Side-tracked, again!

Did I mention that I have a new grand-son on the way? He'll be here by the end of April -- can't wait!

It struck me that although he'll have his brother's hand-me-down hand-knitted items to wear, he'll need some of his own, too. Then, I realized that April is not that far off, so I'd better get at it!

It's still a little chilly here in April, but not quite enough for a full on cardi or sweater. As I was going through my seemingly endless queue, I came across this pattern and knew it would be the perfect thing for a newborn. It will slip over a tiny sleeper and not only provide core warmth, but also dress up what are basically p.j.'s.

The pattern is on Ravelry, and is called Henry's Manly Cobblestone -- basically a take off on the Cobblestone pullover by Jared Flood.

I had a ball of James G. Brett "Marble" on hand, which I must say is quite nice, for an acrylic. Normally (as you know) I abhor all things acrylic, but I've used this one in past and it gets top marks from me! I needed this to be very washable as newborns spit up a lot and I knew mom was not going to be spending any time hand-washing! I used about 1/2 of a 100g ball, with enough left to make booties and a hat, if so inclined.

The top picture is little darker than actual ... the bottom one is closest to reality.

Actual dimensions of vest: 7 1/2"w by 9"h -- exquisitely tiny!

When the new, big brother-to be(who's just 2) was asked if he wanted a little sister, or a brother, his response was a very adamant ... "NO GIRLS"!!! We were all waiting on pins and needles until the ultra sound came back and thankfully, confirmed a boy.





Next up, a progress report on the Earl Grey sweater ... I promise!

Helmet Liner Updated Info ...

Here is a link that I found on-line, which gives info. on how to send 'donations' to our Canadian Troops.

It's not very encouraging, frankly, as it (for appropriate reasons) states that the aircraft carriers are to be used for military related products and don't really have room for anything else. They discourage care packages.

However, if you are a family member, or a friend, you are still able to send packages -- just follow the instructions in the link below:

Canadian Forces Donations

We Interrupt the Scheduled Broadcast ...

I put aside my 'Earl Grey' temporarily this week, for a very important knitting mission.

Friends from our church have a son with the Forces in Afghanistan. He was given a temporary leave this week to come home to be married on Saturday, then a brief honeymoon and back to the front lines.

His mom was telling me how cold it is there, when it dawned on me that I could be of assistance ... the Helmet Liner pattern! I only had a couple of days to do it in, but I knew I could do it. The pattern says that it fits an 'average' soldier's head. I did some searching on Ravelry and determined that that would likely be too small, as this is a big boy. Actually, most men found the original pattern to be too small/tight. Fortunately, Meilynne modified the pattern to suit (as she puts it) 'linebacker size', which I knew would work perfectly. An aside ... I don't think I have a particulary large head, but the large size was only slightly big on me.

Heads up -- the original Paton's pattern says that it takes 2 hours to complete -- who are they kidding??? I'm a fast knitter and I'm telling you that it took me at least 8 hours to knit!

Anyway, it feels very gratifying to do a little something for our troops and show them that we care. If you're in the US, the Paton's pattern tells you the specifications for knitting, plus where you can send them. I'm looking into the requirements for Canada and will let you know in a future post.

Earl Grey

This is the Tea Leaves Cardigan, however, I'm choosing to call mine "Earl Grey", for obvious reasons. My sister gave me 5 balls of Malabrigo Worsted in the "Polar Moon" Colourway (sigh!) for Christmas, and I immediately cast on for this on Boxing day.

The colours are so subtle and look completely different in alternate light. I was actually a bit concerned when I opened it, because at my parent's place, it looked like a baby blue colour ... even my sister thought so! However, when I got it home and wound it up, it became the gorgeous dove grey that you see above. There are also hints of a sea green and a bit of a lavendar pink, which add to it's beauty and lustre. There are 3 of 1 dyelot and 2 of another, so I am alternating every 2nd row to avoid pooling. I was somewhat surprised that the vendor didn't make that known on the website ... I mean, really -- if someone is buying multiples of the same colour, wouldn't you think that they're making 1 large project and that they'd need all the same dyelot? On many of the other ebay websites, they will flat out tell you if they are different dyelots. Anyway, enough ranting -- the colour is gorgeous, and the FEEL is unbelieveable!

I'm past the arm holes and am currently knitting the body. The ruched design at the yoke is pure genius and so easy! Combo of increases and decreases, plus changing of needle size. Can I just tell you how much I am loving this pattern and the knitting thereof?!! I mean really ... how could I not!

Malabrigo + a great pattern = bliss!!!

Multnomah in Malabrigo

Sorry people, it is just too cold to be taking outside shots currently! Although there is a hint of green showing through the back door, it's in the 'minus' category, temp-wise.

Pattern: Multnomah
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Teal
Revisions: I chose not to incorporate the F&F pattern into the 4th and 10th repeats of pattern


Not usually a 'fan' of the feather and fan lace pattern, I surprised even myself by being drawn to this shawlette. The F&F pattern is sooooo reminiscent of something someone's grandma made them in an afghan -- except in this case. It's clean, pretty, fun, classy and a little sassy, too!

This shawlette is so versatile. On Sunday, I wore it to church wrapped around my neck front ways, as a scarf, seen below. After taking off my coat, was feeling chilly, so I just reached over for my little shawl, slung it around my shoulders and was snug as a bug -- not to mention the obvious, that it looked fabulous and the knitter sitting behind me, audibly gasped!

Off to soak!

The yarn bled a LOT during soaking!

I've got some of the yarn left over and am thinking a Meret for me is calling my name! It will have to take a number, though, as I've got a few other things on the go at the moment :)

BTW, I'll be doing some baby knitting in the blue, brown and green colours for the end of April...!

Hat Crazy ...

This is my sister modeling her "Meret" -- a pattern I've had in my queue for awhile, only to discover that since I made it, everyone and their dog is also currently knitting it ... so much for originality! BTW, she loves it! I used almost 3/4's of 1 - 100g ball of Sirdar's Denim Aran from my stash, which is a combo wool/cotton/acrylic blend and is apparently machine washable. I made the large size and after researching further reviews, decided NOT to block it as it tends to grow. I did one extra repeat of the pattern to get the desired "slouchiness"

Honestly, this woman never takes a bad picture! And, to her credit, immediately stuffed it on her head upon opening -- hairdo be darned!

Next up, the "Armando" pattern. Both of our daughters have men who work outside: one as a roofer and the other in his family's granite business. Needless to say, when it's cold and wet, they really appreciate having 100% wool hats that cover their ears and foreheads. The roofer found that while using the torch, his current hats were melting. I did some research online and discovered that 100% wool is less flammable -- in fact, if you're doing any helmut liner knitting for our troops, they specify that it must be 100 % wool, to avoid any fire hazard/melting. Also, as you likely know from EZ's books, wool is practially waterproof and keeps them much drier, longer, in the rainy Pacific Northwest. I used Malabrigo Worsted in a burnt orange colour, for the Harley Davidson lover in the family :)

There was enough to make two hats from one ball, so our 13 year old grandson got one as well, with a slight variation that included a scrap of "Vaa" Malabrigo to make it his own (and also so he and dad could tell theirs apart).

S-I-L modeling his hat in the "Fading Cables" pattern, using Jaeger Matchmaker yarn in a glossy brown, from stash. I find this pattern a little 'short', so I added an extra good 1/2" to the rib at the beginning.

The rear view -- I had to stand on my tippy-toes to get this shot -- he's 6'4"!

Mike modeling his hat ...

And one more that used up my scraps of Vaa and Lettuce Malabrigo and turned out quite well, I think!

It was comical ... I always have my camera at the ready for family get-togethers. The instant the recipients discovered a hand knitted item in their gift, it was on their head in a flash and a pose was struck, without me even asking! I overheard our daughter telling a girlfriend, "she'll make you anything you want ... you just have to let her take a picture for her blog!!!"

A new look on life ...

Yup, new specs. and a 2nd completed Damson. I really love this colour of Dream in Color Smooshy, called "Happy Forest" -- bright green is soooo my fave colour!


The upside down heart design is a little off centre, but you get the idea!

This time I went down a size in needle and ended up not only completing the entire pattern, but had a wad left over!! Likely the leftovers can be attributed to the 10 yds+ extra yarn that is in the DIC as opposed to the Malabrigo. Go figure. So, either I had a 'dud' skein the last time, or going down a size in needle made all the difference. Hmmmm, it might be interesting to weigh both of the shawls and see what (if any) difference there is ... note to self.

On a sad note, I'm on a flight to Winnipeg tomorrow a.m., to be with my bff as she buries her husband on Tuesday. So difficult ... so fast ... literally 2 months after diagnosis, he is gone. They are so grateful for the past 4 weeks that he was able to be at home with them, but still, the loss is great. Please pray for Connie and her kids: Kerri (Ken), Ryan & Adam.