Chocolate ice-cream

… with mango sauce and cream. That’s what this blanket reminds me of.

When my friend Anuradha broke the good news that she is expecting, I decided I will knit something for her baby. I was thinking of making a sweater and a hat – something small so that I can knit it in my busy schedule. To my surprise, Anu decided to take up knitting too. She started with a hat and made a cardigan and a vest. Now that she was making these stuff already and was a knitter herself, I couldn’t possibly give her a teeny-weeny sweater, could I? I had to make something good enough for a knitter. That’s how this blanket got created.

Crochet has been on my need-to-learn-this-skill-because-the-FOs-are-so-awesome list, but never got around to doing that. When I was finalizing a blanket pattern for Anu’s blanket, I decided it had to be crochet. One, if I don’t learn crocheting now, I probably never will and two, I have heard crocheting is way faster than knitting. I used the Neat Ripple Pattern by Lucy (or Attic24 as she is known in the crochet world) and loved it. She has detailed photos for crochet newbies like me. The photos were a big help!

After an initial swatch, I had enough confidence that I can finish this blanket. Next step was the choice of colors. I had bought this yarn from Pydal’s for what would have been a vest for my hubby. I soon realized that this yarn is too flimsy and has no stitch definition, so the most natural choice was a baby blanket. I had lots of brown and just one skein of yellow and off-white. After a bit of calculation, I decided to do a row each of yellow and off-white for every five rows of brown. I knit until I ran out of the off-white yarn.

There are so many mistakes in there that I can’t count. For starters, the edges are wavy and uneven. Expert crocheters tell me that the edges are meant to be wavy, so one less mistake to worry about. The starting rows are too tight, so the blanket is narrower at one end and wider at the other. Since it’s a blanket, I hope it’s ok and I hope the baby doesn’t  mind.

I worked on this blanket for an hour everyday for 3-4 weeks. It would have taken even lesser if I wasn’t so new to crochet. So, it is true, crocheting is definitely faster. My next blanket is going to be a crochet blanket.  I have even bought yarn for it. Going off to look for patterns. Crochet ville, here I come!

Wyatt

I had been planning to knit a pullover for Ninad since ages. I knit Wonderful Wallaby for him, but that turned out too big. Serves me right for not swatching before starting the project. Now that I had a pullover which wouldn’t fit him for alteast another 6 months, I had to make one which fit him now. Right around the same time, Kelly was looking for test knitters for her latest design, Wyatt, and I jumped at the occasion.

Wyatt has a very interesting construct. You knit the front bottom-up, and once you are done, you cast on for sleeves on either end. Knit the sleeves for a few inches. Cast off some stitches at the center for neck opening, cast on the same stitches on the next row so that you get a nice, wide, neck opening. Once you are done with sleeves, cast off sleeve stitches and knit the back and voila, you are done. There are seams, but since this construct technique is so incredibly clever, I don’t mind seaming. I slipped stitched along the edges using a crochet hook which I prefer over the traditional sewing using the tapestry needle. Ravelry Project details are here.

Sanhita-di had picked up some yarn for me when Gia visited us. Though I have never met Gia, her lovely yarn was passed on to me. The yarn is soft and squishy, in a lovely pastel green shade. Lucky me, I got the exact gauge with 4mm needles on the first attempt itself. I took 4-5 days to knit this but that’s only because I don’t knit for more than half an hour a day. With a very demanding toddler, I am lucky I get atleast this much knitting time!

Kelly gave me the final version of the pattern, which is usual in test knitting deals. But, Kelly went a step ahead and gave me her popular cardigan pattern in threes baby cardigan because I was looking for a top-down seamless cardigan for girls. Thanks Kelly. That was very sweet of you. No prizes for guessing what I am knitting next.

Knitcircus giveaway winners

The random number generator has spoken and it chose these five winners.

1. merryamethyst
2. Srividya Ganapathy
3. Bianca
4. Nupur
5. Laurie

Congratulations to all the winners. For the others, I am sorry you didn’t win. I only have so many collections to giveaway. Winners, please leave your email IDs as comments on this post (or PM me on Ravelry, my Rav ID is bloreknitter) and I will mail you the pattern collection.

Update: I haven’t heard from Bianca and Laurie. If you don’t get back to me by tomorrow (19th August) 10 AM IST, I will choose two new winners.

Update 2: Since I still haven’t heard from two winners, I am going to draw two new winners. And here are the names. Hoping I will hear from these guys atleast! Guys, please send me your email ID (I am BloreKnitter on Ravelry). You have time till 21st August 10 AM IST (48 hours) to respond.

1. Pearlin J
2. Amrita (Since there are two Amritas who left comment here, here is the comment from Amrita who won)

Hey Anjali!!

Congrats on your first published pattern! It must feel sooo good 🙂 I love your pattern the best amongst all the patterns because it’s for baby Ninu! 🙂 Take care and all the best – wish you many more published patterns in the future!!

Amrita

Knitcircus Giveaway!

To celebrate my pattern being published in Knitcircus magazine, I am giving away 5 Knitcircus Fall 2010 pattern  collections. The pattern collection has all the patterns in the magazine – 24 patterns in all. This includes my ‘As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket‘ too. Click on the image to view the issue or click on this link.

If you want to win one of these collections, leave a comment here telling me what is your favorite pattern in this magazine.

The giveaway is open to everyone and will be open until midnight IST August 14th. I will randomly choose the winners and announce on Sunday August 15th. The winners will have 48 hours to claim the prize, failing which I will choose new winners.

Good luck!

The giveaway is now closed.

As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket

© Knitcircus

When I was expecting my baby, I decided to knit a blanket for that soon-to-be-arriving special person. Ravelry, with its load of baby blanket patterns, failed to find me something good. I decided to make up the pattern myself. I had very specific requirements: no holey laces, it should have some texture, it should be simple, yet interesting to hold my attention.  The end result is As Sweet As Honey Baby Blanket. This blanket is being overused well used since the last 20 months.

So why am I blogging about this again? That’s because the pattern was released today. My pattern is part of the latest Knitcircus issue.  Can you see me jumping with glee?

Gifted!

I hardly find time to knit these days and even less for blogging. When Elena blogged about needing test knitters for her latest designs, I decided to sign up. One, her designs are adorable and who wouldn’t want to knit them? Two, working on a deadline will pack in a few more minutes of knitting time into my daily schedule. Three, I had to knit something for a little girl as a gift.

French Me is adorable. I liked it the moment I saw the photos on Elena’s blog. The top knits up quickly and looks very cute. The pattern is well written and easy to follow. I love the construction technique in this one. The neckband is knit in round and the stitches are divided for front and back pieces. These are knit flat separately and once you are done with armholes, join them and knit the rest of the body in round. Isn’t that clever? The top has a lacy and plain version. In my opinion, the lace one adds that French look to it. The pattern comes in many sizes. If you are looking for a quick gift for a little lady, look no further. Gosh, I am sounding like those old ads on radio!

Remember that adorable girl who was the recipient of the Feather and Fan blanket? And also the pretty pink sweater? She turned one recently and I had to give her something handmade. The top I test knit was the perfect choice because her mom likes to dress her up only in sleeveless frocks. This top can be worn as a single garment (over tights may be) or can be a good layering element also. When I gave this to Sanskriti, she went bonkers. She liked it so much, she was carrying it around like a toy. When her mom wanted to try it on, she just wouldn’t let her touch it. This was the best ‘thank-you’ I got from a kid! It really feels good when you are efforts are appreciated.

Childhood

My youngest nephew (or should I say nephew-in-law) and I share a very special bond. When my sister-in-law was expecting this little guy, I wanted to make something handmade for him. I had seen my aunts knit sweaters and booties for infants, so I planned to do the same. Our landlady of the house where we lived at that time was an expert knitter and agreed to teach me knitting. Off I went to Surya Emporium, Commercial Street and bought my first pair of knitting needles and a ball of Wendy’s baby yarn. She taught me the basic knits and purls and helped me knit my first pair of booties. Thus began my knitting saga and I have not looked back since.

The little baby who was the recipient of my first knitted object ever is a handsome 4-year old now. I made my first big project, a baby cardigan, for him when he was around a year old. When I met him last, I saw him wearing the same cardigan which he had clearly outgrown. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law refuse to let go of this hand-knit sweater. (Didn’t I say my in-laws are extremely supportive?) I was touched by their appreciation and decided to knit another sweater for my nephew, which he can comfortably wear.

Childhood (ravelry link) by Natalie Wilson catches your attention at the first glance. The striped sleeves and hood, the striped button bands – these add life to an otherwise plain cardigan. The pattern has instructions for a non-hooded option too. My biggest problem with this pattern is that it is not seamless. I know, I don’t have any rights to complain because I knew it was seamed before I began the project, but still, I want to rant that this cardigan wants you to seam at every possible place – sleeves, underarms, left and right joins, button bands (can you believe it?). I did modify the pattern a wee bit to attaching the button bands as I went to avoid two seams. I don’t exaggerate when I say I spent more time on seaming than knitting. If I make this cardigan every again, I will convert it to seamless first.

These yarns are few of the very first I added to my stash. I bought this with a plan of making a ruffled top for my niece, but that never materialized. I was skeptical of using these colors for a boy, but I think they look ok. Yarns are from Patel’s store, Jayanagar – the standard, Vardhaman 4-ply acrylic yarn. Buttons are from Pydal’s.

The sweater turned out ok. There are quite a few mistakes in there, but not visible, thankfully. I can’t wait to give this to my little nephew who is the very reason why I knit today. Every year on his birthday, when he turns a year older, I realize I am growing as a knitter too. You see, I am a 4-year old knitter now!

Popat

That’s what my husband calls my son these days and that’s because my little kid has started talking like a popat or parrot. All the development has happened only in the last one week. It’s amazing how Ninad built up his vocabulary from almost non-existent to double digits!

Amma (Mom) and Baba (Dad) were the first few words he learnt. Mama (Uncle) and Tata was also easy to master. Last Monday, he picked up so many words – Mami (Aunt), shu-shu (you know what that means), duddu (milk), No – all these words slowly started appearing from nowhere. I was surprised when he said ‘yummy’. You see, he has a book called Yummy and Yucky which categorizes things into yummy and yucky. Apple pie is yummy, mud pie is yucky. Burgers are yummy, bogeys are yucky and so on. So, randomly I asked Ninad how is ice-cream and pat came the reply ‘yummy’. I was floored.

Some other words which he loves to repeat on and on. Dabbi (box – BTW, boxes are his favorite playthings ever. Give him a few boxes and he is the happiest kid on earth) and hoova (flower). My sister-in-law gave him a kitchen set and ever since he has been making ‘Kaapi’ with it. He says it in a typical Tamilian accent and it is so cute to hear him say that. The moment I come back from work, he gets busy making ‘Kaapi’. He balances a cup and saucer in his tiny hands and hands it over to me. I will take a sip and before I take another one, he wants the cup back!

I was having breakfast and there was salt kept on the dining table. He points to it and says ‘u-hu’. It took me sometime to understand that he was saying ‘uppu’ (salt in Kannada). I laughed till my stomach hurt. His Dad was telling him something about going on a ride on his bicycle and immediately he apes his Dad ‘cy-cle’. The words are not as crystal clear, but he definitely said cycle.

My mom has been taking care of Ninad since day one. I keep asking him to call her ‘Ajji’ but it’s too difficult for him. So, he has a code word for Ajji and that is ‘tu-ta’. No connection whatsoever, but that is his choice. The funny thing is he changes this code word on the fly. Yesterday, he started calling my mom as ‘ba-bi’. My mom has to understand what is the code word of the day and respond appropriately. The demands of this child, I tell you!

Just one week back, Ninad was blabbering meaningless words. And today, he has an impressive vocabulary and he is adding to it every minute of the day. My little toddler is growing up and how! I don’t know why, but this realization gives me goosebumps.

Dalda

Wondering what the title means? This is the word that Ninad has taken a fascination to. He loves this word so much that he uses it in place of anything and everything. I have no idea how he picked up this word and why, but he knows that every time he says ‘Dalda’ we all are amused and that is reason enough for him to say it again and again.

We took Ninad for an outing last weekend. For lack of better options, we took him to Total mall where they have a small section for kids. Be it the lake in BTM layout or the gardens, there are lots of options in south Bangalore, where we used to live earlier. Comparatively, this Outer Ring Road area has no such options for kids. This children’s section in Total mall has rides for toddlers, video games for older ones and so on. Ninad sat in a train ride and loved it. He even tried his hand at the steering wheel. Was he mimicking his dad there? There were lots of kids around and Ninad thoroughly enjoyed looking at them and trying to befriend them.

The best part of the outing was the fountain.  Ever since the temperature has gone up in Bangalore, he spends some time in his inflatable pool everyday. He splashes the water on himself and on the people around, dances in it and has lots of fun. I was mentioning to my husband that may be we should put him in a toddlers’ swimming class but the only concern was if he will feel uncomfortable putting his head inside the water. No sooner than I said this, Ninad proudly put his head in the water, stayed there for a couple of seconds and came up with a triumphant expression on his face, as if asking me, “You were saying something?”My little one loves water and that is an understatement. So, coming back to the fountain, Ninad was fascinated with it. He stared and stared at the water splashing and wanted to get wet under that. We had to forcefully take him away and what a tantrum he threw! This young guy knows what tantrums are and how they are useful in getting your way.

 There was a little girl prancing around in pigtails and he called out to her ‘Akka’ meaning sister in Kannada. There was a small baby sleeping in his mother’s arms and Ninad recognized him as ‘paapa’, a baby. A slightly older boy was playing with his toy car and Ninad knows it is ‘Dada’ – brother. I have never taught him these things, but Ninad can clearly recognize girls and boys. I wonder how.

Ninad has made up his own sign language. We never teach him these things, but he has a sign for everything. Car, water, food, baby, milk, sleep, questions (why, where, what) – all these have their own sign in Ninad’s language. He uses these intelligently to convey his message to us. I am amazed at the human brain!

Do you know how ice cream tastes? Ask Ninad and he will say ‘yum-yum’. We were walking around in the mall and Ninad saw a guy buying ice-cream. He points out to it and says ‘yum-yum’. That guy was so surprised that he asked my husband, ‘ This kid, so young, knows ice-cream?’ All we could do was grin and nod.

Our first outing with Ninad was a great success. We plan to take him to Yelagiri, a hill station near Bangalore, this weekend. I am sure he will like the place, but am not so sure how he will take the 3-hour drive. If only he liked cartoons and animated movies,  I could have taken the laptop and some DVDs and made him watch those on the way.I am planning to pack some toys and books to make the journey bearable for him. Any other ideas? This is the first time we are taking him on a vacation. Hope things go well!

Inspiring…

Davey Hulse took up knitting because he couldn’t keep his hands still and wanted to do something with his hands all the time. He started knitting and was disappointed with the knitting books and patterns, so he decided to write one himself. Did I mention he is blind? His book The Touch of Yarn has instructions and charts in Braille.  Read the full story here.

There are many reasons why this story inspires me. I see quite a few physically challenged people around who want people to take pity on them. There are some who stoop to begging. Amongst all those miserable people, Davey shines through. Instead of sitting in a corner and sulking that he is blind, he took up knitting in his free time. How many blind people do you know who can knit? I know none!

After being disappointed with the knitting books, Davey decided to write his own. He wanted to help other blind people who might get interested in knitting. He did not want them to get discouraged and he wrote his own book to cater to them. It shows how positively he treats life. Instead of complaning and whining that the knitting world does not care about blind people, he is sincerely doing something to change this world in whatever little way he can. Since morning, how many things have you complained about? Weather, traffic, the guy who you almost hit on the way, your work, your boss? And what are you doing about those things? I am reminded of Gandhi’s words – “We must be the change we wish to see in the world”.