August round-up!

Yeee haw, welcome to the August round-up! It's a hoedown of a hootenanny! OK, I will stop now... just trying to find a more exciting way to start a catch-up post on here!

This weekend I've felt super productive! Friday evening I finished Holden's tie sweater... yep, in the last post I had just cast it on, and here it is, all DONE! (Pattern is here: boys can wear pink)

Isn't it awesome??? I really loved the pattern. It was simple, but looks really cute. I want to order a bag of Swish and make these for all my friends' little boys now!!!

Another project I haven't even posted about is a baby bonnet and socks set I threw together for some friends who aren't finding out the sex of their baby due Nov 4th. I kept things neutral with a bright yellow and a non-frilly pattern (Aviatrix baby bonnet, and then the socks are from the Layette in Itty Bitty Nursery):

Turned out pretty cute... I haven't put a button on the hat yet, I can't decide to use a gender neutral one, or wait and put on a more cutesy-looking one if they have a girl! :-)

In stash enhancement news, Cynthia attended Stitches Midwest last weekend, and was kind enough to do my shopping for me! I gave her a little money and free reign to pick out whatever she thought I would like. Can I say that she did not dissapoint???? Check this beauty out!

Gorgeous, no???? It's Madeline Tosh "Tosh Vintage" in Baltic. I loooove the shades of blue in here. It's superwash too, which makes me want to make myself some fingerless gloves with this for the winter. Ooh I could even make matching baby mittens for my lil girl... wouldn't that be adorable? LOL!

I need to focus on her baby blanket first! That's my plan for today, so wish me luck. I've been unhappy with how the woven-in ends are looking. Due to the yarn being a cotton/acrylic blend, the yarn is not "grabby" enough to hold the ends down, and they keep popping out. I am trying something new - using sewing thread to secure the ends down instead of weaving them in! I think this is the best solution. Mare, if you are reading this (she is knitting the 2nd half of the blanket), I was thinking you could leave your ends "free" and I can sew them down myself!

Hope everyone has a lovely relaxing Sunday!!!! I can't believe August is almost OVER!!!???

Blankets and things

On other "catching up" news, I did cast on my girl's baby blanket, and have made quite a bit more progress than this:

That pic gives you the general idea though! The pattern is just the "grandma's favorite" dishcloth pattern, just using bulky yarn! It's coming along nicely, although I think i am going to have to sew my ends down with sewing thread... I am not good at weaving ends in! (And there is a bunch!) I haven't been working on it much lately though, either because I have been too busy or not in the mood for knitting, or I've been distracted by other projects! For instance....

Baby booties for my coworker! His wife is expecting any day now, and Cynthia had already knit an adorable bonnet, (ahem, Cynthia, you need to blog!) so I decided to make matching booties and make it a set! They were well received, and I hope everything goes well with their (third!) little girl's arrival next week.

Pattern: Saartje's booties, a seamless version, Rav link here: Seamless Saartje's Booties
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull on US2 needles

I've also been shamed into finally casting on for my nephew Holden's tie sweater...

My SIL knit one ALREADY for Cash (we ordered all the yarn at the same time), so I can't let the poor kid go too long without his very own matching one! (Big brother Cash's is a tan sweater with a green tie, Holden's will be the dark blue above with a mossy green tie).

OK bedtime! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!