Seed Stitch Baby Hoodie

Well, I had a really big 'mad' at the blog last night! I spent over an hour working on it ... I had carefully selected a variety of photos, and written a lengthy, eloquent entry, and then hit 'publish'. Goodness only knows where it ended up, because it was never more to be seen! G-R-R-R!!! In future, I will save it as a draft before I hit publish ... hopefully that will elimate any future issues.
Knit this little cutie from the Vogue Knitting for Babies tiny book, using Debbie Bliss Denim Aran yarn (from my stash). It took almost 9 balls, surprisingly, but there really isn't much yardage on those balls ... 65m. The rolled edge is knitted on after all the sewing is done, with a smaller needle. The only change I made to the pattern was to make I-cord loops for the closure, instead of the called for I-cord bow ties. Now I need to hunt up some fabulous toggle buttons, and this will be done like dinner! I made the 12 month size, which is usually the smallest that I go (unless it's a very washable yarn) as babies are usually past the spit up stage by that point, and therefore the required frequency of washing usually diminishes. Although it looks as though there is a lighter band in the middle, it's only because of my poor photography skills.

I spent the majority of the day yesterday, in the waiting room at the eye specialist's with my mother-in-law, who suffers from macular degeneration. I don't do the idle/waiting thing very well, so ensured that I had lots to keep me occupied, including a good book, and a baby hat on my Addi circulars. I used to use only Cascade Fixation Yarn for these projects, but now have found that Elann also carries a similar product called Espirit. I'm really not one for variagated yarn, but they do have some fabulous earthy colourways. It's also terrific for little baby socks ... colourful, plus, because of the elasticity, they stay up/on! Photo to follow ...

FibreTrends Felted Slippers

I've recently made several pair of these slippers (all of which gratefully received) in various colour combinations and sizes. The above were made for two of my neices, who are ages 5 & 9, in their respective favorite colours, which was somewhat 'painful' to look at while creating, but if you don't respect their current favorite colours, they won't wear them.

I used Paton's Classic Merino yarn for both slippers, and then used up some novelty yarn I had in my stash. The purple one is 'Boa' in Parrot, and the lime one was 'Funky Fur'. The pattern calls for a double strand of yarn to be used throughout, on size 8mm needles. The only thing I did differently (from the pattern instructions), was to replace one of the merino strands with novelty yarn when knitting the cuff.

BTW, I won't be making these for awhile, as a combination of the big needles and all the 'make 1' and 'pick up' stitches require a lot of wrist twisting which became quite painful after the 5th pair!

Then it was into a lingerie bag, before dropping them into the washing machine (in hot water!) to felt them. BTW, if you're going to felt anything in your washer, make sure you place the item securely in either a pillow case, or lingerie bag first, to avoid mechanical failure later, when all the yarn fluff collects in your motor! Also, my husband and I have been considering replacing our washer with one of the new front loading ones, but I've heard tell that you can't felt effectively in the new ones ... anyone care to comment??

My dad is currently over visiting his homeland (Scotland) where his mum (98) was in hospital. He got there on Friday, and she passed away, very peacefully, last night. There didn't seem to be anything specifically wrong, but I think her body was simply 'done'. I'm glad dad had a chance to be with her before she went ... apparently she was very lucid & aware. The family was with her the whole time, which was lovely. It definitely changes the dynamic now, with the family 'matriarch' gone. I image it will be (in one sense) a relief for my aunt (77) who has been predominantly responsible for her care, but it will be very strange to walk down the street where, at one end, my cousin lives; then my aunt lives in the middle; and granny lived just a few houses down and realize that everything has changed ... I suppose change is unavoidable, but this one seems huge ...

Longevity definitely runs in the women on both sides of my family. My mom's mom died 2 years ago at almost 98 ... there's that number again!

On another note, it's snowing HUGE, fluffy flakes here at the moment ... one day we're out in light jackets, admiring all the spring flowers that have bloomed, and the next day, we get this??? Go figure ...

I'm off to get my hair cut/coloured/etc. and should return a 'new woman' ... ?!

Baby on the way

We've recently been told that my husband and I will become grandparents again somewhere around the beginning of October '07. My husband comes by this title honestly, while I have inherited the status (with pleasure!) when I married him almost 11 years ago. He brought two daughters into our marriage who will this year turn 30 and 28. The oldest has two children: a girl who is 13 and a boy who is 10. It is our youngest (married last June) who gave us the happy news!

We also have a very large golden retriever who is 6 1/2 years old (whom I consider to be my "child replacement") who also has a paper fetish!



While I'm at home recovering from a recent health issue, I have oodles of time to devote to my favorite past-times, which are knitting (firstly) and secondly, card making. I can hardly wait for the first ultrasound, where hopefully, I'll be told the sex of the baby and can get going on some more 'gender specific items'.

I started on a Debbie Bliss baby sweater in Baby Cashmerino (can't remember which book it came from!) in a yummy dijon yellow colour ... size 0-3 months ... all blocked and ready for sewing ... my least favorite part of the project.