Patons Baby Hooded Jacket

Ah the relaxing mornings of sleeping in when the kids are on school holidays seem to be rushing by. I have managed to sneak in quite a bit of knitting time though, due to a fair amount of rainy days we have been having. Up above is the Baby Hooded Jacket from an old Patons pattern. I am knitting this for one of our good friends who had a baby girl last week, Jessica, welcome to the world. I made this same jacket for Lachlan when he was about 6 months old, in a light blue color and I used to put it on him when it was quite cold and it kept him very warm. I am supposed to use a 4 ply yarn for this, but decided to knit it in an 8 ply Feathersoft yarn, which isnt really that thick for an 8 ply, so it might turn out a wee bit bigger, but they will be able to use it for longer, being a 12 mth size. I really hope that they like it, as sometimes I am unsure what new moms will put on their babies to wear.

I have also been knitting some socks, although the baby jacket has been getting more devotion than the sock. I think it is the Gentleman's Fancy Sock (correct me if I'm wrong) from the Nancy Bush book. I cant be bothered going to annoy the kids to get the book for me, as they are watching Arthur and the Invisibles. We took them to the pictures to see the movie, and they loved it so much we decided to buy a copy today. At least it keeps them amused for an hour or more. I am using Katt's Pansy colorway for this sock, and I love the vibrant pinks and purples too, although usually I am more of a blue/green person. I am hoping to knit some more on this over the weeke and hopefully tonight.

I also visited Nat who sells Sugar'n Cream yarns here in Oz, so I was able to buy some for the dishcloth swap in August. I really wanted some red too but she has none left in stock at the moment. I will have to wait until she gets some more in. I am so excited to be joining in this swap, so I hope it is a lot of fun. I also bought some Anchor Magicline cotton for $1.99 a ball today at Spotlight, so I grabbed some of each color to knit up some dishcloths for Christmas pressies for my mum and sister. They have such nice colors, and being reduced from about $6.00 a ball is a great bargain. I am hoping to make some of the patterns out of the dishcloth book for them, so I will see how they turn out and show you all. Some of the patterns on the labels of the cotton look good too, so I will have to sneak a peek at them too. Nothing much else has been happening around here, apart from trying to keep the kids entertained. Wednesday we delivered 500 papers, and I now have a sore back from pulling the trolley around behind me, which I hope alleviates soon. Yesterday was spent having the kids and their friends around entertaining each other. Next week Isabelle has 2 parties to go to, and I have a lunch with Paul's work on the Tram Restaurant on Saturday, which in a way I was annoyed with because it is my sister's quilt in on the same day and I go every year and chat and craft with some great ladies. Oh well I will just have my mum fill me in on all the gossip when I get back. I get a bit nervous meeting new people, and all at one time is a bit overwhelming too. It is allright for Paul as he already knows all the guys, and only has to meet their partners. Well I am off to go and sew some little kitties which hopefully I can show you all next week. Happy knitting everyone!

New Projects - 1, 2 & 3

First up we have the Gingham Jacket from one of the DB books, which I will check for later. This is for Isabelle, and I am not knitting it in 3 colors, just 2. I am hoping that the fronts dont take too long to knit because as soon as they are done I can fly by with the rest of the knitting on it. Isabelle picked this one out after we saw it on a post in one of the Knitty sections. It looked so cute, so this will fit her for the winter months.

Secondly, another cardigan for Isabelle. This is from the Bouton d'Or book, pattern 45 I think. I will have to check that too. This is just alternate rows of st st and garter st, so quite easy and it feels so nice. I am knitting it out of some yarn from Spotlight, the merino blend which knits up so lovely. I am glad I bought it in a few different colors too.

Thirdly the jacket from Cotton Knits for All Seasons. I am using 8 ply wool and knitting the 2-3 yr size and knitting it a lot longer in the length for Isabelle. I changed the bottom edging on it too, but will show you all when I get nearer to completing it. Isabelle has sadly outgrown all her winter handknits that I made her so she needs them replenished, so I thought I would knit them all at the same time, and stop boredom from settting in too. Tomorrow I will show the other UFO's and a hat and scarf that I finished up too. I have Lachlan home sick with a horrible cough and sore throat at the moment, and I am sure it is the same thing that Isabelle has, but she doesnt want to stay home. I will try and email everyone back who has left such wonderful comments for me, and you are all so lovely for doing so, it does make my day reading them and appreciating them too. Happy knitting!!

Pink and Green, Pink and Green!

are Project Spectrum colors arent they. Well it seems that I cant get enough of them at the moment. Over the weekend I started 2 new projects, yes 2. I know the shame of it all and not finishing the other one that is so close to being finished too. First up is a baby blanket from a Sirdar book that I bought a few months ago now. I am using acrylic yarn, yes acrylic for a cot blanket, but is not rough or squeaky to knit with, and the colors are so pretty. I started knitting this one yesterday and completed about 30 rows of the pattern which is an easy one to remember.

I also started the long cardigan on the front cover of Special Family Knits on Friday night too. This one is for Isabelle and as you can see I have done just past the armholes. After all of this knitting, my shoulder and neck have been aching, so today I dont plan to do too much knitting as I want the pain to subside a bit. I had good news too last night when I phoned my aunt. We speak every few months, and she informed me that one of my cousins is having a baby, but wait for it, they are due next month and dont know what they are having. I will have to wait for her call to see what they have and then I can make something special for the baby. They already have a 2 year old daughter called Jindalee, so I cant wait to see what they name this baby. I will probably knit something for Jindalee too, as when they had her I had no time to knit anything and sent something store bought. I am so excited to be able to make them something, and perhaps I can knit something different that I havent made yet. Paul's friend's baby is due next month too, and then his cousin is due in August, so it seems that I will get to do a lot more baby knitting which I always enjoy making. Maybe I will just get out the baby books today and browse through some patterns to make and hopefully reduce my stash too. I hope you all have a wonderful crafty day!