2008 - FO NO 15

Pattern: Eyelet Vest from Special Knits by
Debbie Bliss
Size: 12-18 months
Yarn: Heirloom Cotton 4 ply, about 1.5 balls
Started: 25 March and finished 27 March 2008
Ribbon: A little packet from Spotlight

I really loved knitting this little vest, so quick and easy too. I made one for Isabelle when she was a baby, but never took photos of my knitting back then. I wish I had of now so I could add them to my ravelry page. Oh well not to worry. I love the color of this little vest too, and the Heirloom cotton is nice to knit with although on tiny needles it feels like it takes forever. The ribbon was a flowery one in one of those little packets from Spotlight that have gorgeous ribbons in them with all different patterns on them and I thought it would look nice to have a complete contrast. I still have quite a bit of this cotton left so expect to see a few more items in this color.

Pattern: Roll Hem Hat, size 0-6 mths

I decided to use the last ball of Tiny Tots yarn to make a cute little hat for Felicity. It is now wrapped up with the cardigan waiting for Lachlan to deliver it. I do hope that Julie likes it. I added a little bunch of yarn to the top for effect and I think it turned out okay.

The school holidays have been rushing by too. I cant believe it is already Friday. I have been catching up with a few friends, and yesterday I got to see my baby hat that I made for Chelsea. She is only 2 months old and is growing so quickly too. The hat just fit and I do think her mum forgot about it. Apparently she has been growing so quickly that most of the clothes she received still have tags on them. They are absolutely gorgeous so I dont know if she is going to sell them or take them back to the store, but it seems a waste that cute clothes only last for a little time on babies doesnt it. I remember my auntie telling me to keep some of Isabelle's so she could use them for her dolls when she got bigger. Sadly I gave mine to friends who had girls after me, so they still got a lot of use.

I had my niece over last night. She is only a few years older than Isabelle and they play very well together. Isabelle adores her, and since she is her only female cousin I am glad they dont live too far from each other. I do wonder though where all the time goes as we struggle to find time to see each other sometimes. Lachlan went to stay with my BIL and my nephew for the night so it is great that we can swap kids like that.

Isabelle also stayed at my parents house for an overnight stay. She has only ever done that once so I didnt sleep very well half expecting a phone call through the night to come and collect her. Hopefully this is a turning point and she will stay on a more regular basis. Lachlan used to love staying at my parent's house but now is sort of getting bored with it so Isabelle can have a few turns. I think it is good for grandchildren to spend time with their grandparents.

I have also been adding members to the family tree. I didnt have to do any of the hard work so far as Paul's dad Robert did most of it before he passed away. I am just waiting for my cousin to send my side of the family tree to me now since he did it a little while ago. It took me 3 days of typing on and off to add all the information on and now there are over 700 people. Some family trees have 10,000. It really does intrigue me reading all the information about past family members, and sometimes I really do wish I could pop back in time and just watch a day in their life, especially my dad's side as there were 7 children and I think they were quite mischevious sometimes too. Well that is about it for now as I am off to go and make breakfast for some hungry children as we had a big sleep in today after going to bed late last night. Speak to you all later on!

FO No 14

Pattern: Sirdar Tiny Tots DK Booklet 1582

Size: 1-2 years (56 cms)

Yarn: Sirdar Tiny Tots DK yarn 4 balls

Color: light pink

Started: March 15 2008

Finished: March 22 2008

I really do love knitting with the Tiny Tots yarn. It has a soft nubbly texture and looks great knit up too. This is for Lachlan's friend's baby sister Felicity who will take quite a while to grow into this sweater as she is only 1 month old. I thought I would knit her something she would be able to wear next winter and hopefully for quite a while too. I bought little daisy buttons in the same color as the yarn and seamed it up this afternoon. The buttons are a bit hard to see in the picture. I will return some time next week with hopefully some in progress projects for you all.

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY EASTER AND MAY THE BUNNY BRING LOTS OF GOOD CHOCOLATES FOR YOU ALL!!!

FO No. 13

Pattern: Ski Beanie from Son of Stitch N Bitch

Yarn: Spotlight Merino, light blue and denim

Started: 18 March 2008 Finished: 19 March 2008

I knit this beanie for Lachlan. It didnt use up much yarn and I still have nearly half of the denim color left over. The light blue ball you cant even tell that I used any of it. Lachlan was camping with the school up at Daylesford and it does get cold up there during the night so I decided to knit it up. I think it looks great on him too. Isabelle has decided that she likes it too and wants one in pink and purple although it is baggy on her when she wears it.

Both the kids are now on school holidays for two weeks so we shall try and do some fun things together with friends over the break. I really would love to go and see the Spiderwick Chronicles, although neither Lachlan or I have read the books as yet. Horton hears a Who looks great too, and I have seen many previews of it and read the book.

I have nearly finished a little cardigan for Lachlan's friend's baby sister Felicity and I have started a few more girl knits too. Trying to keep up with the baby population is a busy one for the last few years and is continuing to be so. I love knitting them though. Hopefully I will have another FO by the weekend, and if I dont then I do hope that you all have a wonderful wonderful Easter!

2008 - FO No. 12

Pattern: Hickory Dickory Dot by Anny Purls

Size: 12 months

Yarn: Pink - sublime 2.5 balls

White - Zara just a tiny amount

Mouse: Brown Zara yarn, a mouseling amount

Started: 7 March 2008

Finished: 10 March 2008

This is such a cute pattern. It took no time to knit up although the seaming for me was a bit difficult around the neckline attaching the i-cord. I loved knitting the little mouse though and I discovered this morning that Isabelle had been playing with him as his position was tucked into the pocket instead of with his little tail hanging out. I learnt how to do i-cord and it was so EASY and FAST to do. What a simple yet creative way to do borders. Now that I have mastered that technique I will definately have to knit the jacket out of Itty Bitty Nursery. This little sweater is for Kate who is expecting her third baby girl very soon so I really do hope she will like this present! I made it for a 1 yr old as babies do tend to grow at different rates and I thought that a bigger size would hopefully get one winter's use out of it at some stage. I have also purchased some other patterns of Anny's which are just great and am now waiting on her next pattern which is a cabled one. I just cannot resist cables.

I have also started another knitting project, (none of those on the list) to use up some stash yarn which is always great. I seem to be on a roll with kids knits at the moment which I absolutely love to make. Some people did ask how I knit so quickly and I must say that kids knits do go very fast, although I try to knit for an hour a day whilst the kids are at school. I do knit after they go to bed and this week I have been going to bed at midnight every night. My eyes were aching yesterday after so much knitting on the weekend, and now I have a swollen gland on the right side of my neck and a swollen nerve in my lip which means I am now run down and must rest in order to get better. My friend Blanche took Isabelle to school and offered to drop her off today too so some sleep time will be on my agenda. Hopefully I will feel much better tomorrow and be able to do some more knitting too. I did find out that another baby is due in September and they dont know what it is as yet. Also our friend's little girl will turn 1 in July so I would really love to knit up something extra special for her since her dad and Paul have been friends since they were about 15 years of age. I also need to knit Lachlan another beanie as he is going on a camp to Lake Jubilee for 2 days next week. I am sure the nights will be a lot cooler than they are here so I want to make sure he has a nice warm hat to keep his ears warm.

Oh and I wanted to thank everyone for their lovely wonderful comments too about Jake. I really loved reading them each morning and I hope I didnt forget to thank anyone. Hope you all have a lovely lovely day!

2008 - FO No 11

Pattern: Jake

Size: 7-8 years

Yarn: Moda Vera Cup Cake, dark red, 6.5 balls

Started: 28 February 2008 Finished: 6 March 2008

I loved knitting this pattern and after looking at all the wonderful ones on Ravelry I couldnt wait any longer to make one for my nephew's 6th birthday. It will be a bit big on him but he is a lot shorter than Isabelle. It is hard to believe that there is only 7 months between them although Thomas is a very smart boy. I really do hope that he likes it. It seems my camera does not love red (which always annoys me to no end) so the pattern does not show up very well in the photo. I did try and take some other photos of it but my assistant kept putting her paws in the shot and trying to snuggle on the sweater so I had to quickly hang it on my bedroom door and hope for the best. I really love the way the pattern shows on the sweater and even the reverse square on the sleeves too.

Now I have some other new knitting which I started last night, as it seems all the pregnant people I know have been having GIRLS!!!! Lachlan's best friend's mum had a girl FELICITY on Valentine's Day. She will be so spoilt when she's older on her birthday. She is absolutely gorgeous so I am making her something to wear, Daisy from Simply Baby. I have completed the back and one front. I am also making something for KATE which I do hope she will like too. No sneak peeks as yet though. I am hoping to get quite a bit of knitting done as Monday is a public holiday so the kids can hopefully have a sleep in. The last few mornings they havent wanted to get out of bed which is unusual for them. Perhaps that bug they had wore them out a bit. We are also making our special dinner tonight, as on Paul's birthday we were a bit busy so we will celebrate tonight instead. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and thank you all too for Paul's birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday Paul!

Today is Paul's 39th birthday so officially we are now the same age. I have the upper hand being 6 months older which is a yearly joke between us. I dont really have many photos of Paul (which I will need to rectify) as he hates having his photo taken. This one is at one of Isabelle's birthday parties with our nephew Benjamin waiting to blow out the candles on the cake too. Paul will be at work on his birthday and couldnt really care less if we have cake or not. Friday I am going to cook him something nice so the kids and I can spoil him then and relax for the weekend.

On another note Paul's grandmother is having her hip replaced today too so my thoughts are with her as I know she was a bit worried about the operation. She is 83 so I guess at that age you do worry. I am sure she will be fine as she still gets around everywhere and her mind is great too. She seems to think the anaesthetic will diminish her memory for some reason!

The knitting is going well. I started knitting Jake for my nephew's birthday which falls on Good Friday this year and I only have the front and the neckband to complete. I am hoping it will be finished by Friday so fingers crossed. I hope you all have a wonderful wonderful day too!!