Dishcloth Dish #2

Okay, so I know that dishcloths aren't the most exciting knitted items to look at, but I'm actually quite enjoying them. I think I've mentioned this before, but I sort of love the crazy variegated colours that Sugar and Cream comes in. Maybe I'm just telling myself this so I can embrace the cheap yarn. Either way, though I haven't been living up to my promise of knitting three dishcloths before picking up a new project, I have been chugging along. Also, because we'll be going on a last minute vacation a couple of weeks before Christmas, I'll be missing some planned holiday parties, so I have a few less hostess gifts to knock off.


Above, another of the Banana Boat cloths from Lion Brand's Just Gifts. Every time I do this pattern I think I should be making it bigger, but then I don't. I do like the double coloured slipped-stitch pattern though and this one is a little more mindless than the Mason-Dixon Ball Band cloth.


Next, something called Kitchen Cotton Dishcloth from the good old Dishcloth Boutique. It's basically two rows of garter, then two rows of 1by1 rib. Easy peasey and textured enough to scrub.


And finally, the Short Row Dishcloth, also form DB. I like this one -- it was really fun to knit, but I refuse to ever knit another dishcloth with a seam. It's jut silly.

Book: Boho Baby Knits

Usually when book titles include words like "boho," "groovy" or "cool," they're anything but. So, I approached Kat Coyle's new book Boho Baby Knits: Groovy Patterns For Cool Tots with hope, but also with a fair bit of trepidation. Surprisingly, these knits are everything the title promises: cute, stylish and yes, really cool, while still being kid-appropriate. For years Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits For Tots has been my go-to for Ruby knits (mainly because it was gifted to me right before her birth and it's the only kids knitting book I actually own), but I think Boho Baby Knits has bumped it to become my new handbook for knits for my kids.

Like I said, the best part about this book is that the patterns are stylish, but not in that "my kid is cooler than your kid" kind of way. I for one could never imagine dressing my kids in the precious pastels that dominate so many of the more genteel pattern books -- these are for real kids who like to have fun. The book is divided into patterns that fall into various categories of cool: At The Cafe (which features a pretty eyelet skirt, a very handy nursing shawl, cute dolls and a boyish boatneck sweater); At The Bookstore (amazing lace fairy wings, an adorably over-the-top "poet coat", and a super cute knit picture book); At The Gallery (Picasso-inspired lounge pants, a mobile and, of course, a beret); and my fave, At The Concert (a honky-tonk jacket, Cheap Trick-inspired checkered leggings, and a band t-shirt). While there is some whimsy (I'm dying to make the Poet's Coat, but I doubt I ever will get to it), most of this stuff is really functional, which is a big plus.

I also appreciate that Kat has included plenty of boys' knits (she has a son herself), which will come in handy, since we found out that Frank will indeed be a boy. I really want to make him the Modernist Stripe Sleep Sacque before he makes his appearance and I think I can probably churn it out between Christmas and his March due date. There are also cute vests and socks and sweaters and soakers that are all very boy appropriate, plus a few skirts and dresses (not to mention those fairy wings!) for the girly girls. I really think I'm going to have a lot of fun with his book -- I just have to wait until my holiday crafting is over to really sink my teeth into it.

SPC: Wardrobe Week #2

I broke down and bought a maternity winter coat. I'm weirdly stubborn about not spending a lot of money on mat clothes. As much as I very much want this baby, I think I'm in denial over the fact that I'm entering the final four months of my pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Ruby (who was a February baby, so the pregnancy followed a similar time line to this one) I refused to buy a winter coat. I instead borrowed an a-line dress coat from my mother. Because of the a-line cut, it fit over my belly, but I felt ridiculous wearing this huge swinging coat everywhere I went. As I road the streetcar and subway to work I really looked like a Dickens-esque street urchin -- it was very silly. To make matters worse, I just looked large, not pregnant, so I couldn't even get people to give up their seats on transit when I really needed them. It was not one of my finer moments in fashion.

I was going to try to get away with sassy sweater coats this time, but I've come to terms with the fact that I now live in Calgary, not Toronto, and it gets colder here. Plus, as my friend Kathy gently pointed out the other day, even though I'm due mid-March, I will probably need a winter coat here through April and, ahem, I may still be wearing mat. clothes through the spring (she just gave birth to her second child a couple of weeks ago, so she's entitled to make such observations). So, I saw this number in the Old Navy maternity section the other day and I returned to the mall yesterday to buy it. Because it's Old Navy, it was, like, $50. Which means it's also not the warmest thing in the world, but it'll do. It's cute and the lining has deers on it. That's good enough for me.

See more self portraits here.

Spherey The Third

Oh, predictable me. A baby is born and I turn to the Jess Hutch book Unusual Toys For You To Knit And Enjoy. Again. This here is Spherey, the third, which was finished just hours before we met its recipient, a tiny little gal named Stella. I started knitting this for a little friend named Lilly, who was born way back in August, but then Stella appeared and needed a welcome gift. Since the colours worked (with Stella being a girl and all), off it went. I'm going to try to make Lilly a Dolly to send off before Christmas, since I don't think I have any Spherey mojo left in me.


And here's Spherey the Third with Spherey The Second, who is still waiting for his recipient to be born (unless the child is being born as we speak -- it has been a couple days since I spoke to the mama-to-be). I must say, that Jess Hutch booklet is getting good use -- did you know that one just sold on ebay for over $200? That's so crazy. But I ain't parting with mine. So don't ask. There's too many babies in these parts for me to part with it.

Cookie Confidential... Part Two

My cookie mania continues, much to the chagrin of everyone (okay, well, Aaron) around me. Since we last spoke cookies, I've whipped up four more varieties. The fact that I'm treating this more like an experiment than a chore is what's keeping me going -- though Aaron has told me that if I don't start doing other things like cleaning out the basement before our party, I'm grounded. Not really, but you know how these things can get when you're in a relationship.

Okay, again, I'm drawing mostly from the Better Homes And Gardens Christmas Cookie mag (email me if you want the recipes). I started the week with Lemon Cream Cookie Sandwiches. Now, I don't usually do sandwich cookies because they a) need to be rolled and cut b) you get half as many cookies as you bake. Since these are sliced out of the icebox, they were actually very easy. And delicious. As is my usual practice, I added lemon juice to the frosting as well as the required lemon rind, for a much more lemony experience. When I was a kid I was obsessed with lemon curd tarts that my Grandma made at Christmas, so I need a lot of lemon in my life this time of year.


Next, Coconut Lime Meringues. I'm not usually that attracted to meringues, but when I saw that these had lime and coconut, I couldn't resist. And they're super easy. And yum.


And then, moving onto the newest issue of Chatelaine magazine and drawing from their Cookie Contest winners, Cranberry Shortbread. Pretty straightforward: a shortbread with craisins and pecans. 'Nuff said.

I also did a pan of Coconut Candy Bars today (not pictured), which is basically a graham crust with a layer of almonds, condensed milk and coconut, topped with melted dark chocolate. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm anticipating perfection. We have a lot going on in our lives over the next few weeks, so I don't know if I can keep up the pace, but I still have about 10 varieties on my list, which I know I'm not going to complete. But I'm still having fun, so I figure I have at least a few more batches in me.

Books: Last-Minute Patchwork And Quilted Gifts

So, I decided to treat myself and order Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson (owner of the lovely little Purl yarn and fabric shops in NYC). Joelle's other book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts has served me well over the last couple of years and though I didn't love the other book in the series, Last-Minute Fabric Gifts (which was actually written by someone other than Joelle), the previews and reviews I'd seen of this new one looked pretty good. Plus there's a pattern for a Hillary Lang toy in here, so you can't go wrong.


I'm drawn to pretty much every single pattern in here (I love the birds on the tree hanging quilt the best), but there's one problem: I've never quilted. I know it can't be too hard, but since sewing doesn't come as easily to me as knitting, I'd really like to take a quilting class before destroying all kinds of expensive fabric. Of course, with a baby due right after Christmas, there's no time for that. In fact, I can't see myself making many of these projects for the next few years. But I'm still glad to have the book for inspiration, because it is really beautiful and full of great ideas.


With that said, there are a few little things I can see myself making sooner rather than later. I love the little pincushions pictured above and since they don't actually involve quilting, I think they may be a good place to start. Ditto for the tiny bird ornaments, which I'd like to try before Christmas hits (though, on a side note, due to some crazy circumstances, I'll be out of town for a full week before Christmas, drastically cutting into my Christmas craft time). There are some really sweet baby blankets in here too, which I'd like to try, perhaps before Frank's arrival. We'll see how far I get.

Christmas Mania

I swear I don't steer Ruby towards my all-encompassing obsession with Christmas. I swear. But look what she dug out yesterday and insists on wearing constantly, even though she can barely squeeze her feet into them. Her baby Rudolph slippers. She says it's almost Christmas time (could it be the constant aroma of baking cookies?) and she needs her slippers.

Oh boy. Also, as with most years, I'm trying my best to buy local/handmade this year, and while I've certainly poured some cash into the Etsy economy already, Ruby's gift from Santa will indeed be made in China. By Disney, no less. From the Princess line. I know, I know. Well over a month ago, Ruby and I were strolling through a department store, when she caught sight of this. We've since been back and Ruby runs up to it, points, and says "This is what I'm asking Santa for." Yesterday she pointed to the corner of our living room and said "That's where our tree is going to go. We're going to leave Santa cookies and he's going to come in and eat the cookies and leave my Snow White doll under the tree." The Snow White doll has come up in conversation at least a dozen times this week. And this is a kid who doesn't forget.

Luckily, after searching through three stores that were sold out of said dolls, I finally found one lone doll at Walmart (I know, I know). But it's part of the magic of Christmas. Even though it hurt to hand over my money to the big box people, I know a little girl who will be grateful to Santa for a long, long time.

The Lazy Organic

So, we started doing something a couple of months ago that has revolutionized our lives. And I mean it, really revolutionized. For years I've been toying with the idea of organic grocery delivery, but have always worried about the logistics of getting a big box of produce dropped off every week. I know that some services don't give you much choice in what you get, and while I like the idea of only eating local produce, Western Canada doesn't always offer a huge choice of bounty, especially in the winter months. Basically, I didn't want to be stuck with a ten pound box of onions every week. Anyway, we found a service that offers local and non-local produce (ie: year-round avocados!) and also does organic dry goods like breads and snacks and the like. Every week a big box of food (pre-approved by me -- no surprises) arrives on our doorstep and it's made me so much happier.

Less trips to the grocery store. Less having to rely on my local Safeway's terrible produce selection (they rarely have limes. Or zucchini). More organic. Plus, I feel like I have to use everything by the end of the week (except the long shelf life stuff like potatoes and onions), so it's forcing our family to eat more fruit and veg. Which is good, seeing as I'm in the family way and all. It'll be especially great when the baby comes because I'm pretty maniacal about only using organic to make my baby food, so this will make it that much easier.

See, our family doesn't survive on cookies alone. Honest.

Warm And Fuzzies

So, after much ado, I finally finished Veronik Avery's Short-Row-Hat, which appeared as a web exclusive on the Interweave website a couple years back. I missed this pattern when it first appeared (I was birthin' a baby around that time), but discovered it recently when puttering around on Ravelry. It's such a lovely knit and it was nice to truly challenge myself with something I'd never really tried before. This one's been sitting idle for a few weeks (damn that finishing), but after seeing Wendy's recently finished hat, I decided to finish this guy off. Here are the specs:

Short-Row Hat by Veronik Avery (from Interweave webknits)
Yarn: Ami-Ami Faith in red/black/white/camel
Needle: U.S. #7 straight
Mods: I found the finishing rather wonky, so rather than picking up 32 stitches at the end to close the crown, I picked up about 14 and knit two together until I was down to three stitches for the i-cord.


I love this hat. It was hard for me to get the hang of it, but after frogging the first section about three times, I just went for it. I'm not convinced that I got it totally right (I always had a few stray stitches that I had to fudge), but it looks right, and that's what matters. In a rare move on my part, I actually used the suggested yarn, which I had to mail order. Because the way the colours play out is so unique, I thought this was a good choice and while my colourway is a lot more varied than the one used in the sample photo, I think it worked pretty well. I think this would work well in Noro too. Wendy used Silk Garden and while she lamented that her hat turned out pretty big, even with the suggested yarn, mine turned out plenty big and I have a really large head. All in all a very successful project. Hooray!

Self Portrait Challenge: Wardrobe

Dressing a baby bump is hard. Maternity clothes rarely fit well, and are often super expensive. I found one store with lovely stuff -- but really, I am not paying $300 for a pair of mat jeans. Really.

So, usually you can find me schlubbing around in a pair of Old Navy medium mat. jeans -- and when jeans come in small, medium and large, you can't expect a good fit. Especially when you're working the elastic waist. Luckily, there is an alternative for me this time out, at least for the first six or seven months. For some reason, the young, thin ladies of the world are finding it fashionable to wear really loose clothes this season. Clothes that look like maternity wear. Clothes that you can throw on with a pair of leggings and pass off as maternity wear. Clothes that are allowing me to actually feel halfway fashionable.

This number is an H&M dress, not to be found in their relatively cruddy mat. section, but in their "junior trendsetters" or whatever they call it there. And, at about five months along, I still have a lot of room to fill out this sucker. With boots, a pair of leggings and a houndstooth sweater coat, I actually look kind of mod. Like a pregnant mod, but mod still. Thank you, young ladies of the fashion world for covering up your bodies so that I can show mine off in style.

Bye Bye Love

This week, we lost a member of our family. No, don't worry, no one died, but we decided that we had to put our beloved BMW (who goes by the name Remy) to rest.

Or, actually, Remy made the decision for us. He's Aaron's car and since Aaron went on a crazy road trip earlier this fall to buy a rust-free version of Remy in Phoenix (yes, Arizona. Yes, that's a very long way to drive a late '80s model car), Remy has been sitting idle in front of our house. The plan was to drive Jefferson (the new BMW) until the end of October and then store him in the garage. Remy would be our winter car, the one that we didn't mind getting pelted with snow and salt, since his poor body was already so rusty.

The problem is, Remy didn't want to be our winter car. He didn't want to zip around in the cold weather. He just wanted to rest.

When Aaron got back from Vegas last week he went to start old Remy up, the old boy coughed a little and then gave up. Since both the purchase of Remy himself and Jefferson has been a very contentious issue in our home (I'm not going into it), we decided that it wasn't worth the money to try and get him fixed. Hence, Remy will donate his organs to sustain the lives of other BMWs, and Jefferson will become our year round car.

Goodbye Remy. Even though I protested your existence, you served our family well for the year and a half that we knew you. Rest in peace.

Cookie Confidential... Part One

Okay, I know I'm three days late on the whole NaBloPoMo thing, but I'm going to jump in anyway. I've been slow with just about everything lately, so there's no reason this should be an exception.

I must say, November is an excellent time to blog every day, because there's so much going on. Christmas season starts on November 1 for me (mind you, just the prep. I'm not one of those crazy people who puts up their tree and lights or switches to non-stop Xmas music at the earliest possible date). We like to have our Christmas party the first week of December, so I'm already on the cookie train, starting with recipes that'll freeze for up to three months. I figure I have about three more years until I have to perfect a set of mom recipes that will be ingrained in Ruby and Frank's memories, so this year I'm trying to knock off as many small batches as possible, sort of subjecting my family and friends to a taste test.

I'm a sucker for those Holiday magazines that come out this time of year, so most of my recipes will be from those kinds of things. Being a professional writer, I'm pretty mortified of copyright infringement, so I won't post the recipes here, but if you can't track down the mags and are dying to try these out, drop me an email and I'll be happy to share. All of today's recipes come from Better Homes And Gardens 2007 Christmas Cookies mag (on stands now!)


Okay, first up to bat: Mexican Hot-Chocolate Balls. I'm drawn to anything ball or drop-like in nature: I am definitely not the kind of girl who has the patience for too many cut-out or sandwich cookies. So, these babies are simple to make and don't even call for a whole lot of ingredients. Unfortunately, in this case, you get what you pay for. They're basically just a shortbread with loads of cocoa, pecans and some cinnamon. They taste okay, but are a little too crumbly and despite being chocolate, Aaron gave them a thumbs down for being too dry. Luckily the recipe only yielded about two dozen balls (I tend to make my cookies a tad to big), so they won't be my main attraction.


Next, Pistachio-Lime Balls, which are pretty much the same recipe as the Mexican Hot-Chocolate Balls, only with pistachio and lime instead of the cocoa, pecans and cinnamon. For some reason, these turned out much better, possibly because I added some lime juice along with the lime rind to make them more limey. The taste is pretty unique and they're much more moist than their cocoa cousins.


And finally for this week, Strawberry Shortbread, reminding me why I hate rolling out dry shortbread and cutting it and watching my uneven baking either burn or stay raw. Ugh. These took me pretty much all day to make, but man, are they delicious. They're basically just a standard shortbread with some strawberry jam thrown in (and strawberry icing), but the thing that makes them is a generous amount of almond extract. Crap, that extract is good. And, since there's going to be a ton of minty and chocolaty and nutty cookies on my table (I'm already feeling guilty for those nut allergy kids out there... sorry friends) a strawberry flavour will make a nice addition.

So, that's it. I'm going to try for three batches a week... wish me luck.

Happy Halloween From A Little Queen

Ruby loves her queen costume -- though she won't let anyone call her Queen unless the crown is on, as the dress alone is not transformation enough. We did an early trick or treat at the mall this morning and we might take her out to a few houses tonight, though probably only a few. The good news is, it seems I have a kid who doesn't love crappy candy. I let her choose one treat to eat when we got home and after opening, tasting and rejecting a red lolly and a pack of sour patch kids, she finally settled on an Oh Henry bar. So far, of the limited amount of candy (and it is limited, I'm a super mean mom), she likes chocolate and caramels (and the odd tootsie pop) but dislikes cheap suckers, red licorice and most jelly beans. Not bad.

This Charade Is Over

According to my notes in Ravelry, I started these socks in June. June! Last night, after months of pretty much exclusively knitting these babies while waiting for Ruby's preschool classes to let out, I finally finished off the toe to my Charade socks. Hooray. Here are the specs:

Charade Socks by Sandra at I May Be Knitting A Ranch House
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Downey
Needle: US 1 metal Addis
Mods: none


These socks didn't take so long to finish because of the yarn or the pattern (I looove both), just because of my summer of doing nothing and the heat pushed the idea of wool socks to the bottom of my priority list. The pattern was super easy and super fun and I'd recommend it to anyone (I'll also point out that it's super free). I will mention that while Sandra is responsible for both the pattern and the yarn (she bought the same colourway herself for a different pair of socks and led me to the shop that carried it), they may not be the greatest match in the world. She did warn against using self-striping for Charades and since I'm such a terrible judge of how a colourway is going to turn out, I didn't realize this was going to stripe like this. Oops. The pattern doesn't show as well as it could, but since I made a bunch of mistakes (and carrying it in my purse caused for some weird needle-sliding and stitch-dropping), the busy-ness of the yarn hides my gaffs.

And I do dig how very fraternal they are. Same dye lot, but the red is much more prominent in sock #2. Since I'm keeping them for myself, I don't have to worry about anyone else not appreciating this as much as I do.


In other news, I just returned from my first ever trip to Las Vegas. Wow. We had fun, but man, I never have to repeat it. We (by we I mean me and the very lovely Aaron) did have an amazing and romantic dinner and went to a really campy showgirl show, but we are not Vegas people. I can still hear the slot machines ringing in my ears and I was only there for two days. On a side note, I'm never taking non-direct flights again. Or flying that stupid Ted airline. What should have taken three hours (and was scheduled to take five) ended up taking 12 and a half hours. I could have gone to Europe in less time than that! Gak!

Mmmmmittens!

When I somewhat foolishly bought Ruby a snowsuit a few weeks ago that didn't come with those snap-on water-proof mittens (I was swayed by the style -- unfortunately, it was a slightly higher-end brand that didn't feel the need to sweeten the pot with those handy robo-mitts), she immediately demanded that I knit her some mitts. So, to match the little hat I made for her, I used most of the rest of my Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (in the Child's Play colourway -- which I think looks way nicer when knit flat, thus avoiding those crazy stripes I got on the hat) to make these little mittens.

These are a non-stripey variation of Zoe Mellor's Bold Banded Mittens from my handy old copy of Adorable Knits For Tots. I'm not totally in love with the pattern, but it's what I had, it's what I've used before and it's what'll have to do for now. I am aware that I have not solved my mitten crises completely. These babies will do fine under Ruby's jacket on crisp fall days, but there's no way they'll work for building snowmen and ice skating and all that soggy winter stuff. I will have to cave and buy some kind of snowsuit material store-bought mittens. Until then, I have a satisfied customer, which is good enough for me.

Fit For A Queen

Well, I just alleviated one source of October stress. The sewing of Ruby's princess (excuse me, I mean QUEEN) costume is complete. I know this picture isn't the greatest (kids' clothes never look great on a regular sized hanger), but I had to capture this moment of victory. Hooray.

I know it ain't perfect, and a master seamstress I am not. Sure, it looks like a nightgown (Sleeping Beauty, perhaps? The Princess and the Pea?). And yes, the hem is a little too short and the arms a little too long. But damn it, it's done. I winged it and it wasn't a total and complete disaster.

As previously mentioned, I based the costume on an old Butterick pattern that was a staple of our family's Halloweens in the '70s. I picked up my copy at a church garage sale a while back -- the problem being that it was sized for a 10 year old. So, I glanced at the shape of the pieces, loosely followed the instructions and just went for it. Like I said, imperfect, but entirely suitable for a two-year-old. Even better, it seems to fit and should even fit over her coat.

Now I just have to make her a foil-covered cardboard crown. Oh, and one for Aaron, who Ruby has decided must dress up as her king when he accompanies her on her trick or treating. Pictures of costume on kid to come at the end of the month. If I let her pose in it now, I'd never get it off.

Dishcloth Dish

So, as previously mentioned, I kind of thought I'd spend a good part of my summer knitting up dishcloths to use as stocking stuffers and hostess gifts over the holidays. Of course, I ended up making about five (three of which have already been given away) and then decided that pregnancy granted me the right to do absolutely nothing over the summer. Well, with holiday party invites already trickling in (I know, really), I've decided that I have to finish at least three dishrags between any other project I start. And guess what? I've actually whipped off a few!

This time around I did another good old Grandmother's Favourite (all of these patterns, by the way, are taken from the Dishcloth Boutique, which I would highly recommend to anyone), which I won't go into detail about, since it's a classic pattern and I think I've already talked about it. But I did print off a bunch of other fun looking patterns to alleviate any potential Granny boredom.


Above is a little stitch pattern called Garter Lace, which I have to say, was a bit of a pain to knit with my sticky wooden needles and that stiff kitchen cotton. But I think it turned out pretty cute. And I must say, I kind of dig these Sugar N' Cream variegation colourways -- they're garish enough that I'd never use them for anything other than a rag, but they're also kind of bold and sassy.


And lastly, a cute little slipstich pattern called Chinese Waves, which was really fun to knit. I'm going to add all of these to the pile so I have a little pantry to dig into when I need something. I have another couple months to go (for the stocking stuffers at least), so I think I can actually make a substantial stock. I just love using my own knit cloths so much (I use them in the shower though -- at the dish sink we're sponge people), I want to share the joy.

Breathe, Remember To Breathe

It's been a bit of a tough go in these parts over the last couple of weeks. Between ultrasounds, funerals, potty accidents, news of illness among family members, taking on too much work, gardens to put down for the winter, trips to plan and that damn Halloween costume to finish, I'm spent. Aaron and Ruby very graciously spent much of the weekend out of the house (that Aaron is good for a long father/daughter bike ride by the river when I need some solitude), so I decided to work on something that would take my mind off all that other stuff.

I started in on Veronik Avery's Short-Row Hat, which is an Interweave web pattern that I think came out a couple of years ago (if there was a huge blogger frenzy over this one, I would have missed it, since I would have been having Ruby around the time of its release). This sucker really requires the aforementioned solitude -- I initially cast on during Wednesday's episode of America's Next Top Model. Big mistake. In fact, I cast on for this thing no fewer than four times before finally getting the hang of it. Even then, I made a few flubs, but I think I was able to fudge it well enough that it didn't throw the pattern off too much. I'll talk more about the pattern when I finish it, which could be years from now, seeing as I'll need at least another hour or two of responsibility-free solitude to get it done.


In other news, check out the doll that Leena brought Ruby back from NYC. I forget the series' name (Ruby tore the tag off faster than you would believe), but she's made by Corolle. We call her Susan. I love her.

Hats Off

First off, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadians out there. We had a lovely holiday. On Sunday about 20 members of my family participated in a 5K fun walk in memory of my Grandpa, who died about 10 years ago after a struggle with Alzheimer's. Then we dined on turkey and watched Ruby play with all of her cousins, which was really sweet. It was a good one.

Onto the hats. Thanks for your words of encouragement -- last week I managed to crank out two little hats, just in time for autumn to really hit. I did manage to finish my baby gift hat for my cousin's new guy, though not until the period between the fun walk and Thanksgiving dinner when Aaron and I brought Ruby home for her nap. Talk about down to the wire. That hat was just like the one you see Ruby wearing above, but it was pure orange and must smaller. There was no time to take pictures, but I'm sure you don't really need to see it to imagine a plain orange baby hat.

On her part, Ruby loves her hat, which is always a relief. The pattern is just the simple baby hat recipe from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats, knit up in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in the Child's Play colourway. I really didn't expect it to stripe like this -- I guess whenever you use LL, it's anyone's guess as to how it's going to pool. The finished result is a little too wavy gravy for my own personal taste, but it's warm and that's what really matters. Now Ruby's begging for a pair of matching mittens, which I suppose I'll get to soon. If I ever finish her Halloween costume, which is beginning to stress me out. Ack!

Shake It Up Baby

So, I've been feeling a little bit guilty about not knitting a baby gift for my cousin's new baby who was born in August. I'm especially feeling bad about it because it's her third kid and the third kid just seems to get so neglected when it comes to gifts, you know? But, time has been scarce and projects have been piling up, so six weeks have gone by and no gift. Bad cousin.

After finishing the Spherey for my friend's upcoming little dude/dudette, I decided to try Jess Hutch's Odd Fellow for my cousin's guy, since it was small (i.e. fast) and I'd never made one before. The problem was, once I started knitting him, I realized Odd Fellow is really really small, and hence not that fun to play with. So, I decided to stick a couple of jingle bells in him, omit the arms and legs (which were just too small and fiddly -- eight stitches on DPNs? No thanks) and voila! Baby shaker!

Because he's so tiny, I feel obligated to make a hat too. Can I finish that hat, and the hat for Ruby I have on the needles before I see the baby on Thanksgiving? Can I?

Autumn Harvest

I had foolishly thought that I'd missed out on the year's thrifting, since I spent the whole summer unable to lift myself off the couch. How very very wrong of me. At the very last minute I found out about a huge (and apparently, very well known) rummage sale at a close-by community centre and trucked down there with Aaron, Ruby, Aaron's sister Daniella and her girlfriend Erin (who were both visiting from Vancouver). Holy crap, we scored. Everyone (except the very patient Daniella, who was horrified by the crowds, but stuck in there without complaining because of her love for Erin, who is a compulsive thrifter) walked out with gobs of stuff, even though we had to fight hoards of other thrifty types to get it.



I won't post pictures of everything I got, but I scored big at the art table (the woman working there didn't want to pack anything up, so by the end of it she was just shoving stuff into a bag for me without charge), with finds that included the little praying children carvings above. On the practical side, a really kicky steamer pot (also pictured). There's also bear cubs decoupaged onto a wood plaque, paintings of prairie buildings, a velvet painting of a cactus (Aaron's choice, NOT mine), a ceramic cat, picture frames, vintage cookbooks and tea towels begging to be turned into aprons. I do fear that this may have been my last hurrah for the season, but man, it was a good one.

Spherey The Second

Hey, look! I finished something. After basically taking the summer off to lay on the couch and periodically throw up, I realized that I'm way behind schedule. It seems that almost everyone I know decided to give birth as I was suffering through that brutal first trimester, so I'm shamefully behind on my signature Jess Hutch baby gifts. What you see here is good old Spherey, knit up in Cascade 220 for a friend's babe due in November. I've knit just about everything from Jess's booklet Unusual Toys For You To Knit and Enjoy and I think, with the possible exception of Dolly, this one is my fave. He's just so weird looking. I love it.

I decided to start my long queue of baby gifts with this one, because I thought it might be nice to have at least one ready for a baby at the time of its birth. I have two August births to catch up on -- I think I'll still knit, but one baby will (hopefully) be getting a Thanksgiving gift and another a Christmas one. Then, I do have another kid due in a month to knit for, so I better get cracking on that one too. On top of that, I have Halloween costumes, winter gear (hats, mitts, you know the drill) and Xmas gifts... taking the summer off was not the greatest idea. With that said, I better run. I have a princess costume to make.

p.s. I forgot to add that yes, Jess's booklet is out of print. No, I will not photocopy or sell you my copy. I knit out of this thing a lot and I respect Jess's copyright rights, so I can't help you. She does have some free patterns on her site though, and there's always Kate from an old issue of Knitty.

Self Portrait Challenge: Bathroom

I know, it doesn't look like I'm in the bathroom here, but I am. See, we don't have a lot of art in our house. I don't know why -- we like art, we have a lot of friends who are artists, we have a lot of friends who went to art school, I think we have good taste in art... It's just not something we've invested in and it seems like we never have enough energy to get creative about hanging stuff on the walls.

Except in the bathroom. This framed comic has been in about five bathrooms of mine over the years and it's a universal hit with everyone who uses the loo. The kitsch factor is there, the vaguely queer title, the nostalgia... overall it's awesome. Unfortunately, if you've ever read any of these true love comics, they're not actually very good, so this one lives happily under glass for our friends and family to stare at while they do their business.

Little People For My Little Peep

Ruby and I were driving home from preschool today when I saw a sign that almost made my heart stop: "House And Contents For Sale." As some of you know, I didn't get to do much thrifting this summer and it's not often that an amazing estate sale hits me in the face... much less an hour after opening. It was fate, I tell ya.


So, inside the house there was a lot of ritzy, very expensive antique stuff -- the woman who owned the house had thankfully not passed away, she was just drastically downsizing (perhaps an assisted living home, I'm not sure, but she was mentioned by others in the present tense), so she was mostly getting rid of her vast collection of fancy stuff, not day to day housewares. But there was a room full of toys -- toys that were formerly owned by a man now in his 40s. Toys including loads of Fisher Price Little People.


Now, these kind of sales aren't usually of the bargain basement variety, but I did allow myself to spend about $25 on loot for Ruby. We ended up with a Little People School House and a family house, plus a mini bus and three zip-lock bags full of peeps and furnishings. This stuff is pretty old -- I'm pretty sure the school house is slightly before my own time (I think an older cousin had it at one point -- I'm more of the Sesame Street clubhouse vintage myself). And some of the peeps are wooden. Wooden!

Needless to say, Ruby freaked out. She has a couple old school Little People sets at the grandparents' houses and she has plenty of new school stuff, but she sensed that this stuff is special. And she's right.


p.s. We also got the wooden puzzle you see above. I kind of want to glue the pieces in and mount it in the baby's room, but I'll let Roo play with it for the time being.

Production...

... has been slow in these parts, but it hasn't ground to a halt. I spent most of the day trying to size and cut Ruby's Halloween costume, only to realize that it's going to be waaay too small (especially since I was planning for her to wear her coat under it). Luckily, I bought a truckload of fabric (it's cheap broadcloth and I figured since I was working with the wrong size pattern, I may need to make more than one attempt), so I may try again during ANTM tonight if I have the energy. Which I may not.

Anyone out there have an opinion on Gossip Girl? I think it may fill the teen soap void in my heart now that The O.C./Buffy/Gilmore Girls are all off the air. Aaron thinks it's weird that I need a teen soap in my life, but I pretend that his assertions that I'm lamely trying to deny the fact that I'm 32 are off base. It's research. For being a mother of a girl who will one day be a teenager. Because those shows are so true to life. Really.

Brand-Free Princesses

Ah, autumn is in the air and it's time to start thinking Halloween costume. As some of you know, the main reason that I got a sewing machine and started haphazardly and half-assedly learning how to sew was so I could make Ruby homemade Halloween costumes. I know... she'll never appreciate the hard work... in a couple years she'll start begging for store-bought ones... I know. But for now, it's something very mom-like I can give to her.

The pattern you see here is Butterick 6312, which I snagged at a church garage sale earlier this year. It's a classic from my own childhood -- my mom ended up making both the princess and the angel for me and the witch for my brother (though he demanded that we call him a warlock and had mom draw a moustache on his face). I searched the new pattern books for updated princess costumes but they all seemed too fancy/commercial for my skills.

When asked, Ruby said she wanted to be a clown for Halloween like last year, but I didn't feel like tackling another jumpsuit. I convinced her that princess was the way to go, but she's told us that she's not a regular princess, she's Ariel (from the Little Mermaid, natch). Since she's only two, I think she'll go for this generic number if we tell her she looks just like Ariel (or Sleeping Beauty or whatever story she's into by October). Hopefully by next year I won't have to sew the whole get-up with a red wig and a mermaid tail.

SPC: In The Bathroom

It's been a while since I participated in Self Portrait Challenge (despite being a contributor to their blog), so I thought I'd give it a go. This month's theme is "The Bathroom" and people have been coming up with some really brilliant shots.

Okay, I swear, swear, swear that this isn't going to become a pregnancy blog. In fact, I'm thinking about this pregnancy a lot less than the last one -- for obvious reasons. But I think this shot encapsulates my world right now -- toddler potty seat and bulging belly. That's what it boils down to these days. And I would like to point out that I am only three months pregnant and the bump is way exaggerated by the angle of the camera. You do get bigger faster the second time around, but within reason.

And thank you all who sent well wishes about our expected new addition. We're all very excited around here, especially Ruby. She's decided that the new baby is a sister and that her name will be Frank. And she told me yesterday that she loves the baby. Sigh.

In The Family Way

Okay, so you know how I've been not so inclined to craft/thrift/post for the last couple months? It's because I'm pregnant. Almost 13 weeks, to be exact. Expect a new addition to our family in March.

It's thrown me for a bit of a loop because I wasn't sick when I was preggers with Ruby (tired, sure, but not sick) and this time around I've had to instruct Aaron not to lock the bathroom door when he showers because I can rarely keep my breakfast down. Ick. I'm feeling a bit better now, but it's still rough, especially with a two-and-a-half year old wanting to use up the little energy I have.

So, that's why not a lot has been getting done around here. But I have been working on my crochet afghan and I did cast on a baby gift for a friend this morning. Oh, and I did do some thrifting on vacation, but nearly as much as I'd hoped. All I really ended up with is the apple tile you see above. I'll just have to cross my fingers that the little one will like the car and I'll be able to take him/her out next summer.

Home At Last

I'm home. And so are my socks! What you see above are my lovely Sockapalooza socks, knitted with affection by Fatimah over at The Knit Factor. Nice, eh? She used Fearless Fibers sock yarn in Midnight Passion and the pattern is Pembrokeshire Pathways by Brenda Dayne. Don't they kind of remind you of the socks I knitted for my pal? The pattern is different (there are cables in between the lace holes) and it's a different yarn, but still kind of in the same family. Thanks Fatimah, they're awesome.

And yes, I'm finally back from vacation, just in time to see the leaves start to turn on my trees. I must say, there's been much summer lovin' in blogland, but I'm glad to see this summer over. It's been a tough one. I'll elaborate as to why another day, maybe tomorrow, as I don't want to take away from the glory of my sock post.

See You In September

I really wish that I could have started this post with a show and tell of my Sockapalooza socks, but it seems that our local postal system is sloooow (something to do with a labour shortage affecting the sorting department), so even though my pal sent them over a week ago, still no luck. And I'm not going to be seeing them for a while because we're taking off on vacation for the next while. So, I'll be out of blogland for a couple weeks. See you in September!

Dishrags, Dishrags Everywhere

Okay, so I can't tell you how much better I feel as a human being now that the guilt of not wanting to work on my Mystery Stole has been lifted. I still haven't been knitting a lot per se, but I do have some dishrags to show you. I decided that it might be fun to whip some of these guys up when my fingers are feeling busy (but not busy enough to do something too heavy duty), so I bought a pile of cotton yarn. Here is my first set (I'm planning to do a bunch for Xmas hostess gifts/stocking stuffers -- yes, for me it is necessary to plan this far ahead). You've got your standard free patterns, plus the famed Mason Dixon slip-stitch one and a couple from the Lion Brand Just Gifts book. To be honest, I think I like the Just Gifts slip stitch (the blue and yellow one) a lot better than the Mason Dixon. Neater edges, I guess.

I'm surprised I haven't delved into the world of dishrags before. A few years ago my friend Leanne gave me a little stack of cotton cloths and Ruby and I both swear by them in the shower/bath. So, expect to see a few more of these guys in these parts. Plus, there's so many patterns out there, I have a feeling this might be my new addiction.

Kickin'

Wow, sometimes life is just so... life. Yeah, I'm having one of those days. But, to prove that I am indeed still kickin' here is a pic of my just finished Charade sock. The photo is purposely not super hot, so that I can do a more grand reveal once the second sock is finished. I'm loving the Downey colourway, if only because it's so unpredictable. Like everything else.

Enough

Enough is enough. I've abandoned my Mystery Stole. The charts are giving me a headache, I'm not enjoying the knitting and I hate the colour I chose. Also, today Melanie revealed the general shape of the final design and... it's not for me (which is nothing against Melanie or her designing prowess -- it's just not for me). Why beat myself up over something I'm never going to wear and probably never going to finish? We shall never speak of it again.

All Stuffed With Fluff

Okay, while the actual making of stuff has ground to a near halt in these parts, I'm still thinking about making stuff. And buying stuff that will eventually be made into stuff. One day. I swear.

My latest prized possession is this 1965 McCall's pattern, for which I paid more than I'll publicly admit (on ebay, natch). Here's the story: Ruby is obsessed with Winnie The Pooh. Obsessed. To appease her obsession (or perhaps to feed it), Leena pulled out some old Pooh Bear stuffies that she'd bought for Aaron's sister Daniella way back in the '70s when she was a little girl. Leena explained that they were made from a McCall's pattern that she'd never been able to find for herself. Well, the rest is history -- I had to take a crack at finding the pattern and making Ruby some of these guys for her own.

It seems that the small town ladies that Leena bought Daniella's toys from modified the pattern -- they're made of felt with the seams on the outside, as opposed to the original pattern, which are made in the more standard way. I'm not quite sure how I'll do them or what kind of fabric I'll use -- I'm just glad I snagged to pattern for future use. Does anyone else out there remember these toys or have any of them? I'd love to see other examples.