A Tale of Two Projects.

I know it's been ages since I've shared anything here and I apologize. Hoping you'll forgive me when you see what I have to share today!

First up, perhaps the cutest quickest baby project ever.

This is the Winter-baby kit with hat and mittens (a free pattern on Ravelry),

you can see my project and even more details on Ravelry, here

specifically the newborn size, knit with one skein of the Swans Island Washable DK (not even the whole skein) in the Pewter color way, a set of size 4 dpn's and about six hours this past weekend. The pattern is very clear and I followed it as written with just a few exceptions (all detailed on my project page).  I was especially impressed with the earflaps - they're quite clever in that you end up with no seaming, no picking up stitches and an earflap that starts underneath the ribbing to keep baby's ears super-toasty -

and the brioche stitch on the mitts. Of course newborn mitts are likely to be cute no matter what, but still, these are special!

I've got a few babies on the horizon this year and I'm delighted to have a pattern that knits up so well (so fast). Note that this set is for a baby due in February, so I'm anticipating he'll be able to wear it this winter. I also have a few summer/early fall babies and I plan to knit the 3-6 month size for them.

….and now, the pile of yarn I bought yesterday.

This is 12 skeins of Shibui's Heichi in the Sidewalk color way, destined to become Beaubourg.

© Fairmount Fibers/Julie Hoover

I have had my eye on this pattern since it was released (a year and a half ago!) and am excited to finally knit it. I chose the Heichi for two main reasons: first, I love it at the pattern-suggested gauge of 4 stitches to the inch; and second, because silk is a year-round fiber for our climate and I think this design could be worn year-round (or at least for ten months of the year).

I'm planning to swatch - yes, even though I've knit this yarn at the correct gauge three times before, it's been a while and I want to double-check - and cast-on later this week. Based on what I've heard around the shop, I think a few of y'all are interested in the pattern as well, so I'm going to share my progress here on the blog. Stay tuned and please - if you have any questions - ask them in the comments. And definitely, if you'd like to join me and knit-along, I'd welcome the company!