Tuesday, August 31, 2010

It's a Girl!

Last night,  my boyfriend's cousin and his wife had a little girl.  This is good news!  Well, any baby is good news but little girls are especially exciting (for us girls, at least) because they are so fun to shop for!  And, for me, to knit for!  I like knitting for boys but I find that there are way more irresistible patterns out there for little girls.

When I first heard of the pregnancy, I started to knit a pair of Saartje's Bootees but stopped after the first one because they were very girly and we didn't know the sex - now that she's here, I'm motivated to finish the second before the baby shower!  They don't take long to make and are SO cute, so I'm sure I'll have it done.

I also knit the Spud & Chloe Buga Baby Bunting in anticipation of baby's arrival.  Since this is one of those patterns that could work for a little boy or girl, I knit a little pink bow, just in case - I guess I'll have to add it on now!

Here is a picture of the bunting, pre-blocking:

Done on big needles and bulky yarn, it was a quick knit and I'll definitely be making more of these as gifts! More details can be found on my Ravelry project page, Baby Bear Bunting.

I learned a few new techniques while knitting this project.  My favorite was the Kitchener Stitch!  It allowed me to join the hood to the body without a visible seam.  One of my knitting books had a description and some simple drawings and that was enough to learn the stitch - it's that easy.

The bow is not stitched on in the picture above, but you get the idea...a little feminine touch so hopefully people won't have to ask "is it a boy or girl?" while she's wearing this.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Wishlist: Berroco Handeze Glove

Has anyone tried out the Berroco Handeze Gloves?

I notice when I'm knitting a lot, then typing at work all day, I get some aches in my hands. It's not in my wrists so I don't think it's carpal tunnel. I think (hope) I'm too young for arthritis (although, makes me worry a bit that knitting could lead to arthritic pain down the road, eek!) It's mostly on the back of my hands up to my fingers.  I think it's more of an overuse injury.  Has anyone else experienced this?

I'm not entirely sure it's from knitting, could be the typing, but I think it's a combination of both.

Is there an ergonomic way to knit? Apparently there is...and Wild Thyme Knits has blog post with a nice summary! The Berroco website also provides some stretches and exercises.