Cute! Cute! Cute!

Which is cuter? The baby, the dog, or the sweater? I think it's a toss up . . .

It's Cold Outside

It's cold and blustery here in Washington, D.C. today, so I'm looking for things that make me feel happy. I named this sweater "Seabreezes," because the blues and greens make me feel like I'm at the seashore. I know the colors aren't exactly those of the beach, but hey, it's all about evoking a feeling. Maybe it's because beach houses are frequently decorated in these colors.

This sweater is not currently in stock at Yellow House Knits (it sold a few weeks ago on Etsy--hooray!), but I'm always happy to knit sweaters to order.

Handknit Sweaters for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just over two weeks away. A handknit pink and red sweater is a perfect present for your little sweetheart. Or a red and white striped sweater would be adorable. Need some inspiration? Check out these great buttons. I particularly like the blue hearts, which are great for a little girl who's not too girly. There are five different buttons in the whimsical little set. I'm picturing a striped cardigan in dark and light blue and white, with the heart shaped buttons. So cute!

Inside the Yellow House: Take 2

I LOVE the recently re-designed background for Inside the Yellow House. Thanks to Kathy at Modern Polkadot Designs for doing a fantastic job! Check out what else she's done here:
http://themodernpolkadot.blogspot.com/

YHK on Facebook

I've strenuously resisted joining Facebook for a while now. It seems like everyone I know is on Facebook (even my mom), but I'm not on board yet. I know I sound anti-social, but I just can't handle one more "network" to manage. Between checking my various emails and voice mail and Etsy convos and keeping up with work and sweaters and the Biggest Loser and the people who are in my life on a day-to-day basis, I don't want to commit to keeping all of those Facebook friends in the loop about my goings on. That may change in the future, but for now, I'm still in the non-Facebook minority.

BUT, I did decide to bite the bullet and set up a Facebook page for Yellow House Knits. I'm not sure I'm sold on Facebook as a marketing concept, but I figured it was worth a try. So check it out: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-House-Knits/434586435112?ref=nf

Picture #2

As promised, here's another picture of Libby sporting one of her Yellow House Knits baby sweaters. These were all custom orders from a generous friend for her mom's baby shower. What a lucky girl!

Ouch!

What's the most painful thing about knitting? Without question, it's ripping out what I've already knitted. I just finished the front and back of a sweater and decided that I'm just not happy with it. I don't think it can be salvaged, so my only real recourse is to scrap the whole thing and start again. What a bummer--not to mention a ton of lost time! In the end, it's the best--and only--decision, as I don't want to waste time finishing a sweater I'm not happy with, and I certainly don't want to offer for sale a sweater I don't love. But it's super frustrating nonetheless!!

All Strung Out

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to Nancy at All Strung Out. For several months now, she's been featuring Yellow House Knits on her lovely blog. Check it out: http://allstrungout1.blogspot.com/

Baby Picture!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE when people send me pictures of their babies and kids wearing Yellow House Knits sweaters. So I was delighted when an email arrived this morning with four pictures of little Libby in some of her sweaters. Over the next few days, I'll post the others. Isn't she adorable??

One of My Favorite Patterns

My favorite knitted gift to give is, of course, a baby sweater (or sometimes a dress or hat), but for those friends who aren't expecting or don't have little ones, I love this hat. The pattern was designed by Emilee Mooney, and it's printed in the Fall 2007 issue of Knitty: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTfoliage.html. Shortly after the pattern first came out, I saw someone in my LYS working on a hat, and I had to make one myself! Since then, I've probably made a dozen.

I typically do it in worsted weight yarn, so my hats look more like the orange hat on the right. I really like the way the thinner yarn shows off the pattern. I even made a couple for myself, one in a light aqua, another in forest green--I get tons of compliments on them.

Knitty is a great resource for patterns (for personal use) and for tips and techniques.

Back from Puerto Rico!

I'm finally back from a week in "sunny" San Juan. Unfortunately, only the first half of the week was sunny; after that, it rained cats and dogs. The rain was ok during our day trip to the rain forest, but it wasn't so great on our beach days. So I didn't get much knitting done during the first part of the trip, but I made some significant headway on a pink cardigan during the second part. I'm planning to add some darker pink flowers to the bottom of the cardigan, but I've run out of pink yarn, so I'll need to put that project on hold until I place a new yarn order.

First Look!

Check out my latest sweater! It's not quite finished yet--it still needs to be blocked. But I wanted to share it now because I'm just so pleased with it. I'll be on vacation this week in the Caribbean (Hooray! Even though it's supposed to rain ALL week, it will still be more pleasant than the bitter cold we're having here in D.C.), but I hope when I get back I can get it onto the Yellow House Knits site on Etsy.

I just love the sophisticated color combination of turquoise and brown and white. And it will work for boys and girls, which makes it even better! Plus, those brown and white buttons are just perfect. Love it!

Great How-To Videos

Happy New Year! My resolution is to keep trying to improve my knitting by trying new techniques. It's easy to get stuck in a rut, but I'm resolved to keep trying to grow my work.

I've always liked Berroco yarns--especially the really fun novelty ones. But I LOVE these how-to videos on the Berroco website: http://www.berroco.com/multimedia_videos.html.

I especially like that they show how to do some of the nifty details that make handknit sweaters really special. There are some on more basic techniques--picking up stitches, showing seams, etc. But I particularly like the ones on making scalloped edging and bobbling.

Look for some of these in my upcoming sweaters!