I am about to become a grandmother for the first time and it is pretty dang exciting! I am trying hard to be the perfect grandparent-in-waiting so I am busy creating cozy items for the tyke and its parents. Who knew it would be so much fun?baby sweater

This is the first sweater I’ve made. Well, clearly not the first sweater I have ever made, nor the first baby sweater, but the first sweater I’ve made with this particular little peanut in mind. I don’t know the sex and they currently live in San Diego, but a little sweater is never amiss. I picked colors and yarn (Plymouth Yarn’s Diversity) that seem appropriate for the San Diego sunshine. Even with the little lace on the bottom it looks reasonably unisex. The pattern is “Carolina’s Sweater” by Andrea Wong, from Kids, Kids, Kids XRX Publishing. I’ve made it before for other people’s babies so I was pretty sure it would be a winner. And of course lady bug buttons make the whole outfit, don’t you think?

blanket colorsMeanwhile,turquoise baby blanket I have also been weaving. I started with 2 baby blankets using 3/2 mercerized cotton, some knitting cotton in bright pastels, and The Weaver’s Craft Log Cabin baby blanket pattern. With coordinating seam binding around the edges, they become a real baby blanket (one in yellow and one in turquoise). They are sunny and cheerful, they feel cozy, and they will wear like iron. For each color, I wound enough warp for two so I have 2 left for when the baby visits me.

Last, but not least, I designed a baby wrap. Until this babyyellow baby blanket, I didn’t know about babywrap colors wraps but I found there are several Facebook communities devoted to their creation and use. After a little reserach, I decided on the 8/2 cottolin in the photo and wound a 7.5 yard warp, 700+ ends sett at 24 epi. For the outer inch or so, I changed the sett to 30 epi to ensure the cloth’s strength and durability. I chose 3 colors of weft in Tencel to ensure it was soft and a bit flowing.

The colors of the weft were chosen to complement the desert look of the warp. I used a slightly modified pattern called hearts and flowers. For the weft, I wove with each of the three colors doing a slow transition from one to the next in rotation (maroon, red, orange, red, maroon, red, orange). The Tencel gave wrap on loomthe wrap a soft hand and a bit of stretch. Washing and drying resulted in about 10% shrinkage. The wrap should now be stabilized wrap wrapand can be washed and dried as necessary (which with baby will be often, I suspect). Can you see the hearts?

So now it is just a waiting game. They will practice wrapping and I will have to think of something to knit, I guess. Did I mention they are moving to Connecticut? 😉

plover with wrapdyani in wrap