Baby stuff

In spite of traveling,m and in spite of my many knitting mistakes, I finished my little garter yoke baby cardi (using Jennifer Hoel's pattern but with ties instead of buttons)




just in time for a get together with some of my knitting pals celebrating one fine knitter's baby to be.
It was a fun afternoon, with many baby knits to admire, and plenty of tasty treats, including some charming knitting-themed springerle cookies about the size of a silver dollar:

Knitting along

I've just about finished another hat:

It's based on a Raveler's take on a Banana Republic design, somewhat modified (mostly on purpose) by me.
I’ll like this when I’m done but it hasn’t been as much fun to make as I had hoped. The unelastic yarn is tiring to knit with, and a bit rough for my winter-dry fingers, though it will be fine as a hat. I thought the band was snug, but after blocking the hat the band was very loose and the upper part of the hat was maybe one row too long overall. Rather than start over I cut off the band (too tiresome to unknit), picked up and reknit the band downward, decreasing 5 stitches evenly placed in the last round before the band. (I’m still learning the right amount of negative ease for a hat made for my larger than average head.) Another issue was the big difference in gauge between seed stitch and stockinette at this weight of yarn. And for some reason I did 5 decreases per round at the top, instead of 6. But it’s turned out well anyway. All I need now is to sew on the button, now that I've found one I like, and work in the ends. It's such a surprise to find how much I enjoy hats when they fit!
In other knitting news: the Emerald Cardigan is coming along well. I've joined the sleeves and body and am starting up the yoke. I took a small detour with the white hat and also to start a solid red version of the Bundle of Joy hat for another upcoming baby.

Baby knitting

Here's a photo of my 2-day baby hat for a friend's upcoming infant:


Ravelry pattern Bundle of Joy
It's a nice easy knit, with spiraling decreases and a little icord knot on top. The cell phone photo doesn't show it to best advantage. (Unfortunately, my camera battery is dead and I've misplaced the charger.) I aimed for a larger than newborn size and may have ended up with something larger than intended. I'm hoping that it will fit well in some cold season, rather than July.

Baby Geometry

While traveling, of course I started another knitting project: the cloyingly-named Heartbreakingly Cute Pilot Cap from the new Mason-Dixon book. It's cleverly knit as a flat piece with zigzagging edges:



By sewing the zigs and zags together along the edge that's on the bottom in this photo, you get something head-shaped. Then you attach i-cord ties.
The original yarn was something subtly shaded in wool. This is Plymouth Dreambaby in, obviously, solid red.

So now I'm wondering if I could use the sewed-up zigzag method for the crown of an adult-sized hat with a ribbed cuff. I think I need to start with paper and scissors...