Fit for a Princess!

HRH Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

Welcome to the world Princess Charlotte!  

I love Princess Charlotte's beautiful baby shawl.  Since I'm a knitter, I had to do some research on it.  The shawl is made of super-fine merino wool and hand finished with a traditional Shetland scalloped edge.  It is made by G. H. Hurt & Son in their shawl factory in Nottingham, England.  

G.H. Hurt & Son began in 1912 and is still family run today.  They are the sole survivor of the lace shawl industry in Nottingham.  

If Princess Charlotte's lovely baby shawl has sparked your interest to knit your own, just search on Raverly for Shetland shawls.  There are over 700 patterns to choose from.  I am partial to the Shetland shawls by Sharon Miller and Elizabeth Zimmerman.

 I also love  Hansel by Gudrun Johnston of The Shetland Trader which is a traditional Shetland Hap shawl perfect for swaddling a new baby in.  Gudrun even has a Cratsy class The Shetland Hap Shawl to help you knit your own version!   I'm pretty certain I will knit Hansel one day for a future family heirloom.  

(Photo credit:  Press Association)

Wee Folk Hats

 Sibling Hats

If you're 5 years old and have a new little baby brother...

I think you should have matching winter hats.  And Woolly Wormhead's Quynn hat is the perfect hat pattern for siblings and wee folk.  Quynn is by the talented hat designer who calls herself Woolly Wormhead.   Woolly is British, so I love that she says her baby and childrens hats are for wee folk.  

Lately I've been knitting a lot for wee folk.  I really should be knitting Christmas gifts but I just can't help myself and have been knitting hats for little ones instead.  I love knitting hats for babies and children.  Off the needles this week are these adorable pixie-style winter hats for one of my husband's employee's wee folk.     

Baby Quynn

Woolly Wormhead's adorable Quynn hat is designed in Noro's Kureyon yarn.  I agree, Kureyon's color palette and striping is a winner for this hat pattern.  I chose my Kureyon yarn in boyish colors of variegated browns and greys,  color #149.

For the new baby (born just a month ago) I knit the 16" newborn/3 month size.  I am a tight knitter so I cast on with size #9's and knit the hat in size #7's as the pattern recommends.  

Big Brother Quynn

For the big brother hat, I knit the child size 20" diameter hat.  To properly finish the hats,  I soaked them in Soak liquid wash to soften up their Kureyon wool.  It does the trick nicely.  Then I pinned and blocked the hats on my knitting blocks.  Lastly I fully air dried them on a sweater rack. 

This was my first Woolly Wormhead hat project and I loved knitting this pattern.  I not only love the design but love that you can knit this hat in so many different sizes for siblings.  I've always loved matching wee folk hats...

because growing up, my little sister and I always had them!  

The Knitter's Year

 The Knitter's Year

Sometimes you just need a quick project.  

Last night The Knitter's Year by Debbie Bliss came to my rescue.  Debbie's book is filled with 52 projects for every week of the year.  The projects are perfect for quick gift knits or seasonal knits for yourself.  And the best part is...all the projects are designed to make in one week or less.  

Striped Baby Hat

So, last night I "whipped out" the adorable Striped Baby Hat in the book.  The pattern is written to knit flat with seaming.  I chose to knit it "in the round" with jogless stripes so it knit up even faster.  It's now one of my favorite baby hat patterns!  

I'm so glad I had The Knitter's Year on my book shelf and highly recommend this book.  

Lil' Pumpkin

 Itty Bitty Pumpkin

Isn't this the cutest Lil' Pumpkin you've ever seen?

My Little Pumpkin hat is from Itty Bitty Hats by

designer Susan B. Anderson. 

It's my favorite book for baby
and toddler hats.

Susan's hats are so cute and such easy projects. 

Her patterns are so well written, straightforward
and easy to follow. 

My Lil' Pumpkin is a last minute gift for my little neighbor Mason

who turns one years old today.

I was able to knit it up last night, in just one evening. 

(I won't tell you what time I went to bed!)

I love, love, love this hat...

and can't wait to knit more

Lil' Pumpkins!

Parlez-vous francais?

 le magazine

(the magazine) 

 I brought home from Paris,

the Mai-Juin (May-June) issue of Marie Claire Idees.

I found out on my trip to Paris last month
that the French are very crafty! 

Oui, I do have a French name but je ne parle pas francais
(I don't speak French)  let alone read it.  When it comes to this beautiful magazine though, you don't have to be able to read French to enjoy it. 

Just like everything in Paris, this magazine is filled with beautiful images and inspiration. 

Here's a look inside...

and please pardon my French! 

Effet couture

Creation pour une table gourmande!

I love this pretty ribbon embellished table cloth project and loved seeing my favorite patisserie
 Le Saint-Honore de Laduree in the photograph!

Throughout le magazine the photo stylists have used patisseries
and macaroons from Laduree.  Love that!

 les macaroons

 Idee Broderie = Idea Embroidery

I discovered while shopping at the Paris department stores that the French love needlework.  Along side the yarn departments were always embroidery and needlepoint departments. 

You can purchase this as an apron kit at Maire Claire Idees online. 

 Terrain de jeux

Idee Tricot = Idea Knitting

Since I'm a knitter...I adore this bebe (baby) blanket! 

I love how it's edged with de bias (bias trim). 

The pattern is in the magazine and its supplies are available at
 La Droguerie.  I loved this store and will tell you more about it soon. 

I can tell you that French crafters love
de bias Liberty (Liberty bias trim)
 and I stocked up for some French inspired projects
that I saw at La Droguerie!

 Atouts coeur

bebe= baby

coeur = heart

Trop chou, cette idee de layette!

Ooh, la, la, a bebe (baby) layette knit in
 fils a tricoter de La Droguerie qualite Alpaga (Alpaca). 

The pattern is also in the magazine and supplies available
at La Droguerie.

Mauve nacre

Devant la fantaisie d'un collier, le plus ouvert des decolletes peut redoubler de mystere.

I'm in love with French bijoux (jewelery)!

 collier = necklace

Supplies:  Rubans (Ribbons) from Mokuba (a Paris store on my list that I didn't get to) and perles, apprets, fleurs (flowers) broderie and  appliques available at La Droguerie. 

I picked up some pretty velvet butterflies (see top left of photo) at La Droguerie to embellish a craft project or beret, perhaps?

 Choux a la creme

patissiere parfumee

choux a al creme = cream puffs

Le magazine also has recipes, beauty tips and more. 
Everything a "wanna-be French girl" could want!

Le Gateau

d'Anne-Claire Petit 

What an adorable gateau (cake) for
Marie Claire Idees 20th Birthday issue! 

crochetee coton = crochet cotton

Oui, the pattern by la designer Anne-Claire Petit is in the magazine.  I would love to whip one up....
guess I better sign up for French lessons after all!

Bon Anniversaire
(Happy Birthday # 20)
Marie Claire Idees!

Shopping at Websters!

Websters in Ashland, Oregon

I'm vacationing on the beautiful Oregon Coast. Lucky for me...one of the best parts of driving up from California to the coast is stopping in Ashland, Oregon.

I love the quaint town of Ashland, Oregon. I love shopping at it's cute boutique stores and it's wonderful yarn store Websters. Websters is one of the best stocked yarn stores that I have seen on the west coast.

Bizoo, Bizu

by Louisa Harding

Websters carries a great selection of Louisa Harding yarns and books. I always arrive with a shopping list in hand for Louisa Harding items.

On my recent visit, I was excited to find Louisa's new baby book Bizoo, Bizu. I love the adorable baby hats in the book.

I recently asked Louisa on Ravelry if she could give her resource for the sweet ribbons she used in Bizoo, Bizu. Louisa promptly replied with an online source in the UK called East of India. Thank you Louisa!

Shopping at Websters, I also lucked out and picked up some discontinued Louisa Harding yarns that I have been hoping to find!

Katie's Tinkerbell Scarf

Katie is one of the nice sales associates at Websters. I admired her felted silk Tinkerbell scarf example in the store. I asked Katie if she would mind modeling her scarf for me. She was a trooper and said yes! The needle felted Tinkerbell scarf kit is by Pagewood Farm.

I bought the scarf kit and Katie gave me a few tips for the Tinkerbell scarf. For the needle felting she recommends using the needle felting mat by Clover and the Clover needle pen, too, for best results.

My silk scarf kit is called Abalone and is in shades of blue. The kit contains 1 hand dyed silk scarf and 1 package of Tinkerbell fluff for felting. This will be my first needle felting project. I am excited to try it!

If you find yourself in Ashland, Oregon, be sure to stop in and shop at Websters. I know you won't be disappointed!

Bizoo Bizu

Bizoo Bizu

Louisa Harding's New Book

Everyone loves adorable babies. This adorable baby photo (on page 23) in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting is getting a lot of attention these days!

The adorable baby photo is for a Louisa Harding ad. I did a little research and found out that the adorable hat is from Louisa Harding's new book Bizoo Bizu. It is already out in the UK. Louisa's West Coast Rep Cindy told me today it is now shipping to the US market.

Louisa Harding Baby Hat with Ribbon Bow

Bizoo Bizu is filled with 28 patterns for newborn babies and toddlers up to three years old. The boys and girls patterns are knit in Louisa's Kashmir Baby Yarn.

I love ribbon and embellishments so I adore Louisa's hat design with the ribbon bow. The printed ribbon says "with love". How sweet...I love it! Hopefully Louisa will give us her resource for her printed ribbon.

You can also check out scrap booking/rubber-stamping stores for printed word-saying ribbons. I've used a French inscribed "le bebe" ribbon to wrap baby gifts with. It comes in both pink and blue. Wouldn't it be great to knit this hat in creme and include both pink and blue ribbons to the parents instead of a uni-sex baby hat. Then when the baby arrives the parents can put the appropriate (boy or girl) ribbon color on the hat!

I'm calling my LYS today to reserve this book. I need to knit a baby hat for my husband's co-worker's baby-to-be. I can't wait to knit Louisa's new hat pattern and embellish it with a sweet little ribbon bow!

Think of all the design possibilities one can do now..personalizing and embellishing knits with ribbon!

Favorite baby hat books!

Frilly Hat

Baby Beanies

by Amanda Keeys

Baby hats are just adorable! I love making them for precious little babies. They are my kind of knitting project, too...quick and easy!

Sometimes I think I spend more time on Ravelry (the online knitting site) than actually knitting. Thanks to Ravelry though I find inspiration and great finished projects to look at. My knitting friend Sara at Knitique is a new grandmother and makes the cutest baby hats for her little Maddie. Seeing her projects on Ravelry has helped me find some adorable baby hat patterns.

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite baby hat books with you. All my favorite books are written by very talented knitwear designers who all just happen to be young mother's themselves!

All my hats are modeled on my vintage 1960's Madame Alexander doll. I am so glad I saved her since she makes a great baby hat model. My friend Sheila even asked me recently if I loan her out for photo shoots!

All my hats have been knit in easy care Cascade's Cotton Club.

The hat above is the Frilly Hat from Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys (mskeeys on Ravelry). The original hat shows it with a button. I chose to knit a flower embellishment from her other pattern, Sweet Spring. The book has 29 adorable hat patterns for babies and toddlers along with the cutest photography!

I love Amanda's story. She lives in Australia and is a self-taught knitter. She is a professional childrens's photographer and young mother of four with number five on the way. She loves using cute knitted hats in her photo shoots. Since she was having trouble finding hats she started designing and knitting her own hats. I love that!

Check out her incredible blog Fall into Blue...for the most adorable children's photography...along with the most charming knit hats!

Louisa Harding Blanket & Hat

Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

I saw this set on Ravelry when Sara made it for her new born Granddaughter Maddie. Since I love anything Louisa Harding, I immediately ran out and book the book! I made my blanket and hat set in a soft "buttery" yellow for a baby shower gift.

Louisa is a young mother to two young children. Her children inspired her to create her popular Miss Bea series of knitting books. Since she is a "Mum", I bet memories of her children as "little ones" influenced this book, too!

Louisa's signature style generally leans towards the soft and feminine side. So naturally Natural Knits for Babies and Moms is filled with 21 soft and soothing hand knits in organic yarns.

I can't wait to buy Louisa's new baby book Bizoo Bizu. (More adorable baby hats to knit!) It is already out in the UK and will be arriving at US yarn stores anytime now!

Rosebud Hat Itty-Bitty Hats

Susan B. Anderson

I love roses so I naturally fell in love with the Rosebud pattern by Susan Anderson. Rather than knit the leaves, I chose to recycle and felt a green wool thrift store sweater for my leaves. I cut the felted wool into leaf shapes and then did blanket stitch detailing around them.

Rosebuds
Itty Bitty Hats

Susan B. Anderson's book is filled with three dozen adorable baby hats. I can't wait to try more of her patterns. She is a busy mother to four kids and has a wonderful blog SusanBAnderson that you can follow, too.

My favorite Baby Hat books

I hope my favorite baby books (and Sara's) have inspired you to knit up some adorable little baby hats. Don't you think every baby deserves a hand knit hat?