A little of what you fancy

The disadvantage to my recent sewing room reorganisation it that now that I can see the stash in one place it is calling to me. Particularly quick little baby knits for the torrent of bambinos arriving in the next few months. I have a cunning plan for most of the babies who are on the knit-list and this is just a little something to keep the edge off:


A mitten. Size 0-3 months. Utterly cute and tiny. The pattern is a Drops Alpaca one so instead of getting a great name we get number b13-5 which is clearly a name that inspires images of cute babies rolling in meadows (or whatever babies do - I may be getting confused with lambs). Anyway, the pattern is here. If you click on the link and take one look at the baby model you'll see why I couldn't resist knitting this.

The mitten is only the start of things, the pattern includes jacket, trousers, bootees, mittens and hat and a blanket and I'm doing everything other than the blanket which I hope will make a perfect little layette for a Scottish baby, H's latest cousin. We don't know whether it's a boy or girl baby so I'm hoping that this soft sea green/off-white combination hit the mark as gender neutral. The original was beige and off-white which was a no-go for a colour magpie like me and this just seemed to suit - I can claim it's the colour of the sea (or the loch - the baby will live by the loch) and the snow on the top of the mountains (baby lives with mountain in back garden. lucky baby).

I'm all lined up for a few Baby Surprise Jackets for colleagues but I'm a bit stuck for the final one. Our close friends are having their first baby (first baby in that group of friends too) and I don't know what to knit. The baby's Mum knits, spins and quilts, Grandma quilts and knits and Auntie B could probably produce something homemade as well. So what do I make that strikes the right balance between saying "you are my best friends" and not stealing anyone else's thunder? Answers on a postcard.