booties for babies

This is my newest nephew. And that would be me trying to inhale him. I tried to distract my sister and slowly back out of the door to bring him home with me. But I decided that wouldn't be a very sisterly thing to do, nor would I be so thrilled at 2am, the hour at which - these days - I am sleeping, thankfully. So I just inhale him when I can. And knit him things, because really, there's nothing better than knitting for babies. In my opinion, anyway.

The booties I made him are the fabulous and classic pattern in Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas - one of my first and still favorite knitting books. I usually knit them up in Koigu, but lately I've been using this lovely handspun and dyed yarn from Hands and Notions. I picked it up at Edith & Edna, but there's also an Etsy shop. I love the colorways it comes in.

This is one of those projects that I always have on the needles, in progress, somewhere. I was thinking about that the other day when I was looking for a finished pair for a friends new baby girl. I was realizing that these booties have become my go-to baby knit, the project always in progress, a little gift I most always give to the new babies in our lives.

A few weeks ago, I found myself wanting to start another new pair (so many babies this year!), but I couldn't for the life of me find the book with the pattern in it. I sat down and started knitting anyway, and realized quickly that I didn't need the pattern afterall. I knew it. I'm not sure I could have written it out, but as my hands were moving and the booties were growing, I knew what came next. It made me smile - thinking of my Meme and her knitted blankets - always one in a basket by her sofa for the latest cousin to be born; my Nana and her stash of baby sweaters - always a few in progress, always a few in a pile waiting for one baby or another; my mother with her crocheted baby blankets. Not all of these women heavy knitters or crocheters, but still - they had their baby 'thing' that they made, and gave, and knew by heart. My mind wandered to the massive imaginary pile of handknits - piles of love - made by all these women before me, and those I have yet to knit, and those that will be knit in years to come by little ones now. And all the love and hope that gets knit into each and every one. It kinda makes you think that a little bit of handmade could heal the world, you know?

And that's just the kind of silly, hopeful, optimistic, rose-colored glasses talk that inhaling baby will produce. Oh my, it's good stuff.