Do I need to say more or is the photo enough?

This little cutie is one of the booties I made with the famous Saartje freebie pattern. I think I may be the last knitter on the web to join the love fest for these, but believe it or not, this was my first time making them. What took me so long?

I used my scale and some math to determine that these took only about 50 yards of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock yarn.  This means you could squeeze about 7 pairs out of a skein. That makes them a very inexpensive gift.

These booties were made to go with the hat I made for the same newborn and blogged about earlier this year.

I spent about 90 minutes making the booties from the time I cast on the first shoe to the time I wrapped them up to deliver to their recipient’s parents. Finding and attaching the buttons took longer than the knitting. I was grateful to Ysolda for writing up such a great tutorial on sewn button loops, which made those a piece of cake.

Can you handle one last photo or is the cuteness already killing you? More? Ok, here you go.

Project notes on Ravelry

Something was apparently going on with my friends in 2011 because I know at least 4 friends and colleagues having babies in the January-February time frame. That’s a lot of baby gifts, people! Not yet a mother myself, I’ve been investigating some classic baby knitting patterns, and one thing has become abundantly clear to me this week: I have no idea about the size of babies!

Here is a case in point. On Sunday, I had the pleasure of meeting Baby Keegan, who was born last week. She weighs something less than 10 pounds (read: she’s a tiny little bug!). Remembering a post where the Yarn Harlot raved about this magic baby bonnet pattern, I fished out some Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock—the softest and most durable superwash yarn in my stash—and went to town.

Soon I had this:

After a little bit of sewing, it turned into this:

But, friends, this thing looks so much bigger than little Keegan’s newborn baby head!

Check out the dimensions:

Am I wrong, or is this thing not going to fit her for weeks? Should I save this for later and make something else?

Even if it is more than newborn sized, it sure is cute. Next up, booties with remaining yarn. Baby knitting is great for instant gratification!

My project notes on Ravelry

Are you sitting down? I hope so because I don’t want anyone to fall over with shock when I tell you something exciting. Ready?

I finished a knitting project!

This is my new scarf, made from some Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 that has been in my stash forever and could not previously decide its purpose in life. Fortunately, it cooperated well with Jane Richmond’s Rae pattern—a garter stitch triangular scarf.

I made good use of my kitchen scale throughout this project. Before casting on, I weighed my skein and divided the weight by half. A few grams before reaching that halfway mark (just to be on the safe side), I began decreasing.

I’ve been wearing this scarf all the time since I finished it and trying to find a good opportunity to get a photograph of me modeling it for you, but the weather (cloudy, rainy) and my schedule is not cooperating. For now, please imagine my head sticking out from the center of this cozy wool goodness:

See it on Ravelry, too.