Baby Benton in a Pea Pod

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?  This is Benton, the newest addition to my dear friend Kate's family.  I can't wait to meet him!  Here he is in a "baby pea pod" that I knit for his mom's shower...he's the perfect model!  So snuggly! 

There are many versions of the baby pea pod by many different designers - if you do a quick search on google or ravelry, you can find one you like best.  The pattern I used is by Paige Marecle - I found it on Ravelry but you can also purchase on Etsy by clicking here.  It's a piece of cake, with some simple decreases to create the pod shape.  I used a neat yarn called Blizzard by Reynolds.  It's a soft alpaca blend that can be hand washed without too much trouble.  Try it, you'll like it!

Dragon Skin Wrap (for babies)

One of my VBFFs (very-best FF) is having a little girl!  I can't wait.  She lives in Chicago, so I haven't been able to see her much but she sends picture updates so we can keep tabs on her growing belly...and her absolute *glow*!  I wanted to make something sassy and stylish for the little lady, and the Dragon Skin Wrap has both written all over it.

The pattern is from Interweave Knits, and can be seen and/or purchased here.  I used a soft, yummy baby yarn called Baby Boutique from Plymouth Yarns.  It's machine washable (always a plus for baby gear) and was great to work with.

It's a fun pattern, but definitely kept me on my toes.  I knit up a few swatches until I was comfortable with the dragon skin pattern repeat and that was a big help.  I also consulted the web more than once - there is an error in the original pattern that needed to be corrected and a few techniques were new to me.  The decrease on the front edges was tricky and certainly requires undivided attention!  There was a lot of counting and a lot of adjusting in order to keep the pattern intact while getting the detailing accomplished.  The end product is worth it - and I hope that the little lady likes it!  Her mommy looks beautiful in bright colors like this - and I know that baby O will be just as much of a stunner.  Like-mother-like-daughter!

Love you NMO!!  Can't wait for the littlest schmicky!

Moc-a-Socs

If "adorable" could walk around on two feet, it would definitely wear these booties!  I was hoping that my finished product would be as precious as the photograph on the pattern...and I think I got pretty close!  This pattern is from bekahknits.com and can be downloaded for a small price - totally worth it!  I'm going to start a baby girl version today...stay tuned!  I love that my friends are expecting little munchkins.  Knitting for babies is tons of fun.

These were made on US 2 needles and are started by knitting flat, then seaming up the back and bottom.  The inner sock is added by picking up stitches around the moccasin opening and knitting in the round with 4 dpns.  I used a machine washable sport weight wool from a Norweigan company called Dale.  The sock is made from a fingering weight yarn so that the gauge is a little bit tighter.  This way the little suckers don't fall off your baby's kicking feet!  So smart.  So cute!