Elephants on Parade

This project came about through laziness. I began to crochet a baby blanket for my girlfriend in Idaho who is due with her first little one anytime now. I quickly realized it would take me waaaaaay longer than I wanted it to, so began the hunt for a new project. Hats are generally pretty quick (especially for newborns!) so I found this little cutie on Ravelry.

Once I finished the first row of elephants, I decided to finish off with stripes instead of doing the second elephant row in the pattern, a) because the hat was knitting up a bit tight due to my inexperience with fair isle knitting and b) I needed to get this thing DONE!

All in all, it was a quick project, knitting up in fewer than 3 hours....a nice alternative to the never ending baby blanket.  I lined it in fleece, which I also discovered I need a lot more practice doing. But I think it will do the trick to keep a new little head warm and super stylish. :-)

I'm hoping to go visit my friend sometime in early April to help her out with the baby.  I'm also hoping to take Lara along...........updates to follow!

bootie photo-shoot

Hey gals! Thought I would put up something craft-related: my latest knitting project - baby booties!

This was quite a departure from toques and gauntlets for me and I even learned a few new knitting techniques (which, I admit, kinda blew my mind). I used the magic cast-on (see youtube video link at end) using 2 sets of circular needles and the half brioche stitch for the ribbing-like part, which I like better than a regular rib - it is nice and chunky!

The booties are for Joe's nephew who is only 8 months old, so he may need to grow into them - but hopefully they will fit for fall. I still need to make the other bootie but I think it should go pretty fast - baby items are so satisfying because they don't take forever!

So maybe I got a little carried away taking pictures (incorporating several different photo-shoot locations):

Now just imagine how cute the pair will look! I may need to write a followup post when I'm done with the second one :)

If I were to do it again, I would have made the instep charcoal to match the cuff!

AND....in case you want to learn the magic cast-on from a crazy lady:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhBIS0AhhQY
(beware: it is 10 minutes long and i don't think the woman is "all there" per se)