sparkle & shine - happy new year

My only resolution this year is to embrace the awesome. That's all. Happy new year!

don't the holidays make you batty?

Heh. So much hustle and bustle over here but also so much fun. We are happy, busy, and full of good stuff. This warm fuzzy feeling inside my chest - I want it with me always. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and all the best in the new year. xoxox

gnome for the holidays

pattern: Garden Gnome Hat
designer: Betsy Farquhar
yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Red & White
needles: Addi Turbo 16 inch circs in US sizes 0 and 2

modifications: I used size 0 needles for the ribbing and only knit 3 gnomes instead of 4, making it a much narrower hat, also making it a much longer hat

The wee was invited to a tea party today, and since the invitation called for fancy hats, I decided to kill not two but three, yes, three birds with one stone and knit him this gnome hat. First, I fell in love with this pattern the minute I saw it on ravelry. Second, not only would I fulfill my desire to knit this hat simply because I am so in love the design, but I was planning to knit the kiddo a holiday hat anyway. Third, well, fancy hat! Seriously, this hat is positively papal in length. Check out this action shot:

The kid is hanging out there in the carrier, and the hat is about halfway down his back. I kind of love it like that. Matt jokes that it's perfect because the kid now has a place to tuck away his dreadlocks. Heh. That and the first thing he said when he saw the kid wearing it was, "Oh, look at little Gnome Chomsky!" Double heh. 

I have to say, for a moment there I wasn't sure I would have it finished and blocked in time for the party this morning, but fortunately I had a ton of time to finish knitting at the doctor's office yesterday. The sprinkles of happy on this whole project? Apparently, Knit Picks Palette is kind of awesome for knitting colorwork. It's nice and sticky, and it blocks beautifully. Did I mention that when placed over a hot air vent, it seemed to block in about an hour? No? Well, it did! This, of course, pleased me so very much. As for the kid, I'm not so sure how pleased he is with it since it is a little big:

 

Happy holidays, folks!

sanity prevails

My goal was to finish this top tonight, but here it is nearly midnight, I am nowhere near done. You see, I decided to make it bigger. Hahahahahaha!

So the person I am making it for? Her birthday is in January. And we'll be all set for it then! Meanwhile, I think I'll stop by her favorite shop tomorrow.... 

night time is the right time...

...for a little stealth crafting. Every night when the kiddo goes to sleep, I get to knit, and let me tell you, I am relishing every stitch. I'm hoping in the next hour to get him in bed and to put on Law & Order and finish this hat because I would love for him to wear it to the kiddies' tea party we're going to in a couple of days. For the record, this is no relation to that tea party - this is the kind where pretend tea is served to the wee ones and adults get to have actual tea or perhaps other beverages. Just wanted to be clear about that. Ahem.

Also on deck is this:

It goes without saying that I'm nuts, but this begs the question just how nuts. Why? Because I plan to have it done in the next 2 days. Or something like that. Heh. I'll settle for just finishing the top. It's going to be small. It's just a lap quilt. I think I can manage it. Only one way to find out. Let me get at it!

jingly balls

So, what do you think of my balls? Heheh, I said "balls." When I saw these lovely fabric balls over at Urban Patchwork, I thought they would make a great gift for a baby.

Not only are they a fun tactile object that you can also make visually interesting using playful fabrics, but if you throw in a little jingly bell or two, as Jess suggested, they double as a rattle/sound ball. I didn't use a teeny plastic bag and instead bought a bunch of jingly cat toys so that the bells wouldn't be muffled:

Because I have decided that this will be the most fabulously laid-back, low-key holiday season ever at our place, I am all about the quick and easy projects. This is seriously one of the quickest, easiest projects ever. You can find the tutorial over here. Hope you're all having a wonderful and stress-free holiday season!

shhhh, don't tell the kiddo, but...

I got him this awesome wooden stacker by Finns & Flowers at Picnic in Portland last weekend. I love the beautiful tonalities and the subtle variations in the texture of the wood. It's as much a piece of art as it is a toy.

overshot

pattern: Thorpe
designer: Kirsten Kapur at Through the Loops
yarn: Madeline Tosh worsted merino and handspun by Krista of pigeonroof studios
needles: Crystal Palace 16 inch circs, US size 7

 

Here's one of those projects that I finished in October and am only getting around to photographing now. Funny thing about it, though, is that I overestimated the size by such a long shot that it still doesn't fit the wee. Eh. I know that within a month or two it will fit him perfectly. Let's take a moment to revel in its garter-y goodness:

I love this pattern so stinking much. That garter edge makes me all sorts of happy. Apparently, I'm not the only one who enjoys it:

minor adjustments

Remember this hat? Well, just a week or so after Rhinebeck, tired of it falling off the kiddo's noggin, I quickly added earflaps and some i-cord ties to keep it in place. Now just a month and a half later, the hat is too small for him. Just as well, as it gives me an excuse to knit him another hat (or two - or more!).

I gotta warn you folks, while I have no intention of pontificating about motherhood here or sharing the details of my wee's every bodily function, I am going to be sharing a ton of baby knits and baby sewing projects and maybe the occasional story or tender tidbit because this little person is a huge part of my life. Not mentioning him at all for the sake of not boring or disappointing people would be strange. I only say this because in real life it feels like I've been written off by people since the kid came along. As much as I try not to take it personally since I understand that not everyone wants to hang out with someone who is tired yet over-enthusiastic and sadly under-socialized, much less hear about  what the wee and I got up to (ooh, the library singalong - exciting!), it still stings. Also, I recently became aware that there are actually people who believe that once someone pops out a crotchfruit, their creative life dies, rendering them boring, milky pulp incapable of producing an iota of awesomeness. Funny that, considering I have a million and one ideas bouncing around right now. My struggle is with finding the time to execute them all, but I am making time here and there. While a lot of those ideas for projects are baby-related, the majority are not. Which is to say stick around, and I just may surprise you.

what I've been up to these days

A little bit of this....

A little bit of that....

And a whole lot of the other. I have to admit, I'm enjoying this mom gig so much more than I ever thought I could. Oh, and there's a bunch of stuff I've knit that I keep meaning to share with you! Where do I begin?