bubba vest v2

here is the end result of the up-sized vest. up-sizing a knitted garment like this took some quite time set aside, along with some deep thought and the tapping into my old high school-level mathematics. an hour or so later i had scribbled a heap of numbers alongside a print out of the original pattern and began to knit

i am please to say that it worked and it fits fine! it is such a sweet vest design and so easy to get on and off because it opens to a flat, all in one piece

i went for a royal blue button hue to brighten things up a tad + i had wanted to match this vest with the burkenstock booties for the knitting competition

all in all i have two very nicely matching vests, one that fits and another that will fit a bubba around 3 months of age.

bubba vest v1

our winters are rather mild where i live so i thought a vest would be a great little wardrobe addition for my little boy. this easy on/off style is based on a pattern from THE THRIFTY KNITTER and the other reason i wanted to knit a vest was to enter a baby knitting competition run by Australian Country Spinners saw advertised at my local wool shop

i used the size outlined in the actual pattern, thinking it would be bigger enough to fit, but unfortunately it was way too small! because the competition requests a photograph of your baby wearing or holding a knitted item, and that i wanted my boy to actaully use the vest this winter, i simply had to make another, so this is version no. 1

the garter and stocking stitch combination is gorgeous and was influenced by garter yoke and hem in BROOKLYNTWEED's Cobblestone sweater

the buttons are from my collection and are a deep British-racing-car green

the yarn is a beautiful Australian wool and silk blend in a lovely chocolate hue

8ply
100% wool & silk blend
no.4 pair needles

birkenstock booties v1

wanting to make these booties more boyish, i selected colours of wool from my collection that i hope would reflect this more so

the buttons are from my own vintage collection, as is the background fabric

based on a pattern from Saartje Knits
100% wool (brown yarn is silk/wool blend)
8ply
3.25 pair needles

birkenstock booties sampler

in my constant quest to keep my little boys feet warm i began searching the internet for a free pattern to knit him some more booties / shoes. I came across a pattern from Saartjes de Bruijn

purple haze

another in the beanie-request-series... the wool was selected by my sister in law who ventured to Spotlight and selected the VERA MODA HARMONY col #36 which is a 50% wool 50% acrylic blend

the design is a full rib stitch throughout. it was also chosen by sister inlaw and is beanie no.4 in the PATONS LEAFLET 7010

i too made a trip to Spotlight to explore their wool range and came home with two baby wools and a couple of pairs of these lovely rose wood knitting needles. i was hoping to find some bamboo needles as i have heard they hold the wool on the needles better than metal of plastic. i will keep searching for bamboo...

the background fabric is an IKEA textile that i purchased about a year ago for recovering an 80s cane sofa bed i purchased from the Salvos. maybe one day when i remeber i will take some shots of this couch and show it here.