Yarn Along

It's getting to be that time of year where I can't post much about what i'm working on because I don't want to spoil gifts for anyone!
All I can say is that presently, I'm using this wool to make something on the "chunky" side. Not that this wool would ever be the makeup of anything delicate...it may as well be roving! 

I love the colour, it's a deep moss, but it has tiny flecks of rust and indigo here and there throughout the strands.
I'm also crocheting a few pairs of these slippers for the boys and Lotte. They look so cozy that I might have to make a pair for myself!

I'm not really following the pattern that came with the soles. The pattern suggested working the ankle and down. I would rather start at the bottom and work my way up, so that's what I've done and they've turned out well. Using chunky wool, I can polish off a pair in just a couple of hours, provided that i'm not interrupted. a true rarity. Someone is always needing something!

I'm going to put elastic through the sides around the tongue like a real shoe for easy removal, but so they stay comfortably secure while wearing. I also think i might put a button on one shoe and a button hole on the other, so when they're not being worn one can stay attached to the other. There always seems to be someone wandering around with one shoe asking where the other might be. Whether or not they'll actually use this system is yet to be known.

Lastly, I'll leave you with this sweet video..

Since 1955 Loes Veeristra knitted over 500 sweaters and stored them in her home, they have never been worn untill now… 

                     
                     Het Verzameld Breiwerk van Loes Veenstra from Christien Meindertsma on Vimeo.

Weekending

our weekend started with a slower saturday
breakfast out with church ladies at a new local restaurant that serves breakfast all day long
afternoon visit with the new babies 
who smell more amazing each time I sniff them
home to my own babies for lots of cuddles and snuggles and a movie night
high hopes of some uninterrupted illustration time
i'm a bit behind
grand mal household failure as our water intake began to leak
cleaned up, taken care of
and half an hour later our furnace sputtered sounds of death and dispair
space heaters rounded up and hauled in, blankets unfolded, socks doubled
furnace part ordered
the next 3-5 days will be furnace free, luckily we aren't in the heart of winter yet
need to find things to bake each day to keep the kitchen warm
I don't think we could (or even should) eat that much bread

I've been meaning to share this video of these talented girlies for a little while now-my nearly photo-free weekend (gasp) calls for perfect opportunity. enjoy!

playing along with amanda in ::weekending::

Yarn Along

With the race being on to finish some Christmas knitting, I have several projects on the go right now. Some have only been cast on, some are a couple rows in. 
I like to have a few different types of projects going on so I can knit them depending on where I am- the ones that are less portable, or require the most attention I keep at home, but others I take with me in the car, or to waiting rooms and other similar places.

I cast on this lace cowl (a gift) about a week ago with the intention of it being the "keep at home" project. I'd never knit lace anything before so I thought it would require some more devoted attention. As it turns out though, the repeated lace pattern this cowl calls for is incredibly easy to memorize, and it's been easy to pick up and bring with me various places.

The only thing that's been a bit of a challenge is purling the yarn overs with these needles. I love my wood interchangeable circulars, but the tips just aren't quite pointy enough for lace.
Say what? Could it be true? Could I need more needles?
I've actually got it sort of figured out a way to make it work in an unconventional sort of way that seems to be doing the job thus far. And I don't know if I really want to go buy lace needles if I'm not sure i'll be knitting more lace. 
This is a fun cowl, but it's a gift. I don't know if lace is my thing. Who knows, maybe i'll fall in love with it, we'll see. I also said a while ago that I didn't have much interest in learning to spin etc, but.. ahem...my opinions on that have changed.

Also, I've never blocked lace, so i'm counting on blocking to work every bit of it's supposed magic to make this cowl look like more than just a clump of yarn. I see the pattern in there, but it doesn't look like 'lace' yet. 
I'm really hoping it turns out though, because I used one of my favorite yarns for this one.

My reading has been curtailed significantly this week. I was partially through several good books this week (including the Yarn Harlot) when my ereader decided to retire young and move to Hawaii. I'm not entirely sure what happened to make it's screen turn into what looks like a 1984 "Etch-a-Sketch", but until I replace it, I can't finish those books. So sad.

Instead I've been listening to a lot more of a prairie home companion and some pod casts while I knit late at night. I'm enjoying some of the Knit Picks pot casts especially, they're full of good ideas and tips.

{Weekending}

our weekend was spent completely (involuntary) in the comfort (?) of our own home.

the local flu hit us like a ton of bricks 

that brief but intense form of flu that leaves you wondering what's real and what's not
the "i don't remember how to knit, or even write my own name" type of flu

first me, then the boys

the littlest has been spared thus far, and i'm more than alright with that.

mark made sure that we were all well looked after with gingerale and dry toast

we had such lofty plans for this weekend, some of them recreational, 

like a birthday dinner for mark's brother

with my mother in law's amazing homemade lasagna

i'm really sad to have missed that

but then some of our plans were more necessary errands...

that really needed to be completed

like getting some fresh produce into this house

and babies can have their one year portrait taken at thirteen months, right? 

will her great grandchildren who one day admire her sweet baby portrait ever know the difference?

church was also missed which also throws our whole week off balance

throws me into some form of infinity loop

and makes me wander through the week as if dreaming

searching for a 'reset' button of some form

sunday afternoon the temperature rose to golden warm

the nausea began to slow, and the windows were all opened

there was a short, but much needed trip outdoors

into the freshness

and then back inside

where i finally got to admire and play with some of my recently thrifted yarn

tidy up a bit (goodness knows we needed it)

and then to curl up together as a family

and watch a movie 

only to discover, shortly after...

it's mark's turn

time to get some more gingerale!

playing along with Amanda in ::weekending::

{Yarn Along}

Over the last couple of weeks I've been on a bit of a hiatus from the online world. It wasn't really planned, or completely intentional.
I had a few quiet days following an oral surgery and didn't bother with the computer much because I wasn't feeling up to it. Then things around the house needed caught up on...one thing led to another and here we are, a little over two weeks later. Funny how that happens.

In the knitting realm though I've been quite busy. Lotte happily plays at my feet and wraps me to my chair with my balls of yarn. She loves to get into my knitting bag and unload it's contents and then pack it all back up again for me.

I could probably knit faster and more efficiently without the help of a toddler, but that wouldn't be any fun now, would it? I just don't think I'd enjoy it quite as much without my busy critter.

Here are a few of the projects that I've made/finished during my little break. This hat, and this hat, for the new babies, and little sleep sacks. 

This was my first time cabling and I loved it. I can't wait to make more owls on a few upcoming christmas gifts. 

Addie has already christened her little sleeping bag with spit up.

Yes...we do family pictures at Ikea *all the time*. This was Addie and Joash's first venture on this sweet, Scandinavian pilgrimage though, so it needed to be thoroughly documented.

Also, I was finally able to photograph Lotte in her "Lovey Dovey", which was long over due. I finished this back in September, but I waited until her mid October birthday to give it to her since it was supposed to be her first birthday dress.
It turned out just as I hoped.

I think she's rather pleased with it too!

.