Off the hook: Baby Sweater #10

I crocheted this sweater out of Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly Baby Sport yarn. It's an acrylic distributed by Michaels Stores, and the pattern is from the yarn wrapper. My model is Sasha, a Bye-lo Baby-style doll that my late mother made many years ago. Since the doll is pretty close to human infant size, I've decided to use Sasha as my model so I can see how the sweaters will fit on real babies instead of photographing them flat. The sleeves are a little long, but maybe that's just because Sasha has short arms?

Off the needles: Baby Sweater #9

This sweater was knitted out of a really frustrating yarn -- pretty with lots of interesting texture, but all the loops and thick spots made it hard to pull stitches. The pattern is something I adapted from another more complicated pattern since the yarn is busy enough in stockinette stitch.

Off the hook: Baby Sweater #8

The yarn is Plymouth Encore, an acrylic/wool blend. The pattern is by Beth Koskie and is available on the Web at http://bundlesoflove.org/CrochetedBabySweater.

Off the needles: Baby Sweater #7

The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket. It's knitted up in one piece that then folds into a sweater that only needs sewing up at the top of the sleeves. The pattern requires a lot of keeping track of stitch increases so I probably won't use the pattern again. Also I had a bit of trouble with the neckline and had to do some fiddling to get the opening big enough. The yarn is worsted weight yarn left over from other projects.

Off the needles: Baby Sweater #6

The pattern is a free Lion Brand Yarn pattern, Rectangle Garter Baby Cardigan. The off-white yarn is from my stash, a chenille-type of unknown brand and fiber, probably an acrylic. I added the turquoise trim to add a little color; the yarn is left over from sweater #5.

Off the needles: Baby Sweater #5

I have 2 more baby sweaters that are close to finishing so yesterday, instead of finishing them, I started and finished this sweater. Same leaf pattern that I've already done in lavender.

Off the needles: Baby Sweater #4

This is another sweater from the Leisure Arts leaflet titled "Knit Lace & Leaves for Baby" by Jeannine LaRoche. I knitted it a while back and finally sewed up the seams and added buttons today. The nice thing about the 2 sweater patterns in this leaflet is that you only have to sew up the underarms.

Felted Pencil Case

A couple of months ago I knitted and felted this pencil case out of Lite Lopi for a friend's son in his favorite colors. The pattern is adapted from a free one from Lion Brand Yarn. I finally got around to finishing it up today.

The case seemed too bulky to roll up as shown on the pattern web page. So I decided to use a flap closure with a Velcro strip.

I needle-felted the boy's name on the outside of the case:

2011 Projects Revisited

Here's a collage of most of the projects that I finished in 2011. Doesn't include the scarves I donated to Knit Night or a few items that I didn't take photos of. I'm surprised and pleased at how much I accomplished in 2011. I'll soon post photos of my first finished project of 2012--a hat for my sister that I made this weekend.