Cloth-diaper cover

The summer is finally here, so I was able to sit outside and knit today, I made these quick diaper cover. I didn´t have the right yarn at hand, so I used Icelandic unspun wool and sandnes alpakka .  The diaper cover (or bullet proof vest) is way to thick I think, I have no idea as I don´t use cloth diapers how they are supposed to be, any suggestions/tips are welcome.

Tomorrow I hope to spend some time in this chair knitting, it needs some tender love and care but I´m not going to do anything about it until dh goes on summer holiday, my few moments "alone" will be spent  bathing in the sun.

Pattern:  Strik til nøstebarn
Yarn:  sandnes alpakka and unspun icelandic wool
needles: 4.5 mm

Pants

These pants were supposed to be ready before 17th of June, our Independence day, instead they were finished on the 18th...  they took forever to finish on 2.5 and 2 mm needles. But they are worth the effort, they can be used now and will hopefully fit through next winter as well.

I made several attempts to photograph the owner of the pants, but she just gives me this fake cry and smiling simultanously . But of course I pick her up for her efforts and she knows it works so this is the face I see very often.

Pattern:  Babystrik på pinde 3
Yarn: Dale baby wool
Needles: 2 and 2.5 mm
Modification:  cast on 144 stitches, no decreases after the belly-ribbing, before the ribbing at the bottom of the feet decrease in the last round to 52 stitches.  I made them longer than the stitch count for this width called for.
Notestoself: the belly ribbing might be tighter, and then maybe increase in the first round after the belly-ribbing.

Babywearing legwarmers

Made these for a little one in the family that is a bit older then my little one, and we will be meeting for the first time this sommer. She is carried often in a boba carrier and these will hopefully keep her legs warm this sommer.

These are very stretchy as my model shows, my little own wasn´t very co-operative as a model, she kept moving her feet.

Pattern:  none, made it up
Yarn: Dale baby wool
Needles: 2.5mm
Notestomyself: 45stitches

Wishlist

Just yesterday I was reading a blog post about gratitude and how to live in the moment, I was very inspired. But today I seem to have forgotten that and though I´m very grateful for everything I have I do daydream about the following knitting stuff.

• Lint Shaver
• Ball winder
• Double pointed needle set (wood)
• Sjónabók (knitting book)
• Walk in yarn closet, with endless supply of colors and yarn types. 

Steeking - tips

Are you new to knitting in the round, then cutting up your knitting. Here are a few tips. I´m no expert by any means. But here are a few tips if you are trying it for the first time.

• Steek with yarn that can be felted (superwash yarn isn´t ideal)
• Always wash/block before steeking, if not the stitches in the sewing machine or the crochet border wont stretch with it in the wash and you can end up with a skewed garment.
• If you are planning to use a sewing machine, it has served me well to purl 2 stitches where you plan to cut.
• If you are planning to crochet, and then cut (skip the sewing machine), purl 1 or 3 stitches (5,7,.. etc)  I have heard that 3 is ideal, but 1 is sufficient.
• Here is a tutorial for steeking without a sewing machine
• If you are going to use the sewing machine, most Icelandic patterns state to sew 2 times in each of the purled stitches (on the wrong site). I always do it 3 times to be on the save site.
• If you ask why to have this purled stitch, and why to sew on the wrong site (see picture below), it is so that it is easier to see where to sew.
• Make sure to strech the sweater a little while you are sewing (so that it won´t be to tight the seam)

A little helper in a good mood is also very helpful... well one in a bad mood will stop your plans.

Hope that these tips will be helpful for you.

Birta

This sweater pattern has the same name as my sister so I got her to pose in it :) I finished the steeking crocheting last night during movie night with my soon to be 3 year old. The 3 year old fell to sleep in the car yesterday between 16-17, so we decided to have our first familiy movie night. The parents wanted something that was not a cartoon, and it needed to be dubbed in Icelandic, and well suitable for a three year old, we ended up watching Chipwrecked. The 3 year old loved it, and she sure enjoyed the popcorn she got. Back to Birta,  I measured the length between buttonholes, but seems that I was sloppy when adding the buttons (need to fix that at some point).

T

Pattern: Birta
Yarn: Álafosslopi (Istex)
Size: Medium (but more length to body and sleeves) , I knew that my gauge would be off , since I knit so loosely but I wanted an oversized cardigan.  The armlength fits me better than my sister.
Modifications: the bottom of the body and sleeves are like the original pattern from Lopi 2.