Knitting Pharm

Stop, knit and breathe

Life around here is not quite as it should be.  None of it involves huge personal trials, just a bunch of little things that have left me not myself.  The mojo, she's left the building.  In the spirit of appreciation, here are the small things I am taking comfort in as I ride this blip.

A pattern that I can do in my sleep.

A cool stitch pattern,

that can even be added to a heel flap for the funkiest sandal socks ever!

A yarn that does the work for me

A very tidily [if I may say so] turned heel.

Out of province yarn acquisitions

Book previews, where my name appears with some quite amazing people.  [I affectionately call the author's list a "Who's who (them) and a Who's that? (me)!]

Hats that will bring comfort

And readers who bear with me, even when I take myself far too seriously.  Thank you, all!

June's Head to Toe

You blog reader types are an interesting sort.  When I fail to post, you don't visit.  [Smart, the whole lot of you].  I'll try to catch up, but you should know that my absence is not limited to the blogosphere, but also shows on my message boards and even (gasp!) Ravelry.

Here's what popped off the needles in June.  I shall skip the niceties of formatting, for fear they will crash Typepad.  [note to Typepad:  you still suck]

2 unbloggable pairs of socks, for testing, editing and the like

Monicas for 2 friends and one daughter

Pretty, pretty blue Pomatomus from a Fleece Artist Mill End

Sheesh, is that it?

One more darned try

Thank you for all of your wise words re. blogging platforms.  I'm trying very hard not to overreact, but since Typepad ran a major upgrade, I've had a hard time with posts disapearing.

Head to toe for June will follow (backdated, natch!), but for now I must bore you with the same project, with only the colours changed.

Like a certain Canadian treasure, I've been blessed with girl babies.  They're all I know, and I love them dearly.  Now that they're a bit older, there are more girl babies in my life, namely their sweet girl baby friends.  There is a nice balance at this stage, because while they're old enough to have friends, they're young enough that I can have some say as to who their friends are, a luxury I'm told I will lose as they get older.

This time last year, all of my girl baby friends were receiving felted backpacks.  The felted backpack of 2008 is not a backpack at all, but a ruffly little tank I can't seem to stop making.

The pattern, as I'm sure you will recignize, is Christine Schwender's Monica, from Knitty Spring 2007.  I made a pair of these for my own girl babies last year, but, as they have a habit of doing, my kids have grown and needed some new pretty knits.

Between a trip to Halcyon Yarns in the spring and the leftovers from a recent sale at Tangled Skeins, I had amassed 20 skeins of Cotton Fleece in many, many shades.  Monica is a perfect pattern because you can work a tank in just a skein of each of 2 shades, or just a smidge more for the body if your girl is a Glamazon-in-training as my beautiful Amy is.

Little time commitment + little yarn commitment = many, many tanks!

First up, for little Eve, in Terracotta with a Blush ruffle.

Next, for her big sister Angeline, in Raging Purple with a Blush ruffle.

For my pal Mikayla, in Candy Apple and Blush, with little ladybugs.

For my own firstborn, in Wisteria with a ruffle in Spryte.

For my baby, in Raging Purple and Wisteria, or, as she calls it, "Purple one dark one", I suppose to distinguish it from big sister's "Purple one light one."

It seems it's photo posting that is giving me grief, so please forgive the multiple saves if you've landed on this post from Bloglines more than once.  I will persevere.

This post was inspired by Heather, Ravelry name scrappygurlknits, who mentioned my blog and described it as a favourite, albeit an infrequently updated one.  For you, Heather, I'll try harder.

Post has been eaten. Twice.

Typepad ate my post

So all I have are pictures.

Anyone have opinions on Wordpress as a blogging platform?

 

 

In praise of Jen

You know those friends who love and appreciate your knits so much, you'd knit them anything, anytime?  If said friend requested you knit her a treehouse, complete with a tree to hang it in, you'd ask her how tall said tree should be and start scouring the 'net for knitted tree patterns.  You get the picture.

I have one of those friends.

Her name is Jen, and as well as being a lover of all things knitted, she also happens to be a delightful person and a dear friend, albeit one I don't see nearly as often as I'd like.

This time, her request was a simple one.  A knitted hat, scarf and mittens before next winter.  Brown, maybe tweedy, definitely special.

I found the Rowanspun Aran while on vacation in Freeport, and it screamed to me,  "Hey Deb, I'm perfect for Jen!"

The yarn was right, and I'm glad I listened.

First off the needles:  a hat for her not-small hair.  Le Slouch, with some added slouch, fit the bill perfectly.

Next, a simple pair of mitts, worked seamlessly in the round.

Then the perfect Irish Hiking Scarf.

Cheers to Jen, and to knit lovers everywhere.

Head to Toe for too-cool May

Pardon the backdating (again), but it's been a wild ride of a time.  More specifically, a meetings in the city - kid turning 5 - dance recital - barfed on at the walk-in clinic - trip to the ER with 5 year old - friend and son being baptized  - daycare graduation - birthday party at the hair salon - first night of summer soccer kind of time.

Do my excuses suffice?

It's also been a big month for stolen late-night knitting moments, so I've been producing, albeit at a somewhat slowed pace.  Here's what fell off the needles in May.

Socks:

• Broad Spiral Ribs in Estelle Arequipa
• Coriolis Socks with Garter Rib cuff in Seacoast Handpainted

Tiny stuff:

• Sweater and socks in Panda Wool
• Sweater and socks in Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino

Hat:

• Chemo cap in Panda Wool

In secret stuff, I sent a sock submission to Lark Books in May.  While it won't be a part of the book, they've had enough good submission to run a pattern-only sock club, and they want to use my design for that!

More posts coming, my sweets, I promise.

More borrowed words

 

Click the pretty book below to pre-order, or just to read and be in awe of Carol.  She rocks my socks.

Little People, Big (piles of) Knits

All around me, people are making babies.  Friends, coworkers, acquaintances, you name it.

Let it be said, I'm done with having babies.  I have two sweet daughters with the man of my dreams, and we were fortunate to have that moment of closure when we first laid eyes on our second.  We had our family.

That said, I still love babies, in a thank-God-for-vasectomies kind of way.  I am relieved that my Breedy McHumpalot friends are keeping me supplied with babies to hug and love and hand back when they cry.

And knit for.  Never forget that part.

 

Teensy raglan and socks in Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino Dream, Sugar Maple colourway.  This has been sitting in my stash since last summer, so it was great to fish it out and fall in love with it all over again.

Teensy raglan and socks in Crystal Palace Panda Wool, Basil Curry colourway.

And as I whip off teeny knits, I have two constant reminders that I am no longer the parent of a baby.  This outtake from a recent portrait session perfectly shows the silly side of my sweet girls.

Have a great day!

Letters from Daycare

I think my work here is done.