Friday, April 27, 2012

Operation Baby Shower

One of the girls in the Itty Bitty Knits group asked us last week if we could help her knit 40 pairs of socks/booties for Operation Baby Shower. What is Operation Baby Shower you ask?

In Pat's own words, "I belong to a Blue Star Mothers group (military mom’s support group) and we have the honor of co-sponsoring an Operation Shower baby shower in early July. The goal is show support for military moms-to-be or new mothers by showering them with gifts. Especially since many of these moms are going through their pregnancy without the support of their husbands due to deployment or job assignment. We are all excited and consider ourselves lucky that we can be involved and show our support to these new moms."

Pat said we were free to choose whatever pattern we wanted. Her only request was that the colours be red, white and/or blue. I happen to have a nice little ball of Tanis Fibre Arts in the colourway Cranberry.

remember this yarn?


I've also been admiring Patricia's (pattytrish on Ravelry) baby socks that she's been knitting. So I decided to use the same pattern which is free, a win/win. The pattern is called Little Feet Baby Socks by Courtney Lee of the Knitterpated blog. I used 2.75mm dpns and finished 2 pairs in 3 days. They were quick and they're so sweet! I sure hope they keep some little baby toes warm this fall!



In other news, it's raining today. Pouring in fact and gloomy to boot. I'm not happy about that. I had wanted to get some yard work done and rototill the garden. The weather has been all over the map lately from 30C to -8C with the windchill (all in one week too, how's that for rotten?!). I'm feeling a bit stir crazy. 


 I'm happy about these tomato seedlings though! And the pumpkins are up too!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Over Acheiver

Meet Ber. She has a blog and is one of those uber talented crafting mamas. Plus she has the cutest baby ever. And she's an over achiever. Yes I said it.











Over in the Itty Bitty Group we're having a themed swap, Hedgehogs and Hippos. So Ber, being a creative type person went and wrote up a pattern for a hedgehog dishcloth (that's the first picture). A free, easy, cute pattern you can find here.

But that wasn't good enough for her. She made a second pattern (the blue one). Really now, between you and me, that is plenty to brag about but our girl Ber doesn't know when to stop. She put up the third pattern yesterday and it's so cute it's painful.

So there you go. I don't usually post about dishcloths but I will post about Ber anytime...

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Cloisonee Knit Along

These are the Cloisonee Mittens by the Yarn Harlot knit on 4mm dpns with Cascade 220 yarn.

someone asked me if beer helps the knitting speed and I have say yes, yes it does


I was gifted this pattern by Leanne (thanks Leanne!) so I could join in the April Mitten Kal on the Itty Bitty Board on Ravelry. I didn't cast on right away because there are always so many things on my needles but when I did, they flew. My needles were on fire. I finished them in 2 days and I used stash and they turned out perfectly! I chose to make them to match my Harry Potter scarf, I think they work really well.



This is the kind of pattern that makes you look like a genius and it's super fun to knit. I like those. Enough detail to capture your attention and simplicity to keep it. Plus it uses very small amounts of the contrasting colours for the cuff. Great for using up bits (remember the kick I'm on right now?).

I have lots more Cascade 220 to use up and some other worsted weight in the stash that would work too so I'm planning on making a few more pairs.



I love making mittens, they're just potato chip knitting to me.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

little beginnings

I finally, finally got around to planting some seeds the other day. I saw this great blog entry and just thought, I can do that! So I did...


These are Big Beef Tomato seeds from West Coast Seeds. I can't wait for garden tomatoes, they're like little bits of heaven!

Now see there are still spots left in the carton?

Well first - I only had 6 eggs, so that's what I planted,

And second - I will fill those spaces, as soon as I can convince B that we should have another quiche for supper.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Scrappy Preemie Hats

Here is another project that I've been doing to try to use up some bits of yarn I have. Preemie hats are really great at using up those tiny balls of soft luxury yarn that are left over from other projects. I usually don't follow a pattern although there are lots of really great ones if you want to mix things up.



Here is my very basic "recipe" for a Preemie Hat

I start by casting on either 56 or 64 stitches (this all depends on how big your needles are and the weight of the yarn you're using) and I personally like a 2x2 rib (again you can do all kind of brims from the rolled to seed stitch). I knit the ribbing for about an inch or an inch and half and then just knit stockinette until the entire hat measures between 4-5 inches. Feel free to do a pattern or stripes or fair isle, what ever floats your boat. You have what amounts to a swatch really, so play around!

Then I decrease the top:
Knit 6, k2tog across round
Knit 5, k2tog across round
Knit one round
Knit 4, k2tog across round
Knit 3, k2tog across round
Knit one round
Knit 2, k2tog across round
Knit 1, k2tog across round
K2tog across round

Break yarn, weave through remaining 8 stitches to close hole. Or if you want an i-cord stem don't break the yarn, do another round of k2togs and place all 4 stitches on one dpn, knit an i-cord for an inch and a half, bind off. Tie the stem in a knot (it's supposed to resemble the umbilical cord but I think it just looks cute).

The little hats in my pictures are knit out of dk yarn so I used 3.75mm dpns. If I was using worsted I'd go up to a 4.5mm. The best preemie hats are the ones that can survive hospital washing, so super soft acrylic and cottons. I'm also careful to try not to pick any yarns that may cause allergies like wool, mohair, angora, etc... And it's important to chose yarns that won't shed as the fibers could interfere with the hospital equipment that help to keep these tiny babies alive.


So now I get to weave in ends. In my case, lots of ends... I think I'll find a movie on Netflix and sit down with a cup of tea tonight...

Happy knitting : )

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Odds 'n' Ends

Ok fellow knitters, I'm kind of losing it with my stash lately. I have so many partial balls of yarn and they all seem to sit at the bottom of my yarn bins and get all tangled up. What's a girl to do?

I decided to start a project based on this blanket on Ravelry...

photo by cauch09
I love the scrappiness of it and the colours are bright and fun. Then there is this one that also got me thinking, "hey! I need to make one of these!"

photo by Nasti
I decided to make a smaller version with scraps of worsted and dk wool and alpaca. I have a coffee table that B made and I love it but the top is scarred a bit and it needs a cover. I got a basket of all the yarn I wanted to use up and started knitting.

I got out my 4.5mm straights (haven't used straights in ages) and cast on 21 stitches. I did the entire piece in garter stitch and varied the width of the stripes and the colours... I did do one smaller column where I cast on 11 stitches and knit little squares using three colours of Diamond Yarn Luxury Collection Pillar.



I think the knitting portion is finished now. I have 4 columns and they'll work together perfectly. Unfortunately I have about a bazillion ends to weave in and the seaming yet to do. It's the perfect thing to take to knit night tonight though! And I got rid of lots of the yarn in that basket. I feel like it's a win even though there is still a few hours left to finish it up.


Monday, April 2, 2012

2012 Resolutions Part 2

Remember this post?

Well here's a little update to keep me honest...

1. Keep to my budget: so far so good... I always find by about month 3 I forget why I'm doing something, so I really need to remind myself what my goals are and why they're important to me... I think spring fever has hit and I really want to go on a shopping spree... I have to keep telling myself I have everything I need, I'm not deprived, this will pass, go for a walk Jill...

2. finish what I start: I can't believe how many wips I've finished! There are 5 complete projects from this little owl to my rag rug. I have a few more of the original pile to work on yet but I'm pretty excited about the progress I've made!


As for the bedroom reno, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We've stripped the wallpaper, mudded, sanded and rewired. The new curtains and fan are bought and the paint is ready to go.

Tonight I'll be vacuuming the drywall dust from the walls and sanding the baseboards. I'm hoping to get the first coat of primer on too (late night tonight, good thing I have so many podcasts to catch up on!).

I'm hoping to continue with the old resolutions and at the same time move on to a few new ones...

3. Exercise and Water: I'm a big lazy bum. Really I am... I need to get moving at least a few times a week (although every day would be a better goal). We have a beautiful elliptical machine and I have no good excuses for not using it. We're also getting a new member to our family (more about her later) and she'll be a great motivator!

The water issue is something I've been struggling with forever... I just don't drink enough water... I'm aiming for 4 glasses a day, that's on top of my coffee addiction and the tea I drink at night.

4. Meal Plan every week: This is another of those goals that I'm really great at for the first 3 weeks then I kind of fall off the wagon. I like to cook (usually) and my family likes to eat (always). I hate wasting food and with the gas prices going up all the time (and the grocery prices too) I think meal planning would be a good idea. 

I'm going through my cookbooks and tagging some recipes I want to try. There are also some websites that I use for inspiration and a few great blogs that I follow too. Right now I'm on a Super Natural Everyday kick. I seriously love this cookbook.

So the idea is to make a meal plan for each week and shop based on the plan. Hopefully the family won't get too bored and I'll be less frantic at the end of the work day trying to figure out what the heck to make...

So how are you doing with your resolutions? Have you had success? Failure? Any revisions?

Little Sheep Virtues

Happy Friday! I'm pretty excited to be sharing this cross stitch project with you all. Pattern: Little Sheep Virtues 1-12 by Litt...