Ribbed Baby Beanie

Ribbed Baby Beanie knitting pattern
Sizes 0-3 and 3-6 months.
Below is a video tutorial for the i-cord portion of the hat.

The pattern is available here in my Etsy shop or search
KatePrestonHandknits (no spaces) on Etsy.com
It will cost you $4 bucks.
Thank you for your purchase!

(This beanie was made with love for baby Anna, my newest niece. xo)

https://youtu.be/OQ4k0hwYl9g

Autumn Leaves Cardigan

Made the baby and the sweater

My baby Charlie at 10 months old, modeling his Owlet Sweater.  More about the pattern here.

Introducing baby Charlie!

Introducing our new baby boy!

Charles William Preston
Born on Thanksgiving Day - November 22, 2012

We love him to pieces.  Expect to see more of him, because as you know, I love to work up baby knits.

Here he is at three weeks old, modeling his Puerperium Sweater which was knitted with love by his Gram.
Go here for the *free* pattern.

FO: The Owlet

The Owlet is finished, and I am completely in love with this sweet little sweater.  See my progress photos here.

Having fun with KNITCOL

On a recent trip out of town and a visit to the local yarn shop, my aunt discovered KNITCOL by Adriafil.  Yay!   She picked up a skein for my mom, who used it to work up this sweet little baby hat.  It's self-striping, almost giving the look of fair isle, and is 100% merino in DK weight.  It's available in about a dozen colorways.  See them here.

On my needles: Owlet Baby Sweater

I'm thrilled to begin the Owlet Baby Sweater by Kate Davies.  As you can see from Kate's photo below, it's pretty sweet.  I put it on my Knit List for 2012, and here we are in August.  It will be perfect for a little one to wear this Fall. Can't imagine whooooo. ;-)

It's my first time knitting with Madeline Tosh. This superwash hand-dyed 100% merino wool is gorgeous. Worth every penny to make this handknit sweater extra special. 

FO: Puerperium Baby Cardigan

The Puerperium sweater is finished-off, and here is my adorable niece Charlotte modeling it.

Go here for more about the project and a link to the *free* pattern.

On my needles: The Puerperium Baby Cardigan

I can't help myself.  I love to knit baby sweaters and have a long list of patterns I want to work.  This one by Kelly Brooker of Knit So Quaint has been on my mind for a while.  It's designed for the newest of newborns - hence the name puerperium.  (The six weeks post birth)

It's a tiny little thing, so it may not be worn a ton.  I view it as more of an heirloom - and something made with love that can be worn home from the hospital!

Free pattern available here.

Jenny Baby Shrug

Bound-off and ready to be shipped with lots of love to my dear friend Jenny in Washington, DC who welcomed her sweet baby girl in April.  

Such a beautiful little shrug.  Read more about the process here.

The Sunnyside Baby Cardigan

I was SO thrilled when I found Tanis Fiber Arts' pattern and beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn at the 2012 Vogue Knitting convention in NYC.  Hand-dyed yarns with a bunch of wild colors are not my thing these days, but I go crazy over hand-dyeds that are sort of monochromatic.  I love subtle color changes and how they vary from slightly to very saturated in color.  Tanis really nails it.  And her free pattern for the Sunnyside Cardigan is exactly what I was looking for.  A simple cardigan with some cabling.  I needed something that is unisex since this one is for a "mystery baby" as I like to call them - my new niece or nephew who is due at the end of April!  As you may have noticed from the placement of the buttonholes, I am guessing it will be a BOY.

Visit Tanis Fiber Arts for your copy of the free pattern, and treat yourself to one of her incredible skeins.  I chose the Purple Label Cashmere blend sock yarn in color Dove.  See Tanis' amazing palette of colors here.

xo -k.

(Featured on CRAFTgawker.com in March 2012.)

Welcome *new* knitters!

A warm welcome to my *new* knitters from Spring and Summer 2011:

Jane
Joanne

Katherine

Lynn

Margaret

Maureen B.

Maureen Q.

Mary
Meghan

A couple of them came to me already knowing the basic stitches.  A few had never held a set of needles.  Nonetheless, they are all doing fabulous with their projects.

At Tuesday evening's class, three were working hats in-the-round and on double pointed needles for the first time, one was working the Lattice Stitch Cowl, one was working the One-piece Baby Cardigan for her first grandchild-to-be, and one was learning the purl stitch.   I am so proud of these women and their dedication to their craft!

Thank you, and welcome to the club!  -k.

On My Needles: Cabled Baby Booties

Straight needles and mock cables make these little guys so much easier than they may appear!

Welcome Baby Isabelle!

Meet sweet baby Isabelle who was welcomed by my friend (and knitter) in June!

Here she is modeling a beanie with earflaps and I-cords knitted in seed stitch.
I worked this one in Cascade Yarns' Cash Vero DK - extra fine merino and cashmere, as soft as a newborn baby's skin.

Thanks to Isabelle's mommy for sharing her photo.  :) 

Another Bella Shrug

Since the Baby Janes don't require a ton of yarn, I knitted this shrug with the remainder of the Manos de Uruguay silk blend yarn.  My brother and sister-in-law picked it out for me while they were in Marfa, a wonderfully quirky town in Texas.  If you love the silk/merino blend as much as I do, I bet you can find some at a LYS (local yarn shop) or order some here from PURL in NYC.

The pattern is sized for 3 months all the way up to child size 12(!) and is one of the most well-written patterns I have worked.  I get a ton of compliments on this shrug.  I bet you will too.  The pattern is available here on Ravelry and is WELL WORTH the $5 bucks for the download.

Let me know how it goes!  (Not a knitter, coax that aunt who knits to work one up for you!)

And here is baby Bella herself modeling the original Bella Shrug.  She's just the cutest thing!!  Thanks to her mommy for sharing this photo.


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Color Block Blanket

Knitted with love for my cousin Erin who is expecting her first baby in August.
Before shopping for the yarn, I took a peak at her gift registry to coordinate the colors with her Pottery Barn Kids' Madras Bedding.

This is a great project for beginners to really perfect their knit and purl stitches.  There are a few tricks along the way, including the Provisional Cast-on, to keep things interesting.

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Meet the Mariner

The Mariner Pullover from Interweave Knits magazine, Weekend 2010 issue.
Sizes 6-12 months...all the way up to women's extra-large!

I knitted this one in Kraemer's Perfection Worsted yarn in color Fauna, a pale grayish-pink.  It's adorned it with mother-of-pearl buttons.  Perfection is a superwash merino and acrylic blend.  Machine wash, tumble dry.  That's perfection in my book!

The stitch pattern running down the front is Half Linen Stitch and requires a technique called "short rows" - something that is common is when knitting socks.  The sleeves are worked as cast-on extensions of the body, so when you bind-off, there's very little sewing to be done.  For those of you who have knitted the One-piece Baby Cardigan, this will sound very familiar.

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Welcome Samantha!

After waiting for her for six years, Samantha Nicole joined my dear friends Jodi and Josh on March 25th.  

I was thrilled when her beautiful birth announcement arrived yesterday and delighted to see her pictured with her blanket I knitted.  It's based on Lion Brand's Garter Stitch Baby Throw pattern - a great one for beginners.  

Welcome Samantha!


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More Baby Janes

I can't resist.  I love these Baby Janes for their instant, adorable satisfaction.
This pair, my favorite to-date, are knitted in Manos del Uruguay's silk and merino wool blend, kettle dyed in color #3113.

At about three hours, they are my go-to knitted gift for a friend's baby shower or that special new baby down the block.

The pattern can be found in one of my favorite knitting books - Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger.  There are some intermediate techniques necessary to knit these booties, so it keeps things interesting.  Ms. Fierlinger has a similar pattern available for FREE download on her blog.  You can grab it here.

Also adorable in Rowan's Pure Wool DK.  These were knitted with love for baby Emma B.

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Bella Baby Shrug

Knitted in Anzula Luxury Fiber's For Better or Worsted. 
Hand-dyed in color Mulberry.
Made with love for baby girl Kaplan, due in April 2011.

Want to learn-to-knit this shrug?  Baby and child sizes
2 or 3 classes, dependent upon experience = $50 or $75 + supplies

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