Halloween: Dragon the Hippo Speaks

Clio and Phineas are both off chasing Taco, now that the little guy can walk. And Clio doesn't let me play on the computer very often because she says Dragon Hippos get into trouble. But luckily, she left her laptop open, so I can tell you about Halloween.

The whole herd loves costumes, so we knew that Taco's first Halloween would be a big deal. And naturally, Taco wanted to dress up as me, his trusty Dragon Hippo! So, Clio made him a costume under my supervision.

Hippo in Charge!

I don't understand why there isn't a hippo costume pattern but Clio used OOP M6812 and made a few changes to it to make it more hippo-tastic. I think she did a really good job with the feet.

Hippo toes

It was very cute when it was done.

The resemblance to me is striking!

But Halloween was a very noisy day. It was a bit rough on Taco. Clio says, he is used to our quiet house and not the mayhem of his noisy cousins.

Can you spot Waldo in this photo? 

Plus, Taco doesn't like wearing hats. Even hippo costume hats!

So, Phin wore it for him.

Not happy!  Phin is a good sport. 

So, Clio let Taco take his costume off and just watch the other children come to the door for candy rather than go trick-or-treating. She says that candy isn't good for knit hippo teeth, anyway, and the sugar makes us hyper.

Taco top knot

So, we had fun playing on the floor instead.  And Taco wore his Halloween bib.  

Wild haired baby!

Next year I think we should add a dragon cape to his costume so he can fly!

Notes from Clio: Errr, thank you, Dragon, for filling everyone in. A few details... This is McCalls 6812, which is out of print, but adorable. I just altered the tail, hat and feet features to make it hippo-like. Thinking that I might have an unwilling baby on my hands, I didn't want to invest too much on this costume, so I used very inexpensive fleece and lining from Hancock Fabrics.  I also cut some corners by skipping steps like stay stitching and using my serger for some parts of the body, as well as busting out the hot glue gun for the felt features rather than sewing them on. We'll see if Taco likes Halloween in the future. This year it was all a bit overwhelming for him and he was happier just to toddle around my parent's house.

Three Month Baby-versary Gifts From the Herd

When I announced my pregnancy, the Trample Herd immediately decided they needed to shower the baby-to-be with gifts.

They put me to work embroidering some baby basics - onesies and bibs - with Trample Herd inspired animals.  They wanted Taco to have wearables that represented them. Naturally, it was Dragon the Hippo and his sidekick, Milkshake the Cow, that instigated the whole thing. 

I worked on this on-and-off while pregnant and since Taco was born, and I even embroidered the giraffe while in labor. This is still an ongoing project. I need to find a bunny pattern so that Hopscotch can be represented.

All of the designs are from Urban Threads. I'm not particularly skilled in the embroidery department, but with a few simple stitches, these came out very cute.

And now Taco can wear the herd right in time for his 3 month birthday, which they are very pleased about.

And Milkshake the Cow jumped over the moon.

I can't believe it's been 3 whole months since Taco was born!  He has officially passed the 4th trimester and is now an infant instead of a newborn.  He has doubled his weight, learned to laugh and coo, and in the last week has started holding his head up and rolling from his tummy to back during tummy time. It's amazing. But what's even better is seeing the beginnings of Taco's little personality.  He seems to have Phin's laid back, calm attitude - nothing is a big deal. And he's chuckley. He seems to be a happy and social little guy.

Now, I'm not going to lie and say that he is sleeping thru the night and that parenthood is a picnic. He isn't and it isn't. But I think we are doing pretty great for a new little trio and figuring things out. And now that Taco's attention span seems to be growing, it is easier for me to begin getting back to some semblance of normality. On Wednesday I went to the gym for the first time and then on Friday Taco was happy to be in his carrier long enough for me to bake. So, I hope there is more of that to come.

Anyway, here's a shot of each embroidered item.

Dijon the Giraffe

Dragon the Hippo

The Trample Elephants

Milkshake the Cow

Sriracha the Dragon

 Next up: A knit top for me or a new hat for Taco, depending on what we can get photographed!

Meet Dijon the Giraffe

Still no Raspberry, and there's a fair amount of cabin fever around these parts. So, here is the first of two knit projects which were finished in the last week.

Phin has named this cute giraffe Dijon.

This is the second Not-so-Itty-Bitty Giraffe I've knit from Susan B Anderson's Itty-Bitty Toys book and Craftsy class (first one here). In fact, the Craftsy class is what got me started knitting stuffed animals.  I really think it's well worth it, especially for all the finishing details like how to decided where to place the legs, ears and horns, and how to sew the face. These are the steps that tend to get glossed over in patterns, but really add to the cuteness of the finished stuffed animal.

Really, Dijon is just loaded with cute features, isn't she?
 

From the cute pompom capped horns to the ears to the pompom mane...

I've since fluffed, trimmed and straightened my pompoms...

...to the spots and tail. Really, this is just the cutest pattern.

For this go-round I used Ella Rae Classic Superwash yarn in worsted weight. The colorways are Sunflower and Orange.  It was reasonably priced and knit up well. I have plenty left over to make some cute something for Raspberry. Maybe a hat with a pompom?  We'll see.

 

For now we are just waiting...

Meet Hopscotch Bunny

Mischievous Dragon!  Ever since I knit a bunny for my nephew, he's been saying that there is no one in the herd with sufficient hopping skills. And now that there is a baby-to-be to knit for, he is getting his wish for a bouncy new herd member for Raspberry.

Hopscotch and DragonHippo

We're currently calling this little hopper Hopscotch. Raspberry may rename her some day and that's fine. The pattern is the floppy bunny from Itty-Bitty Toys by Susan B Anderson, which I've now knit 3 times. I love the long gangly legs and arms. 

Hopscotch

And the pom pom tail.  Somehow it's totally appropriate for a bunny.

Dragon and Hopscotch both love Chinese take out

I made this bunny friend in black and white to go with our high contrast baby theme.  Also, for baby toys, I sew a beanbag out of heavy muslin for the polly pellets that give the stuffie some weight. Polly pellets are non-toxic, but they can be a choking hazzard for a tiny baby who might, um, chew on a cute stuffed friend. Thank goodness that Hopscotch is washable since I knit her in Cascade 220 Superwash.

I finished actually knitting this floppy friend over the summer, but left it sitting as a bag of body parts until last week. I've just been too tired in the evenings to do much crafting in front of the tv, which is when this sort of project would usually be finished. But one by one, I'm doing the finishing work on my knits. There is another new herd member that just needs to be sewn together. 

The Herd

 The herd has thoroughly embraced the newest member.

Autumn Baby: Pumpkins and Gourds and the Blocking Tomato

Now if that isn't a strange blog post title, I don't know what is...

Autumn is my favorite season. It's the time of year that I feel most alive and energetic. So, when I learned that we'd be having an Autumn baby, I was thrilled. What could be better than a little pumpkin baby, right in time for Thanksgiving?

Pumpkins are a terrific gender neutral theme for an Autumn baby, and Phin and I both love orange. This cute little hat is a free pattern that I found on Ravelry by Jill Albert Allen. It was quick and easy to knit and could not be cuter.

I also knit up some teeny tiny matching baby mitts designed by Susan B Andersen, also a free pattern. She really is my favorite for stuffed animals and quick baby projects. Don't these look like some kind of mini gourds? I think so.

Since I had quite a bit of the orange yarn left over and Trample Herd member Daffy was eager to get her gift for Raspberry done, I knit a second set in stripes, using leftover orange and the leftover yarn that I used to knit Daffy herself. I also omitted the pumpkin vine.

Daffy and her baby gift.

There is something about stripes on a baby that is just so adorable. I'm sure Raspberry will be sick of stripes in no time.

All of these are made from Knitpicks Swish worsted yarn in Orange, Dublin (green), and Daffodil (yellow). For an inexpensive yarn for babies, I think Swish is a good choice. It's merino superwash, which means it's nice and soft and can go in the wash after Raspberry sucks on the mitts or other disasters. Softness and wash-ability are the top priorities for baby knits in my book.

The Blocking Tomato
I've been blocking all of my baby knits by soaking them in Dreft and letting them air dry on my blocking mats. When I was thinking about how to block the hats into a hat shape, I came up with a funny and good solution: the blocking tomato.

My mom likes buying funny kitchen gadgets for me and Phin as holiday stocking stuffers. Some of our favorites are a tupperware shaped like a slice of pizza (perfect for storing that last slice!) and a ketchup bottle lid that is a big monster foot so you can store the bottle upside-down (no more shake-shake-shaking the bottle!). This tupperware is meant to store a cut tomato on the counter so it won't get mushy or mealy in the fridge. But it's the perfect size for baby hats. LOL

If you have ever knit a hat or a baby hat, how have you blocked it?

One more happy Autumn knit picture...

Pumpkins and gourds

PS - I've been posting very regularly lately, but things may be a bit light for the next week or two. We* are painting, removing old carpeting and organizing for Raspberry's arrival. So, not sure how much time I'll have for blogging.  (* By "we" I mean Phin, and I am helping as much as I can, mostly by purging old clothing, books and the other things that accumulate over time. )

Sriracha Knit Hat and Socks

Once we told the herd about Raspberry, they made it quite clear that baby gifts would have to be made. They are a serious bunch when it comes to planning for celebrations.

Little Sriracha, the newest and youngest member of the herd, was the first to formulate a plan. Remembering how cold it was once she was hatched into the world as a dragonlette, she decided that "dragonscale" hat and booties would help keep the chill away from our tiny one.

Sriracha's Gift for Raspberry

These are both free patterns that I found on Ravelry - the Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan and Toe Up Baby Socks by Sheila Toy Stromberg.  Both patterns can be adjusted for different head and foot sizes.  I knit a newborn size hat, and the socks are 0-3mos and 3-6mos. The small socks basically fit on Phin's thumb; they are so tiny!

Thanks to the sock pattern I've learned a new bind off - the aptly named Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. It really is sole mates (wocka wocka)  with Judy's Magic Cast On, which I use for my toe-up socks. If you are not a sock knitter, but are interested in learning, baby socks are a great way to go. These are basically knit the same way as adult socks (these ones have a short row heel), but because of their small size, they are less overwhelming and less of a time commitment for a first timer.

Naturally these were knit up in the same yarn that I used for Sriracha. Baby hats and socks are perfect for using up leftover sock yarn. So far, 2 skeins of ToshSock, which is a 100% merino superwash, have yielded a pair of socks for me, a baby hat, 2 pairs of baby socks and, of course, Sriracha herself. Not too shabby considering that there is still enough for another pair of baby socks. The beautiful purple colorway is called Vishnu.


Milkshake the Cow was wandering by during the photo shoot. She does tend to get into things. So I'll leave you with this picture of the hat being modeled by her.

Dragonscale Knits

Nesting: Knit Cocoon for Raspberry

This is a redemption post - woo hoo!

Back in December I had a sewing/knitting/baking fail weekend of epic proportions. One of my fails was this sad and shapeless knitted cowl.

It should have looked like this.

But the nice thing about knitting, is that you can unravel your yarn and it basically ends up back in it's original form, unlike sewing. I actually knit up this ball of Malabrigo Rasta three times before landing on the right project for it... a cocoon for Raspberry.  It looks a little pinkish in these pictures, but the color is really a very rich red.

 

Laurel Love Cocoon with Hearts

This is patterned after the Laurel Love Cocoon by Melissa Riley, which is basically a tube sock for your baby to be swaddled in. I'm learning a lot about newborn development these days. Going from the confined quarters of the womb to the great big world is tough, and being swaddled can give a sense of security and comfort to a sensitive baby. Also, with such little motor control, swaddling can help a fussy baby remain more calm. Poor babies!  I'd be upset all the time, too, if I hit myself in the face with my own hands on a regular basis.  

Cosy Cocoon Swaddle

The original is plain, but I decided that it would be a perfect application for a little bit of lace and cable work. I picked the heart pattern from the center of these cashmere socks, which have since sprung a hole.

With a curious stowaway

Not only did it add more interest to the cocoon, but it made it a more enjoyable project to knit. You could really knit this up with any lace pattern that fit within the number of stitches.  I knit this 17 stitch pattern on one side and left the back plain. Other than that, there isn't much to say about this quick and satisfying project other than the yarn is plush and lovely. It is thicker than the called for yarn, so I knit it up on size 15 needles, reducing the total stitch count to 38.

A knit cocoon did spark some interest among the herd, and Dragon was elected to investigate this new curiosity.

Dragon the Hippo

I think he really does show how we can use the cocoon as Raspberry grows. When Raspberry is too tall to snuggle all the way down, it can be used up to the chest or waist to allow for arm movement.

Anyway, this was a fun and quick project with a double bonus - the use of yarn from my stash that happens to be the perfect color for the holidays.

Sriracha! (Beware the Dragon!)

Oohh, there is much hippo happiness in the Craft Lounge.

Meet Sriracha, who shares Dragon's enthusiasm for photobombing

About a week ago, Dragon the Hippo was in the kitchen rummaging in the pantry for his favorite hot sauce when a cute little purple dragon flew in through an open window to escape the cold outside.

In surprise, Dragon exclaimed "Sriracha!" and the name seems to have stuck.

Isn't she a cutie?

Sriracha is a very young dragon and quite small - she's only about 6" tall, but with a cute pot belly and some fun features. I particularly like her flag-like ears and wings, as well as the bobble spines down her back and tail.

She was very easy to knit up from Susan B Anderson's Little Dragon pattern.  Like her hippo friend, Sriracha was knit on size 5 dpns using sock yarn held double. The only change I made to the rather clever pattern was that I left her arms free instead of connecting them at the fingers. I think it gives her happier body language, if you know what I mean. Dragons are actually rather playful and loyal creatures, like puppies.

Phin picked out the yarn for Sriracha solely based on color and ended up with Toshsock in the Vishnu colorway. Seriously, my man likes the good stuff. But truly it is a beautiful, rich, dragony color and knit up beautifully with nice dense stitches. Like socks, you kind of want your stuffies to be densely stitched so that the stuffing and polypellets can't escape or show through.

Anyway, excitement continues to run high as Dragon teaches Sriracha "all of the important things to know about dragons."

Like Game of Thrones...

Where is Daenerys and her dragons?

And dragon care and training and the great fires set by dragons throughout the ages. Sriracha says that fiddling attracts dragons. Even Milkshake the Cow has gotten in on it, reminding them that cows have been responsible for their fair share of fires, too.

Dragon the Hippo, Sriracha the Dragon and Milkshake the Cow

Anyway, it is all fun and games in the Craft Lounge. 

The Herd Waits for Santa: Vanilla Salted Peanut Cookies

A very merry everything from all of us here at Clio & Phin, where the herd is somewhat patiently awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas!

I know. Santa wears a suit, not a cape.  I tried to tell Dragon this, but he made a compelling case that Santa is, in fact, a superhero. Since I've never seen Santa, who was I to argue? Maybe he does wear a cape for dashing across rooftops.

Cookies for Santa.

Dragon has been asking for me to make him a Santa costume since Thanksgiving so he could have adventures with Milkshake the Elf and a herd of reindeer elephants. So, I whipped up some antlers from craft felt and an online template that I shrunk down to Trample Herd size. The Santa and Elf hats are made from scraps of fabric with trim that I knit from faux fur yarn. 

Reindeer Elephant

Anyway, since the real Santa comes tonight, I thought we'd share our cookie recipe. This is from The Baking Sheet, which is a bakers' newsletter put out by King Arthur Flour. Let me tell you: this cookie is right on!  It's rather unique - loaded with vanilla and complimented by peanuts, white chocolate chips and oatmeal. These flavors really go together better than you'd ever guess.

Good enough to get us on the nice list?

Vanilla Salted Peanut Cookies from KAF's Baking Sheet
1/2c butter (4oz, 1 stick)
1/4c veg shortening (1 3/4 oz)
2c brown sugar (15 oz)
2c old-fashioned rolled oats (7oz)
2 large eggs
2 tbsp vanilla extract (1oz)
1 tsp baking soda
2c AP flour (8 1/2 oz)
1 1/4c salted peanuts (6 1/4oz)
1 1/3c  white chocolate chips (8oz)

Cream shortening, butter and brown sugar. Mix in the oats, eggs and vanilla. Whisk flour and baking soda and add to butter/oat mixture, stopping to scrape bowl. Mix in peanuts and chips. Scoop by tbsp onto parchment lined or greased baking sheets and bake at 350 for 11-13min until golden at edges. Cool on pan for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack. Makes 4 1/2 dozen. 

I've never really been into white chocolate, but this chewy cookie breaks the mold. The only thing I might do differently in future batches is replace the shortening with butter. It would mean the cookies would spread more, but I like the flavor and texture of all-butter cookies better than shortening. 

Waiting for Santa

Now if I could just get the herd to go to bed. Like all overexcited children on Christmas Eve, they are determined to wait for Santa.

Merry and Bright to you and yours!