Warm Hearts and Heads

I have been doing lots and lots of knitting.  Having a daughter seems to have awoken the K2 chromosome.  Even the boys have benefited.  But, lets start with Dahlia and her sweet knitted wardrobe.  The first thing that was finished was "Muti", pattern by Taiga Hilliard.  I ran out of the cashmere wool yarn and had to end it with an improvised border.  I also added a few rounds of seed stitch to the cap sleeves.  The skirt on this dress is huge, like circus tent big.  I probably could have made the skirt longer little by making it less full.  I don't think Dahlia's going to do any twirling in it.  One of the nice things about babies is that they are rarely critical.  Dahlia's rear end hangs out a bit, but she's a baby.  It's allowed.  I may end up knitting an underskirt for when the days get too cold for a mini dress.





The second dress is called "Little Liza Jane".  It had a finicky start and then everything was smooth sailing.  I loved the yarn, Tahki Yarns "New Tweed".  It's sort of a crazy kitchen sink kind of blend, but it seems to wear beautifully and it drapes well.  I think she looks very fetching in yellow.  The buttons are old polished wood.  I could only find two of them and they are clearly hand made.  The shine is remarkable.

Then, of course, the weather started to change and little girl needed another cardigan.  The pattern I chose is called "Mini Chic" and it's written by Katie White.  I added the pockets and lengthened the sleeves. The color of the yarn perfectly matches her eyes were on the day she was born.  This isn't an every day sort of cardigan, but I'm hoping that it will get some good wear.  I would like to post a picture of her in her "Muti" dress with this cardigan.  It's a magical combination.  I did try to get some pictures, but the instant that I put those two precious knitted items on her little body she puked milky cheese all over them.  The white lumps spurted from her rosebud lips as the final syllables of a complement exited my own mouth.  Do not jinx the baby knits by saying things like "Doesn't she look like a perfect little angel."  That is an invitation for disaster.



The boys were clearly starting to notice the extra knitted attention.  Every time I sat down to knit Miles would sidle up and ask if I was knitting something for him.  A three-year-old can be refreshingly direct.  I thought I probably ought to remedy the situation quickly.  Both boys needed new hats for school, so I went to my queue and found a hat pattern I've been ogling for some time.  The pattern is called "Wolfie and Foxy" and it's written by Ekaterina Blanchard.  It took a lot of rummaging in the stash, but I finally came up with two balls of tweed leftovers and some very lovely Cormo wool in a natural white.  The pattern is pretty technical for a very simple looking result.  Thankfully, it was fast knitting.  I think I got them both knit in just three days.  The glass eyes are a little creepy, but I felt that buttons would have been a cop out.  Miles managed to break off an eye by pulling out the wire shaft.  I'm not sure how many times I'll have to sew a new eye on.  I'm guessing about 400 times.  I should probably just learn how to blow glass or maybe become the principle shareholder in a company that manufactures glass eyes for toy animals.  Right now it's being called "The One Eyed Wolf Hat".   The nose buttons are from an old tin of buttons that I bought at a village sale.  The boys were thrilled with their new hats.  I think it shows in the photos.  They're both growing up so quickly.  I've got to put ears on them while I still have the chance.