wool explosion

Once upon a time I was addicted to knitting miniature sweaters. I really thought my knitting would stay small and repetitive, but something has gone terribly wrong. Here is a sweater for Sadie, partly based on the idea of the boat neck baby sweater from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits but knit without a pattern which explains its HUGEness. At least she'll get two winters out of it, and by next year that tiny ponytail might actually stay in her hair (they last about 7 minutes now!) And then if that wasn't enough, my good friend Elizabeth at the addictive Elizaboothy started the Swing Thing from Magknits and I felt compelled to try it too, so at the height of Saturday's windstorm Sadie and I walked to Knitomatic and picked multicoloured Noro for it. You can see the yoke almost finished in the left side of the third photo. The rest of the wool pictured is from a trip today to Romni; the rust Silky Wool is for me to try a top-down raglan, and the mauve Jo Sharp is reserved for Sadie, because I'm sure I'll figure out something else to knit for her.

I've completely lost control.

pink, oh so pink

Today, my Olympic news is a bit better than the Canadian Men's Hockey team. Pictured here is my completed challenge, fuzzy pink fringe and all. I didn't actually sign up for the Knitting Olympics, but I perservered in the shadows and finished my project with time to spare. I'm not crazy about the stripe effect; variegated wool is new to me having spent the last five years knitting with solid colours and the occasional tweed fleck for kicks. As simple as the pattern looked, I had to make adjustments so that Sadie's noggin' could fit through (though her noggin' might be extra-large, I have a C-section scar that would swear that's the case!) She's not wild about wearing it yet so I'm leaving it on the floor with her pile of hats hoping that she warms up to the idea. Yeah, right.

mouse nap

Sadie's nose is oozing unpleasant stuff but on the bright side she took a three hour nap this afternoon. After a bit of internet time I gave myself a stern talking-to and dragged my tired Sunday body to my sewing corner to make good on the time she was giving me. Under the spell of an old Cowboy Junkies album and a foggy just-before-falling-alseep idea last night this little guy came to life, snout and all. I've used wool suiting instead of blankets which means my stuffing job will have to be improved. I think mice have been filling my head since seeing Vicki's little squeeks, though I'd also like to get going on some bird babies in a fashion similar to Little Red. Of course I hope Sadie's nose clears up, but it's terribly nice of her to give me lumbering naps every so often.

(P.S. It probably goes without saying - my absolute first choice is to hang out with Sadie all day. The mice and birds, as cute as they could be, can't rival my girl.)

the games begin

I didn't actually sign up for the Knitting Olympics, but I did decide to quietly participate during today's Opening Ceremonies, and that's got to count for something...right? There wasn't really a way I could cast on at work so instead, I picked my project and grabbed the wool on my way home from work (I seem to be stopping in at Knitomatic on my way home every Friday so my winter knitting is definitely a full-blown addiction). My Olympic challenge will be the "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Poncho" for Sadie from the Yarn Girls Guide to Kid's Knits. It's not that the pattern is challenging but finishing it in 16 days will be. I also have a book to finish for my book club in the same time, though it's a completely different style of thing, and I'll need this pink and fuzzy project to balance the gore of Chuck Palaniuk.

little red

Better late than never - here is my submission for A Month of Softies. I thought I would take a break from wool and my usual construction methods and spend more time on the fabric. The first few lines of "Little Red Riding Cap" are machine embroidered on a few layers of linen, and I used a photo transfer and some hand embroidery for the face. It was invigorating - but also incredibly challenging - to work more freely...but I think I'll keep it up.

winter addiction

Is it the January blues? The post-holiday wind down? I just can't stop knitting, and my butt wants to be glued to the couch. So here are some finished projects - a mauve scarf for Sadie, some itsy bitsy legwarmers in a multicoloured alpaca and a pair of red wristlets for me. That would be me modelling a wristlet and then Sadie trying everything on (she prefers the legwarmers as sleeves - is she telling me she needs a sweater next?) I've almost finished my MOS entry, but a nasty cold over the weekend has delayed that progress. My other excuse for avoiding my sewing machine and being a couch potato is that Jay has a show in March at Le Gallery so I've been using the time after Sadie goes to bed to catch up on movies he would hate while he spends late night hours in the studio. Hey, no complaints here!

camera happy

The new camera is fantastic - I hadn't realized how much I missed the control you have with a 35mm. Finally I don't have to totally doctor my shots in Photoshop, they are good to go as is! For fun, I took a shot of one of my current knitting projects, a Louisa Harding lace scarf knit in Naturally Fur Merino, and the cover of a pattern book that I couldn't help but frame. Floating baby heads? It was just too great - and somewhat creepy - to file away. But of course I've been shooting a certain someone incessantly...so Sadie is included too.

learning curve

So I'm taking some time to figure out more template tweaks. I've put a new header in just to see if I could figure it out - and now that I have, it's back to the drawing board for something more compelling. Also we just got a new camera that I need to figure out, a digital SLR, so hopefully my photos will improve too! I'm such a techhie all of a sudden.

I have been knitting non-stop though, and enjoying perusing knitting blogs. Here is about 1 percent of the places I'm visiting: buzzingbee, knitfix, angryknitter, elizaboothy and my all-time fave naive knitting. As far as projects go I've started a Louisa Harding scarf, tried out double pointed needles, and almost finished Sadie some legwarmers...oh, and I so want to make myself a pair of these knitted maryjane's. There's just not enough time in this working-full-time-with-a-toddler girl's life.

slow to start

Finally I am getting to work again. There are a few knitting projects currently unfinished, but I feel like I have abandoned the Month of Softies for far too long. Above is a sneak peek at my "Fairy Tales" entry - what a great theme idea. So many possibilities, and only the time for one doll. I've also included a photo of my miniature work space; before Sadie arrived I had an entire room to myself and now I'm lucky to get this tiny corner of our bedroom. My sincere thanks go out to the Anonymous Baby residing over my table - thanks to his/her chubby goodness I have been able to make it work!

rumble tumble

Who wouldn't want a jolly game of Rumble Tumble in their life? Can you imagine a more wonderful gift? Great friends of ours - who totally understand what Jay and I dig - found this for us recently. I just love the illustrations and check out the doll in the little girl's arms! The game is completely intact and so simple to play. And speaking of these friends, they also spoiled us with a Camilla Engman calendar! Lucky for them, Camilla's "aqua in strawberry pants" came to live at their house and I am just dying to see and feel the little fella person.

I think next year I will vow to do all my Christmas shopping over the internet for only handmade goods. Anyone with me?