Slow School Scarves

Having re-read yesterday's post, I feel I should say, in the interests of truth in reporting, that I don't actually walk around the house knitting. Not in a lost, wandering, 'Downton Abbey' kind of way. But if I'm enjoying knitting something reasonably manageable, often with an unreasonable deadline, and those pesky children of mine are requiring my attention AS THEY SO OFTEN DO (she says gazing dryly over the rim of her martini glass), then I find it a good way to keep knitting and attending to their 'stuff' rather than having to constantly put down and pick up my needles. You know.

If I was knitting as consistently as I perhaps led you to believe, then what excuse have I for the almost year it has taken me to knit this scarf and hat? Hmm? They were a request from a dear friend for her two school girls - scarves and hats in navy blue to wear while waiting for the school bus on chilly mornings. The girls survived one freezing winter without them, and now, on the brink of another, finally they are done. And it is a testament to my love for these girls and their mum that they have them at all because, really, I don't enjoy knitting scarves. Oh, how they go on and on forever in such a repetitive fashion.

A big thanks to my cooperative model...

Still, I am glad to have been able to knit these girls something useful, and even more glad that I am finished. The hat is Amanda Soule's 'My Hat of Choice', and I worked up the scarf with a similar simple lace pattern. The yarn is Cascade 220 in Midnight Blue. Ravelry notes here.

Still thoroughly, and at a snail's pace, enjoying Stephanie Alexander's memoirs.

And joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along here.

The Small Things

Sometimes knitting just goes on and on. No matter how many stitches you knit, how many rows you complete, still it continues. Indeed, sometimes it never ends.

But occasionally there are teeny things, quick and easy things, satisfying smallish knits that reveal the finish line within the first few centimetres. Just what the doctor ordered during these madcap days of late.

I'm working on some Fetching mitts in brightest orange, remembering how much I love cables and wondering why I shy away from socks when a mitt is just a sock for a hand, let's face it. These are for a gift, and with another half hour's work this evening, I should have a pair ready to wrap.

I'm still going on my cowl, remembering how much I don't love moss stitch. Well, I love it to look at, just don't love to do it. Ah, well. Round and round we go, two balls of wool in and only one to go.

And perhaps it's a bit late now, but here's the trio of bunnies made ready just in time for Easter morning. I used leftover yarn from this vest and that cardigan, and this is the pattern. The facial expressions are all their own.

Settling in to read Anni Daulter's new book, Naturally Fun Parties for Kids, which arrived in the post today all shiny and new. I'll be reviewing it here in a couple of weeks, which is quite exciting, don't you think?

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Warming

It's the last day of summer here in Oz, the weirdest, wettest, coolest summer that ever there was. The rain hasn't let up for over a day. And on this day, while I wanted to curl up under a blankie and clickety-click the hours away, I kept my knitting goals modest and achievable. Finish the cuff on the second Legwarmie, cast off, Zimmerman style, and weave in the ends. It took most of the day, amid kid-wrangling, but I managed it. 

They haven't been blocked - note the aforementioned relentless rain. I experimented a little here, perhaps dangerous when knitting a pair of anything. The first was knit on DPNs, the second on a circular using the magic loop method. The verdict - absolutely the magic loop. Not only quicker and less fiddly, but one less vertical dip in the fabric where the needles change. Tell me, sock knitters out there, is this unavoidable? If so, how? Will it all come out with a wash and dry? Or are they there to stay?

My Stella was happy to model. "Look, socks, Mama," she said. Not quite, baby girl, but perhaps soon. I'm just warming up to that. In the meantime, I'll post these off to their chubby-legged recipient tomorrow and set to work casting on another pair, or three, for my girls. If that was summer, I fear what winter will bring. Better prepare.

Reading some copies of Mollie Makes that I finally got my hands on during recent trips to Sydney.

Ravelry notes for the Legwarmies here.

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along, as usual.

A Very Handmade Birthday

There was a flurry of activity in the days leading up to this birthday. A flurry of making. Apart from a handful of books and some clothes, everything the girls unwrapped yesterday morning was handmade. Since moving house, I've been trying to cull the *crap*. There is just so much stuff. Lola was inundated with stuff when she was a baby and toddler, so everything a pair of two-year-olds could need is already on the shelves and in the baskets. So for fun, we passed up a trip to the shops, and Lola and I got busy making gifts for our girls. 


First we turned a stack of old crayons into some cool new ones following this tutorial. They were going to be heart shaped but I found out just in the nick of time that our heart-shaped ice-cube tray wasn't silicone like I thought it was. I grabbed it out of the oven milliseconds before it melted entirely away. We settled instead for round crayons made in a mini muffin tray.

Next we made some simple two-piece puzzles using the pages of a falling-apart book of animal photos. We stuck them onto some heavy cardboard with adhesive spray, then cut different ziggy-zaggy shapes from them. Jigsaws and matching pairs all in one.

I haven't seen Fernando since we went rural. Something tells me he jumped ship, destined to remain an inner-city frog forevermore. Never mind, now we have Fred and Phyllis to take his place. They haven't got eyes yet, and to be honest, they're a bit wonky. That's what happens when you're cutting and sewing a few minutes before midnight the night before.

And finally, the tepee. I've been wanting one for the girls for ages but couldn't bring myself to part with all that dosh. Then I saw an easy tutorial in a magazine and decided to give it a go. I used bright fabrics from IKEA, the ones from the kids department that come in three-metre bolts. The dowels are from the hardware shop and the ribbons came from here. I found the instructions for the tepee online via here. Easy-peasy. Let the lounge room and backyard camping trips begin.

There was one other handmade birthday surprise. This one I knew nothing about. Lola had taken herself off one afternoon into my sewing room (yes, I know, I have one now!) to turn pipe-cleaners and cupcake papers into flowers. She also decorated some toilet rolls with stickers to make telescopes. Then she wrapped everything and presented the parcels to her sisters on Sunday morning. It might just have been the sweetest sisterly thing I've ever seen.

Braided

We were in Sydney on the weekend for a party. I made a cake and this sweet little knitted necklace/bracelet for the birthday girl. The pattern came from here via Ravelry. Such a simple, clever design. When I first saw the pictures, I thought it was cabled, but it's actually two strips with buttonholes, threaded in and out of each other. I used some beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn left over from this long-ago project. And the wooden button, as usual, is from my dealer.

There are several more birthdays happening this month, including a pair of little girls I know who are turning two next week. Busy days ahead.

Finishing...finally

Well, that all looks very impressive, doesn't it? Two lovely packages of handmade goodness ready to send off to a pair of young men - my cousin's new baby boy, Cooper, and my nephew Oscar who turned one, ooh, about three years ago now (OK, the month before last). It would be impressive if there wasn't the very real risk that both boys will have outgrown the clothes before they receive them. 

I've shown the two vests before here and here. I made each boy a pair of the fabulously funky Quick Change Trousers as well, with a mixture of new and vintage fabrics. And to top it off, Cooper gets a onesie with a very, very simple applique.

Tomorrow I'm off to the post office, and when I return I'll grab a very large texta to mark these two little tasks, finally, off the list!