I have a thing for dogs wearing sweaters. Exhibit A:
I also have a thing for my friends who love their dogs the way I love my own. When I was making a tie for my friend Steven’s birthday I knew it had been long overdue for me to make his lovely dog Sophie a sweater.
I mean come on, how regal does she look? She’s such a freakin’ lady.
I made Sophie the Sparkle sweater that I previously made for Cher. It’s such a simple top down sweater that’s easy to modify. Since Sophie’s chest was a little larger than the largest size I modified it by adding more repeats in the chest.
It fits her perfectly. For this sweater I used a leftover skein of Lion Brand Heartland yarn. I really do like this acrylic yarn for something soft but durable and you can wash it and dry it in the machine. If you’re knitting for dogs that’s kind of a must. And since I’m talking about dogs in sweaters…can I share the sweaters I had my cuties in for the holidays?
I bought these from my favorite site, Baxter Boo and I’m pretty sure Cher believes she’s a model. I’m obsessed with this faux cardigan style and now want to knit this for them on my own. I will figure this design out. And I can’t forget to share Jellybean…
Cause she’s too cute too. You’re welcome.
Category: Lion Brand
FO: Green Monster & Its Gray Cousin
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. I did. It was nice to recharge and chill out. I also shopped online and picked up some Madelinetosh yarn because she’s had her entire store on sale for 30% off since Friday. I figured it was the best time to get a sweater’s quantity, right? And speaking of yarn, remember that skein of super bright green yarn I bought it New Orleans? Well I finally put it to good use. I knit myself a hat!
This is my favorite coat. I splurged on it (with encouragement from my husband) about 2 years ago and bought it from Boden (it’s their classic Mac style coat) and it has been the most used/worn coat in my closet. Totally making it worth the price. It is fleece lined, has fleece lined pockets, snaps and zippered closure, a removable hood AND it’s waterproof. Plus it’s a perfect length. I can wear this coat from October through December until it’s super cold and I need to pull out my Land’s End puffer coat for the super cold winter weather. I’ve struggled over the years trying to figure out what color to make my accessories for this coat and what hat pattern and I’ve never been very happy until now…
I knit the Dreiecke hat again (you may remember it when I made it for my friend Salina). I’ve knit this hat several times already but never in a solid color, which is what it needs to show off the lovely triangle pattern. But I’ve loved the shape and style of the hat so I didn’t mind not seeing the pattern. Now that you can see it, I’m wondering what took me so long to do it in a solid yarn?! Also, as someone noted on Ravelry when I posted pics, I’m wearing my Green Garter sweater in these pics.
I also thought about adding a pom pom to the hat and decided to look up a faux fur pom pom since they’re all the rage. I actually found a bright green one on sale at Joann.com and thought I’d give it a try. It’s a perfect match!
I walked into my office building the other day and someone saw me and said, “that’s a lot of color.” Yes, yes it is and it makes me happy. I also knit this same hat the other week for my cousin.
She wanted a slouchy gray beanie and I knew this would be a perfect hat. The same hat but knit in Heartland yarn and it looks completely different. In this yarn it turned out slouchier than mine since I never do a gauge swatch on hats but was perfect for what my cousin wanted. I’ve worked on a few of smaller projects this month, including the cowl I’m wearing here, so I’ve got other finished objects to share. I’ll also share the super easy pattern for my cowl as well. Having a bunch of smaller projects finished is good because I don’t want to share the Christmas projects I’m working on until after the holiday. And if you’re looking for a few quick knits I’ve got a post from last year that you can read as well. Oh and if you haven’t checked it out already, the Indie Designers are doing discounted patterns again this year. Check out all the designers and their patterns on Ravelry. Did any of you get in some quality knitting time during the long holiday weekend?
FO: Sibling Sweaters
Now that my girlfriends are starting to have their second babies, I’ve ventured into the brother/sister or coordinating sibling sweaters as gifts. I know, it’s a gift with a short lifespan since kids grow so fast but I like the fact that the older sibling’s cardigan can be worn by the younger sibling. Plus, all my girlfriends told me they saved the stuff I made their babies to pass down to a second baby if they ever had one. So it’s a win win, right?
My girlfriend Andrea was having a little girl and already had a two year old son and I wanted to play off the lady bug theme for her daughter’s room but not be too girly for her older son. So red and a pretty charcoal grey were my color palette. This time I knit up the Baby Sophisticate and the Child Sophisticate Sweaters using Lion Brand Heartland yarn. I really love how well it washes up and you can pop it in the dryer without worrying. I even added a little lady bug button the baby girl sweater.
For her older son I made the main body color the grey with red stripes and I know this color will still work for his little sister when she gets older too. I also told her I can always swap out the buttons.
Three of us got together the other Saturday to throw our girlfriend a sprinkle (instead of a shower since this is baby number two) and this was the only photo I really got of her opening her sweater gift. She was so excited and she still loves that her son uses the blanket I made him when he was born. I’ll be working on a blanket for baby girl next but she was so excited I made something for both babies. And I’m glad we threw her the shower when we did, she went into labor the very next morning! She gave birth to a super adorable and healthy baby girl. I can’t wait to actually put that tiny little cardigan on her. So do you knit gifts for babies? What’s your favorite project to give?
