Maya’s Christmas Hat

I started making Maya’s Christmas hat on Saturday and I finished it in less than 24 hours!

Last year Maya had a snowman hat, this year I decided to make a Rudolph Hat. The base of this hat was made using Ear Flap Hat Tutorial. I then knit up a quick set of ears & antlers and finished everything off with a red pompom nose & button eyes.

I couldn’t get a clear picture as my child is way too active!

Upcoming projects include more baby shower knits as well as Christmas gifts.

I wish you all a wonderful week!
-Marta Azocar

More Baby Knits

It seems that everyone around me is getting pregnant and/or having babies, this means that I’m quite busy knitting away!

Monster Booties & Hat

This past weekend I went to a baby shower for one of my sister’s best friends. She’s expecting a boy and to be honest I got really excited to finally do a project for a baby boy. One of my friends from my knitting group always makes the cutest baby knits from Knit A Monster Nursery by Rebecca Danger. I decided to knit the Monster Booties that are in the book.

I wanted to make a hat to go with the booties. As cute as the hats in the book were, they didn’t really call out to me. I decided to improvise and make my own pattern and this what my hands created…

The eye on the left is an “x” by the way.

I decided to make a matching cardigan for the set as well.

The pattern I used is Little Coffee Bean.

Bow Tie Baby Girl Set
My friend recently had a baby girl, so of course I had to knit up something small. I’m proud to say this was that this project fully came out of my head!

I didn’t keep track of the pattern, but again if there are any requests for it, I can happily post it.

I wish you all a wonderful week!
-Marta Azocar

Both projects were knitted with Lion Brand’s Vanna’s Choice

Maya’s Halloween Costume

I decided this year that I should make a costume for Maya. Since my sewing skills are non-existent, it only made sense to knit something. I always love babies & toddlers in pumpkin costumes, so I set out to make an outfit. I’m quite proud as I came up with the design of the outfit and matching hat on my own. I haven’t wrote out the pattern, but if someone does request it, I would be willing to do so. I did use a chart for the jack-o-lantern face though, it can be found here.

Maya is quite sick this weekend, so she wasn’t keen on modeling her outfit, I will be sure to post some photos of her trick-or-treating on Halloween.

Update:November 11- Here are some photos of Maya in her costume!

Summer Wrap Up

August was a busy month knitting projects that I ended up frogging. Knitting has made me realize how much of a perfectionist I really am. I’ve been known to spend weeks on a project and then tear it apart if I’m not happy with the progress. This happened four times in August.

Foliage Hat

At the end of the month, I had only completed one project, a lace hat for my sister’s birthday.

I love love love knitting lace patterns with leaves. I used the rest of my Alpakka by Sandnes Garn that I had used for my Nocturnal Pullover. The hat turned out a bit big, but my thinking was that my sister could wear it as a beanie.

Bow Tie Cardigan

Last weekend my friend’s daughter turned 3. My friend has always said really nice things about my knitting projects, so I knew that she would appreciate a hand knit sweater for her daughter. I love the search fuction on Ravelry‘s website and it helped me look for sweaters knit in one piece. I came along the Gilet Noued Noeud pattern and I fell in love with it. It also worked out perfect that the birthday party had a ties and tutus theme. This sweater was a very quick knit, it only took me one weekend. I used 2 balls of Caron Simpy Soft in Heather.

I’m really happy with how this pattern turned out, I think it may be one of my favorite things that I’ve knit in the past year. I was able to sew one of my new label tags inside the sweater!

I will definitely be making this pattern again and Maya will for sure have one in the future as well.

WIP- Debbie Bliss Smock

Speaking of Maya, I’ve been working on the Debbie Bliss Smock Coat since August 4th. I thought it might be done this week, but I realized that the sleeves that I had made were both too short. As adorable as this project is, I’m getting a bit tired of it, so I’m going to put it hold for a few days and I’m hoping to redo the sleeves sometime next week.

Here is a sneak peak of the back of the coat.

Next week I’m off to Montreal for a good friend’s wedding. I have only one day to explore the city, so if anyone has any good suggestions for a good yarn store, please let me know!

Happy knitting, crocheting & yarn crafting,

Marta Azocar

Mitini Mitts & Baby Gifts

The last bit of my holidays turned out to be quite productive… I completed four projects!

When I got back from holidays, I had received an invite to a friend’s baby shower. I had about ten days to knit a gift, so I knew I had to find a pattern that wasn’t too complicated.

Bunny Blanket Buddy

A search on Ravelry led me to Lion Brand’s Bunny Blanket Buddy. I used my Debbie Bliss Cotton DK for the pattern. It was a very quick and easy knit.

It looked much better in real life than in this photo, I promise! My 15 month old, Maya, loved it so much that I think I will have to make one for her very soon.

Owlie Sleep Sack with Matching Toque.

Before Maya was born, I had made her the cutest little sleep sack with cabled owls. (Owlie Sleep Sack Pattern.) I remember how convienient the sleep sack was and it didn’t take too long to knit. I realized this was the next best thing to a baby blanket.

Last fall I had purchased a skein of Cascade Yarns Eco Clouds and had not used it yet. I felt that it would be perfect for this project.

Friends- this is where I learned an important lesson! Always make sure you buy enough yarn in a colour lot if it’s made from a natural fibre. I was almost finished the sleep sack when I had run out of yarn. This yarn is made from undyed fibre, so when I went to pick up another skein, it was much darker than the original that I had used.

I also learned another very important lesson that same day, I’ve been doing the knit stitch the wrong way! It was fine when I was knitting flat, but everytime I knit in the round my stitches would twist and I could not figure out why. The lady at my local yarn shop was nice enough to point out that I was knitting through the back of the stitch when I should be knitting through the front!

As I had mentioned earlier, I was almost finished the sleep sack. I was so bothered by the twisted stitches and knew that if I didn’t redo the project, it would drive me nuts. So, I unwound it and began again.

In the end, I think the pattern turned out amazing! I had enough yarn left that I was able to also knit the matching hat.

I’ve decided that from now on, everyone of my friends or family expecting a baby will get a knitted sleep sack!

Mitini Mitts

In my last blog post, I introduced the pattern I had purchased.  I had completed one mitt before I started the above baby gifts, but decided to redo it because it was also knit in the round, which meant that the stitches were also twisted.

Here’s the final version of the mitts!

I think I will wear these in the fall when it just starts to become cool outside.

I’ve got a few occasions coming up soon and I am planning to knit some unique gifts! I’m hoping to update you all with these projects by the end of August.

Until then, happy knitting, crocheting & needle-crafting,

Marta

Fancy New Purchases

I had the pleasure of visiting my sister in Victoria, BC, Canada this week. Our trip was jam-packed so I only had the chance to visit one yarn store. After purchasing some amazing tea from Murchie’s I crossed the street and stumbled upon Button & Needlework Boutique . It was the cutest little boutique with the most amazing selection of unique buttons. I purchased this one;

which I hope to use for a chunky knit cowl sometime in the near future.

Of course, I had to buy some yarn. I found the cutest little booklet with a knitting pattern by blue sky alpacas.

I decided that this would be the perfect quick project and I purchased a skein of blue sky alpacas, royal alpaca for the project. Alpaca wool is my favorite fibre & this one is soooo silky & soft. This one also knits up very nice. What was super cool about the pattern is the fact that I also received a little card telling me about the alpacas that the wool is made from.

Here’s how the first mitt is looking so far;

I’m hoping to have a post up in the next few weeks once I’ve completed the project!

Until then, happy knitting, crocheting & needle-crafting,
– Marta

Recent Knits

I finally completed a few knitting projects. Going back to work full-time has really made it difficult to find time to knit, but it helps me to relax.

Elephant Stuffie
A few months ago, I made this knitted elephant for a baby shower gift.

I got the pattern from Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keen. it was really easy to follow! I used Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn from Michael’s and found that it was perfect for this project.

Edmonton Eskimos Golf Club Covers
Before I returned to work from maternity leave, I was informed that my boss would be retiring at the end of June. My boss has been a great influence in my life in the last few years and she has been an amazing role model.

I knew I had to knit her something, but I struggled with what to make. First I attempted to make some fair isle moccasin slippers… That was a disaster. Then I started to make the Lace leaf scarf that I posted about at Christmas time. As I was making the scarf, I kept on thinking that it wasn’t a good gift for my boss. One day I was sitting in my office thinking about what my boss’s interests are, she loves to golf and she loves the Edmonton Eskimos football team. Eureka! Knitted golf club covers in green & gold would be the perfect gift for her.

I used Lion Brand’s Golf Club Covers pattern and found it was extremely easy to follow along with. The yarn I used was Paton’s Classic Wool as well as Loops and Threads Impeccable.

Here is how they turned out!

I gave them to her on Monday, as that was the last day I worked with her, it seems that she really liked them. It also worked out perfect that she had gotten a new set of golf clubs for her retirement as well!

I’m not sure what my next project will be, maybe it’s time to finish that sweater I started in January.

No Time to Knit

I was supposed to finish this sweater three weeks ago… And I still only have half of the back done so far! Life with a very busy and active 10 month old it making it very hard to find time to knit. Also, this pattern took me about 15 tries (completely serious.)

In the meantime I stumbled across this awesome table & nightstand at an antique store & decided to buy them for my craft room.

I brought them home & they didn’t match my room, so I decided to paint the room, which I hope will be finished this weekend.

Late last week I booked an Easter photo shoot for Maya, which took place this past Monday. I really wanted to knit her a bunny hat for the photos, but I was saddened when I realized I didn’t have enough time to get it done. I called my mom & it took her only two days and here is what she came up with:

I don’t have a pattern for this, as I showed my mom a picture of what I wanted on google and she just somehow made it happen with no pattern!

I’m really hoping to have my sweater done soon, but I’ve decided not to set deadlines for myself anymore!

First Adult Sweater

I finally did it! I knitted an adult sweater. After much procrastination & fear, I decided I could do it.

While I was waiting for my Knit Picks order to come in, my mom took me on a yarn shopping spree as an early birthday present. (My birthday isn’t until February 20, so it was very early!)

I decided to knit the Nocturnal Pullover by Cassie Castillo. I found the sweater in the 2012 Knit Scene fall issue. It has two thing I love; owls and lace, so why would I pass the chance up to knit it?

It took me a few weeks, but it was a really easy pattern to knit. The yarn I used was Sandnes Alpakka in plum. This was my first time using Alpaca and I just loved how soft it was.

Here I am in my new sweater! I apologize for the really bad & unflattering photo! Also, dark purple sweaters with designs are hard to photograph!

I think I will have to block it once more as it keeps riding up & not staying in place.

Here is the best close up I managed to get of the owl.

I’ve started working on my next sweater with my Knit Picks yarn. The pattern is confusing me quite a bit, but I’m sure I will get it soon. Hopefully I will have my next sweater done and up on here in 3-4 weeks!

Learning to Knit

I’ve been approached by a few people asking me to teach me how to knit.

I am a terrible teacher, but I was able to learn by watching videos online and I found some very useful links and diagrams as well.

Here are the two websites that have helped me the most when it comes to learning how to knit:

• Lion Brand Yarn Learning Centre  http://cache.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/faq-search.cgi?store=/stores/eyarn&learnToKnit=1  I love the Lion Brand Learning Centre! They have videos, written instructions as well as diagrams. This is the first place I go to whenever I need to figure out an abbreviation and whenever I need learn anything new.  I also found their free patterns to be great for beginners.

• Knitting for Dummies http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/knitting-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html  I found this link to be extremely helpful when I was learning how to knit cables.

Whenever I am working on a pattern and I find an abbreviation that I have never seen before, I find that plugging the abbreviation into google (ex. M1R Knitting) always helps me find a tutorial on how to complete a certain technique.

One of my biggest resources has been other knitters- my knitting group and my mom. If you are lucky enough to know any other knitters in your life, be sure to ask them for help. If you don’t know any knitters, find out if there is a local knitting group in your area.