You asked for it...

...and now Get Ziggy has a hat!


I didn't think you would remember the prototype hat I had knit for the original Get Ziggy late last year and was blown away at how many of you not only remembered it, but were really enthusiastic about wanting to knit it.

And since you all asked so nicely, I decided to give it another go. I tinkered with the pattern some more until I was satisfied that it met my strict wearability and super-cute-on-a-baby standards, heehee!


So there you have it: my Get Ziggy pattern now includes instructions to knit this matching hat as well as a detailed photo tutorial to make the pompoms. I sent the new version of the pattern to everyone who had already purchased it (though if you already bought the pattern but didn't get an e-mail from me about it today, please drop me a line so I can send you the new file).

Anyone who has purchased the pattern today, or who purchases it later for that matter, will automatically receive the new file with the hat pattern.

Thanks again for all your enthusiasm. It means more to me than you will ever know.

Happy knitting!

Get Ziggy's in the hizzle

It's been months in the making, but now (finally) Get Ziggy is ready for his big debut...


I started scheming about this one way back in December. I wanted to design the ultimate baby/toddler sweater: quick to knit, mindless bits for telly or commute knitting, and a more interesting cabled front to break up the monotony of the stockinette for the knitter and to wow the recipient.


It also features lap shoulders (my fave) to easily fit over those big baby noggins! Lolo is wearing the 18 month size. He's 14 months old and the sweater fits him great with ample growing room...I'm hoping it will still fit him in the fall though I realise that might be delusional considering my baby keeps growing and growing and growing faster than my knitting can keep up with ;0) Luckily, I've sized the pattern up to a 24 month size so I can always whip him up another in the fall!


I've knit 3 of these while tweaking the pattern and have found the pattern to be very stash-friendly. The brown one was knit in Rowan All Seasons Cotton. I know I already told you how much I heart this yarn, but I really really love it. It's so cooshy and soft. I think my Lolo bear likes to wear it too but then again he hasn't really been swathed in luxury fibres...yet!


I've also knit this sweater in O-Wool Classic (the cream version) and in Phildar Tweedy (the blue-green version) and have been happy with all three. So if you've got 3-5 balls of aran weight around, you can Get Ziggy too, heehee!

The pattern is available from my shop at www.jujubeandlolo.com as an instant download for $6.50 or if you prefer, it is also available as a Ravelry download here.

Happy knitting!

ps - some of you have noted that the link to the Yoda Baby sweater from my last post was no longer active. The link is correct but it seems that the designer has moved all her patterns to Ravelry. The Yoda Baby Sweater is still available as a free download directly from Ravelry here.

Knitting!

I am thrilled to report that both my kidlets are on the mend! Well, Lolo is still teething and Julian is still 2 years old, but at least there are naps again and that means there is knitting again! And not a moment to soon, I was really in need of some yarn therapy ;0)



I finished Lolo's Get Ziggy (the blue thing ;0) and then put it aside a bit to knit a winged heart tattoo! A what? A tattoo! I wanted to come up with a cool Valentine's day project when the idea struck (perhaps it was a Miami Ink commercial?) and naturally I had to put everything else aside for days while I spent countless hours trying to come up with the right decrease sequence for the perfect heart shape. And the right cast-on, cast off combination for the 'ribbon'. And the right font for the writing. Then it occured to me that I was perhaps falling off my rocker and since I couldn't figure out how to do the wings anyway, I put it down too and sought out something fun to do with the kids...

Turns out that my little town turned the big 4-0 this weekend and being the cool town young family town that it is, the City put together a 40hr winter carnival starting with an evening fireworks display, snow sculptures, fire jugglers, an iglootheque pulsing with dance and techno oldies, and even a bon fire set up by our local fire department. After a few weeks of being cooped up in the house with sick kids, this was just the thing! The weather was fab, our neighbours brought along some coffee and doughnuts to round out the experience, and the kids delighted in being out at night! Julian actually thought it was halloween since that's the only other time he's ever been for a walk after dark. LOL!

The best part, we left our house on foot at 7pm and we're back home to tuck in the kids by 8:30pm. Extra bonus: half our kids fell asleep in the stroller on the walk back home so we got to skip the sometimes tedious bedtime routine and Stephen and I got to snuggle up on the sofa together to watch a movie.

While I knit ;0)

Get Ziggy.

The boys have been a bit cookoo lately which has seriously cut into my knitting time. But determined to have an FO, I stood at my kitchen sink this morning felting pom poms while making oatmeal (multi-tasking with hot water ;0) and trying not to be toppled by the kidlets who were literally running circles around my feet...and I did it! I finally finished Get Ziggy!


It's a simple cabled sweater that delivers the wow factor of cables without the concentration required for an allover pattern since the back and sleeves are knit in simple stockinette. I'll be writing up the pattern for Jujube & Lolo and plan to make it available in March.


I plan on putting another one of these babies on the needles right away for my little Lolo. The pattern needs just a few more tweaks (and an alternative hem and neckline that doesn't require i-cord ;0) and then I'll be ready to write it up.


Now, if only the boys would let me...

No kidding!

I'm working on another sweater for my spring collection and thought I'd try out O-Wool Classic which I got from Ariadne Knits. The stuff is not all that exciting to knit with but what happens when you block it is pure magic!


See for yourself in the photo below: on the left is a swatch after a nice relaxing soak in a Eucalan bath for about 15 minutes. On the right, two sad little sleevies awaiting their turn in the sink ;0)


Not impessive enough? Check out what happens to the cables below. Can you guess which was soaked?

Nice, eh? I'm totally enamoured with this yarn. Plus it's organic and the 100% merino content is oh so soft. Double plus, the yardage is amazing! Can't wait to get my hands on some more. I have a feeling this one is about to become a staple around here. Here's a preview of my latest design using less than two skeins of this wonderful yarn.


Its another lap-shouldered sweater (because I think that's just the cleverest idea I've ever had!) with a quirky modern aran touch. I call it Get Ziggy. He's getting the spa treatment right now but I'm hoping to show it to you in all its (hopeful glory) next time.

But now, time for the final installment of my holiday gift idea meme: Dada's favourite things! If you are shopping for an almost 30, absolutely loveable, and self-admittedly geeky gamer, here's a list for you ;0)


Top row: The West Wing Complete Series DVD Collection ( we both loved this really smart show plus it has sentimental value for us since before we were married and living together, Stephen would drive up to my apartment to watch it with me on Wednesday nights...good times ;0), the Squirrel and Oak mittens I knit for him (they made his top 9 gifts of all time list! Oh, how I heart that man!), and lastly, the Nintendo Wii (I don't think I have to qualify that one -- it's a Nintendo people!).

Middle row: The Orange Box (you'll have to excuse me because I'm not a gamer so I don't know why it's sooo cool but apparently it is!), Old Navy performance fleece sweaters (they rock and he's always snuggled up in one which usually means I'm snuggled up with him too because I can't resist my warm and cozy man!), and finally the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy.

Bottom row: Zelda Twilight Princess game for Wii (he really enjoyed this one and I got to knit a lot while watching him play. Bonus, the music is cute ;0), Office Space (a classic for anyone who's ever worked in a cube farm like us), and lastly tunes in general but he and the Barenaked Ladies go way back!

So that's it for my family's favourite things. Hope it gave you a few ideas ;0) Wanna play holiday gift idea meme? Just write about your family's tried and tested favourite things and let me know if you do so I can get some ideas too!

Cheers!