We would never, ever give birth without our trusty doula at our side. We love her and have had two beautiful birth experiences with her assistance. Here is the scarf I finally finished for her.
Pattern: Silk Lace Scarf from the SnB 2007 calendar (January)
Yarn: Lisa Souza silk in “Wild Things”
Needles: I forgot. 8?
Love, love, love this scarf.
I feel like I’ve been finishing things up like crazy lately but not posting much about them. You all think I’m more creative than I really am. It is, alas, just a hat. But a cute hat:
Pattern: Sweet Baby Cap
I also made mittens using Ann Budd’s book of patterns.
Yarn: Mountain Colors Twizzle in Sweet Pea.
Needles: Size three, although the yarn calls for 4-6. I wanted it tight for winter wear. I also didn’t get gauge, so I think I knit the 6mo pattern to get it to fit a toddler. I’ll have to go back and measure. I did have to stretch it a bit as well. I’d knit it larger next time, but it works.
I cannot say enough good things about this yarn… soft, beautiful colors that just shine. I can’t believe I’m giving it to a toddler who will (1) get them muddy (2) lose them (3) refuse to wear them.
Here’s the practical picture so you can actually see in it focus:
Excuse the lame towel in the background. I was in a hurry and it’s all I could find to get it to stand out from the woodwork. I do have more to post about buy Mystery is starting. How I do love Inspector Linley…
Filed under hats, knitting, mittens/gloves
I have the lovely Mrs. Pao as my swap partner! Here are my questions:
QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? Whole bean
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? I probably should mix in some decaf since caffiene keeps me up more these days than it used to, but I still love it fully loaded. Decaf just never tastes the same
3. Regular or flavored? Definitely regular. I used to like flavors like hazelnut or vanilla, but my MIL is on a flavored coffee kick, and since that last batch of cranberry (yes, cranberry!) flavored coffee I vowed to never drink flavored again
4. How do you drink your coffee? In the mornings, black and very strong. Afternoons I like a latte or cafe au lait.
5. Favorite coffee ever? This is tough….I’d say Peace Coffee is my favorite brand. Darker roasts.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? Yeah, I’m pretty fussy. I typically buy fair trade, organic, or from small local roasters. I’m terrible at actually remembering the blends and roasts that I like. I always forget what kind I buy.
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate…all kinds!Baked good are always nice too.
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? Don’t think so, except that I would love a magic spell that would keep my boys quietly happy for at least ten minutes every morning so I could drink my coffee really, really hot:-)
9. Yarn/fiber you love? Handpainted sock yarn, Malabrigo, Manos, any natural fibers. I especially love local/online or smaller dyers and yarn companies, stuff that I can’t find in the shops around here is always a nice surprise.
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Acrylics, froo-frooish/fluffy stuff
11. What’s on your needles? A lot of socks, Leaf sweater, . Wow, I need to update my pictures, I don’t even have half this stuff on the blog now.
12. Favorite colors? Just about everything except pastels, although I do love pink. I’m on a big red/turquoise kick. I’ve also really been digging green and orange lately. But really, I love it all: earthy, bright, jeweled, tweedy, muted. It’s all good. But I do hate pink and purple together. That one is so so, not good (unless you are a nine year old girl:-)!
13. Allergies? Nope
14. Anything you really love, really don’t like, or just need to get off your chest. Actually, today, no, today is good. Apparently, I am a “silly, pooper doupa liar touka” because I don’t let four year olds watch football on lovely fall days when they should be outside.
Filed under swaps
Anyone sad they missed the Coffeeswap sign ups? Guess what, you still have one tiny chance as we need one more swapper to make it even. (Seriously, when will I learn to count?) Head here for the scoop and be the first to e-mail in your info to get that spot.
FILLED! 🙂
Well, it’s Coffeeswap time again. The swap is closed but I’m buried in swap business right now, so things will be a bit quiet here until I get the partners all matched up and sent out.
I’ll have lots to share as soon as I’m caught up with the swap. Here’s a teaser:
Any guesses?
Filed under swaps
The randomizer says:
15, 9, 17
which means our winners are, going in order of entry…..
Graymama!!! Choose between the Spunky Eclectic or the Fleece Artist!
Nuttnbunny!!! Lovely Cherry Tree Hill for you!
Octopus Knits Beautiful handspun from Jess!!
Please e-mail me at knittymama AT yahoo DOT com with your snail mail and Jess and I will send out the prizes. Many thanks again to Jess as well. Not only did she donate yarn, but she donated to the fund as well, so head over to her blog and give her a big cyberhug.
All in all, we had 19 entries and raised $285!!! You guys all rock. Thank you for your generosity and your big hearts. I wish I had yarn to give all of you!!!
Filed under contests
I will open up Knitters’ Coffee Swap Three at 12:01am Central Time.
I’ll also announce our three Sow the Seeds winners tomorrow night! Thanks again for all the donations! You guys really do rock…
Wow, we’re getting there!! You have a mere two days left to get your contest entry in and have the chance to win some beautiful handspun from Jess, some Cherry Tree Hill, Spunky Eclectic or Fleece artist. Now, I know you don’t want to pass that up, right? $5, $10, $20, $50….whatever you can give, every dollar is helpful to those wonderful farmers. Help keep a small farmer in business and win some yarn. See sidebar for details. You’ve got until midnight Saturday (central time) to get in on the goods. Now go and sow those seeds!!
I should get a job for public radio.
Knitting, you’re here for knitting, right?? Okay, I’ve got knitting.
I present the Embossed Leaves Socks:
You may all collectively “oooohhhh” at them right now.
Yeah, I know. I didn’t block them yet.
The stitch pattern is a bit lost in the yarn, but I still love them. They are the most comfortable and best fitting socks I’ve knit. The toe is incredible and I might knit them like this always: circular decreases, no kitchener stitch, lots more room for my toes to wiggle around in. But I forgot to take a close up. Bummer.
I dig the garter stitch edging on the heel. I did use reinforcement thread to protect this precious yarn.
The details:
Yarn: Louts Toes in the Chocolat Cheries colorway, by Zen String. I notice she has a sale right now…..
Needles: size two, Clover double points
Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Favorite Socks.
Comments: Easy lace pattern. I highly recommend this one!!
Have a great weekend everyone. Remember, the coffeeswap opens up Monday. I’ll post a link to the new blog on Sunday.
So this is the final week for the Sow the Seeds fundraising contest, and have I got a treat for you!!
Jess has very generously offered up a couple of more prizes to the choices. Look what we have here!!!
The first is a skein of her very own handspun, the second is Cherry Tree Hill. Add that to the choice of either Spunky Eclectic or Fleece Artist that I originally offered and now we’ll have three winners!!!
Remember, all the contest info is over on the sidebar. I’m hoping we can get to at least $300 to help out our farmers. The final day to donate and enter is September 29th. Every dollar makes a difference and gets you an entry for some lovely yarn. And don’t forget to spread the word!
In other news, Knitters’ Coffeeswap Three will be opening up on October first. I’m off to set up the new blog after this post, so I’ll put up the link once it’s ready. I’ve decided to have some hostess help this time. The last swap was just too overwhelming and a lot of work, but I know how much people have enjoyed it so I’d like to keep it going. Keep your eyes open and be ready to sign up. I expect that between the five of us we’ll take about 120 swap members, and those spots will go fast!
I’m so bummed, I had a great sock/hat photoshoot this weekend with Knittybaby and my camera connector is nowhere to be seen, so until I figure out which certain small person has taken it I can’t show you my now completed Embossed Leaves socks.
Did I mention that I picked up this book? Wrap Style and Lace Style didn’t jump out at me as much as Folk Style has. I think it’s the colors; they are just amazing and so beautifully put together. There is also a lot of interesting colorwork, embroidery and embellishments.
As for the patterns, I love the Urban Hand Warmers and the Grand Tour Waistcoat. There are some great kids knits: some very cute mukluks and a couple of nice sweaters, and are you ready for this? A baby sling!
I’m smitten with the idea of a knit baby sling, although I’m not sure how practical it is. If you were going to knit a baby carrier, I think a pouch would be much more practical than a sling. In order for a sling to work smoothly you need the fabric to slip easily through the rings so you can tighten and loosen it up. Plus, they should have used a model that actually knows how to carry a baby in a sling. She’s just sort of holding the baby in the sling rather than letting the sling do the work, so you can’t tell how well it holds. I don’t know…anyone ever knit a baby carrier?
So after years of the Skeptic shaking his head at all the pictures of stash, studios, knitting needles and other online fiber goodness, do you know what I caught him looking at tonight?
No, it’s not knitting, but it is equally geeky as knitblogging can be. Basically, it’s pages and pages of woodworkers taking detailed and pictures of their shops with explanations of each picture. I post this as proof that I am not the only one with crafty geek tendencies in this household.
I was going to post on the hat that I am making, but the Skeptic has our Netflix all cued up with a hot pot of tea, so I’ll run for tonight.
Contest update on the sidebar! Keep ’em coming!!!!
Filed under family
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