babies everywhere!

It seems like 2010 is the year of pregnancies! Babies are popping up everywhere this year and they are keeping my knitting needles very busy these days as I hurry to keep up with all the baby showers and new arrivals. I started my baby knitting escapade back in January with the little Aviatrix hat, which I sent to my friends James and Beth for their little boy.

Last month I knit up another hat. I modified the Djevellue baby cap for larger needles and bulkier yarn. I used Malabrigo Worsted (one of my favorites). All in all, it turned out to be a very fast knit. To adjust for a bulkier yarn, I cast on 73 st on size US 8 needles and I knit 10 between the inc/decreases. It should fit a 9-12 month old. Have a look (project 39/52):

Next, I knit an itty-bitty pair of sockees for little toes. I just downsized a basic simple sock pattern to fit tiny feet in a green sock yarn. Cute cute cute! Project 38/52:

Next up, I made a matching bib-burp cloth set using Lily Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn and Baby Bib'O Love pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Their patterns are so completely versatile! I added a girly ruffle from one of Nicky Epstein's books for the bottom to add a little pizazz. Esme chose red as the color choice (no surprise there!). Project 37/52:

Next, I knit a little Bunny Lovey. I used Lion Brand's Bunny Blanket Buddy as a basis for the pattern, but I changed a few aspects to that hopefully make it altogether more cutesy. I used Lily Sugar'n Cream cotton and shrunk the needle size down significantly. The pattern is very unclear in a few spots, especially about the head. As you knit, the instructions to purl one, slip one for every row actually shapes a pocket on the straight needles. You will essentially be knitting both sides of the pocket at the same time and will be able to stuff the head after you knit the approximate 3-and-something inches.

I gathered the top and bottom of the head to make it round rather than flat. And like a lot of others who knit this bunny, I wasn’t crazy about the ears. Instead, I used the tutorial for the ears from this site as a basis, though, to make the ears more floppy, I decreased on one end every four rows.

I still need to embroider a face on the bunny, but I completely shrunk this pattern down for an infant to be able to manage as a lovey/teether combo. I am very happy with the way this turned out even though I altered the pattern so much. Project 36/52:

I loved the Bunny Lovey so much that I decided to do a second one to give my cousin for her baby shower. This time, though, I followed the directions on the second site for the ears. Project 35/52:

And I loved how Eva packed it all up with a blue ribbon around his neck, and blue and brown tissue paper in a blue Chinese take-out box:

I just finished another bib, the Petal Bib from One Skein. I have to remember that it is a very quick project for a super last minute baby gift. I wasn’t expecting that it would go so quickly. It really only took me about two hours from start to finish to make the one bib. I will be giving this bib with a small breastfeeding care package--lanolin, two pairs of nursing pads and a copy of So That’s What They’re For! Project 34/52:

These baby projects have been so much fun and really pretty fast knits. Next up, I am working on a pair of baby booties to use up some of my left-over sock yarn. I think I will also try my hand at writing my own bib pattern--I have a few ideas that I would love to share with others!