In the Mail Monday

I'm late with this baby gift. Katelyn was born in June, and I've had the sweater done for over a month! In my defense, she lives in California, and won't need it until winter. When we're knee deep in snow, she'll be snuggled in my little sweater.

Katelyn has an older brother, and he gets the bug-eyed hand puppet. It looks weird, but in my experience, little boys like strange, buggy critters the best.

I tucked in two bibs, a little on the small side, and the earflap hat is because I remember Katelyn's mom had earaches as a kid. I hear the booties are wonderful because the tall cuff helps them stay on forever.

I'm almost ready to make a delivery of baby hats, only 3 more to go!

Knitter's details: I started with the Seamless Baby Kimono and heavily modified it. I used the same earflap hat I made for Bean last winter, and the booties are EZ's and can be found in one of her books. I used an entire skein of Lion Brand Baby Soft, the color is called Candy Print, and it weighed 4 oz. I used #5 needles. The bibs are the Simple Baby Bib, and the hand puppet is my own creation!

Delivery Day

Today I'm delivering 2 dozen baby hats to my local hospital. Here they are, all clean and ready to go.

Don't think that babies don't need hats because it's warming up for summer. Newborns don't have the ability to regulate their body temps right away, and hats help them stay warm.

I'm planning to make another delivery in July or August. I'm knitting a doily for the county fair right now, and when that's done, I'll be back at the hats.


I knit this duduza doll and intended to give it to Bean. When it was done, I liked it so much I decided to keep it for awhile.

I made another one which was modeled after a troll in one of Bean's books, Three Billy Goats Gruff. I got two shades of purple, and made a duduza doll which closely resembled the storybook troll. It was fun, and Bean carried him around for a few days. I like the shape of that doll - it has no arms or legs to sew up. Simpler is always better in my book.

Dragon or Dino?

The pattern said Dragon, but I think it's a Dinosaur. It's for Bean, my grandson, and he won't care what it's called, he'll just make it growwwlllll.

The original was sport yarn, I used Red Heart Worsted. Knitting with #6 needles left a few gaps, you can see one by the eye. I should have either used #5s or a double strand of yarn, but by the time I realized that, I was not going to frog all that knitting.

The pattern has several mistakes and I had to grit my teeth and fudge some decreases. I finally relaxed about the whole thing when I told myself, "It's just a toy!" and so Bean will have a squishy toy from his grandma. The eyes are a bit creepy, but I like the crocheted shells up the spine. Pretty cool for a gal that can't crochet much.

Here's another project, a Duduza doll. I didn't want to knit a traditional teddy, with all those pieces, and all that sewing. I read about a charity that needed Duduza dolls and I thought I would try the pattern for Bean. Of course, I had to change the pattern just a bit. First, I decided to knit it in the round. I hate sewing seams, plus I'm not so good. Then I decided to get even fancier, and started off with a closed tube, double knitting. I added a few stitches to make the doll wider, then had to make it a bit longer to keep the proportions correct. I knit all evening, finally putting it away just before bedtime. All I need to do is find some brown variegated yarn for the hair and...Wait a minute.
As I drank my coffee this morning, I realized if I finish the hat/hair and decrease, I won't be able to stuff my doll! Wow, that was close! Knittin' Grandma had a senior moment last night, and only the gray dawn of morning saved her from a Serious Knittin' Goofup!
Now the plan is to stuff the doll, finish the head, stuff and then seam the arms/legs/neck/waist.
My Great-Nephew was born at the beginning of the month, and I'm getting his package ready to go. I have the Seamless Kimono, in sock yarn, a pair of booties from the leftovers, and a bright blue bib done in kitchen cotton.