Baby Fever

Lately, whenever I browse knitting patterns on Ravelry or pattern books in shops, I'm drawn to the baby patterns. I've never had a reason to knit anything for a baby or even a child, but these days it seems like everyone around me is pregnant or carrying around a little one. And the patterns themselves, of course, are absolutely precious. So, when I saw that I had a respectable amount saved up, I splurged on two books:

Now, it's no secret to those of you that know me that I'm, well, a snobby knitter. Unless I'm learning a completely new technique, I refuse to knit anything that has the word "easy" or "quick" in its name, or comes from a book with a similar title. When the people around me see what I've wrought, they won't merely say "Oh hey, you learned how to knit. Neat." Oh no. They will be amazed that human hands could have created such a masterpiece! I seek out the marvelous, the impressive, the maddeningly complex.

It may not come as a shock to anyone that a book full of patterns like that would not sell easily. So I often settle for a book full of "pretty and interesting" with a handful of "sufficiently difficult looking."

A few days ago, I decided to purchase something I'd been lusting after. Until now, I'd been carrying all my circulars, dpns, and notions around the house in the clear vinyl pouch that came with Knit Picks interchangeable set. But really, it was never intended for that kind of duty, and it was just a mess. So I went for the momma of portable knitting tackleboxes:


This is the "Multi-Craft Rack System" by Creative Options, the crafty division of Plano, which makes nearly identical organizers in less girly colors for tools and such. After adding this beauty to my cart, I decided to take a look at the baby pattern books. My friend's daughter is coming up on her first birthday, which was a very convenient excuse to expand my knitting library. I chose the above books because the patterns within didn't look like they could be knitted by just anyone (well, most of them) and because the appeal of that gorgeous vintage look was very strong. Vintage Baby Knits is a collection of actual vintage patterns, adapted for modern terminology, and Vintage Knits for Modern Babies is all new, vintage-inspired patterns. Both are full of irresistibly stylish baby knits, and I'm going to have a really hard time deciding what to make for the little princess!

But I feel comfortable that whatever it is, her mommy will be blown away. :D

The Man They Call Jayne

I finally have a reason to make a proper Jayne Cobb hat now that I know how to knit! For those of you who don't know, I've crocheted one before, for my brother. It was pretty sweet, but I've always wanted to make a proper knitted one, and red/orange/yellow is NOT a color combo I'm willing to wear in public. On my head, no less.

But the other night, I encountered a coworker and her teenage son at a Patrick Rothfuss book signing. Pat is a fantasy novelist that hubby and I both love, and suffice it to say that the crowd of 400+ fans had a LOT of overlap with fans of PAX, Neil Gaiman, and Firefly, among other favorites. The author himself was wearing a Blue Sun shirt. It was inevitable that someone was wearing a Jayne hat, that my coworker's son would mention how much he wanted one, and that I would say, well heck, I could make that!

I picked up some nice, soft bulky weight wool roving in bright mustard yellow and cranberry red. Couldn't find the right orange to match, but I needed some needles anyway, so I put in a Knit Picks order and added an orange skein of their bulky wool. Will absolutely post photos when it's done!

Update: March 13th - done!