.

I decided to use double pointed needles.The first step was to cast on all the stitches onto one needle. Then I knit a few rows on one needle.The double pointed needles are a bit intimidating, but that has not stopped me before. I feel a bit awkward knitting with them, but I am sure the comfort and confidence will follow soon. Also, the thought of not having to sew a seam is a great relief to me. Sewing a seam is not one of my strong points. Case in point...I still have to sew the sleeves onto the coral sweater I have been working on. I finished knitting it about a month ago and it is still sitting in my knitting basket just waiting to be sewn.

Next was to split the stitches evenly onto three needles. This just left a very small bit of sewing to do at the end. The tricky part here is to join the stitches without creating a twist in the row. I carefully lined up the stitches and started to knit "in the round".

Then I knit the hat to the top, following the pattern carefully.

I am getting better at reading knitting patterns, but WOW, the can be so cryptic. I feel like there is a secret code, and I didn't get a decoder ring.

Anyway, enough self pity, I can read this pattern and the hat is going to look great!

Baby Booties for AS

Welcome new neighbor AS!! You are so cute! and now you have some new booties to wear.

Has this ever happened to you? You try to make something new and the first one really should be left as a practice one? My first attempt at a bootie is the one on the left. It seems to be a bit looser and rounder than the one on the right.

My pattern picture actually looks more like the one on the left. Oh well, the booties are complete and AS will know they are warm.

I made these on four double pointed needles. A bit tricky, but fun to make something in one piece. NO sewing pieces together!!! I do like that.

Tomorrow... the matching hat.