Saartje's Booties

First up on the free baby patterns I love list: Saartje's Booties. This pattern is incredibly easy and these adorable little booties fly off the needles. I knit these up over a few days after V was born, but waited a while to seam up and add buttons. I know lots of knitters have an aversion to seaming (myself included), but these really are not that bad. Just in case it's a total deal breaker for you,
 you can do a search on Ravelry -- I think I spotted a seamless version of this pattern on there.

I made mine using some gray KnitPicks fingering sock yarn, figuring that would ensure they were soft, durable, and washable. I didn't do the color change because at the time I only had this color of fingering sock yarn handy, but the pattern calls for a color change between the sole and the top of the bootie, making them all the more adorable. I searched through my stash of buttons, and unearthed these fun hot pink flower buttons I got from my Mom's button collection a while ago. I love them so!

I would totally recommend making these booties - they are beyond adorable and easy to put on. Of course, that makes them easy to kick off, too, but I think modifying the placement of the straps would go a long way to remedying that. For my next pair (yes, I will knit another pair using thicker yarn and bigger needles, in hopes they will fit baby in the next three months), I think I will use a single ankle strap to keep these guys on. Hopefully that will do the trick. (Ravelry project notes here).

Nesting

Before our baby girl arrived, I had this overwhelming urge to get ready for her arrival. Now, I know that traditionally, women who have this "nesting" instinct clean their home, cook meals to stock their freezer, and prepare the nursery. I did some of that, of course. But for me, nesting took the form of knitting. Yep, knitting.

Having had a summertime babe the first time around, I was a little worried about keeping our newest addition warm in late fall. So last summer, just as soon as the last box was unpacked and the house felt like it was moderately under control, I started on a list of gender neutral pieces I wanted to knit for our Fall baby. I didn't get to knit all of the items on my list, but enough to see this baby through her first two months in cozy handknits. Over the next few days, I'll share the wonderful (free!!) baby patterns I used for these handknits, in hopes you can use them and love them as much as I did.