Knitting In The North

It's Virtual, Baby!

Little Liam has been blessed, and blessed some more with some wonderful gifts by some generous and kind knitters.  Since I can't invite you all to a baby shower to see him, and see his goodies, I thought I'd have a "virtual shower"!

This little hat was knit by my Stitch n Bitch friend, (blogless) Jessiquita!  This was her first ever cable project, and is so sweet!  I'm happy to say it's still a bit big, so will fit him really nicely when the cold sets in.

Warm booties for the coming cold days, from another SnB friend, Ashley (also, sadly, blogless).

A Baby Surprise Jacket, knit by Areli, out of Noro sock yarn.  She knit this as a fairly tight gauge, which is wonderful, as it will be a perfect fall coat for Liam.  I am so in love with this pattern, I just bought myself The Opinionated Knitter.  I'd love to knit one of these in every colour, I think!

I have always had a real weak spot for sweater vests, much to the dismay of my husband, who actually had to wear them as a child.  This one is particularly soft, and was a gift from Hanna, all the way from Finland!

Colleen knit Liam both this soft hat, and the wonderful blanket to match!  The blanket is especially perfect for my snuggle-bug, as it has a little opening for the car seat buckle to go through, a hood, and a pocket for his feet to tuck into.  Actually, he's wrapped up in it right now, having his nap!  He loves nothing better than to be all swaddled in a warm blanket.

Finally, a few of my crafting friends here in Prince George held me an actual baby shower.  While they were very kind to Liam, and gave him lovely gifts, they also tucked some cash into a card for me, with strict instructions to do something nice for myself.  Accordingly, I spent Monday afternoon out with a girlfriend while Stuart watched the kiddies - all four of them!  We had lunch together in a cafe downtown, and indulged ourselves with a pedicure.  It was really wonderful, and refreshing, to have a few hours all to myself!  Here's the result of my afternoon:

I promised I would post a picture, to prove that I didn't use the money for something silly, like groceries.  Oh, and notice the great step under my feet!  Stuart used Granite Spreadable Stone Coating, and finished our ugly concrete steps.  What a difference it makes!

A Finished Hat

Have you heard of Kristy's Hat Quest?  Kristy is traveling to the Ukraine this fall, and plans to take 300 hats with her!  She will be working with an orphanage there, and would like a hat for each child.  I know she, and many others, have been working away, and here, finally, is my first contribution!  A simple watch cap, knit from two strands of Knitpicks Palette, in the Clematis colourway. 

I have plans for at least one more, and then I'm pretty sure I'll have run out of time!  There just never seems to be enough time for knitting these days...  I wonder what that's all about? 

Lace Ribbon Scarf

Although I often hesitate to knit a pattern that is so popular in the knitting community, after seeing so many beautiful versions of the Lace Ribbon Scarf, I felt I needed to give it a try.  As I mentioned before, this scarf is a gift for my midwife.  She was so very supportive and encouraging throughout my pregnancy, during delivery, and in the last six weeks, I really wanted to do something for her to show my appreciation.

Particulars:

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf, knitty.com

Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss, Dusk, 2 skeins

Needles: 3.5mm

Modifications: I removed one lace repeat, as I was concerned I would run out of yarn before I had enough length.  Other than that, I followed the pattern exactly, except for a few little mistakes here and there.  I was intimidated at first by the number of rows in the lace pattern, but after a while it was really very simple, even for a sleep deprived brain such as mine!  I am pleased with the yarn choice, the finished scarf is light and soft, but still substantial enough to be a real scarf, not just a decoration.  The wool/silk blend is very nice, and I found no knots at all in the skeins I used, although twice I came across a slightly underspun section, about an inch in length.  I'm happy with the finished object, and I hope my midwife will be, too.

To those of you who offered birthday greetings today, thank you very much!  It was a pretty low key day, but special none the less.  Stuart presented me with a beautiful pendant that he had made for me, with all six of our birth stones in it.  Very special, and very sweet.

Time to Party!

As exciting as turning three is, having a party to celebrate is even better!  We had a backyard party this year, complete with a Dora cake,

foam and garden crafts,

and best of all, water balloons!  Poor Stuart and a friend filled 150 balloons for the kiddies, and they were a big hit!  I love activities where the children can run around screaming and having fun, and I don't really have to get involved. 

Stuart & I are both completely exhausted, but before the fun began, I did manage to block out the completed Lace Ribbon Scarf, so look for photos soon!

"3"

In the midst of our early baby days, it's hard to believe that three years ago today, we were doing this exact same thing!  Miss Gwenyth turned the big "3" today, and is very excited about it.  She's been waiting for weeks for her special day to arrive, and wasn't disappointed.  Our household policy is that the birthday boy or girl is king or queen for the day, and so she dictated her wishes to her lowly subjects all day long, from a trip to the mall, lunch out, pizza and cupcakes for dinner, a walk to the park, and of course, presents!!  It was a busy day, but the big girl held up well:

Gwen is a joyful addition to our family, always the clown, always full of song and dance and fun.  She's a bit like the little girl with the little curl, but the horrid moments are pretty few and far between, and I can't imagine our lives without her.  We are well and truly blessed.

 

Actual Knitting Content

Look!  Real, actual knitting!  This project, the Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty, has been my only project over the last month or so.  I'm knitting it out of Knitpicks Gloss, in the Dusk colourway, and plan on using the better part of two skeins.  I'm about halfway through skein #2, so the end is in sight.  I decreased the width of the scarf by one lace repeat, only because I was worried that I wouldn't end up with enough length.  The finished scarf is intended as a gift for my midwife, who was so supportive and wonderful to work with, and is now, sadly, moving back down to the Lower Mainland. 

Just the other day, I also cast on for Baby's Denim Drawstring Pants, from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.  I do so love this book, and have always wanted to knit this pattern.  Now I get to try it out on Liam!  Speaking of Liam - as hard as it is to believe, here's a picture of him, one month old already!

That's the tail-end of a sweet little smile for his dad, there.  Isn't that awesome?  I do love me a smiley baby!  Here's one more, taken today, just because I think he's so darn cute!

Vanilla Days

The last four weeks have been more than a little crazy, with not as much sleep as I would like, and not as much knitting, either!  Still, this week it feels like everything is finally coming together: nursing is FINALLY starting to work properly, Stuart is staying up until midnight to give Liam a bottle, so I can get more than 2 hours sleep in one chunk, the kids are finished school - so no more driving them back and forth for two hours a day, our basement is empty - so we have the whole house to ourselves PLUS the kids have a big playroom PLUS I get my very own "studio", I'm starting to feel a little less hormonal, and the family doesn't have to be afraid of me crying when someone looks at me funny. :0)  Life, eh?

Now, the Vanilla  Days of summer can begin - quiet, no crazy schedule, peaceful snuggly moments with Liam, and actual knitting getting done!  I'm working on a Lace Ribbon scarf as a gift for my midwife, and have just passed the halfway mark.  Hooray!  She's moving away at the end of the summer, and I feel now like I'll actually have it finished in time.  Pictures to follow, if I can ever find the camera!