German Bootees (and gratuitous baby pics)

Edward is pushing 6 months at this point, which seems CRAZY. (d.o.b. 4/18/2011.) But, he's the size of an average 11-month-old. That's a 12-month sleep suit he's wearing in this picture (gratuitous cute baby pic #1):



(cute? yes. very cute.) If you notice, he is wearing some knit bootees. I did not knit these--my German au pair's grandmother did. She brought them with her from Germany when she came to live with us. How cool is that? Here's a close-up:



Here's Anna, our au pair. We LOVE HER. If any of you want to talk about welcoming an au pair into your home, I'm your girl (gratuitous cute baby pic #2):



Oh right. This is a knitting blog, not a baby blog. So here's another photo of the bootees. They're made of a wool/nylon blend sock yarn. The draw-string is really great, as is the roll-top cuff. They actually look really dressy on him. Perfect for this fall weather.



There it is. Gratuitous baby pics slipped in under the guise of knitting.

More NYC Yarn-Bombing

My sister sends me these from her phone as she walks to and from work.

This bicycle was located on 23rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.

Nice work, secret knitter-crocheter people. If you want to claim your work, leave a comment below. Share your inspiration.

Am I Obsessed with My Dog?

I'd like to think not. Proof? I am absolutely NOT tempted to knit this:

From the book Knit Your Own Dog.

But wouldn't it be cute in black:

Sunday Mornings

For those of you living in the south, you know that September is about two things: dodging hurricanes and enjoying the break of the blistering August heat.

One good way to enjoy the cooler weather is dining al fresco, which is basically impossible during the summer time. (Seriously, even the lettuce will melt on your deck during an N.C. August.)

So, this past Sunday, my three boys and I ate breakfast on the deck. This is a first for my family now that it includes Edward, because back in April/May Edward was too small to hang out on the deck, and then it was summer. (See prior paragraph.)

For our meal, I made a frittata. Check out the yummy crusty cheese around the edge.

Adrian ate all of that crusty goodness. He did not eat the broccoli. He also had a gogurt, which is dribbling off of his chin in this photograph:

And Edward just kicked back in his high chair and played with his toes.

Nice.

--Katie Rose

Guerilla Knits in NYC

My sister and her family moved to Manhattan in January. Since then, I've been receiving funny photographs on my cell phone from my sister.

Like this:

And this one:

The tricycle is located at Lafayette and Spring, for those of you up there who might want to go see it.

I don't know anything about the group of crafters who are doing these projects--anyone out there know? Hats off, regardless.

Free Pattern: Christmas Sweater Pillow Conversion

I recently received a request via Ravelry message for a tutorial that I promised back in January. Kudos to the blog readers with good memories.

The Ravelry member wrote:

Sweater pillow pattern
Sent at 12:11 PM August 7, 2011

Hi Katie Rose:

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog. I wanted to ask you about the sweater pillow pattern that you had mentioned back in January. I thought that yours was so cute, and when I was cleaning thru a stack of sweaters, set aside some that I’d like to use to make pillows. You had mentioned posting the directions/ tutorial for how you did it - any chance that you’ll have time to do that in the near future?

Here's a picture of the finished pillow:



Yeah, sure. I can do that.

Christmas Sweater Pillow Conversion

Materials:

1 - Awesome Old-School Knit Christmas Sweater, the squarer, the better (the example in this pattern was made by Eagle's Eye; search Eagle's Eye sweaters on Ebay for some gems). No V-necks. Cardigan is OK--you will sew down the front seam like I did here. Two-sided patterns are even better; here's the back of the sweater:



The 360-degree pattern makes this pillow rock especially. Look at that cute fawn.

1 - Sewing machine.

1 - spool of thread to match the sweater.

1 - pair super-sharp large scissors (like tailor's shears).

1 - pillow form to fit inside the sweater (just take the sweater over to your craft store and stick pillow forms in the body to measure.

1 - sewing needle for hand-finishing.

Instructions:

Step 1: The Front. If your sweater is a cardigan, sew down the front seam in between the buttons. I used my machine for this. I sew between the buttons with a zig-zag stitch, like this.



Step 2: The Sleeves. Turn the sweater inside-out, including the sleeves. Cut the sleeves off of the sweater. Now, using your sewing machine, sew the sleeve-holes shut. (You probably want to pin the sleeve-hole before sewing.) I used a straight-stitch. On the inside, this might look a little rough, but on the outside it looks great. Just make sure that you stitch straight in line with the side-seam of the body. Here's how the sleeves just disappear into the side seam:



As you can see, we are in the process of turning your sweater into as square of a piece of fabric as we can. If you need to make adjustments to this process to ensure that your pillow looks square (such as cutting away more or less fabric) then do so. The top and the bottom are a little more tricky.

Step 3: The Top.

This is the hardest part. Here's what I did: I set my machine on a basting stitch. I stitched straight across like this:

Turn the sweater right-side-out--does the top look okay? There might be a slight dip in the top, that's okay, especially if you need to preserve more of the sweater by stitching around the neckline more, rather than bypassing the neckline altogether. My sweater has a bit of a dip, but you'd never notice unless I pointed it out:



If you like how the basting comes out, then stitch again with a solid straight-stitch to secure it.

Step 4: Bottom/Zipper.

I recommend installing a zipper on the bottom opening so that you can change out the pillow and/or hand-wash the wool cover. I'm not going to teach you how to install a zipper. Here's a tutorial for how to do so. I do recommend using a bigger/chunkier zipper than the one in this tutorial.

Here's a tutorial on how to install a zipper.



Lastly, slip in the pillow form and zip the pillow closed!

If you have questions, put them in the comments, and I'll revise this tutorial!

--Katie Rose

Writing Retreat Results

Last year, I purchased this beautiful Miss Babs yarn from the local yarn store, Spin a Yarn, Weave a Web, in West Jefferson, NC--our favorite writing retreat location. One year later, I've finally got pictures of the sweater I made: Jordana Paige's Sylvar.
























Unfortunately, the yarn store has closed (although the owner still lives and works at Foxfire Holler). I'm glad I'll have this sweater to remind me of the wonderful store and our favorite little mountain town.


















Mods: I added short rows to the back so it sits a bit higher than the front. Other than that, nothing.

See more pictures on my Ravelry page, here.