Monday, March 19, 2012

Ta-dah!

And here are the matching gloves for the Hawthorne hat.

I didn't get a lot of knitting done over the March Break. The first few days I spent down in London, and I spent most of my time with my lovely niece. We went swimming - she is totally fearless! We went down the big slide, and she had to go by herself. No problem at all! And I had to stop because the chlorine (public pools are the worst!) was bothering my eyes too much, so off she went on her own, up the stairs and waiting for her turn. She is such a cool kid.

We went shopping for her birthday. Sort of. I told her I needed ideas, so she could show me everything she wanted, but I wasn't buying. It just went on 'the list'. It's a good thing her dad has put in a new rule saying that for every new toy she gets, she has to give one up otherwise the house would be overrun!

We had a girls' night putting tattoos on (Disney princesses - ick - that made me break out), went to McDonald's, read together, watched Dr. Sheldon Cooper before bed and played with my dog. Who is only referred to as 'girl'. And gets dressed up, and not in her X-Men gear.

The Child goes a gazillion miles an hour. I was exhausted! And then, when I got home, I got sick. Of course. It was March Break!

So those are my excuses. As I say to my students, it's a Buttercup Situation. Deal with it.

Monday, March 5, 2012

ADD Strikes Again!

I brought home a crapload of marking this weekend. I fell really far behind because of report cards and then being sick.

So what did I do to avoid work? I knit a new hat! It's Hawthorne from Twist Collective, and I'm dying to cast on for the matching fingerless gloves now too. I did it in a lovely variegated yarn from Classic Elite - Liberty Wool.

Unfortunately, when I was blocking it I stretched out the ribbing too much! I tried reblocking but it didn't make a difference. I'll have to sew in a piece of elastic thread. Because other than that, I'm loving this hat! This picture really doesn't do the colours justice. I'll have to bring my real camera home to take another picture.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Wee Baby Things!

Whenever I knit things for friends having babies, the finished objects always seem unbelievably tiny to me. I remember doing things for my niece, and taking them down to London when she was born. She was the first baby I ever had any real contact with, and all those tiny little handknit things I made were too huge for her to wear right away! I was shocked.

Now I know a little better. Even when I knit things that are supposed to be 'newborn' size, I know that the child in question won't be able to wear it for a few months, at least. Maybe I should try knitting preemie sizes for the next one!



These are for my friend Heather, expecting her first any day now. Since they'll be worn in the spring, I went with a lovely new leaf green shade, with bug buttons!






This is a Debbie Bliss pattern, from her Step-by-Step book, done in her EcoBaby cotton yarn, which was a joy to work with. I'd use it again.







I had a fair bit left over, so I whipped up this 'Leafy Baby' hat. There are mittens with the pattern as well, but I only did the had. And sewed on a ladybug for added cuteness!


And last, but oh so NOT least, these amazing little baby Chucks!! Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen? Heather & her husband Pat are funky people, so The Kid will require funky clothing. This is to set him/her on the road to funk. They seem impossibly tiny to me, but hey, what do I know?