on the double!

just recently, this chickadee was stuck securely in an unfortunate knitting slump. something as simple as a sweet little baby blanket had me baffled. the cast-on/rip-out cycle was repeated enough to be totally discouraging. the yarn didn't fit the pattern, the pattern didn't seem to fit the yarn, the deadline was looming! desperate times called for desperate but delightful measures.

the original yarn was ditched in favor of a favorite, miss babs yowza! whatta skein. just one huge hank packs a 560+ yard wallop. it is a super soft superwash merino to certainly holds up in the machine...and dries quite quickly on its own. the new patterns picked were also personal favorites. and with a few modifications, they made the most of the entire skein!

for detailed details, click the picture to see the ravelry page. otherwise, look out below!

pattern: heirloom by madelinetosh

pattern: baby chalice blanket by lykkefanten

baby blanket factory

this spring it is raining babies! this chickadee's needles have been on a tear trying to keep up with the booming bundles of joy population. any time not spent knitting has been dedicated to finding that go-to pattern...something that would be pleasing to the maker and the receiver...and not take ages...but not look like it was thrown together at the last minute.

one contender is brickstreet by steven west. it is in his second collection of patterns, westknits book two (which doesn't seem to be featured on his site at this time). his version is a chunky classic. a large, over-the-back-of-the-couch sort of throw that would be completely overwhelming to a wee one. but one of his test knitters made a smaller version that is stunning.

inspired by her stitches, this chickadee cast-on. here the the results:

yarn choice is an important factor too. softness is of supreme importance, but sometimes that is sacrificed to the machine...the washing machine that is. many of the most luxurious fibers are labor intensive, that means hand washing. and after their own labor, moms are often overwhelmed and pressed for time. so a machine washable wool or wool blend is a thoughtful choice.

the blanket above was made with spud and chlöe sweater, an organic wool and cotton blend. it is machine washable! and still soft and cozy. you get the best of both worlds thanks to the combination of fibers and the baby gets an all-seasons weight blanket to snuggle in.

you can find more details on the project on the chickadee ravelry page.

bunting bundle of joy

you were warned about the baby sack addiction. there's more to tell. this time it involves super large needles, dreadlocks of yarn and ears!

meet the buga baby bunting, designed by susan b. anderson for spud and chlöe. when this pattern came into the shop, it was love at first sight. when the time to cast on finally rolled around, fibre space had just gotten a shipment the newest malabrigo yarn, rasta. the super huge, super soft single ply merino seemed to beg for substitution.

talk about warm, this is polar bear and igloo type of warm. perfect for the new baby coming to live in an old drafty house. and if we have another winter like last year, not to worry. the cub is gonna be cozy and content in its bulky bundle.

since the intended recipient is still in the incubator, here's the official pattern publicity shot:

photo from: spud & chlöe

who's your daddy?

babies beware...this chickadee has sworn off the seemingly endless stitching that is a baby blanket and has converted to the bag! why? because it is terribly cute, absolutely ridiculous and looks incredibly cuddly.

plus it is the perfect way to pamper a freshly hatchling without breaking the piggy bank. the pattern says that 150-200 yards of worsted weight wool will get you this soft and squishy owlie sleep sack designed by teresa cole.

this itsy bitty bunting bag was made with less than one skein of malabrigo worsted (colorway: emerald). it is knit in the round so none of those pesky seams to worry about. and even if you've never cabled before you are capable of constructing the feathered friends that circle round the top. after the owls, it is smooth stockinette sailing!

** owl model made by pretty little fings! **

nuts for hazel

friends recently added a beautiful baby girl to their family. here's the chickadee contribution to the welcome wagon:

the blankie is a blue sky alpacas pattern designed by kristen rengren. it is a series of slip stitches and color changes that knits up to a pretty, speckled, and soft fabric. the softness was thanks in part to knit picks comfy, a cozy cotton blend with just a touch of acrylic. to speed things up a bit, i went with the bulky version of the yarn, larger needles then called for, and an abbreviated stitch count.

but with a new embroidery enchantment, it didn't stop there. this little onesie was stitched up using some new skills (thanks jenny hart!), fabric stabilizer and an old aunt martha transfer pattern.

brown baggin' it

here's a special request from some friends who are expecting the arrival of a wee one any day now. hopefully this will make it to them on time, so they can stuff it full of diapers, bottles, blankets, and spare onesies in case of accidents. babies do make mistakes...

this is another lightly modified version of lotta jansdotter's all-day tote from her simple sewing book. the first one was gifted to a friend and her lovely little girl last year (here's the link). since they have had great success with their bag, many of the alterations were made again for number two. the interior pockets are similar, with one inset zip and several slip pockets on the opposite side. the exterior pocket line-up also remained the same...with a bit of contrast fabric peeking through at the tips and snaps to keep things secure.

new this time were the dimensions; one inch of added height so that the bag now measures about 14" wide x 12" high x 6" deep. and because this one was made with two cotton fabrics, interfacing was sewn in to make it stiffer.

birth and taxes

benjamin franklin must have been a bit of a pessimist. sure, death is certain too...but from this chickadee's perch it looks like the birds and the bees are getting along just fine. maybe my friends are just looking for a way to get some sweet little handknits? the pitter-patter of tiny feet around their homes means the clicking and clacking of knitting needles around here.

this is the pinwheel sweater pattern from shirley mackie. available in a child and adult version, it is knit almost completely in the round, starting from the center back. the yarn used, universal classic worsted tapestry, complemented the circular construction by changing colors and making stripes all on its own. it took about a skein and half to complete the chickadee version of the child size, with a little left over that could be used to make booties (this one differs a bit from the original, the loopy edge was omitted and a little liberty was taken with the sleeves). the trickiest part of the otherwise straightforward pattern was the sleeve join. a link from ravlery lead me to this post, which is a must read if you are thinking of casting on.

now it is time to take care of those taxes...

butter bean

if you've not guessed, the theme of l'enfant ensemble is eyelets. a little while back, this chickadee had another knit commission and chose to use a pattern for a baby bonnet, sweater and booties from an eighties knitting book (you can see that finished project here). it was such fun to knit and seemed suited for this project as well.

this time, instead of the ribbon closure, one carefully chosen vintage button adorns the front of the cardigan. the ribbons weren't used for the booties either. it isn't pictured above but the yarn used the knit the project was twisted into cord and threaded through the eyelets to help keep the booties where they belong.

and, instead of following the bonnet pattern, this chickadee came up with her very own quick knit pattern for a rolled-brim, striped baby hat.

voila! one cozy and comfortable baby set complete.

good day sunshine

not much in the way of posts lately, but plenty going on here at chickadee central. for the past couple of weeks, the assembled crew has been working their needles (knitting and sewing) to the bone on some special projects for some special people. first up, the knitting project that kept this chickadee up late! a friend commissioned little me to make a knit baby set that she could then give as a gift. she gave me the colors and then sent me to work on a plan for a blanket, sweater, hat and bootie set that would be cuddly and cute for the little newborn.

my casual planning and constructing turned constant when the due date for the bundle of joy was bumped up! so for a few days, there was nothing going on here but the constant click and clack of needles, a few "ughs" and the occasional frog.

today let's talk about the blanket. once again, ravelry came to the rescue. already armed with ideas for the sweater from a previous project, i searched through ravelry's never-ending database of patterns to find something that would look similar. the oh so soft baby blanket by jennifer jackson was oh so right. the chickadee version is knit holding two strands of bernat cottontots together throughout. to make the striping a bit more symmetrical, the middle row of yellow had eyelets added at the beginning and end of the row. other than that little twist and total ignorance of gauge, it was knit according to the pattern which was clear and easy to follow. and jennifer does not tell a lie, the blanket is indeed oh so soft.

greetings earthlings

more progress on the never-ending granny square blanket! earth meets sky with the latest round of double crochet. the baby that cuddles up under this fluffy coverlet will have their feet on the ground and be reaching for the stars at the same time. the addition of a calming cocoa brown grounds the blue sky cloaked with white cumulus clouds. a fitting color scheme for a collection of organic cotton yarns. next step, stitching one hundred of these squares together!

(want to see how it all began, see previous posts here and here)

special delivery

my friends rachel and tom welcomed a bouncing baby girl to their twosome yesterday! little baby (not sure of the name) had her coming out party hot on the heels of a bbq/baby shower thrown in her honor on saturday. maybe it was the bite-sized brownies or the homemade slaw or all of the wonderful prezzies that got her excited to enter the world just a touch on the early side. whatever hastened her delivery, we are all happy that she's here! and this chickadee is pleased to have been able to drop off a package with the parents just before the stork dropped in and brought their bundle of joy.

here's what this chickadee delivered:

above is a front/back view of my first ever solo quilt project! the collaboration with my mom on the wise old owl quilt taught me quite a lot, but didn't quite prepare for the experience of going it alone...and making up my very own pattern...but the results are pretty in pink and purple. it is about 32" x 42" and super snuggly thanks to the flannel sashing and soft cotton fabric. those cute cotton prints are from the master mind of heather ross who creates all sorts of fantastic and fanciful designs for free spirit fabrics. here's a close-up of the front:

with leftover scraps and lotta jansdotter's simple sewing book, i set out to make a tote to transport the quilt in style. i've been wanting to try to make the all-day tote for quite some time and this seemed like a perfect occasion. not only was it the "wrapping" for the prezzie, it can hopefully provide plenty of pockets and places to stash everything for the baby. with a few modifications made to the original design, here's what happened:

to make it all match, fabric from the quilt project did double duty as it is used to accent and line the pockets on the outside of the tote. the inside is stitched from the soft flannel to cushion bottles and baby food jars. and a few more pockets were added to the interior to give plenty of organization options.

shown above is the inset zipper with matching fabric backing and the side slip pocket panel.

and just fyi, the modifications made to the original tote pattern are as follows:
* contrasting fabric added to accent and line the exterior pockets
* snaps added to exterior pockets
* two interior pockets made instead of the one called for in the pattern. these are pockets of this chickadee's design and include one inset zip and a set of slip pockets on the panel facing.

something to consider for next time:
*interfacing. the bag has no shape without content, even with the sturdy denim sides. so this would definitely be something to add for stability.
*more height. the finished dimensions come to about 10" x 14" x 6". it is a tad bit on the shallow side as far as height is concerned. maybe just a slight modification there to suit your taste.

overall the pattern was pretty simple and easy to follow. the design is definitely a great option for a diaper bag as it has a generous exterior side pocket for a bottle and plenty of room to stash all sorts of things. it was fun to make, try it!

best dressed baby

knitting friends and fans, this chickadee has not forgotten about you! there has been plenty of k1 p2 k1 sl1 psso k2tog going on behind the scenes at chickadee central. the cutest thing to come off the needles lately is this coordinated set of baby sets. it was a special order from two very special people for their not-quite newly born niece (she's due to make her appearance this week!). with several skeins of bernat cottontots and a eighties knitting book, this chickadee cast-on on a mission to make baby girl (blank) the best dressed neonatal in all of the nursery.

let's roll out the burp cloth carpet and welcome the cuddly soft sensations to center stage (aka: the changing table). crawling forward first is a newborn noggin topper and matching kimono/wrap sweater, both accented with yellow ribbon. the kimono sweater has a bit of added flair thanks to a couple rows of contrasting crochet. the design of the kimono sweater was inspired by the ladies of mason-dixon knitting, you can find their version in their sassy book.

here's a closer look at the closure:

toddling toward you next is the saque (a fancy way to say "cardigan"). it comes complete with matching bonnet and booties. and for the baby who just can't make up her mind, there is an optional contrasting bonnet and bootie set in yellow. she can mix and match or be mindful of tradition. and she's free to do what babies do, since all of these pieces are cotton and machine washer/dryer friendly!

summer babe

being small in stature and a terrible thermoregulator, this chickadee can sympathize with the plight of the summer baby. frozen by frigid artificial air and in need of a cozy cuddle despite the high heat and humidity, what's a poor baby to do? don't despair tiny tots, a friendly and compassionate chickadee has crocheted you an airy alternative to winter woolies.

a sprightly 30" x 30" square of colorful cotton yarn that's light as a feather and a friend of the warm water washing machine, the summer babe blanket comes to the rescue of chilly children everywhere. soft gets softer with each cycle in the spinner but the tenderness belies a tough yarn that will stand the test of time. it took one cone of peaches and cream ombre to complete this compact composition. the living is easy for a summertime sweetie swaddled in this chickadee creation.

green bay baby

my cousin sarah writes a blog called bringing up baby bilingual, a site she started to share the experience of teaching her one year old nephew to speak french. she's also expecting her own bilingual-to-be bundle of joy in january. her mother and my father hail from the great state of wisconsin. (her parents live in green bay, about five solid baseball throws from lambeau field) that makes us and any of our progeny packer fans. to welcome her baby boy, her petite croissant, i knit some packer pride into this ensemble.

clockwise from top left:

• baby blanket knit with sierra quattro yarn (find it @ helloknitty)
• detail of blanket
• bucky bundles up in hat and bib atop blanket
• hat and bib set

welcome to the blog-o-sphere

julie, my super talented friend (and knitter) has just started a blog for her little guy called max the monkey. here's a super cute picture of the cyber-celebrity:

it was about this time two years ago when a still incubating max ignited my baby knits fire. because julie and i had spent quite a bit of pre-pregnancy time together knitting (and watching soccer and drinking sneaky beer), i wanted to give her and the baby-to-be something special and handmade. here's a look:

nutty the squirrel models a hat and mitten combo
teddy the panda looks fierce in a tasseled sweater and bootie duet

blankets are currently my favorite gift to make for baby showers.
(and yes, i do knit for hire -- email me!)

team baby uniform

everyone knows that team baby prefers to sport the onesie. painted or embroidered, i am proud to outfit these little people in easy to launder cotton strips.

here is my friend owen showing his love for citrus fruits: