Request for Opinions...

I'm knitting something for a little girl. She is 8 months old now, so I'm looking to make something a bit bigger than she is, say 12 - 18 month size. I've got a silly number of projects to complete before Christmas, so a quick knit is a necessity. Knitting from stash would be good too!

With those criteria in mind, do you prefer:

Vogue Weekend Knits Mohair Sweater...



I'd probably make it from some mohair that I have. It's a barely there cream colour. I like the teeny pearl buttons, but I'm not too sure about the little bows. If it needs some embellishment, I might be inclined to dot a few more of the pearl buttons on the sweater body.




Being classified as a "weekend knit" the probability is high that I would complete this project pre-Christmas. On the downside, it would be a special occasion sweater only, because it is fussy and fuzzy!


My other choice is a duffle coat. It's from Zoe Mellor's Double Knits. I'm thinking that it will take longer with the seed stitch, but I'm not how much longer, since the overall project is still small. (Unlike a lot of kids stuff, it calls for a 4.5 mm needle, so that isn't too finicky.)



I'd make the duffle coat in one of the two yarns below. They are slightly different weights, so a gauge swatch for each would make the final choice. The colours are not reproduced that accurately. The blue yarn, Paton's Maya, is a light blue with pink slubs. Much nicer seen in person. The lavender yarn is a Sirdar Chunky Kool Kids yarn. It is a powdery lavender with multi-coloured pastel slubs.




Ok, which one should I make? Your opinions are appreciated!!

WARNING: GRATUITOUS CUTE PUP PICTURE AHEAD!

Gilly konked out on the sofa tonight. She fell asleep on her hand, just like her dad!

Two More Finished Objects!

Ok, we're on a roll now...



Two more finished Flower Power Bags!



And in more recent knitting....



This snarly mess is the makings of four different Perfect Pouches, ready for seaming and then felting.


Ok, once this is done, one more Flower Power Bag, one Poncho and something for a toddler, a little girl. (any suggestions? obviously time is an issue here since I'm racing Christmas)

Finished Objects Alert!

Packed up and ready to go...just in time for Christmas!

Three more Flower Power Bags!



Lined with magnetic snaps!



And a black on black Perfect Pouch. (not that you can see much detail! LOL)



OK, only 7 more finished objects needed by Christmas (assuming I don't give anyone on MY list knitted prezzies!)

A Present for Me!!

Lookie what my SP sent me! Sorry the pretty wrapping paper didn't survive eager little helping hands, but you can see the lovely greeting card!



Photography isn't my long suit, so I'll describe my haul!

A copy of Vogue Weekend Knits...I love it! Lots of fun (and hopefully fast) stuff. I'm already thinking about variations on the Mission Falls Baby Blanket and Aran Baby cap!

A hand-made chenille flower-shaped facecloth (I think I recognize this from Melanie Fallick's Weekend book!) Now if I only had some...

Handmade fruity soaps! Strawberry and Apricot based combinations...suitable for a long relaxing soak while sipping...mulled wine!

Some spices in a neat little bag with a cork attached for mulling wine or cider...(ok, wine...who am I kidding with the cider silliness)


A ball of something really fun! Black "ladder" type yarn with small squares of colour as the "rungs"...bronzes, golds, coppers...colours for a red-head! Ooh! I just noticed, the facecloth colours are co-ordinated with this yarn! Hmmmm....

You can't really see it in the picture, but it looks similar to Bernat's Matrix. Closest to the copper and natural colour ways! Even the nicer picture doesn't do the colour or texture justice. Wonder if there is anyway to combine this with the Safari tape ribbon that I picked up last month? They are both similar colours, but their textures are so different and distinctive...Hmmmm



A small, decorative planter! Ok, I've lost this one. Clare noticed that the planter is almost an identical shade of yellow to her bedroom and wouldn't it be nice to be able to put some flowers (more likely a small stuffie) in it as a decoration. Fortunately, Daddy is home this weekend for nail hammering duties.

Still, most of the stuff is UNSHAREABLE with children. (Not to sound terribly selfish, but in a household where closing the bathroom door is a rare privilege, privacy and sole ownership are cherished!)

Thank you, merci, gratias, danke Secret Pal!

And on another happy note, I have moved through yet another stage of my life. No, not that life change. I have completed the Loopy Coat. Just to make sure that I didn't loop just a little bit more on it (like the entire collar), I dropped it off at Haley's KNITOMATIC Stitch N Bitch last night.

Haley suggested that perhaps "looping" was my calling. I believe that is Haley-speak for "seek profession help with all possible haste". Against the better judgment of all, I'm trying to design another "loop-based" project to be completed after the Christmas gift crunch. Restrained looping is the key here. (Something about that statement just smacks of a recovering alcoholic pondering resuming "social drinking".)



Lest you are thinking..."hey, she isn't a redhead" the model is one of Gillian's therapists, Melissa. I'm not much of a photographer, so I figured the garment stood a better chance of looking nice draped over a 20-something, size 2 model than over a ...well...20 and then some, size 2 and then some me!

Well, that's it for now. I hope to complete at least the first shipment of Flower Power Bags (one each in pink, blue and green) over the weekend for mailing on Monday. Still lots of time for Christmas delivery, right?

Happy Weekend!

Lest We Forget...

Ding, Ding, Ding...We have a winner!

It's a button hook! Doh!

Thanks Grace!

BTW, I'm still interested in hearing from you if you do peek at this blog!

Bits and Pieces

It's funny how many worldly possessions you accumulate during a lifetime.

My husband's mother passed away recently and he and his siblings have been emptying out her house in preparation to sell it. Ian brought home my MIL's small cache of knitting supplies. (My MIL, it should be known, was not really a knitter. She made one child's sweater in recent years. Prior to that, her most recent FO was a sweater pictured in Seventeen magazine for my now "back-end 30's" SIL. As a knitter, prolific she was not.)

These are front panels from a cardigan that she knit for my nephew (her only grandson) when he was 2. I know that she completed the cardigan, so I'm guessing that she had gotten this far when she had a change of heart regarding size and opted to begin again.



Oldtimers like me will recognize the then popular Mary Maxim "toy soldier" cardigan for little boys. She had originally purchased the pattern to make cardigans for my DH and his older brother in the early 60's.

The sweater is knit mostly out of unknown Lopi (I can't find a ball band anywhere, but I'm guessing that it's vintage) with cardinal accents in Patons Shetland Chunky. More odds and bits for my modest stash.




On a lighter note, I did find this charming knitting magazine! If you look closely, there is a picture on the cover of golf club covers knit in ecru and kelly green and held together with a chain-stitch cord!! Gotta whip me up some of those for Christmas prezzies!





Fellow Canucks will appreciate this contribution from MIL's stash... The Beehive "Innovation" sock, designed especially for the Canadian National Exhibition!

Note: "Grandstand" and "Midway" variations are available.

This is an interesting sock pattern in that it requires only 2 needles (except for the toe and it is knit "flat" in part.




And for knitting socks and vintage baby patterns, some teeny-tiny dpns and a miniscule circular needle with metal cable.



Ok, not to appear too dense, but what is this? Email me with the first correct answer and I just might have a teeny little prize for you. (BTW, If you haven't guessed, I'm curious if anyone reads this blog, particularly this far down this blog! LOL)

No Camera :-( No Pictures :-(

DH has "borrowed" the camera for the weekend, (it was HIS Christmas gift after all, so I'm loathe to begrudge him occasional usage) So, no pictures for me until Monday.

I'm so close to completion on the Dale Pluto Coat that I could burst! I have a bit of fiddling with the front ribbing and the collar and then I weave in the ends. I'm not sure if this is going to be a misery or not. The yarn is "thick and thin" so it tends to be quite fuzzy and tough to weave in spots, but its texture makes any irregularities easily forgiven. (The "wouldn't be noticed by a rider on a galloping horse" theory and all, especially considering we're talking about the wrong side here!)

I have appliqued the flowers onto four of the five Flower Power Bags that I'm working on. Felting will occur tonight when there are no pups underfoot to distract me from my mission of checking the washing machine every five minutes. The straps are felted, dried and ready to go.

Since I have some FOs in sight, I'm getting restless to start something new. I've been thinking about designing something for MMJ's magazine and starry-eyed optimist that she is, Haley has been encouraging me! (In truth, I'm truly flattered that she has such confidence in me...certainly more than I have in myself!)

So, I'm entertaining daydreams about nifty stitches and niftier yarns...colours...design features...etc... Details to follow

We are dog sitting for vacationing friends for the next 10 days. Mimi is an exceptionally well-trained standard Poodle. It's good practice for a service dog, I tell myself. It's a good experience for the kids, right, learning how to care for a living creature? The dog has been here for 24 hours and I've already caught Gillian spoon-feeding Mimi ice cream. Yikes...

Oh, I lied, I do have one picture...

Gilly feeding Mimi a dog cookie...(after first sampling it herself :-P )

Two of my three little goblins!

Gillian was definitely not in a mood to be photographed. She did however enjoy opening the door to strangers and snacking on our supply of treats!

Ellery (the witch) and Clare (the princess) getting ready to scour the neighbourhood.



For obvious reasons, yesterday wasn't a big knitting day, but I did manage more looping! I may run out of yarn (again) before this project is completed. (Did I mention how heavy this coat is getting?)