A Cardigan Grows ...

A year ago September, a certain little miss who lives next door, was soon off to her first day of kindergarten, but announced that she needed a new cardigan (in purple please) to accomplish the task effectively. She came over and we went through various patterns (plus the stash) and discussed at length what shade of purple and which pattern it would be. She decided on the Rowan Wool Cotton, in lilac (kid has good taste!) and then Sirdar Pattern #1559. It turned out very well, and much to her liking. The first day of school '06 was a scorcher, but little miss wore the cardigan proudly, anyway, announcing to all (interested or not) that Kerry, her neighbor had made this sweater for her!

Fast forward to this September ... kid must be eating straight fertilizer as the cardigan is way too short in length. These 'seal eyes' were pleading with me over the fence to please make it longer. Of course I caved. I got out my crochet hook, blew off the dust, and got cracking.

So, I made it a tiny bit longer here ...

And a tons longer here ... (like about 3")

And ta-da, the cardigan reinvented!

The original cardigan ended with the seed stitch just below the bottom button.

I'd forgotten how quick the inches pile up when you crochet ... if I'd decided to knit the edging, it would have taken me several evenings. The bottom edging only took 1! Not that I'm thinking of converting anytime soon.

Now, all I need to do is give it a bit of a press and it should be good to go!

Help!

I recently read over at annypurls' blog about her experience with wet blocking a bamboo knitted lace item and how disappointed she was with the outcome. It seemed to go a bit stiff and misshapen. A friend previously gifted me with this lovely soft bamboo/cotton blend yarn, with a beautiful sheen (purchased in Germany) which I've just finished knitting into a lace scarf. It definitely needs blocking, but I'm loathe to go the 'wet' route, after seeing anny's blog. Plus, the label says 'no ironing', so I assume that rules out 'steam' blocking. Any suggestions? Can you help me out?

Little Man

Goodness! Has it really been a week since I last blogged??? For those of you who were wanting to see the knits modeled, here you go! This is my own hat pattern, and Christine's booties, made 'preemie' size in Elann Espirit yarn. Photo was taken yesterday when we had a visit from the little guy. He's now 3 weeks old!

Last Sunday we held a baby shower in his honour ... here's what he did through the whole thing!

He was literally passed from hand to hand for 3 hours and never once made a peep. However, he made up for it a day later when he did nothing but howl all day long ... poor mom!
Here's his lovely cousin, Cicely, enjoying a snuggle with him. Notice the hat shown here previously which has a matching 'baby bolero' ? It's a little big yet, but he'll soon grow into it.

Went to the doctor's this week and we were pleased to see that he's gained 1/2 lb this week ... now up to 6lbs 14 oz. Go baby, go! On the way home, we stopped in to have a first visit with Great Grandma Eileen. She was pretty pleased to see him!

A little of this and that ...

Check out this yawn! Ethan is home and doing well. He's up to 6lbs 7oz., and everyone is pleased with his progress. Grandma got in some 'cuddle time' while everyone else cleaned up after I cooked Thanksgiving Dinner. I even got to change a couple of diapers!

A new hat for Ethan ... started out as Alison's bell bottoms, but I realized my gauge was out so I turned one of the legs into a hat instead. I used Lion Brand's cotton ease for the first time and am very impressed! It doesn't split like a lot of other cotton yarns and is very soft and easy to work with. I'll definitely use it again.

This is the Baby Shrug pattern from the 'One Skein' pattern book. This one turned out intentionally smaller as the Lion Brand yarn is finer than the one called for. This was OK by me as Ethan's so thin and tiny that it fits fine now and will last him through his first month.

Here's the set as it's blocking on the bathroom counter ... the angle is a little 'off', making the one sleeve look much wider than the other ... in reality, it's not!

I'm about 3/4's the way through the edging for the baby pinwheel blanket. I was smart to leave a whole ball for the edging as it looks like I will likely use all of it. Now I need to finish knitting the edge, then get the edge sewn on and the blanket blocked before the baby shower on Sunday!

Happy Dance & Happy Thanksgiving!

I was dancing/jumping around my workroom last evening and shouting woo-hoo! (very loudly) when both my husband and dog came running to see what all the excitement was about. The source??? I finally got my invitation to Ravelry!!!!! Honestly, my husband looked at me like I'd grown a horn! I'd only checked the night before to see where I was on the list ... #490. So I knew I didn't have long to wait, but what I didn't realize is that they are now trying to add 500 new testers per day, so it's moving much more quickly. Yippee!

On a more solemn note, it's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, so am up early to get the turkey stuffed and into the oven. So much to be thankful for! A wonderful place/country to live in; family (plus a new grandbaby!); friends; healthy enough to do what I love; have a job I love; the grace and love of God; and the list goes on! I once heard a saying that I've tried to adopt in my life: "Have an attitude of gratitude". When we look for things to be grateful for, instead of complaining, our life takes on a much more positive stance. That's what I'm shooting for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Dog Mischief!

I was unpacking the groceries and was on my way down the hall with a new box of toothpaste when my husband needed my immediate assistance. I dropped the box next to my purse and went into the other room. Seconds later, the dog blew past me averting his head and looking highly suspicious. The next thing I knew, he'd managed to pop the box open, dump out the toothpaste and had begun to shred the box to bits (his favorite pastime). Thankfully, while there were dents in the tube, no teeth penetrated. Look at that face! How could I be angry??? The rule in our house (as it regards the dog) is: "If it's on the floor, it's fair game". My first thought was, "quick, grab the camera"!!!

How cute is this dog?????

A Blanket for Ethan ...

Finished, pressed and all ready to be packaged up with a cuddly stuffed bear for our new grandbaby! See here for pattern/yarn details ... scroll down :)

I used to have a gift basket business and prefer to use practical or unusual containers to package gifts in. In this case, I have a 'winnie the pooh' acid-free, photo storage box that comes with index divider cards. That way, mom can store Ethan's photos by month/age and they will be all at her finger tips when she's ready to put his scrapbook together (or rather, when she has me put his scrapbook together :) ! Or, she can use it decoratively to tuck out-of-sight small baby items, yet have them at the ready when she needs them.