Coming home outfit

So… I had mentioned that I needed to get you all caught up on what’s happening in my neck of the woods. This should partly explain my long silence, too!

As you’ve probably guessed from the title of this post, we are expecting Baby #2, a baby girl!! She should arrive sometime in September. I’ve already knit a few things, including this little outfit:

The crossover cardigan is an improvisation, it turned out quite small, a true newborn size. I’m happy with the contrasting i-cord edging, that was fun to do and gives it a nice “finished” look I think. I also had the perfect tiny vintage buttons for this project.

For the pants, I meant to follow the Balloon Baby Pants pattern but ended up skipping the increases (didn’t want them too “balloon-ey” after all!) and I also did the crotch differently (didn’t understand the directions). I think they turned out way cute, a bit clown-like, but in a good way

As far as the hat, it’s the ubiquitous Aviatrix, which is such a fun and quick little project, especially using the German Short Rows method, which I recommend you google immediately! I did a simple i-cord for the tie instead of the strap and button, because the strap wasn’t the most practical when I made this for Axel, so I always ended up leaving it hanging.

So there you have it, more baby stuff, specifically girl stuff in the pipeline! By the way, any baby name ideas?? Needs to work both in English and French (similar pronunciation if possible)

Entrechat et Baby Tiered Coat maintenant en français!

  

Juste un petit mot pour vous signaler que les fiches tricot d’Entrechat et de Baby Tiered Coat sont maintenant disponibles en français sur Ravelry et Etsy. Bon Tricot!

Clementina

Well, I’m still here!! Now the question is, are you still there too?? Lots going on, which explains my neglect of the old blog, I will definitely have to give you a few updates.

First things first, I recently released a new girl pattern, “Clementina”, (sizes 0-3 months to 5-6 years) which as of now is only available on Ravelry. It should be available in my Craftsy and Etsy stores very soon as well, so stay tuned!

My idea with this design was to keep exploring the Entrechat construction but try to turn it into a regular cardigan shape… My aunt’s words were still echo-ing in my ears: When I showed her the Entrechat prototype, she made a face and said, yes it’s very cute, but I like to knit more practical things… you know, where the baby’s tummy is actually covered!

Point well taken! So I thought long and hard about how to make this work while keeping it fun to knit, and a light-bulb went off! Short Rows! Garter stitch!

Short rows tend to scare people off but they are actually really easy, especially when worked in garter stitch. In general, I use a method called “German Short Rows” — google it! There are tons of tutorials online. It’s so easy and fun, and the results are in my opinion always very seamless and neat.

So here it is, a cute little kimono-style cardi, easy and fun to knit, AND practical as well. You can have buttons down the front instead of the I-cord if you prefer, too. I hope you like it!

P.S.:The yarn is just gorgeous, it’s Malabrigo Rios, which is machine-washable. The shade shown here is “Sunset”.

 

Défi 13: Entrechat

Ah les jolies petites choses toutes roses des petites filles… J’espère que mon fils me pardonnera quand il sera plus grand de lui avoir mis des trucs de fille sur le dos pour les besoins de la cause… Ceci dit… Il est pas mignonne??

Je voulais essayer une nouvelle construction (enfin nouvelle pour moi!) et tricoter le corps de ce boléro d’une pièce en relevant les mailles des raglans pour former les pans du devant. Et je voulais aussi utiliser une bordure au point mousse verticalement pour former l’encolure parce que je trouve que ça change un peu. Pour bien marquer le mouvement, j’ai placé une bande contenant un joli point texturé — facile cette fois!! le point de vannerie utilisé dans mon Latte Baby Coat serait joli aussi, mais je voulais quelque chose vraiment simple pour les tricoteuses moins expérimentées.

Enfin, un petit effet volanté dans le dos, et zou! Tricoté en deux temps trois mouvements avec même pas un écheveau de Malabrigo Merino Worsted (pour la taille 12-18 mois). Le pattern est écrit et 8 tailles seront disponibles, du 0-3mois au 5-6 ans. Je l’envoie illico chez mon “tech editor” pour contrôle… Donc je pense qu’il sera publié (en Anglais pour le moment… promis la traduction de mes patterns c’est pour bientôt) pour la nouvelle année!

Pour voir les autres défis (thème du mois: techniques jamais utilisées en tricot et couture) c’est par ici!!

~~~

The Défi’13 challenge is a monthly knitting or sewing project in the French blogosphere. The challenge’s theme this month was “new techniques in knitting and sewing”, so I thought I would introduce my latest prototype, whose construction is a bit different — I also used a new stitch in it, which I think is so neat (and VERY easy which never hurts!) ; the pattern will include 8 sizes and should be published around the New Year!

I hope you like it 

Chouette!

Sometimes it feels nice to take a break from this whole pattern-writing/designing thing because it involves a lot of work and can be frustrating at times. There are times where I really miss straightforward knitting, just following a pattern that someone else worked out.

So while I was working on Storytime Scholar, I decided to knit this adorable little number that I kept seeing everywhere on Ravelry. Total no-brainer, the owl is absolutely adorable and the whole thing took less than 2 hours to knit up. Plus Axel needed a new hat anyway.

After going to the park to give it a test-run, it became obvious that the hat was a bit short for Axel and that it was not going to stay on his head, so I quickly whipped up a seed stitch scarf that I sewed on to the back half rim of the hat… This time we have a winner!

He wears this everyday and I think it’s the cutest thing ever (random people in the street seem to think so, too). The pattern is available on Ravelry here, and if you still have last-minute Christmas presents to make, this is a good bet!

Storytime Scholar

I wanted to make something for Axel that was reminiscent of an evening jacket, something that a gentleman would wear by the fireside while catching up on scholarly affairs…

It had to have a shawl collar, some discreet pockets (to stash the monocle), and it had to be double-breasted. BUT since my baby is still just a baby, I added a bit of garter stitch to add a bit of sweetness to the whole affair, including 2 elbow “patches,” a simple touch that I just love.

The result is my new (-ish) pattern, Storytime Scholar, available on Ravelry here. I think it turned out quite cute, here’s a few photos of our little book-obsessed guy wearing it:

 

Pockets hidden behind a large ribbed hem:

And a view of the elbow patches:

Defi13: Latte Baby Coat

Voici mon petit dernier, chaud et moelleux comme un petit caramel! J’ai pensé qu’il s’inscrivait bien dans le thème du Défi13 de ce mois-ci

Le patron est presque prêt et sera est maintenant disponible ici sur Ravelry (en Anglais seulement pour l’instant)!!!

Pour voir plein de belles choses au goût de caramel et chocolat, c’est par ici!

The Défi’13 challenge is a monthly knitting or sewing project in the French blogosphere. The challenge’s theme this month was “Caramel and Chocolate”, so I thought I would introduce my latest pattern, which is now available here on Ravelry!!

I hope you like it