a book report: Vintage Baby Knits

I'm just about hitting that wave of my life when everyone around me seems to be getting preggers or having babies!   My dear sfam (sister from another mother) blog friend Nonnahs, my first college friend, a friend from hs, a family member - everyone has got wonderful news to share.  And what is "Aunty" Margaux to do?

To be honest, I only have made very limited baby things. When I say Limited I really mean Two Things - a baby hat and dress.  I tried to make a Wallaby sweater for my husband's cousin and didn't even get past the sleeves and I believe it's sitting in a dark corner of Patricia's shop (remind me to get that from you, ok, Trish!?)... so when I saw that there was a baby book signing at TNNA I figured well why not but I did not have faith I was going to find anything to make from it.

Enter, Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren. HELLO!   Patricia can attest to the fact that I couldn't PUT IT DOWN.  This book is chock full of great baby/toddler knits!  I am so excited to make not one, not two, not even Three, but like four things from this wonderful pattern book!

Kristen Rengren has done a fantastic job at collecting such wonderful and classic knits.  From baby bonnets, to sweaters, to cute toys she has combined that sense of vintage/classic with the modern.

I am reminded by something a wise yarn wholesaler at TNNA said to Trish and I when we were talking about how much we both loved this book.  She said, "If you can put your fingers over the cute face of the kids in the book and still want to make that sweater than you know it's good!"

Now, try not to get your monitor all messed up with your finger prints ;-)... And does this blanket look familiar to you? 

It seems that the honeycomb stitch is going to be very popular one this fall!

I cannot say enough how excited I am about this excellent collection of wonderful and inspiring baby knits. The only problem now is to decide which to cast on first!  Run don't walk to your LYS to get yourself a copy!

Comments

[Denise]

I have important advice from the trenches on the subject of knitting for babies, Auntie M: washable wool at all times, Cascade is the best and also Dale of Norway. And: Swatch it, wash it and stick it in your bra for a few hours to really test how soft it is. Also knit for size 9 mo - 1 year, these people grow fast! All hats must have ties. Socks are better than booties.

I seriously considered buying this book even though it would be hard to squash Emily into any of the knits, since she is about 5 inches taller than me now.

[Heather]

Thanks for this recommendation, although weirdly I'm at the stage in my life where no one is having babies--my friends are too old and our kids are too young!

[LisamarieDybus]

The baby hoodie is a must have!!!!

[Nonnahs]

OMG! b/c we're SFAMs, I'm sure I don't have to tell you how I've been dying to get my grubby hands on that book! So, it's that good, huh? I can't wait to see it! And, yay for baby knits! xo-S (& L) :)