Knitting In The North

Progress

One down already!  Okay, now, for me, this is super fast knitting - you've gotta be proud of me!  A whole sock finished in less than a week?  Woo hoo!

I'm just starting sock #2, which I imagine will be finished by next weekend, and then I will once again return to The Cardi.  Or, I might cast on the blanket and hat I've been meaning to knit for Liam, since he shows signs of arriving at any moment.  (Don't get too excited - my kids seem to enjoy toying with my brain.  They've all done this - they get everything started early, and then we play the contraction game for a month or so, until the poor Doctor finally gives in and induces me just to get it all over with.  I still have 6 weeks until the Big Due Date, so I'm sure I'll be sitting here 6 weeks from now, feeling just a tad bit cranky.)

I had my sister over yesterday for a visit, and she totally fell in love with the sock.  I was just knitting up the toe and grafting while we chatted, so I had her try it on, and it is of course a perfect fit.  You know what this means, right?  I'll be buying some different yarn from Ruth for special socks for myself, because these babies are going away for my sister's next birthday.  (She also made me brownies while she was here, which in my mind totally earns her a pair of socks.)  Ah, well, I kind of had a feeling it was too good to be true.  The socks I knit are almost always destined for someone else's feet! 

Happy Thought

Here's my happy thought for the day!  This lovely yarn arrived just this afternoon.  I was on my way out the door to pick up the big kids from school when I saw the package peeking out of the mailbox.  I thought it was some boring astronomy thing for Stuart, and was so excited to see this instead that I took along with me in the car, cutting at the packaging with my tiny Swiss army knife at red lights!

Now I'm in a quandary trying to decide on the perfect sock for it.  I really, really want to cast on for it Right. This. Second., and can't decide between a simple stitch pattern and a plain ol' vanilla sock.  I will admit I have a great weakness for vanilla socks, but have a serious problem with ladders that I'm always afraid will show itself when I least expect (or want) it.  Maybe garter rib?  Hmmm.  Much to think about.

The thermometer has taken a nasty, sick, disgusting dip, and we're looking at freezing temperatures all this weekend here.  Yuck.  I recently borrowed a copy of The Bountiful Container from my library, and have become enthralled with the idea of planting a succession container garden.  Much more manageable than the big garden (which, if Stuart has his way will be given over completely to potatoes, and maybe a few viney things like zucchini) considering my rather large belly, and still productive, frugal(ish) and fun!  Sigh.  I guess next weekend will have to suffice, I really can't see Stuart filling pots and dragging them up onto the deck for me to plant, nor do I have any desire to be sitting on the deck in freezing temperatures.  I'm a bit of a baby that way.  How about you?  Any big weekend plans?

Whatever it Takes

In her efforts to aid the "do whatever it takes to rest and be happy and don't stress" instructions in my life, my sister took me out yesterday for a pedicure!  It's been years since I've done this, and it was a lot of fun.  The esthetician looked at me a little funny when I asked for a flower on my toe, maybe that's just not done up here?  Regardless, I wanted a flower, and a tiny little flower I got!  And turquoise toes, what could be better?  Now, we just need it to be warm enough to wear sandals so I can show them off.

I am still plugging away on Katie's cardigan, as well as a super-secret project for my mum that I can't show off yet.  Last night, I realized I only have two more inches to go on Kate's sweater before I can divide for the armholes.  The back and fronts are knit all in one piece until then, which I'm sure is lending to the feeling that this project will never end.  Here's a progress pic:

At my local SnB recently, a woman brought a photo album of some of her finished projects.  She knit her daughter's wedding dress out of fine raw silk!  I can not imagine taking on such a project, and feel very silly for complaining at length about how long this little hoodie is taking.  Ridiculous, right?  Ah, well, a little more and I'll really feel like we're getting somewhere, so I can stop being miserable about it.  I really want to cast on a pair of socks, which is partly why I'm groaning and moaning, because I don't want any more projects on the needles right now.  Maybe I should finish Sheldon, and then I'd have a free slot!

Happenings

There have been lots of little things going on recently, so I figured it's about time for a bullet post!

• New yarn - I completely caved in this week, and ordered some of the amazing handdyed sock yarn from Ruth.  If you're not aware of this yarn, do check it out!  Ruth updates her blog with new yarn each Friday, and when it's gone, it's gone!
• I have been busy Bargain Hunting for baby things, and have found some excellent stuff of late!  While I was in Winnipeg, I was on the hunt for some used All-In-One cloth diapers.  I finally found a package of 5 Kushies diapers, and was well pleased.  This week, I've found an Avent pump, a car seat and a Bumbo chair.  (I'll admit, the chair wasn't a need, but a want, but I was so excited to find a used one at such a great price!)  I'm starting to feel a bit more ready with these items in the wings.  Still left to do - paint the cradle, find somewhere to put Liam's things in my room, try to sew his cradle quilt...  Sigh.
• Sewing just did not happen while I was visiting at my mum's, and now I'm a bit apprehensive to start on my own.  One of these days, I'll just have to set up my machine, sit down with some scrap fabric and do some practicing.  I found a quilting tutorial here, and I really do long to give it a try.  Also, I've fallen in love with a cotton shirt on Anthropologie's web site, but choked when I saw the cost.  I found this sewing pattern, which is very similar, and I'd love to try sewing up a few cotton shirts for the summer.  Anyone with any startup advice, please feel free to share!
• Liam's been a bit of a pushy little stinker the last few weeks, and while I'm not on bedrest, I'm on "rest whenever humanly possible, don't stress and do whatever it takes to feel happy and relaxed" orders from my midwife.  This makes the last few points a tad more difficult.  Every now and then I forget myself, and go grocery shopping or something silly, and then pay for it all night.  I'm frustrated at sitting around so much, when there are so many nesty things I'd prefer to be doing.
• On the positive, I'm getting a lot of reading done!  This week, I finally read Love in the Time of Cholera, which has been on my To Read list for years.  I also finished Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict last night, which was okay.  Reading is always good, and I'll likely have very little time for it in the next few months, so I suppose I'll just try to enjoy it while I can.
• Clever Miss Katie won the Silver Medal for her age group at our city-wide science fair a few weeks ago.  This weekend, we plan to sit down with a shadow box frame to display her certificate and medal properly.  She's always been more of an artsy type than a science type, and I'm really proud of how hard she and her partner worked.
• I've been trying to get in a little more spinning work lately.  I put the wheel away for a time, but have been feeling that urge again - probably part of the nesting, eh?  I unearthed a box of lovely fibre I've had stashed away, and I'm hoping very soon to make a spinning visit to our local fibre place for some practice and further roving acquisition.  Spinning is done sitting down, and it makes me happy, so that should be "legal", right?
• A good friend of mine has been away visiting family for the past couple of months, and she's coming home this week!  Hooray, I can hardly wait to steal her away from her kiddies and go out for a tea & fondue visit.

I'm sure there are lots of other little things going on, but Gwen  is desperate to get outside, so this will have to do for now.  I've made it my goal to not post without sharing a picture, too, so I hope you'll enjoy a shot of Princess Gwenyth, hanging out at her own little castle.  Have a great weekend!

Baby Knitting

So, I paused in knitting Katie's sweater - again - to knit up this little bolero for Liam.  I am really trying to find fun little projects to use up the basket of single balls of yarn I have, and this one was perfect!  It's very rare for me to actually have the yarn called for in a pattern, so when I do, I feel almost obligated to knit it.

Particulars:

Pattern: Baby Bolero, from One Skein by Leigh Radford

Yarn: Blue Sky Organic Cotton, (I think it's the Stone colourway)

Needles: 5mm for body, 5.5mm for edging

Notes:  I didn't do any mods to this pattern, and I left the eyelet motif on the back both because I liked it, and because I was charmed by the whole Eastern good luck thing.  I was worried it would be a bit too girly, but I'm happy with it now that it's done.  This yarn is incredibly soft, it's like knitting with a cotton ball, and I think it will be great for Liam.  It took less than a week of my slow, sporadic knitting, so the average knitter could likely turn one out in a day or two!  Today's photos are of the unblocked sweater, since I've been putting off blocking it for a week, and got tired of waiting to show it to you.  Rest assured, once the big guy himself is wearing it, I'll show you the modeled picture.  In the meantime, here's a shot of the motif on the back:

 

Home Again

I was sitting at the computer today, and realized I've been home a whole week, and haven't posted yet!  Yikes, I'm falling down on the job.  I'm going to blame my children, though, as I spent the whole last weekend in bed (thanks to Liam), and have been busy this week catching up the house and all the regular family stuff (these go to Katie, Brian & Gwenyth).  Anyway, I'm starting to feel like I have a bit of a handle on things again, so I figured I'd share about our trip.

It was fun!  Well, as much fun as a pregnant woman can have traveling on her own with 3 kids - you parents know what I mean.  But, seriously, it was a wonderful visit, and I so enjoyed just hanging out with my mum, and being forced to rest and eat yogurt.  There were Easter treasures to find, eggs to dye, family to visit, and shopping to be done!  Katie had been saving her allowance for a few special purchases, so we made sure to hit a mall, and the closest Old Navy.  They all got spoiled shamelessly by both Grandma and Grandpa, especially Brian, who loved the quality boy time he had with Grandpa.

Not too much knitting was done, but I did knit this up:

It's another Kureyon Kozy, from Knitty, from Noro Iro in the Reds colourway.  I believe I used 5mm needles, because that's what I had, although I'd go up a needle size to knit it again.  It was a good little project, and I found it satisfying to make them something while I was there, that I know my mum appreciated.  I also did a bit on Katie's neverending cabled cardi, but there's still a long way to go.  I'm all caught up on my blog reading, and it sounds like most of you had a great holiday!  Now, we can all get back to watching for spring!