At Least They Knit Up Quick...Right?

I am at that stage in life where everyone I know is mostly done getting married and many are starting to create small new humans. Last post I was in the process of counting them all up. It's been fun trying to organize my thoughts on all of this, and to group them for easiest explanation.

Not the prettiest of charts and there is a bit of a gap as my sister-in-law just found out she's pregnant, maybe with twins, unknown genders as of yet. Oy. Unknowns are not good for my knitting schedule.
Oh yes, I have a knitting schedule. Well, a plan anyway. Mostly. I have everyone laid out in two lists: priority by due date and priority by first kids vs multiples. For example, my two cousins who delivered their second and fourth child-s, respectively, in the last month or so, are unlikely to get anything handknit for these kids at all. Sad but true. My tall hubby's cousin who delivered her first child a month ago is still on the list though, especially as we'll be seeing her and Baby W later this year. All as-yet-unborn children are still on the list to receive something handknit from Random Lady Coworker/Aunt/Cousin E.
I also have a list of prospective possible knits for each above mentioned child, based on stash yarn available for use, gender, and speediness of pattern.
It did just strike me that I may have an irrational fondness for lists of all kinds. They make me feel more organized which makes the project feel more do-able, if still daunting. Remember the gigantic sock project that was the genesis of this blog? Yeah. Here we go again.
BUT... all of these things are being knit for babies, miniature humans, so they'll knit up quicker than the funky artsy lace shawl I was going to knit for my friend's wedding, right? They also shouldn't involve any techniques I'm not familiar with, like a variety of sock heels and toes. Even if I am planning on six-month-sized sweaters since 90% of the intended recipients are going to be spring and summer babies. Shouldn't make that much of a difference, right?
ALSO... I'm almost at the point where I can check two of the people off my list anyway! Coworker K's baby shower is supposed to be this Friday and the sweater for his 2nd child and 1st girl is currently damp-blocking on my floor.

The only true in-progress shot I took. I like how the needles match the  yarn, actually.

The completed sweater.

Lots of pins to keep the edge even and mostly not-ripply. 

Isn't it so cute? I really like how it turned out. It's the Puerperium Cardigan  again, which is one of my new favorite patterns for babies. The freebie version above is in a set weight and sized for newborns. They also have the Beyond Puerperium available, which is supposed to give instructions for different gauges of yarn and bigger sizes. I'm going to have to buy it soon.

This was the sweater I was in the midst of knitting when I realized this baby was due in June, so as a newborn she may not need a heavier sweater to wear... So I made it short sleeved and decided this would be a lesson (trying to learn, see?) and Coworker K could make do. 

I also realized halfway through that I wouldn't have enough pink yarn ( Caron Simply Soft left over from a scarf for a past roommate), so I dug up some gray to stripe in for length. I really love the color combination and the slight asymmetry with the solid button band cutting across the stripes. After it dries I just have to sew on the gray buttons I bought and this sweater will be complete!
Next on my list is Coworker S who is having her first baby and first girl in late May. I wasn't sure about getting another sweater done before her eventual baby shower, especially not in a 6 month size. During a conversation with Coworker S, she mentioned that she wasn't crafty (poor girl) but had pinned lots of cute little hats on her Pinterest board knowing she wouldn't likely be able to make them. So up went my eager hand and I was set on my course to make cute, trendy hats in mint and purple, her favorite colors. My plan is to do a set of hats, one in each size up to a year. The purple newborn one is in the works now and I just sewed up the last of the 3-ish months size.

Super on-trend right now, I understand.

I think it's super cute. It's a Bow Baby Hat and is frankly kind of uninteresting. It's a straightforward stocking cap in miniature with a garter stitch bow. I picked up some Bernat Satin in the requisite colors and it was mostly done in a few days. It's a great pattern for new knitters though. Minimal purling, lots of knitting, and a great result. I may do another hat with the leftover mint yarn, we'll have to see. I have a 6 month old size hat that I knit a while ago just for this eventuality, so I'll add that to the pile as well.

Isn't it sweet?

This is the Cherry-O! out of this fantastic book:

Seriously, it's great.

I use this book a lot. It's got a lot of fantastic ideas for customizing cute small people hats with a minimum of fuss and bother. I used it a lot in the past when my desire to knit things for babies first sprang into terrible being and my knitting skill was less developed. 

ANYWAY... That's almost two projects nearly done, out of at least ten desired. 

IN REALITY THOUGH... I'm screwed, aren't I? :) Still having fun though, so onward and upward.

The Power of Not Learning

As always, it started so well...

So, for Pair O' Socks Number 3, I went to my modest library of knitting books (mostly given as gifts from well-meaning, supportive, NON-knitters) and this fantastic book:

I love that I somehow managed to give the model redeye.
Here's the pattern site on Ravelry

It really is a good book of cute and classic accessories. Useful for my purposes was the couple of sock patterns. Growing up in a house with dedicated ballet dancers, and marrying into a family with dedicated ballet dancers, the bright and adorable Tutu slipper was too apt to pass up. I bought a dusty purple yarn on sale at Hobby Lobby on Black Friday (seriously, who goes yarn shopping on Black Friday?) and got going.
Now, the great thing about toe-up socks or slippers is you can try them on as you go. Remember how I estimated  my foot length on that last pair of socks, completely negating the great thing about toe-up socks? Uh huh. I distinctly remember getting towards the end of the foot part of my first slipper and thinking, 'Huh, I should try these on and see if they fit. Well, I don't know of the heel shaping is going to add any length to this, so I better stop a bit short in case they do.' *facepalm* I did the same thing while knitting the strap that goes over the top of your foot. I was in the back seat of a small car in January with 3 coworkers. I did NOT want to take off my winter boots and heavy socks in order to try on the slipper and test the length of the in-progress strap. Nor did I want to stop knitting. So I guessed. Again.

I do still like the color.

The left one is at least done being knit. I looked up the magic loop-y cast on thing-y in order to get the seamless toe. I found out that this kind of heel, probably a short-row heel, does not add any length to the foot. I discovered that I had knit the strap too short, but could not fix it due to having finished the picot edging. Dear God, picot edging is so boring.

Cute, but it takes forever. 

The slipper is very open, so it will not stay on your foot at all without the strap and a ribbon that is supposed to gather through the eyelet row, just below the picot edging. So the left slipper just needs some finishing touches to be complete.
I tell you though, nothing is as depressing and project-completion-stopping as finding out you knit something too small and that it would take AGES of frogging to fix it. Seriously. The edging is all one piece around the too-short strap and to lengthen the foot I would have to take out the whole heel. This project sat dormant for quite a while. I finally decided to just make the other slipper and figure out the left slipper issue later.

See!? I totally cast on the second slipper...

Uh huh. I did just try on the other slipper and have decided I can make it work. I'm thinking about snipping the too-short strap and doing a thicker coordinating ribbon strap instead of a knit one, because I'm lazy and don't want to have to reknit 3/4 of a freaking ballet slipper and that bloody picot edging...
But back to the right slipper. Remember how a few posts ago I was bemoaning the human urge to reproduce? Yeah. I was already getting Second Sock Syndrome with this project anyway and then I realized how many freaking people around me were having children. It has also only gotten worse. I decided to make a final count of the ones I know about:
4 coworkers, 1 having twins, 2 with their first kids.
3 cousins, 2 have already delivered(probably out of luck on the new knitting then), and 1 with his first.
2 in-laws, both their firsts, 1 already here and 1 very long awaited and hard-worked-for.
1 friend, second kid, high risk.
11. Freaking. Babies. Dear. God.