Being this is the third time around with the baby making and everything, enthusiasm hasn't been quite as high as the first two times. And I have to admit, I was wanting the third, and most likely last addition to the family to be a girl, maybe even a real girl (monkey pants is quite the tom boy). So, being told this was another boy after just having a boy in a relative short time wasn't as exciting as I would have liked. I've gotten over it though and I'm moving on, picturing sweet scenes of two little boys causing havoc, playing and conducting experiments by flushing things down the toilet together. Anyway, when I was still delusionally hoping to have another girl, I was already starting to make a collage of colors, fabrics and decorating nick nacks in my mind for the new baby's room. After the ultrasound, I had to abruptly purge those images from my head and wipe the slate clean. But I haven't really come up with anything new for a baby boy. I just did a bab...

Pattern: Crazy Easy Textured Newsboy Cap Designer: Ele - Nutella Dreams Late Night Crafts Materials: Knit Picks (a) Comfy Worsted ; (b) Shine Worsted cotton blends Amount: (2) 50g ball (a) October; (b) Caution Needles: J 6mm (US10), E 3.5mm (US4), D 3.25mm (US3) Cost: (a) $2.79/ball approx. $5.60; (b) $2.49/ball $5.50 Size: Adult size to fit 2 year old average head Start Date: Nov. 15, 2009 Finish Date: Nov. 17, 2009 I saw this cute cap at a yarn store and immediately knew I wanted to make it for my little boy who could still use a couple more hats. Unfortunately, I was told it was crocheted which I don't know how to do. But I got the pattern and figured there was no reason I couldn't learn. After all, who hasn't made a long crochet chain when they were seven, right. So I did. I learned how to crochet -a little, just enough to make this cap. The first attempts were pretty ugly as I didn't have a clue what I was doing. First, I thought it was suppo...

Pattern:  Koolhaas Designer:  Jared Flood Materials: Knit Picks  Wool of the Andes (worsted) Amount: (1) 50g ball  'Lake Ice' Heathered plus a tiny bit more Needles: US5 Options Zephyr Acrylics 24" circulars and US7 16" Addi Turbo circulars Cost: $2.19/ball approx. $4.40 Size: Knit per instructions (4 pattern repeats) except with one size smaller needles and lighter weight yarn.  Finished size fit a 2 year old average head Start Date: Oct. 29, 2009 Finish Date: Nov. 7, 2009 I really wanted to knit a little winter cap for my little boy.  He's out of hats that fit and the one new one I bought for him through the Land's End catalog was too big and immediately snatched up by monkey pants .  I thought Jared's Koolhaas pattern would be perfect.  I thoughtfully looked for a color that would go with his navy winter jacket as well as other outerwear.  I wanted to stay neutral, so he could wear whatever colo...

Pattern: Reversible Fingerless Gloves Designer: Cotton & Cloud Materials: Knit Picks Merino Style Amount: (1) 50g ball 'Nutmeg', (1) 'Fedora' (dark brown) and assorted colors Needles: US6 bamboo DPNS Cost: $2.79/ball approx. $5.60 plus assorted colors for stripes Size: small Start Date: Oct. 21, 2009 Finish Date: Nov. 4, 2009 I would have been done much sooner, but started on the Koolhaas pattern when I had the second mitt completely knit minus the thumb and grafting. I was too excited to get started and I really should have finished the mitts first. This was a fun project. You knit up two mitts that are stuck together at the wrist and then turn one in so they are double sided and there are no seams. The pattern has an adorable flower embroidered on the solid side. Mine has nothing because these are going to be for a guy. I intend to make an accompanying girl's pair with the flower. The crochet cast on was a new technique fo...

With so many planned knitting projects, I finally had a justification to get this circular knitting needle set. I also finally set up an account on Ravelry ( LolaT ). What an organizational treat. I don't know why I've never gone on there before. It's going to take me a while to set up all my projects and things but I had no idea there were so many photos of finished projects. If you're new to knitting or just didn't know about this site, it's great. We are coming out of a bout with the flu, the infamous H1N1, but I plan to start posting some knitting soon.

[pattern photo from oliver + s] Because I really enjoyed the Jump Rope dress pattern from oliver + s, I decided to get another one, the Sailboat Top, Skirt & Pants pattern to complete an outfit I got at Gymboree for monkey pants . As monkey pants gets older, I'm not drawn to Gymboree's matchy-matchy lines as much but I couldn't resist this adorable panda top and black short sleeve cardigan. I was shopping with coupons so that was all I was going to get. The pants didn't appeal to me that much anyway. There was a cute black denim mini skirt but it also had a panda face on it and I thought that would be a bit much. [I have to admit, the panda looks a little scary in these pictures. My camera was spazzing out with all the white and black contrast and the white is overexposed and in your face.] Looking in monkey pants's closet, I realized she has nothing that is red or black so I figured I could make a couple of cute little skirts to go with the outfit. I picked...

Pattern: George Book: Jaeger JB29 Materials: Knit Picks City Tweed DK Amount: (4) 50g balls 'Splash' Needles: US3 and US6 bamboo Cost: $3.99/ball approx. $16.00 Notions: Buttons (Walmart .79 cents) Size: 12-24 month. My swatch came out bigger so I knit a smaller size than what my son measured (he just turned two and was maybe one centimeter smaller than the 2-3T size measurements. However, I knit to the lengths for the 2-3T size. I made the button border following the smaller size and the collar following the bigger size. I'm not sure why, but it seems to have worked out. Start Date: Oct. 3, 2009 Finish Date: Oct. 12, 2009 I've never knit anything this fast before. I guess the combination of Fall, being pregnant, and watching too much TV is very complimentary to knitting. As I went along, I started worrying that the cardigan was turning out too small, but it is very fitted in the book picture so I trusted that it would come out OK. It fits perfectly, but I do...