KnitterlyNotions

I've posted about Helping Hands for Our Children in the Chippewa Valley before, and about a week ago they posted this on their Facebook. It loads small, I wish I could get it bigger! Basically they're already searching for donations for winter. Hats, coats, mittens, boots, snowpants.. you name it. Shauna plans her first winter gear distribution for September, with subsequent ones in October, November, and December, plus she still gets requests for gear throughout the winter. Last year she was out of hats, mittens, etc by the end of January. This is where I come in. :) I am holding a Hundred Hats for Helping Hands Challenge over in the Charity Knitting group I help moderate on Ravelry. I'm trying to get at least a hundred warm hats for Helping hands in sizes from baby up to adult, with special focus on school age kids. I'm working on my third and fourth hats right now (one is knit, one is crochet, so they're going simultaneously). Here are my first two: ...

Yesterday we had a WIC appointment. Antoinette has gained a pound since she was born: her weight was 9 pounds, 8 ounces. Length measurement was slightly off, but we didn't end up redoing it. I'm 21 pounds less than I was the day before she was born! I've been knitting on a pair of slippers for  The Bridge to Hope  here in town. It's the local domestic violence shelter. I called them on Monday and they expressed interest in washcloths and slippers. I'm making these slippers,  Alice's Booties pattern . It's a piece of cake. Here is the first one. I have it seamed and ready, and have two more decrease rows for the second one and then the cuff. I *think* these are women's size 6-8 (stretchy, you know) but I'm not 100% on that. There is only one cast on number/size in the pattern, but I think it should work to adjusts the size by varying the cast on number as long as I keep it a multiple of 4. I haven't decided if I will make the next pair bigg...

I mentioned in a previous post that I was working on a donation in memory of Freddy. The name evolved a few times, but ended up being  The Freddy Project Memorial Donation 2015 . On December 10th, Jerek and I went to Eau Claire, WI and I delivered 72 hats to two hospitals and a crisis pregnancy care clinic. 72 hats, divided by 3, equals 24 hats per place. Each place for 24 because Freddy would be 24 months. Sacred Heart Hospital got this set: Luther Middelfort Hospital, part of Mayo Clinic Heath System, got this set: And Apple Pregnancy Care Clinic got this set: 72 babies will wear my hats in Freddy's place. I hope their mothers love them as much as I love Freddy.

Sadly, none of these are for Fritzy. The booties are this pattern:  Michelle's Preemie/Newborn Hat and Booties The ball is this pattern:  Val's Original Yarnball Pattern The others were just made up as I went. :) The top two photos could be gifts for someone I know.... The rest is for charity.

I've been slacking a bit with the knitting and crocheting. Just feeling slow, and my hands aren't as happy as they were. I think I need to have my chiro work on them again tomorrow. I can't *not* make things though, so here is what I've managed lately. This one was made mostly during my birth class. I'm thinking of keeping it, if for no other reason than that. :) Charity hat. I was going to take it to WIC, but we shall see. It might go to the Yarnology knitting group instead. These are for Fritz. I called them Diaper Bag Booties and Diaper Bag Hat. They were supposed to be a set but the hat came out rather bigger than the booties. They should both fit him eventually though. They are in the diaper bag, for those times when you encounter unexpected chilliness. Charity hat using a whole small skein I got on clearance at JoAnn's. It's very soft, but a pain to work with as most boucle yarns are. These two use scraps that I found at...

I've been pattern-searching baby blanket patterns on Ravelry this evening, and all I can say is, I wish I were more patient! There are some beautiful blankets to be made. A few favorites: Beth's Little Star Afghan  (crochet) Fast Easy Crochet Baby Blanket Chromium Star Blanket  (crochet) Come Sail Away Baby Blanket  (knitted) Sweet Blanket  (knitted) Hexagon Baby Blanket  (knitted) Biased Granny Afghan  (crochet) Twin Lakes Blankie  (knitted) After looking at all these, and the hundreds I didn't post links to, I'm sure I'll be making another blanket attempt soon.... I've been thinking of attempting a scaled down version for one of the infant loss charities profiled in the Charity Knitting thread on Ravelry. I love Freddy's blanket, and I'm sure that there are plenty of mothers who lose babies who don't get anything soft to hold while they cry. I hate that, and I want to help. I should sign off for now though, as it is way past b...

Tiri and I went to the Bundles of Love meeting in Winona yesterday. :) It was fun! There were several lovely ladies working there and it was such fun to just sit and knit with them. Tiri enjoyed herself too.  I took 13 items altogether: And while I was there, I made a simple little red knitted hat.  Annette, the leader, asked me to make some mitts and booties, or perhaps sweaters, since the get a lot of hats. I might be the Queen of Baby Hats, but I can adapt. :) I've made a pair of mitts so far! I love this yarn!!!! It's Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. It's deliciously soft and squishy.  I'm pattern searching booties right now. 

Did the WIC drop off on Tuesday and the ladies were very happy. :) Now to focus attention to a Bundles of Love donation. I've been meaning to donate to them again but have not done so. Here is what I have finished so far: I have another hat on the needles, and am thinking of casting on an  Easy Cuff-to-Cuff Infant Sweater . I've made this pattern before and it comes out very cute. Simple to make too. We have been having dangerously cold temperatures and that is sort of inspiring when it comes to knitting, especially when it comes to tiny humans not having adequate protection. :( The Winona Day Meeting is supposed to be on January 16th this month (it is the third Friday of the month). If you are in the area, stop by the check it out! :)  http://www.bundlesoflove.org/

I've been working on baby hats to donate the last couple of days. 8 done so far, and some of them are pretty darn cute! I'm particularly proud of the football one and the pink, black, and white star one. :) I love appliques, but I tend to only crochet those, so when I'm on a knitting kick they get pushed to the side. Not sure yet where these will go, either WIC or a hospital. I'm sure wherever they go, the babies who get them will look absolutely and utterly adorable. :) All but one of these is done in worsted weight yarn (bottom left-hand hat in the group shot was made with Sidar Crofter DK weight) and a size G crochet hook. What hats will tomorrow bring? It seems to have remembered that it's the end of December in Wisconsin, and the low last night was -9 degrees. I saw a post on Facebook today that talked about wind chill advisories. What does that have to do with hat making? Oh, that means it is my season. :) MAKE ALL THE HATS! :-D

On Friday, August 15, I took a donation to the Winona, MN chapter of  Bundles of Love . I had heard of this charity several years ago, and last summer found out that there was a group meeting monthly in Winona. However, life, and pregnancy, and that whole thing, sort of got in the way Finally, finally, though, I got to go! I took these things: 25 baby hats in a good mixture of colors for either gender, 4 pairs of socks that match 4 of the hats, 2 pairs of crocheted baby booties, and 1 knitted washcloth. I took Michelle and Bexley, and Carolyn (Michelle's little sister) with me to Winona that day, as a little outing. Tiri wanted to go in with me when I dropped off my things, which I wasn't sure about at first. They adored her, though, of course. All in all, it was a wonderful experience! I will definitely go back there, and I may even attend one of the meetings to do some needlework. I mentioned that I wasn't sure about that, because of Tiri, and they all assure...

There were for Bexley: Pumpkin Hat Bunny Hat Preemie Bereavement Items: These are newborn and larger: I am also knitting a sweater to save for a Rainbow Baby. <3 More about that another time.