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!

Oops ... more yarn

I have broken my yarn stash diet. I could not help myself after visiting Spotlight today. Isabelle and I decided to make some bracelets, and found some lovely aqua beads to make some too. As I turned around to check out the yarn I noticed the big white baskets full of clearance yarn. Well I had to have a look just in case I missed out on something I really really wanted, and guess what, right, I found some cotton yarn that I had looked at before but the price was too expensive for me. Now as you see in the picture I bought 9 balls of each of the Katia cottons. The white one has a sheen to it, and is Katia Perla, and I think knits up as a 4 ply. The pink and purple colors are Katia Espiga and knit up as an 8 ply. They were only $2.49 a ball, and when I reached the counter the lady informed me that they were originally $8.99 a ball. Wow what a bargain. Spotlight are going to be getting some new winter yarns into their stores so they are making room by clearing some of the summer yarns out too. I know that Zhivago and Country 8 ply are being reduced too, so maybe if there is one close to you and you need to enhance your stash, pay them a visit. I am very glad that I went now, and perhaps the white will be knitted up in the next two months too. Must go now and help Isabelle make her friend's beaded birthday bracelet. Happy knitting!

Sock Yarn Galore

Look at all the lovely sock yarn that I bought from Katt. Isnt it all beautiful, and I am sure I will be able to knit it all into lots of lovely pairs of socks. I have been using my ball winder that Paul bought me for Christmas, and Isabelle is quite handy at winding the handle and holding the tension for me. I just get to hold the skein and make sure that it all winds up nicely.

• Seashells - This is the yellow colorway, and I absolutley love it. Isabelle said it is for her, but I dont think so. Maybe I will buy her some more next time.
• Rosebud - I think this is the name for this one. I have misplaced the label for it, so if I am wrong please check out Katt's website for more details. I do have another colorway too, which is watermelon and is pinks, reds and greens all together.
• The blue colorway is Stormy Seas and I love this colorway too, just beautiful.
• Lastly, but not least is Waterlillies. This is a lovely purple and green colorway, and this is for my mum's birthday present which is on Sunday. She loves purple, so this should be just gorgeous for a pair of socks for her. I taught her how to knit socks last year, and she did quite well at it.

They are all 100 gm balls, which is just perfect. Now all I need to do is find a pattern that suits each colorway, and I will be able to knit up some socks. I think I will try and mix them in with the colorways for each month of Project Spectrum too. Lachlan's birthday is tomorrow so I will be busy, taking him to see a movie, and then out for dinner. We are having a family BBQ on Saturday for Lachlan, and mum too (joint party) so it should be a nice relaxed afternoon.