Dad's Birthday?

I came across this post today on the Craftzine blog:

aKNITomy

My Dad is a physician, and I thought it would be cute to make something like this for his office. In 3rd grade, my class did a series of drawings of the different systems in the body (Respiratory, Circulatory, etc.) , and he framed and them and still has them up in his office. Some of his patients still ask about "Little Mollie who drew those pictures" . . . and dad has to tell them that little Mollie drew those pictures nearly 20 years ago! He told me recently that he actually refers to them a lot, especially the Respiratory system picture, because it is so simple. Many of the pictures in his books are so complicated that he doesn't like to use them to explain things to patients; the clear and simple drawings are better for explaining problems ("See this big valve here? This is the part that's not working correctly.")

Maybe he would like something more modern (albeit, less helpful) from "little Mollie".

Maybe a heart, with all the valves (great for bright colors!); like a flattened version of this:

or this

Now the question is: do I attempt to make this for father's day (June) or his birthday (October)?

Big Bang Theory

So I am a huge fan of "The Big Bang Theory" on CBS . . . I basically married Sheldon. Every time we watch, there is some sort of geeky/star wars-y toy that the hubby adds to his wish list (their Periodic Table shower curtain can be found at thinkgeek.com, if anyone is wondering).

Last night, he and I were having dinner and culling through the DVR. We began watching an old episode of Big Bang where Penny and Leonard are decorating a Christmas tree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqiiCOFR0Y8

Penny is wearing the cutest Santa hat (with two tails like pig-tails). I stared thinking to myself, as I do on a daily basis, "I could knit that!".

I did a quick google image search and found this on someone's flickr:

Adorable!!!

Another few minutes on Ravelry.com, and lo and behold, there is a free pattern online!!!

http://nana-n-thecats.blogspot.com/2009/12/and-heres-pattern.html

What would I do without the internet?!

New baby project

So I have been brainstorming a gift for new baby boy Curtin. Mom and Dad went to Notre Dame with my husband, who suggested making a Notre Dame letterman jacket, like the Steelers Jacket I made for baby Kay+Rob last month.

"Oh! That's actually a great idea!", I said to him this evening. "Well," he replied a little sheepishly, "that's what I really want for our baby eventually." Awww!

So, I will probably use the same Top Down Reglan Baby Sweater pattern with an ND monogram logo and maybe "Notre Dame" across the back.

Here are pictures are of the modern letterman jackets at Notre Dame.

The blue arms, however, make it look more like a regular windbreaker than a sports jacket. The old-fashioned jackets, like these:

are more iconic.

Luckily, I already have a great "gold" yellow color in my stash, and Vanna's Choice makes a great Navy color.

I think I'll put the monogram on the back the way I did for the Steelers Jacket. If there is room on the front, I might add a clover or a little felted leprechaun.

Another baby gift down

Today I finished my gift for Baby Margaret: a Seamless Baby Kimono and matching baby socks.

The Kimono is the same pattern I used for Baby Girl Coyle, with some slight variations. I realized about half-way through that I was going to run out of the pink yarn, so I started over and added a turquoise trim around the neck, and added a turquoise "sash" around the middle and omitted the tie belt.

The socks were modified from the Unisex Socks pattern from Benevides and Milles's The Sock Knitting Kit; same basic pattern, just smaller. I really like this book/kit; it came with the turquoise yarn and a set of size 2 dpns. The instructions are sometimes unclear in places, but after the first time making a pair of socks, I understand the wording better and find them very thorough.

Decorating Ideas for my Crafty-Corner

So my husband and I are in the process of buying an apartment! Very exciting!

We have put in an offer and actually spent this morning reading through the contracts. We have a potential closing date of May 31, 2010 (but that's not official yet).

Towards the beginning of this process, I was very careful not to "move my stuff in" in my head, because I didn't want to be disappointed if things fell through. But now I'm giving myself a little freedom to mentally decorate, especially when it comes to the baby room (already painted with a mural of green grass/sky/flying Dumbo) and a crafty-corner for myself.

Currently, my yarn is tucked away in every corner of our apartment (in drawers under the couch, in a hanging shoe organizer, in a bookshelf, and in bags shoved behind the couch). If we had removable couch cushions, it would be under there as well. I'm trying to devise a better way for organizing and storing it in our new place.

Stage one: DON'T BUY ANY MORE YARN BEFORE WE MOVE!!! That's actually going pretty well; I've been able to make several gifts without buying more yarn, which is pretty impressive. Sort of like throwing together an awesome dinner with foods you happened to have in the pantry (which I ALSO did this week!). HA HA!

Stage two will be figuring out the best (and prettiest) way to store the yarn I have. I came across this post yesterday in the Craftzine Blog, and I LOVE it!

These are coffee cans covered in contact paper and mounted to the wall. I was thinking of modifying this a little and mounting the cans individually, like picture frames. I would cover them with either black or brightly-colored contact paper (bright primary colors?), and attach a picture hook on the back of each. Then I could mount them all over one wall, or in one corner, and fill them with my yarn. AND if I needed to take the yarn with me while I traveled, simply take the can off the wall, throw a cover on it, and toss it in my bag!

As a cute addition, I could turn the cans/caps into dispensers (the caps have holes for the yarn to feed through).

Baseball Beanie

Nifty-Gifty Update:

Gifts for Baby Boy Tucker are finished and off to the anxious parents as of yesterday. They just got word that Mom is 2 cm dilated, so he may arrive a little earlier than expected. Sending them good thoughts.

Though I'm not sure Mom and Dad are big baseball fans, godfather Chris (who just happens to be my husband) is a die-hard Sox Fan. I'm sure he will insist that baby Caleb is as well (not to mention that he'll force the child to at least APPLY to Notre Dame when the time comes).

Red Sox Socks

Baseball Beanie

This idea for the baseball stitching came from "Veeda" on Ravelry.com

The pattern is Janet Russell's "Very Basic Beanie", which can be found on her Ravelry page for free download.

and the babies keep coming

I found out this morning that one of my husband's friends from college, whom I adore, is expecting her 2nd child. While I'm super happy for them, it seems this week's goal is to remind me of the children I don't have yet. I mailed off two baby-gift packages yesterday (Baby Kimono and booties for baby girl Coyle; and Red Sox Socks and Baseball Beanie for baby boy Tucker). It just stings a little when I make this super cute baby clothes and then have to give them to OTHER people, instead of putting them on my own baby.

And so, the baby gift brainstorming begins:

Baby boy

due in August

Texas (Astros? Rangers?)

Notre Dame Alum (Go Irish?)

Simple Baby Booties

Simple Baby Booties

This was one of my very first patterns. It was modified from several other booty patterns. Having never dressed an infant before, however, I don't know how well the booties would actually fit a baby. It is easily modifiable though (colors, height, etc.)

Materials:
Size 3 Needles
DK or Sport Weight Yarn (though a thicker yarn will yield a larger booty)Instructions:

Cast on 17 stitches

Row 1: K1, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K1, Kfb, K1, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K1
Row 2: K22
Row 3: K2, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K2, Kfb, K3, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K2
Row 4: K27
Row 5: K3, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K4, Kfb, K3
Row 6: K32

Row 7: K32
Row 8: P32
Row 9: K32
Row 10: P32

Row 11: K19, slip1, K1, psso, turn
Row 12: Slip1, P6, P2tog, turn
Row 13: Slip1, K6, slip1, K1, psso, turn
Row 14: Slip1, P6, P2tog, turn
Row 15: Slip1, K6, slip1, K1, psso, turn
Row 16: Slip1, P6, P2tog, turn
Row 17: Slip1, K6, slip1, K1, psso, turn
Row 18: Slip1, P6, P2tog, turn
Row 19: Slip1, K6, slip1, K1, psso, K7
Row 20: P7, slip1, P6, P2tog, P7
Row 21: K2, Kfb, K to before last 3 st, Kfb, 2K
Row 22: Purl all

Stst until the top of the bootie is as tall as you want.

Cast off.

Sew up the back and bottom of booty with matching yarn.
Repeat for second booty.Variations:

• To create a cuff, switch stst so the purl side in on the outside. When finished, fold over.
• To create horizontal stripes, alternate colors every two rows.
• To create a colored sole, change colors at Row 7.
• To create a colored toe, as shown below, use the following instructions:

(A) = color A
(B) = color B

Cast on 17 stitches

Row 1: (A) K1, Kfb, K4, Kfb, (B) K1, Kfb, K1, (A) Kfb, K4, Kfb, K1
Row 2: (A) K9, (B) K4, (A) K9
Row 3: (A) K2, Kfb, K4, Kfb, (B) K2, Kfb, K3, (A) Kfb, K4, Kfb, K2
Row 4: (A) K10, (B) K7, (A) K10
Row 5: (A) K3, Kfb, K4, Kfb, (B) K4, Kfb, K4, (A) Kfb, K4, Kfb, K3
Row 6: (A) K11, (B) K10, (A) K11

Row 7: (A) K11, (B) K10, (A) K11
Row 8: (A) K11, (B) K10, (A) K11
Row 9: (A) K12, (B) K8, (A) K12
Row 10: (A) K12, (B) K8, (A) K12

Row 11: (A) k13, (B) K6, slip1, (A) K1, psso, turn
Row 12: Slip1, (B) P6, (A) P2tog, turn
Row 13: Slip1, (A) K1, (B) K4, (A) K1, slip1, K1, psso, turn
Row 14: Slip1, (A) P1, (B) P4, (A) P1, P2tog, turn
Row 15: Slip1, (A) K6, slip1, K1, psso, turn

Continue normally with (A).Key:

Kfb = Knit into the front and back of the stitch; increase 1
slip = slip the stitch from one needle to another without knitting it
psso = pass slipped stitcher over; bind off
k/p2tog = knit or purl two stitches together
stst = knit one row, purl one row

Baby Kimono and Booties

Baby Kimono and Booties

Originally I intended to give this to my college friend Elynor, who is due with her baby girl on May 20. But I realized that my other friend Laurie is due on April 29, so I adjusted the priority list and this adorable baby kimono will be shipped out to Laurie, John, and baby girl Coyle this afternoon.

The "Seamless Kimono Sweater" comes from designer Jacki Kelly, and can be found here. It's done all in one piece, and is so easy. And the flowers are precious.

The booties are from a pattern I modified a while back, which can be found here (I added a k2p2 rib starting after row 22.