Custom order fun!

Wow! Thanks to everyone for all your love and support from my shop opening announcement! I appreciate every "like" or "heart" or comment that I get!!!

I have gotten several custom orders in the past week and have had a lot of fun working with my customers to make something for them! First one that I just finished and delivered was this sweet little "Bee stitch" baby hat!

(from my instagram - link in the right sidebar if you want to follow!)

As you can see it fits the little recipient with room to grow, and I am really happy with how it turned out! I am thinking I will have to whip up some more of these for the shop soon.

Second order I've been working on is a cute panda themed baby hat. I still have to work on the face, but the pom pom "ears" came out adorable.

Next up is 2 more hats for some preschoolers - stay tuned to see what cartoon character they will be based off!

Won't you be my neighbor?

Hey everyone! I just posted about this on Facebook, but wanted to make sure I mentioned it on the blog as well. If you live in or near Fort Wayne (IN), then please message me before making any purchases in my Etsy shop! I have a code for you to use to remove the shipping costs. Then you can either pickup your item from my home or we can meet someplace! I wanted to make sure to put that out there.

In knitting news, I just shipped out a "pussy hat" to my friend N. She's going to be wearing it in the Women's March on Portland (local variation of the Women's March on Washington) and I am proud to be able to contribute in a small way! My first pussy hat went to family, and I believe it will be marching in Indianapolis. I have a THIRD one on the needles for another family member!!!! There has been a LOT of pink in my knitting bag lately. Hah.

If you are wondering what in the world I am talking about then please check out the movement here:

https://www.pussyhatproject.com/

It's a fun idea and a VERY quick knit! If that sort of thing isn't your jam, no problem! In any color it would make a super cute kitty hat for any kiddo or fun-loving adult. I love how just folding the flat-knit fabric in half causes it to have the kitty ears. If you think your little kid would want one, please ask! I might have to make a few more of these for the shop anyway!

Happy Friday everyone, hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend!

Welcome to the NEW blog!!!!

Well I haven't been using my blog for awhile.... but now it's time for a REBRANDING!

Welcome to WALLABY KNITS! I am super excited as you can tell from the caps. At the end of November I finally decided (after much debate and hand-wringing) to open an Etsy shop! It's been exciting and nerve-wracking so far... I am not sure how things will turn out, but I am happy I am giving it a try. If I can knit cozy things that make other people happy, and contribute to my family's income, then I will consider it a success.

Now, for those of you who don't know me, I will do a quick intro! My name is Lauren, and I am a married 30-something mom of 2 silly kiddos. I've lived in Indiana my whole life, and I really do like it here! Having all four seasons is handy for a knitter.... every winter we are needing warm things to clothe ourselves with!

I taught myself to knit in 2005 from a "learn to knit" book/kit that was written for children. Hah! I really began to take off with my knitting after meeting a dear friend at the place I worked. She had been knitting MANY years and was able to open my eyes to all the amazing things you can do with sticks and string. I haven't stopped crafting since then. It really is a great hobby. I don't think I could watch TV without having some knitting project in my lap.... I would be too antsy!

Wallaby Knits is my new adventure... knitting for people other than my friends and family! The name is from an early nickname for my son when he was born. My little wallaby boy! Also, wallabies are just cute in general. Like mini kangaroos. Aww.

Anyway thanks for visiting and I plan on getting back to blogging about my shop adventures more in 2017! Happy New Year!

Gifting a WIP?

Have you ever gifted someone a work-in-progress? Meaning, you took something you were knitting and wrapped it up, with it unfinished and still on the needles?

I'm just asking for a friend. Ahem. On a totally unrelated note, my mom's birthday is friday and I'm knitting her a sweater. Ahem.

Man time seems to have flown this past couple months! Ha. To be fair, I put it aside to work on 5 other things, but... oh well. Two cute things I made were dishcloths for my good friend who is moving to Texas. I made her two cloths so she had one to remind her of home and one to celebrate her new home state. Erin if you read this I hope you guys arrived safely!!! :)

*Crickets*

Um, hello? Oops I kind of got away from blogging there for awhile! Anyone still out there? :)

Jessica challenged me to blog this month so here I am! I'm not going to try and catch up everything I've knit because ... zzz. Lazy! Too much other internets to look at! Etc. You understand I'm sure. Thanks for being so nice.

My cousin asked if I could knit a stuffed cow for her friend who's having a baby. I haven't done a commission project in awhile so I jumped at the chance to do it! I must say this is the first time I have ever knit an udder. Ha!!!

Pattern: Milk Cow
Yarn: Premier Yarns Everyday Soft Worsted (needed something easy care, its for a baby!)

Hope everyone is enjoying spring (and almost summer!) and having nice weather! Today was sunny but with awesome cool breezes and we had a blast at the park this morning. By the way, my kids are getting HUGE! Who are these big guys??? (Watching daddy mow is the best!)

V-Day

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day or at least a nice weekend! I was lucky enough to wake up to this surprise from my hubby:

It's a beautiful wool-bouquet!!! Way better than flowers I think! I found it to be a mix of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes solids, heathers, and tweeds. LOVE! I have already cast on for a hat (for MYSELF) with the green tweed and it's soooo pretty. Will get a pic soon!!! Love you hubby!

Teach an old dog...

Well after 8 years of knitting I finally did an intarsia project! HAH! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. :-)

I can't post about it until after christmas, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I could have twisted the yarns a bit tighter between color changes, but it's okay! It ended up being a combo of intarsia AND fair isle, so the back side of the project is kind of messy, but I will live with it. I wonder if I should try and line it with some sort of fabric??? My sewing skills are highly lacking though!

The Strangest Thing

So this may be the strangest thing I've ever knit...

...a kidney! It's for a family member who recently had to have a kidney removed, so I thought it'd be a funny Christmas present. I don't think they read this blog, but if so - I guess they know their christmas gift! :)

Pattern: Kidneys
Yarn: Random leftovers

I am thinking about threading a ribbon through it and making it into an ornament, because I'm not sure what else they would do with a handknit kidney. LOL.

What's the weirdest thing YOU'VE ever knit?

Are you ready for some football????

Well, football HAT. :)

Modified this slightly to fit a 9 month old baby, although I didn't modify the height, so it was a bit tall for the little guy. I guess that makes it look more like a football on his head though. His mom loved it so I am glad!

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in brown, and something random in white :)
Pattern: Football Hat

I am currently making some fingerless gloves for some kids I know, and working on a christmas project! Hope everyone is enjoying fall... I love the leaves falling and hot chocolate at night! :)

Hi!

Just checking in to let you know I am still alive. I've kind of fallen out of blogging lately but I don't think I'm ready to stop altogether! :) Lately I've been sporting pants and cardigans (even in the heat), baking pumpkin things, and seeing hints of the leaves beginning to turn. Bring on Fall! I love this season!

I will post more when I can (I hear the kids waking up), but here is my little guy sporting his winter hat I made him back in July!

Pattern: Farmhouse Baby Hat
Yarn: Patons Roving

Happy fall!!!!!!!

Little things

I've been having fun making lots of little/medium things lately!

A pile of Ice Pop Sleeves for Norah's friends....

Squishies for baby gifts....

A cushy soft cowl for my MIL for mother's day....

Pattern: Helter Skelter Cowl
Yarn: Punta Yarns Merisoft

And I did make a short-sleeve baby sweater, but I used acrylic and surprise, I didn't like how it looked/felt when I was done. It also seemed to small for the 12 month size I was shooting for! So back to the drawing board :)

Now I'm working on a secret project! This is all I can show you now....

I might have to set it aside though and make THIS: Cutting Teeth Toque
Courtney is an awesome knitting designer and is so nice to offer her pattern for FREE until August! Get it while it's hot, folks! I plan on making it for Norah. :)

Remember these?

You may remember the sweater I had tried to make for my poor nephew. You know, the kind-hearted 6 year old who had to open up his present of a sweater on the needles at Christmas????? Seriously. Sorry kiddo, your Auntie dropped the ball! Luckily for him, his mom took the poor sweater from me and gave it to her awesome friend Courtney (she's amazing). Courtney did what I should have done in the first place, which was ignore the pattern and make up my own yoke shaping! Doesn't my nephew look handsome???

Thanks again Courtney!

You also may recall that I was knitting a baby blanket for my little man. Or maybe I never blogged about it since I can't find anything! Well, my SIL and I have a tradition of jointly  knitting  blankets for our kids.

From clicking those links you will see I couldn't find a FO pic of the blanket we made for Norah (sheesh). Here it is if I never posted it!

We knew we had to make something for my little guy who showed up in January. I had got this book as a gift and thought the baby blanket would work out well for breaking into parts we could each work on. I made 3 triangles and my SIL made the 4th and then did the tough work of seaming it together and doing the border! Thanks so much Mare!

Pattern: "blanket"
Yarn: Vanna's Choice (had to go washable!)

Everything Else

I hope you all saw my new pattern for the Ice Pop Sleeve! I'm hoping to make a bunch for Norah's little friends too... gotta keep all those tiny hands from getting too cold! :)

Besides that, I've been making various small things for gifts:

These soft squeezy orbs are great baby gifts! I made a few for various friends. So quick to knit and easy/safe for little babies to play with!

Pattern: Squishies
Yarn: Red Heart Eco-Ways

My friend Shawn joined me in the exclusive club of people who recently turned 30, so I knit her a monster. :-) I was digging around in my yarn and found a bunch of gold... and since Shawn went to Purdue I thought I'd use her alma mater's colors of gold and black. I think he turned out pretty cute!

Pattern: Geet the Garage Monster
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool

I was debating whether or not to add a "tooth" like the original pattern but I like him as is. Did some striping on the arms/legs to add more contrast color. Shawn says his name is "Beezer Twelve Washingbeard" and that "His friends just call him 'The Beez' ". I like it!

For mother's day, since my mom carries around a bottle of water at all times (her throat gets dry easily), I made her this water bottle carrier:

Pattern: Bishi
Yarn: Sugar n Cream cotton 

I did the strap a lot shorter because I thought my mom wouldn't want to wear it like a purse. Really quick and easy pattern!


More soon, I promise I will try! 

Ice Pop Sleeve

Updated in May of 2019 to reflect bigger ice pop size and additional notes after years of using these sleeves! The ice pops we purchase are from the Kroger grocery stores here in the US. Your local brand size may vary, but it's easy enough to customize this pattern by adding or subtracting stitches!

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Just in time for warmer temperatures, this Ice Pop Sleeve was created after realizing my (then) 2-year-old hated to hold onto her ice pop. Her little fingers would get too cold! As much as I love sitting around and holding her popsicles (ha), I used a temporary solution of wrapping the ice pop with a dishcloth to protect her hands. Of course the knitter in me saw the opportunity to make this a thing! Should fit a standard ice pop "tube".

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Ice Pop Sleeve

Yarn:
Partial skein of Peaches & Creme or Sugar 'n Cream kitchen cotton, or any worsted weight cotton yarn (this is a great opportunity for stash busting!)

Needles:
4 double-pointed needles in size US6 (or could do magic loop on a circular needle)

Notions:
Scissors
Darning needle for weaving in ends

Gauge:
Not critical for this project, although I recommend going down one needle size from what your yarn calls for so that the resulting stitch is tighter.

Pattern:
CO 16 sts, dividing stitches across three dpns as evenly as you can (For example: 6 sts on first needle, 5 sts on the other two), although exact layout doesn't matter! Other option is to use the magic loop method on circular needles.

Join to begin knitting in the round, being careful not to twist.

Knit every stitch (stockinette stitch) until the tube measures approximately 5 inches (or custom length as you desire). For my sleeves pictured I knitted 33 rows.

Bind off loosely and weave in the ends.

Add your favorite ice pop and enjoy without freezing your fingers!

Ravelry link: Ice Pop Sleeve

Back in the saddle

Well I actually have been knitting! That is crazy since having 2 kids is definitely a big time commitment. My little man doesn't like to go very long between meals and today he didn't even want to sleep. Eesh!

Anyway I found a great project to ease myself back into the world of knitting.... bulky weight yarn, mostly stockinette, and a small project: a sweater for ! It's a pattern I testknit for the fabulous Courtney. Yarn is Lion brand Wool-Ease Chunky. I will keep you all updated as to when this pattern is available to the public! It's simple and really cute.

I just found out I'm not supposed to post pictures of the finished item due to the rules of pattern publishing... oops! Will share them later when I can. Sorry about that Courtney!!!

Hat & Glove set

Recently I was able to do a commissioned project for my friend Natalie! She was awesome and sent a package containing not only the yarn for the project, but homemade marshmallows, fancy hot chocolate, and some teas! YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The yarn is amazing too.... it's wool, but SO springy and cushy and soft! It's Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool. I am now a big fan.

I ended up making up my own pattern for some fingerless gloves: (More details on my ravelry page here)

And she had told me she liked this hat pattern, so I was able to sneak in the Regina Hat as a surprise for her too:

I mailed them off this last week and I am happy to say she recieved them well! I love this pic she took of her in her matching set:

I love knitting for people who send pics of them/their kids/etc wearing the items!!!!

Christmas recap....

Happy 2013!!! Well.... I did not finish the secret project in time for Christmas. Wop-wop. I can talk about what it is now though! I am making a sweater for my 6 year old nephew: Lancelot Sweater

You can see my curly unraveled yarn. I think I've ripped out the yoke at least 4 times so far..... luckily OR unfortunately its not just a "user error", as other knitters on ravelry have said they've struggled too! Oops. Well my current plans are to make up some basic raglan decreasing and see if that works... OR rip it out a little bit more to separate the sleeves and body again, and then try one more time to follow the pattern. Argh! I'm kind of mad at it right now but I feel bad I might not finish it anytime soon. We will see.

In non-failure related news, when I was procrastinating the sweater in December, I decided I wanted to knit little stockings for random gifts. I searched for an "ornament" sized pattern, and started with this one: Mini Stocking Ornament

It came out a little big, so i ended up sticking a subway giftcard inside and giving it to my brother for christmas :) I think he was actually happy to get the stocking (as well as the card) seeing as he mentioned not having any christmas decor for his house!

In my second test, I went with this pattern: Mini Holiday Stockings (Seen here next to the first stocking I made!)

These came out more to the size that I wanted! On all of the stockings I made I kind of fudged the heel to follow more of a traditional sock flap heel (from some basic instructions that Cynthia gave me once upon a time!). I think they turned out okay. I made an additional green and white one, and then another red and white one. I gave them to various friends/family. I like these and I might have to make a bunch more for next christmas. So if you are my friend or related to me, please forget all about this post by next December so you can be surprised. Ha!

For one of Norah's little friends I whipped out these Sucky Thumb Mitts. You may recognize the pattern, I used it to make Norah's halloween costume mitts!

My husband had asked me if I had time to make something he could give to his secret santa at work for their "end of the week" gift. I thought, sure! Luckily I was able to whip out some Evangeline gloves with plenty of time to spare. I hope his coworker likes them! (Sorry no finished pic... here's one of it in progress!)

OK This post is long enough for now!!!! I have a few more little things to catchup on. My baby boy is going to be making his arrival sooner than later, so my blogging will probably be even more pathetic than usual after that... but I will try and cram in as much as I can in the next few weeks!!!

Sigh.

One week till christmas, and here I am ripping out part of this project (secret so I can't post about it!).... I knew I should have checked on it better while I was knitting but it SEEMED okay.... now my numbers are all off and it's just... wrong. OOPS. Let's hope I feel like staying up late for the next week!!!

Lucky 7 (& YOTM recap!)

It's my 7 year blogiversary! Wow. I've been blathering on about my knitting for 7 years? And I still only have 3 readers? Hehe! Well to be fair I don't really promote my blog OR post very consistently. Thanks to anyone who has ever visited my site though!

A fitting tribute to 7 years of "knitblogging" is my final Yarn of the Month, which if you don't remember is a gift of yarn EVERY month (for a year) that my mother-in-law has been personally giving me (with thanks to my SIL for helping her pick out the yarn a lot of the time)! It has been an AMAZING year and I have gotten SO much beautiful yarn. I can't write a thank you note big enough for this gift!!!! (Did I win the in-law lottery or what???) I haven't even begun to knit all the yarn she's given me. Let's do a YOTM recap in honor of my year of yarn, shall we?

Christmas 2011: I opened a christmas gift from my MIL to find not only a gift certificate to a local yarn store (among some other things), but this gorgeous cream-colored skein of Cascade Eco Duo:

January 2012: The new year kicked off with a package in the mail containing my second YOTM treasure, a sage green Rowan Felted Tweed:

February 2012: I received two fun multicolor skeins of Adriafil Knitcol. This was eventually turned into a cute halter top for Norah, but I think I only put it on her once because for whatever reason it made her mad and she tried to rip it off :-(

March 2012: Again I got 2 skeins! Wow! This time it was Berroco Peruvia in pretty blue and soft brown shades. I still plan on using these together somehow... I need to think about that!

April 2012: Another skein of Rowan Felted Tweed, this time in an emeraldy green. I am thinking this would be fun with the lighter green skein I got in January... tone-on-tone stripes? Hm.

May 2012: Gorgeous and amazing Malabrigo... 2 SKEINS... in this sky blue. I can't even imagine what to make with this because it's so pretty I hate to touch it... LOL.

June 2012: Another fun and unique yarn I've never seen - Rowan "Amy Butler" Belle Organic DK! Love the pink!

July 2012: Oops I don't think I ever blogged about this one! A different kind of Malabrigo, "Finito". Love the gold and purple tones in this one! I think it needs to be some sort of lacy cowl perhaps?

August 2012: Oh man, yet another one I never blogged! JEEZ! This is Cascade 128 tweed. Very nice!

October 2012: My birthday month! As a fitting fall/halloween tribute I recieved this festive pumpkin orange skein of Cascade 220.

November 2012: Last but NOT least is another unique find, Punta Yarns Merisoft hand painted! Very fall-ish!

WHEW! Seriously... I do not know how I deserved all that amazing yarn or such a generous MIL, but I am a lucky lady. I hope I can continue to come up with fitting projects for all of those skeins!!!! If anyone has a brilliant idea (for any of them that I haven't knitted up yet), feel free to shout them out!

Thanks again to my MIL <3

P.S. Is it December already???? YIKES! MUST KNIT THINGS FOR CHRISTMAS!!! :-O