happy happy joy joy ~ a post by Melissa

My husband's good friend and his wife are having their first child this September and...it's a girl!  I'm trying to be thriftier at home so I challenged myself to see what I could come up with for gifts using just leftover scraps from other projects.  I cheated and ended up buying buttons so the knits weren't totally cost free but, for about $5 for the buttons, here's what I came up with:

Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat ~ a super easy free pattern that knitted up quickly.  The little umbilical cord knot on the crown is adorable!

Then there's this little gem ~ Plain Cardigan ~ another free pattern!  I finished the sweater and dug around and found a bit of purple and crocheted (!) every edge.  I love how it turned out!

And finally, this last bit of sweetness ~ Autumn Leaves ~ and yup, it's a free pattern, also!  I'm always amazed that designers are so generous with their creativity!  I do try to support crafters that are trying to make a living sharing their talents with the rest of us, but there are some free patterns that are too cute to pass up!

I dug out some wooden beads I had pack-ratted away from a broken bracelet and decided to add them to this little sweater.  I love this so much that I'm tempted to see if I can make an XXXL size for me!

I think that's it for the baby clothes...for now.  Too many other things on the needles that got set aside that I need to get back to.  But that's not it for small gifts from this knitwit!  Remember Kelli's little houseguest?  I think I may get to meet Miss Grace Anne this week and I have a surprise for her!  Remember Zoe and Jo and Zoe's holiday sweater I made for her this past Christmas?  Well, I heard that there's a new addition to the Peep family ~ Zoe and Jo have a new cousin named Merrida and Zoe is gifting her little red sweater to Merrida to take home with her and Grace when they leave.

I chose a new button that I thought Grace might like better than the one that was on it before.  I hope Zoe and Jo and Merrida get to have a playdate before the visit is over!  And I hope Kelli pops on and posts a picture of this little red haired cutie pie with the big blue eyes ;)

Sometimes the best things do come in the smallest of packages and I can't wait to wrap this all up and give it away.  That's one of the best parts of knitting to me ~ giving it away!  Hope everyone is having a great week!  ~ Melissa