Cason's sweater

From the book One Skein Knitting comes this darling color block cardigan for children. I used all of the yard left over from Cason's baby blanket. This was very easy to knit - I changed the pattern slightly, adjusting for the amount of yard I had. It is meant to be asymmetrical - that is not a mistake!
The trim around the neck and down the front is an attached I-cord. This should have been easy. It only took about 5 tries to get it right. Now I am going to use this trim a lot.

New Mother's Gift

This is a shawl for nursing mothers. It is a leaf lace pattern, very easy and very beautiful. I used Misti Alpaca chunky weight yarn in a dark green from Shabby Sheep. Because the yarn is handpainted, some of the dye washes out and it becomes several shades and hues of the green.The pattern is from Natural Knits for Babies and Mums by Louisa Harding. It is fabulous book available from any bookstore (try Amazon). It is a basic shawl pattern with the addition of buttons for modesty. The scalloped edge is a natural result of the pattern.

Cason's Blanket

It has been a joy to knit for Cason in anticipation of his arrival in March. The blanket colors are from the nursery which can been seen on Catherine's blog. The pattern is from Sublime - a book of baby knits - and is called Stripey Travel Rug. I modified the width of the stripes just for fun. The yarn is Berroco's Comfort and Berroco's Love It. Needle size was 8, although the label says that a size 9 could be used. Of course, I used by wonderful Denise needle set. Now all we need is Cason!

"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise." Psalm 8:2

Christmas hats

For my brother and his son, my nephew, I made hats for their Christmas presents. The pattern was from a book called "Holiday Knits" by Sara Lucas and Allison Isaacs, page 17. It has a bunch of fun and quick projects. The yarn for the hats was Lion Brand chunky wool. I altered the pattern a little - I did not do the turn up brim because it would be too warm and heavy. I added the contrast rows further up on the hat. It is knit on circular needles. I did adjust the number of stitches due to the chunkiness of the yarn. Now I want to do a lot more - they are so soft and warm. And knitting presents for special people gives me a chance to think about that person, to pray for that person, and to picture them wearing these hats and hopefully know that I love them! Happy knitting!

A little over a year ago, my friend Christy and her family helped our nation with the greatest gift: Husband and father Rick went to Iraq to serve in the medical corps. Since Christy and I no longer live in the same city, there was very little that I could offer in the way of assistance - no running meals over to her house; no offers to babysit the beautiful grandchild; no moments to have coffee and talk or take a walk.

So I knit. Christy is wearing the shawl that I turned into a prayer project. As I worked, I would pray for Christy, her family, Rick, anything concerning them. All was recorded in a small journal which Christy received with the shawl.

There are still service men and women overseas. Don't forget to continue to pray for them, for our country, and for the coming elections.

Of course, the yarn came from Shabby Sheep and was a hand painted shades of blue yarn. The pattern is from www.knitty.com and is called "Cozy." Here is a trick I learned: Because the pattern changed every other row, I wrote the instructions for each row on a 3x5 index card and secured them with a ring clasp. I never lost my place. Happy knitting.

God's Gift

There is nothing more anticipated than a new baby. There is nothing more precious! My neighbors Tanya and Justin are expecting their second little girl in a few weeks. The entire neighborhood came together for a baby shower for Tanya. This blanket was so much fun to knit. It is done in organic cotton by Blue Sky Alpaca in four different colors. The darker bands of color are variegated wool. The pattern comes from one of the clients at my favorite store, The Shabby Sheep, in Dallas. This was easy and fun to make - it is amazing how the points on the chevron appear through the knitting process and reminds me of Psalm 139: 13-14:

You created every part of me, knitting me in my mother's womb.
For such handiwork, I praise you.
Awesome this great wonder.

Two Precious Children

Proverbs 20:7: The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

After knitting Chris and Stewart hats for their New York trip, I was asked to knit hats for Stewart's girls. I used Yummy Yarn from my favorite store, The Shabby Sheep. The pattern is from Weezie Wear Designs #WWD51. The sizes range from Children's X-small to Adult Large. You can e-mail them at weeziewear1@yahoo.com.

This pattern is a great way to use stash yarn. I am now working on hats for all the nieces. It is a fun and easy project.