Category Archives: Crafts


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another baby knit

bsjfo4

Pattern:  Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann (Ravelry project page), from The Opinionated Knitter book.

Size:  Whatever size you get when you use fingering weight yarn. 6 months?

Yarn:  Regia Sierra Color sock yarn in color 5548 (blues and greens).  I really liked the way this yarn striped and Yannick and I agreed it would be equally cute for a girl or a boy.

Needles: 4 US / 3.5mm

Dates:  September 1 – 5 2008

bsjfo2

Modifications:  I had originally added a collar, as the photo above shows.  Unfortunately Yannick found that the collar made the sweater a little too masculine (in case the baby is a girl) and he wasn’t crazy about it.  I had deliberately not sewn in the ends yet, so it was a simple thing for me to undo the last bound-off stitch and unravel the whole collar to remove it.

bsjfo5

Notes:  As with the Pea Pod Baby Set, I am calling this project “done” even though there are no buttons on it.  We’re waiting to know the sex of the baby before choosing buttons, so this is a done as it is going to be for at least 10 more weeks.

As usual you can find this and all my other projects under the “projects” tab above, and my Baby Surprise Jacket page here on Ravelry.


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fo report: pea pod baby set

It took some gentle reminding (thanks Tara!) to clue me in to the fact that while I had finished some knits for the new baby, I hadn’t actually shown said knits.  Here’s the first one up:

ppbsetfo31

Pattern:  Pea Pod Baby Set by Kate Gilbert (Ravelry project page), available as a free download from Interweave Knits’ website

Size:  I knit the 3 month size knowing it would come out larger because of my yarn choice.

Yarn:  Bernat Natural Blends Soy in # 15005 – Rice.  I chose a neutral color because a) I like it, and b) we don’t know the sex of the baby yet.

Needles: 3.75mm

Dates:  July 12 – 16 2008

Modifications:  None.

Notes:  Holy cow this was a fast knit!  And really, really cute.  I would definitely knit this again.  Also, I’m considering this project completed even though there are no buttons yet.  I had chosen some really cute acorn buttons at my LYS but Yannick isn’t 100% sold on them, so we’ll be waiting until after the baby is born, I think.

As usual you can find my finished (and unfinished!) projects in my “projects” page by clicking the tab up at the top of every page on my blog, and I also have this project in my Ravelry notebook here.


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goodies

Last night the Montreal Knitting Guild was treated to an appearance by Molly Ann and Mary, the lovely ladies from Ariadne, here in Montreal.  They brought yarn to fondle, and they were gracious enough to give each guild member a loot bag with some samples inside.

 Let’s get in a little closer, shall we?

8 luscious little mini-skeins of yarn!

Frog Tree – Pima Silk (85% Pima Cotton/15% silk, 50g/140m each)

Lorna’s Laces – Swirl DK (85% Merino/15% Silk, 50g/137m each)

Estelle – Young Touch (100% Cotton, 50g/100m each)

Jo Sharp – Silkroad Aran Tweed (85% Wool/10% Silk/5% Cashmere, 50g/95m each)

Butterfly – Cotton (100% Mercerized Cotton, 125g/230m each)

Lang – Silk Dream (50% Merino/50% Silk, 133g/313y each)

Cherry Tree Hill – Cascade Fingering (100% Silk, 150g/608m each)

There were 2 of this one in my bag…not sure if everyone else got only 7 mini-skeins and I got an extra one, or if everyone else got 8 and I received a duplicate by mistake so I’m missing one.

One of the cool things about Ariadne is that they carry a lot of the yarns you hear/read about online but don’t often find in our usual LYSs.  Cherry Tree Hill, Koigu, Lamb’s Pride, Reynolds, Classic Elite, Jo Sharp, Frog Tree and Lorna’s Laces, just to name a few!

Not only that, but since Mary is one of the founders of Twist Collective, another fellow Montrealer, Kate Gilbert, came by to talk about the online magazine, and to give us a trunk show!  We got to see, first-hand and up close, most (all?) of the wonderful clothes from the TC Fall issue, and even get a little sneak peek at some of the items in the Winter issue.  It’s going to be a great issue, let me tell you!

They even did a little cross promotion, and in our Ariadne goodie bags we were given TC tape measures and a little booklet with advice on substituting yarns Ariadne carries for the yarns required in the Fall TC issue.

It was a fun night, and I even got some knitting done on Jakob’s costume.


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fo: clapotis

Holy cow I’m on a roll!

I took advantage of some free time between Thursday and Friday nights to finish up another long-lingering unfinished object.  I doubt I’ll get all my ufos completed before the end of the year, but even having some of them done, off my slate and project Ziplocks put away makes me feel great!

Pattern: the ever-popular Clapotis by Kate Gilbert.  I had previously knit an oversized Clapotis shawl for a young family friend with leukemia, and had always wanted a scarf version for myself.

Needles: 5mm

Yarn: James C. Brett’s Marble, in the Berries colorway.  1.75 balls.  I still really like the colors, although if I would be casting on for this project today instead of 2.5 years ago, I wouldn’t be choosing an 100% acrylic yarn for a scarf for myself.

Dates: March 20 2006 – October 10 2008, due only to my own laziness.

My Ravelry project is linked here, as well as on the page of 2008 finished objects, in the “projects” tab, above.

Up next: I need to work up a slightly different swatch to photograph for my sock club kit pattern, then I just might try to squeeze in a Hallowe’en costume for Jakob this year.


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freeing up the needles

On Sunday Yannick and I finally did something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  Jakob is already 16.5 months old and will have a little sibling soon, and we still hadn’t taken a child/infant CPR course.  I’d registered us for one when Jakob was about 3 months old, but each weekend it was scheduled, something came up that we couldn’t avoid, and we had to keep putting it off.  I’m so glad we finally took care of it, we both learned a lot, and it was especially gratifiying for me to see that some of the stuff Yannick would pass off as fact isn’t actually the case (or at least, to his credit, has been changed since his last CSST course 8+ years ago). *

The course was from 9-5 at a local hospital, and I had the feeling there would be knitting time around all the hands-on, practical stuff.  I debated bringing my current work in progress- socks for Robyn’s Robyn’s Nest’s November club kit…but figured it might be rude if I started spreading out my pattern in front of me.  I know I work, listen and retain information better when my hands are busy, but it might appear rude.  I mentally wracked my stash for some unfinished object I could bring with that had an easy repeat, or miles of stockinette stitch.  I was at the point of finding a new project to cast on when I remembered my Silk Rumple shawl.  Perfect!  A simple 2 row repeat made it mindless enough to allow me to look up and not have anyone think I wasn’t paying attention.  I brought it with and by the end of the class I was about 28 repeats short of a completed shawl.  I didn’t have the heart to put it back into the depths of my stash when it was so close to being finished, so yesterday, between Jakob’s nap time and a night to myself on the couch, I kept at it.  Now not only do I have another finished project, but I also have the weight of a long-lingering “ufo” crossed off my list.  (And Maaike can get her needles back, since those of you who remember this shawl might remember I had to borrow her 6mm Options needles, as they were the only needles sharp enough to get into the k2togs with the bouclé-y silk yarn).

This detail shows the simple k2tog/yo pattern.  The colors were accurate on my computer at home, but these photos seem a little dark here at my work computer.  Hopefully your monitor settings are better than mine!

The shawl turned out longer than I’d thought, which is a relief.  When Yannick brought me the yarn, what had appeared to be a single skein was actually 2 smaller skeins held together.  I knew that the tail ends of where the two skeins met would be the approximate center of the shawl, and was worried that it wouldn’t be wide enough for me.  In the end it makes a slightly skimpy shawl or a perfect scarf.  I am slightly tempted to pin the edges together and try it on as a shrug, but I don’t think I have quite the body for a shrug.  Luckily that is something I can do at any time, and in the meantime I have a very pretty silk shawl I can wear easily.

It feels so good to have another project completed!

Details:

Yarn: Silk Rumple by Fleece Artist’s Hand Maiden.

Needles: 6mm KnitPicks Options circulars

Pattern: Bias Shawl pattern from the yarn’s ball band

Timeline: February 1 to October 6 2008

All the info and more details/photos on Ravelry.  (Project link)

*p.s. to Julie, Jackie, or Debbie…you’ll be glad to know that the whole eye+spoon or mouth thing?  Balony.  Put a paper cup over the eye to keep dirt away and call an ambulance, no funky Mcgyver techniques allowed!


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Simple Mug Cozies

Update: see end of post for information about a downloadable pattern pdf

Finally! As promised!

The cozies were first shown on the blog here and here.

I designed this pattern last week as part of my cousin’s fiancé’s bridal shower gift basket.  I wanted a mug cozy that was removable, machine washable and dryable, and didn’t need ties, snaps or hooks.  This is what I came up with. 

The cozies have some stretch to them, but were designed to fit standard mugs.  If you want to make this cozy for a taller mug, you will need to keep knitting the plain section until you have enough clearance for the top of the mug handle.  Likewise, if you want to make it for a wider mug, you will need to add extra stitches.

Unfortunately, I forgot to write down my gauge and the gifts have already been given to the bride (who lives 2 hours away) so I can’t measure them.  However, I don’t feel that this will be a big issue with this pattern.  The nature of the cozy will forgive a slightly too tight or too loose fit.

Directions

CO 30 sts with 5mm needle and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist

K 1 round

P 1 round

K 1 round

P 1 round

Next round: BO 2 sts, k to end of row – 28 sts

You will now be working flat, turning the work at the end of each row.

Row 1: sl 1 st purlwise, p to end of row

Row 2: sl 1 st purlwise, k to end of row

Repeat the last 2 rows until 14 rows have been knit flat.  At the end of the 14th row do not turn.

CO 3 sts then k across the rest of the sts, rejoining the work into the round – 31 sts

P 1 round

K 1 round

P 1 round

BO all sts knitwise

Cut yarn and weave in ends

Update!

This pattern is on Ravelry here.

This pattern is provided for free above, but if you’d prefer an easy-to-print PDF version, I have made it available here for a very small fee. The PDF includes the full instructions, abbreviation definitions, an easy-to-read layout and full color images.

*Updated January 2020


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how it all went together

1 bridal shower + 14 days = 14 knitted and crocheted items. Not bad, huh?

If you’ve been following along then you’ve seen all this, but to recap:

top row- 4 Ballband Dishcloths (Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in White with Red, Rose Pink, Sage Green and Hot Orange)

middle row- Puffalump Limbo Line Facecloth (Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in French Blue), 2 Mug Cozies (Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Jewels and Delft Blue), and Velvet Oblivion (Lion Brand Chenille Thick ‘n Quick in Wine and Bernat Boa in Raven)

bottom row- 2 Reverse-Bloom Washcloths (Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Playtime with Hot Orange, and Summer Splash with Banana Yellow), Back Scrubber, Soap Saver Bag and Bath Puff (Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in White and Navy, and Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Holidays Sparkle in White Sparkle), Calorimetry (Bernat Satin in Florals)

Here’s how I put it all together as a coheisive basket. It was a “time” themed shower, and my time was 9:00am. I decided to put together a gift basket with a little package for 9:00am at every day of the week. I wrapped each day’s package seperately, and printed a label with the name of the day, and wrote a little message on the back of each label with a hint at the contents. The bride-to-be’s mother has her own handcrafting business, and the bride-to-be herself always comments on the stuff I make (not on the blog, in person), so I hoped I was safe in assuming that she would appreciate handmade items as a part of her gift.

Monday’s package:

To start the week off on a sweet note- Tim Hortons Hot Chocolate (a favorite in their household) and a mug with a mug cozy).

Tuesday’s package:

To take care of the dishes from the weekend- some dishwashing detergent and matching dishcloths.

Wednesday’s package:

To celebrate making it halfway through the week- French Vanilla Cappuccino from Tim Hortons (another one of their faves- and mine too!) and another mug with a cozy, this one purples (the bride’s favorite color).

Thursday’s package:

How do the dishes multiply so fast? More dishwashing detergent (in purple!) and matching cloths.

Friday’s package:

To remove some of the stress from the week- a facial set. Calorimetry to hold her hair back, exfoliating face scrub and face wash, and a face cloth. (By the way, yes, I know Calorimetry is supposed to be a headwarmer for Wintertime…but I like it as a headband).

Saturday’s package:

A kit to luxuriate in a long shower, get ready for the weekend, and pamper herself. Dove Go Fresh Soap and Body Wash, an exfoliating body wash, the bath puff, back scrubber and soap saver, plus an apothecary sampler kit I got her with an assortment of creams and lotions in a mix of scents.

Sunday’s package:

Hehehe. Sunday’s package is for 9:00am Sunday mornings, when her husband will be home with her…velvet oblivion, a massager and some vanilla-scented massage oil. The 302 Calories edible thong was supposed to go in this package too. ;]

I wrapped each package up in its own colored tissue (the background you see behind each collection of items, above), and when I was finally done wrapping, I had 7 little packages all lined up on the couch.
Ever trying to be practical, Yannick had been at Zellers that morning and picked me up a laundry basket to put it all in.
A quick “9:00am” label for the top (we were asked to mark our gifts with the assigned time) and I was done. At 2:35pm. Not bad for 2 weeks’ worth of work!


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and the rest of the stuff

My fingers are sore! I’ve been knitting like mad all week- here’s how the rest of the projects went down:

Sunday I was able to spend some time knitting while Jakob slept, which gave me a 2 hour block. I worked on the Puffalump Limbo Line facecloth while we watched Fools Gold, which meant we had a weekend of Ray Winstone movies. The movie was cute, but it felt like I was watching a Harlequin Duets book come to life, and when there were about 20 minutes left to go I had no choice but to go upstairs and get ready to leave…and I didn’t ask Yannick to stop it. I could tell where it was going, and it really didn’t change anything having watched it or not.

Sunday night was a lot of fun, my friend Maia was in a play from the Yiddish Theater, and a bunch of us from Jakob’s playgroup bought tickets, grabbed our moms (and some bubbies) and made a night of it. Because the show started at 7 we went for an early dinner at 5. I brought the washcloth in my purse and took advantage of the 15 minute intermission to do a few rows.

I was reminded at dinner that the following day’s playgroup would be celebrating 2 of the little girls’ birthdays…which threw me into a panic. I’d been making cupcakes for each kid, remember? So now, in addition to having one week left to finish all the projects for the bridal shower, I had to squeeze in 2 cupcakes…that night!

I got home from the play around 9:45 and parked myself on the couch to watch tv with Yannick and knit cupcakes. I finished the second one at 12:50am…finally!

I’d kinda screwed up, though. I always alter the pattern, every time I knit it. I don’t like the way the top comes out if you follow the pattern, it is too flat and round for me (does that make sense?) I prefer a top that looks more like a muffin-top, almost bloused over the edges of the base. (I also ALWAYS omit the first row of the pattern, after casting on I jump right into the increases, without a plain row. This is to avoid a pointy center to the base).

This is the first one I made.


It’s lumpy because I don’t put anything in but stuffing, so there is nothing to hold the shape of the base in where I’ve increased for the top. Still…it’s not bad.

This is the second one. See the problem?

It’s an artsy photo- trying to hide the flaws. I was exhausted and too tired to play around, so for this one I followed the pattern as written. It’s basically a tube with a round top. It’s cute- but not like the others I’d given. And also a lot smaller than the one above. And I was supposed to give them to the 2 girls together.
I didn’t have the energy to stay up later and knit a third…so I decided the moms could pick for themselves. (Let’s ignore the fact that I brought them on Monday and forgot to give them to the girls, after all that work and staying up so late!)
In a way I was glad I was still up that late, because no sooner had I changed into my pjs, taken out my contacts and pulled back the sheets to climb into bed- Jakob woke up crying. And I mean CRYING. It took me until 2:30am to rock him back to sleep. I don’t know if he had a bad dream, or if his molars are hurting him, but even in my arms, with a bottle at one point he was still inconsolable.
On Monday I finished the facecloth I’d started over the weekend: the Puffalump Limbo Line (Ravelry link).

I’m very happy with how it came out; I think it will make a great facecloth and has excellent scrubber potential. The yarn is more Bernat Handicrafter Cotton (as have been all the washcloths I’ve shown so far) and I think this one was called French Blue.
Up next was Knitty’s Calorimetry (Ravelry link).
This was a VERY fast knit, and I enjoyed it so much that I want to make one for myself.

I did alter it a bit though- my yarn (Bernat Satin in the Florals colorway) was knitting up much bigger than the pattern, and had I cast on 120 sts like suggested I would have had a headband that was at least 6″ wider than the head circumference…so I only cast on 80 sts, and did my short rows accordingly.

Calorimetry was followed by a Reverse-Bloom Washcloth (Ravelry). Using a 5mm needle meant that there was not enough in one 50g ball of the variegated cotton (Playtime colorway) to finish the washcloth, so once I ran out I switched to the solid Hot Orange I’d used for the Ballband Dishcloth.

Here’s the reverse, for those of you who like that.
And here’s another one, this time in the Summer Splash colorway, with some Banana Yellow for the center (again, all Bernat Handicrafter cotton).
…and the back…
Up next is one of my favorite projects, although I’ve only made it twice, each time I want to keep it for myself!
Can you tell what it is? By the way, yes, it is crochet, not knitting. (That’s why this is the “handmade by jennifer” blog, and not “wicked knits” like it used to be).

It’s a bath puff! As still more of the bridal shower gift, I made the bath puff with a matching back scrubber

The back scrubber came out narrower than I’d remembered from the last time I made it, but it was still cute. The scrubber and puff are from a 5-piece crocheted bath set, a free online pattern. (Ravelry link). I didn’t do the face or wash cloth, and I didn’t make the soap saver bag from that set either…I found it too frilly for the bride-to-be. Instead I did one from another pattern (also a free one online but I misplaced the link). I was told by my cousin (the groom-to-be) that their bathroom is navy, so I made all the pieces predominantly white with navy and white sparkle accents. (Seriously, if you ever have the urge to make yourself a bath puff, make this pattern! It takes only an hour or so and is awesome- I MUST make one for myself!)
Would you believe that I only finished that stuff by Friday night? The bridal shower was Saturday at 2:30pm, and it was already midnight and I couldn’t force my eyes open any longer. I banked on the fact that Saturdays are Yannick’s day with Jakob, and told myself I’d finish (and wrap!) the gift the next morning.
I couldn’t force my eyes open too early, so once I was up and had breakfast, it was already about 10:30 Saturday morning when I sat down to plan out a design for a mug cozy. My first attempt didn’t give me what I later realized I’d wanted (it closed with buttons instead of being seamless) but it did give a “gauge swatch” so I could make my second attempt practically perfect.

I knit the blue one first (Handicrafter in Delft Blue) then the purple one (the Jewels colorway).
The pattern is quick and easy, and I’ll be typing it up when I get a free moment and will post it for free here and in Ravelry.

So now it was 12:30pm Saturday. I had one more gift to knit, and I still hadn’t showered.

I really, really wanted to include Knitty.com’s 302 Calories (Ravelry link) in the gift basket. Really wanted to. But it was not to be.

I had the licorice laces, and I had the 6.5mm needles (instead of chopsticks)…but it just didn’t work. First I had done about 3″ worth when I noticed a hole down below where the licorice had snapped and come open. I started over with fresh licorice and was FINISHED…just “weaving” in the ends…when I found 3 other torn spots.
See in the center there? That’s one, there’s another right below it to the right, another right below it to the left. I gave up. I had enough for the gift basket without it (!) and I just didn’t have the time to spare to go for a third attempt.

I started wrapping the gift, which of course took longer than I’d thought, and had to force myself to go take a break at 2:05 when I remembered I still hadn’t showered or dressed. Luckily the party was only 5 blocks away from my house, and I wasn’t even being picked up until 2:30…so I rushed, showered, got dressed and hurried to keep wrapping.

I made it just in time…but is it any wonder I ended up with a migraine all afternoon? Still, the party was a lot of fun, the bride-to-be is a really sweet girl, and it turned out to be a great day. (It didn’t hurt that my friends from Ottawa were coming in that night and would be coming over for dinner, so I had even more to look forwards to).

Next post- how it all came together…


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so who did *you* talk to this week?

So. Yesterday.

It started innocently enough. Maaike was having a hard time with a pattern she’s knitting, and on Tuesday night she’d emailed me to see if I could bring my copy of the pattern to work so we could discuss it via msn/email. She’s knitting the Puzzle Pillow Blanket out of Meg Swansen’s Handknitting (yes, the Meg Swansen, Elizabeth Zimmermann’s daughter), and was stuck when trying to follow on of the directions.

Long story short, the pattern says something to the effect of “start at D, knit across to A, turn and knit back. You are now at A.” Well, um…no. No you’re not. You’re back at D. Maaike was back at D, and when I looked at the pattern I couldn’t see any way you would be anywhere but D.

Maaike Googled. I Googled. I checked Schoolhouse Press’ errata page. We checked Ravelry. There was no online mention of any problems in the pattern, not even in the blurbs of the 6 other people in Ravelry who had knit/are knitting it.

Finally Maaike sent me an msn message- Maybe I should just email Schoolhouse Press. I hear sometimes Meg herself answers the phone!

I offered to call for her, since I knew that while we were both at work, she was surrounded by bosses and coworkers, and I was surrounded by…Jakob. I didn’t think he’d rat me out. Maaike said she’d appreciate it, and since I understood the problem, yes, could I please call for her.

I called.

They have a technical line so I called that and told the girl who answered that I had a problem with one of the patterns. It was easier to say *I* was knitting it and had a problem, rather then to start explaining that I was calling for a friend. She asked which pattern and I told her, and she said “hold on please”. The next thing I hear is:

“Schoolhouse Press, this is Meg. How can I help you?”

I think my exact response was “MRPHG- *gulp* (remember to breathe) OH! Hi!”

Once I’d composed myself I explained the problem to her, and after a few minutes of trying to rationalize how it could be *our* mistake, she said, “Oh. Huh. Yes, I see…Hmmm.” Yup. It was *their* mistake.

Maaike and I had been expecting that, because we couldn’t see how we were wrong, but it was still a surprise. I mean, this pattern book had been originally published in 1995 and has been knit by lys-loads of knitters…how could we have spotted something they didn’t?

So Meg saw the error clearly in the printed text, then there was a slight pause and she said to me, “You know what the worst part is? Two days ago we received the 20, 000 copies of the latest printing.”

Oy.

I apologized for being the barer of bad news and she laughed, then she asked for my name so she could give me credit for finding the error when she would post the errata. I told her my first name, but told her that I had to be honest, and that it wasn’t me who found the error, it was my friend Maaike. I told her how to spell Maaike’s name (hey Maaike- I forgot to tell you that she asked if there were supposed to be any little dots or squiggles over any of the letters in your name…I said no…I hope that was right!) and after a few more short exchanges we got off the phone.

I was back on msn with Maaike in a flash- OMG Are you sitting down?

I was laughing and grinning and typed the story relatively error-free, and we were both sending smiley emoticons at each other.

Eventually we calmed down and went about our day, then a little later we started discussing how Maaike could best continue her project, as I’d forgotten to ask Meg for her opinion on what to do to fix the pattern. Obviously there were 2 options- knit one more row or knit one less row, both would end with you back at A where you should be. We were both leaning towards “knit one row less” because it was in garter with aran-weight yarn, and an extra garter ridge could throw things off in the future.

We were actually in the middle of writing an email to sent to Schoolhouse Press, asking for their advice, when my phone rang. I answered the phone in my usual work way, with the name of our store followed by “can I help you?”.

Imagine my surprise to hear “Hi Jennifer, this is Meg Swansen.”

To my credit, I did NOT drop Jakob, although I’m glad I was sitting down when I’d answered.

Turns out she’d called US back to tell us her opinion on what to do about the error, so that we could continue with the pattern! (We were right- the best thing would be to omit the “turn and work back” direction).

The most amusing part of the conversation was when she said to me how she’d tracked us down…apparently she’d Googled Maaike’s name and found her, in fact Meg actually said “I found Maaike Lastname”, which is amazing because I’d never told her either of our last names, and I just tried Googling Maaike and didn’t see any references to her last name, so I’m not sure how Meg did! In any case, it didn’t have contact info, so she said they realized that they could *69 me! (That’s when you push *69 after a phone conversation and it tells you the number that just called you). I thought it was hysterical that she tracked us down, and am amazed by the customer service, especially since a) I got to speak to Meg Swansen!!! and b) she wasn’t profiting from helping us, because we’d already bought the patterns.

(By the way, Meg is quite lovely and charming to speak to, and sounds much, much younger than I would guess her to be. She laughs easily too, which is a relief when you’re calling to tell her that there is a mistake in her pattern!)

Way to go, Schoolhouse Press!

p.s. I just checked, and the errata is up on their website! Click here to see it, with the credit to us and everything!

You rock Meg!


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happy mother’s day!

To start this post off, let me wish a huge HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! to all the moms, grandmothers, mothers-to-be, foster mothers, and anyone else who raises, takes care of or in any way helps shape the life of a child. We rock!

Here’s Mommy with Jakob at 50 weeks (not this past week’s photo, but the one before).

I still haven’t uploaded the photos from my camera from last week, and my head is still in a fog. Sorry!

I have been knitting like mad, but can’t show any of it. See, I’m designing the sock for Robyn’s Robyn’s Nest June Sock Club Kit, and while it is going very well, it is a surprise. I still like my original design, but I came to realize that while many people might say “hey- that’s cool”, very few would actually want to knit it…or at least they’d want to knit it, but it wouldn’t be the kind of sock they’d want to wear. So I pored over my design books and was inspired by a little stitch pattern in a book by someone you might have heard of. Barbara Walker? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I’ve been crunching more numbers than food this week, but things are starting to take shape, and I’m really pleased with the progress so far.

I can’t believe the kit is almost sold out! No pressure, or anything… 🙂

I do have some knitting that I can share, however.

Here’s the finished Marble Cabled Cardigan.

I’m really happy with how it came out. I knit the 1-2 year old size, and since Jakob is slim, I’m sure he’ll get to wear it even until next Fall.
Yannick chose the pattern when I told him I wanted to knit something with this particular Marble colorway. He also chose the buttons.
They are adorable, but a little heavy for the light sweater. I might have to change them.

Details: (from memory- so forgive any mistakes) The pattern is a pamphlet designed for the actual yarn. Needles are downstairs but I think I used a 4mm for the body and 3.25 for the ribbing.

Modifications: I reversed the cable on one side of the band so they would mirror each other instead of both leaning in the same direction. I didn’t do the hood, and did a simple ribbed collar instead. I did a one-row buttonhole instead of binding off in one row and casting on in the next. I’m pretty sure there was something else I changed but I don’t remember now.

Here’s a photo I’ve been wanting to take for almost a year.

Isn’t that cute??? I’d taken a photo of Yannick’s Mega Sock (Mega Boots Stretch yarn) next to the baby version I made for Jakob, but I always wanted to get a photo of my two boys IN their matching sock. I finally got one, and I LOVE this photo.

I leave you with a question…

My dad is trying to convince me to get these glasses for myself.

What does we thinks?

Does we likes? I really like the sides of the frame, and the side view. I’m scared to commit!
I think they’re too wide from my eyeball to my temple, but I do have a large head, and frames that fit nicely around my eye have the frame’s temple stretched sideways to go off to my ear.

So? I’ve taken the lenses out of the frame since these photos were taken, so I can take photos without the glare or designer name on the lenses, if necessary.