First Real Knitting Project - Kitty Kuddles Blankie!

So, I had mentioned a while back that Navy Wife Kim had taught me how to knit, and yesterday I finished my first real project!

I based it off of the pattern found here but I actually changed a few things about it.  First of all, it called to use US 10.5 knitting needles.  Those things are just plain uncomfortable to me.  There's no way in hell I could finish a project (no matter how small it is) with those suckers.  So, instead I used size 8.

The lower half of the body I did exactly as the pattern instructed, but I did the hands completely differently.  Instead of adding a shit-ton (aka 20 more) stitches, I added 4 on either side (so 8 in total).  I still did the same number of rows as the pattern call for (4 in all) but instead of having to tie knots in the ends, mine are just kinda there.  And I like it that way.

Then, once I got to the head part, if I had only done 40 rows like the pattern called for, this poor little kitty would have had a very rectangular head! Check it out:

Personal Photo
That is with 40 rows

 So, if I had kept only 40 rows, once it was folded in half this is how strange the head would have looked:

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So, I ended up doing 55 rows.  If I make another one of these (which I probably will just so I can have a few for the baby in case we lose one or if I make one for someone else) I'll probably do 60 rows for the head part so I have more room to embroider on the face.

Once I did the 55 rows, I embroidered on the face (and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself) and sewed together and stuffed the head.  I'm not 100% happy with how the finishing seam along the neck looks, so I might add a ribbon of sorts once I find out the gender of The Sea Monkey. But, overall I'm quite happy with the results considering this is my first knitting project!



Personal Photo

Personal Photo

Meow.  Sorry, I just had to say that, lol.

As far as things I need to work on - definitely using a consistent gauge.  Some rows I knit much tighter than other rows and up close you can definitely tell.  Is it still adorable? Heck yes, but a seasoned knitter would definitely be able to tell I'm a total amateur!

And since this project uses what's called a "garter stitch" it's seriously the easiest knitting project ever, lol.  A garter stitch is just knitting every single row (where as normally you would knit a row, then purl a row so you're actually doing two different stitches).  So, if you're just learning how to knit I totally recommend this as a starting project.  Not only is it a super easy pattern, it also isn't that big, so you shouldn't get overwhelmed by it.

Next up on my list of knitting projects - a boob hat for the baby to wear while breastfeeding.  Very much like this one:


Source

That's a photo from the blog MODG (which I looooooooooove btw, so you should totally check it out if you're into witty/hilarious Mommy Blogs) which is where I originally saw a boob hat.  I ended up finding a pattern to make a similar hat, but I might be using a knitting loom instead of just knitting needles (because I have a bunch of looms that I've never used before) so I might just kinda wing it.  We'll see how it goes.

So, are you completely impressed with my above average amateur knitting abilities?  Or am I just a tool for DIYing so much crap for my future kid, lol?

Until next time...