so much yarn, nothing to knit

[MarineWife]

i have so much yarn! i was stocking up for my new baby. i knit a few soakers, longies and sleep sacks while i was pregnant. he's now 7 weeks old and i don't know what to make next. i have about 8 small/medium longies for this fall/winter. i don't know if that's enough or i should make more. i'm not ready to start making things for next spring/summer because i don't know what size he'll need.

i've made a couple of hoodies and sweaters for my older boys. i have more yarn for that but the last two things i made were with yarn from the same dyer. i kind of want to use something dyed by someone else now. so frustrating. i need to be knitting all the time or i go into withdrawals.

[motherhendoula]

oooh!  check this out!

http://birthattendants.com/wordpress/?p=87

[MarineWife]

oh, that's cool. I've been wanting to find a way to use up my scraps. What services are provided to incarcerated mamas?

[zebra15]

Can you knit granny squares for a patchwork blanket?

[motherhendoula]

They are based in WA state and they provide doula support (both labor and postpartum) to incarcerated women. 

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by motherhendoula 

They are based in WA state and they provide doula support (both labor and postpartum) to incarcerated women. 

thanks. and how do the squares help? do they collect them, make them into a blanket and give to the mothers for their babies or do they sell them to help fund their services?

[motherhendoula]

this is from the website:

"You may wonder how this works. Well you knit a square patch and get sponsors to donate to the birth attendants for your work. We get the donations and the patches when you are all finished. The patches will then be turned into baby blankets that will be auctioned off at a later date!"

I would imagine the auctions fund their organization....  i had JUST received the link when i saw your post - so i thought of it first -I signed up but i have no intention of hustling for donations!          There are still plenty of other charities who collect yarn, or knitted items, the Red Cross comes to mind, for different sorts of the population.  Preemie babies, nursing home clients, homeless persons, foster children....

http://knitting.about.com/od/knittingcharities/Knitting_Community_Knitting_for_Charity.htm

i know my local Michaels also usually has a drive for knitted squares which are made into patchwork blankets for the Red Cross...

My LO just turned a year old and i have NO time for knitting anymore!  I can only sneak it in during nap time!

[CanBoo]

Got some purple for a few hats to raise awareness for shaken baby syndrome?

[MarineWife]

no purple.

My yarn is all indie hand-dyed wool that I bought to make woolies for my babe. Problem is I'm stuck in an in-between time where I don't need anything now and am not sure what I might need for the near future or what his size will be.

[CanBoo]

Ribbed Babylegs? They can be so useful. Make them a little longer and use them rolled this winter and then again next year...

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by CanBoo 

Ribbed Babylegs? They can be so useful. Make them a little longer and use them rolled this winter and then again next year...

I've never understood the point of babylegs. Why not just put a pair of pants on the baby? I'm not asking that sarcastically. I really would like to know.

Maybe it's because I have all boys but babylegs just seem strange to me.

[sapientia]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 


I've never understood the point of babylegs. Why not just put a pair of pants on the baby? I'm not asking that sarcastically. I really would like to know.
Maybe it's because I have all boys but babylegs just seem strange to me.

I've wondered too!

Maybe make a scrap afghan?

[MarineWife]

Also on the baby legs thing, if I were going to make those, I'd probably want to use superwash instead of soaker yarn. Seems like a waste of soaker yarn.

I don't really have enough scraps of any one yarn base to make anything, especially not an afghan. I'm saving up so I'll be able to make a scrappy something someday.

[iowaorganic]

.Well I love babylegs.  But I made them out of womens knee high socks.  They keep thier littl legs warm under thier pants when you pick them up and take them outside!  Well that is what I use them for anyway. 

Last year I cut up my scraps, reknoted them together randomly and held two strands together and knit about 25 ragamuffin hats.  So cute and I sold most of them which funded all of my childrens christmas gifts!  So I vote this one!

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by iowaorganic 

Last year I cut up my scraps, reknoted them together randomly and held two strands together and knit about 25 ragamuffin hats.  So cute and I sold most of them which funded all of my childrens christmas gifts!  So I vote this one!

Nice!

[CanBoo]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 


I've never understood the point of babylegs. Why not just put a pair of pants on the baby? I'm not asking that sarcastically. I really would like to know.
Maybe it's because I have all boys but babylegs just seem strange to me.

Reasons I like them:

Lazy mom, I don't need to take them off to change the diaper.

Easier to check if diaper is wet.

Showing off the cute soakers sometimes. (Made some with socks, but I also knit some that matched some shorties.)

If they are ribbed all the way and stretchy I can have one pair in my backpack and use it as a spare leg covering for either of my girls, despite them being 2.5 years apart.

Absolutely awesome for quick access while EC'ing or potty training.

DD2 was a very rashy baby. Allowed me to let her have some naked air out time, yet still cover her legs for a little bit of warmth.

Older DD even likes to wear them on her arms sometimes instead of wearing a sweater.

As PP said, cover the gap in between the pants and the socks. Can put them either over or under the pants for that.

But agreed that if all you have is soaker yarn, then maybe not the best use.

How about some ribbed type of soaker http://the-1932-soaker-pattern.xanga.com/451989648/item/

Even if you don"t know his sizing for the spring, you can approximate it. That's the point of this type of pattern, to stretch nicely... Many etsy sellers make this one type as as one-size soaker... Maybe you can knit it now, and wait until the spring to assemble it according to his legs size then...

[MarineWife]

ah, i totally get babylegs if you EC. makes perfect sense. didn't think of that.

i decided to just start a pair of medium longies for the winter. they look really big so we shall see. may end up being manpris for next year.

i think after that i'll widdle away at my sock yarn for awhile until i can get a better idea of ds' size and needs.

i may have to sell some of my stash. my dh would freak if he knew how much i actually have. i've put two sets up for sale but it's so hard to part with even if i'm almost certain i'll never use it.

[jenniferlynne]

I loved babylegs when DD was in diapers but I still knit her legwarmers to wear over tights in the winter.  They just add an extra layer of warmth and they're quick and easy to knit.

I always seems to have 15 projects on the backburner so I never run out of things to knit, but how about a cute hat?  Or maybe some toys?  I love knitting fruit, cupcakes, donuts, etc. for my kids to play with.  Here are some patterns for fruit:  http://pcakeknits.blogspot.com/2008/12/knitting-patterns.html

[MarineWife]

Thanks for the pattern link. I always want to knit toys but never get around to it. I've had things I've wanted to knit for years that I haven't gotten to. I am so addicted to co-ops for hand-dyed yarn that I don't have money left over for solid colored yarn that is good for toys.

[JamieCatheryn]

Are you on http://www.ravelry.com ? Because I can't imagine being on there without a queue of at least 30 projects, with all the lovely free patterns all too easy to search through and drool over. (OK I've actually wittled mine down to 12 realistic projects left to do)