a toque for me

My mom knows me down to a tee. Familiar with my penchant for anything mustard-coloured, she had been saving this wool for me. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to make myself a toque. Just a simple, chunky toque with a big pom pom. I decided to wing it, sans pattern, and hope for the best. It's pretty close to what I had imagined, though not quite 100% perfect. But the beauty of this kind of knitting is that it's so quick that it wouldn't take me long to modify my pattern and make another one, which is exactly what I think I'll do...

my clover earflap hat

I did it! A couple of weeks ago, on Instagram, I mentioned that I was attempting my most ambitious knitting project to date: the Clover Earflap Hat by Dover and Madden.

I was feeling confident after the sweater project and I figured why not? Sure I couldn't understand the pattern at all, I didn't have any of the tools or wool I needed and I had never even seen a knitting chart before… But I figured if I went slowly, one row at a time, and had my mother in law for troubleshooting, I could do it.

Pretty quickly I needed help (casting on stitches mid-row) but after that I was able to figure it out on my own. That's not to say that it was easy… After following the chart for just 3 rows, I realised that I had made a big mistake and had to unravel right back to the rows of garter stitching. The chart was confusing me, so I ended up writing out each row in a way that made sense to me (e.g. slip 1, P1 [YO, K4, SK2P, K4, YO, P1] x10).

I then noted all the repeats, which slowed me down, but kept me on track. That, combined with online knitting videos, got me through and I bound off and stitched the hat closed on Monday night, while watching the last episode of Death Comes to Pemberley.

I was absolutely thrilled and couldn't wait to put it on Clementine. Of course, the second I did (literally the second, I hadn't even tied the straps) she shouted "NO, NO, NO, NO!" and ripped it off. So yeah, she doesn't love it but I'm hoping that when we're in Canada she'll be so cold that she'll have no choice but to leave it on.

A few details: the pattern was wonderfully written and very easy to follow. I was very grateful for the step-by-step photos that accompany the instructions, and don't think I would have been able to follow a lace pattern if it hadn't been so well explained. I used Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino in the colour 340203. I made the 12-24 month size, which is a bit big but not so big that she can't wear it now.

p.s. you can find me on ravelry here

my in three's baby cardigan

This little sweater has been a long time coming. A look at my email records tells me that I bought the pattern in July, and ordered the yarn a few weeks later. But the story starts even before then, because I had been saving knitting patterns and longing to make something more complicated than a scarf for many years. I was so intimidated though, by the patterns themselves with all of their k's and p's (and don't even get me started on knitting charts…) and by the beautiful things I saw other people create.

I'm not sure what changed, but this year I decided to just go for it. When I first had a good look at this pattern, and then saw my friend's toddler wearing the cardigan, I was hopelessly discouraged. And then I gave myself a pep talk that went something like this: For crying out loud Gaby, just do it. One. Row. At. A. Time.

So I started, and I repeated my mantra, 'one row at a time,' to myself many, many times. My mother in law helped me out with one little bit (the sleeves, I think) but mostly, I was able to follow the pattern without too much trouble. The funniest thing is that after holding on to the pattern and the yarn for over 3 months, from start to finish it only took me 10 days to knit this up and put it on my girl. I was so proud, and a bit surprised too, when it was done and it really was a cardigan. With buttons and sleeves and everything.

As happy as I am with the end product, I have to say that I absolutely loved knitting it too. I found so much comfort in picking up my needles each day, and paired with an episode of Downton Abbey, it was the perfect way to spend an hour.

A few details: the pattern is in three's: a baby cardigan. I used Bendigo's Luxury 10-ply yarn in the colour blue denim. I made the 18 month size, which is a bit big on Clementine so I'm planning to cast on soon for one size down. This knitting this, it really is addictive...

p.s. I'm on ravelry, and you can find me here.

when your toddler takes a 4 hour nap

Every day, around 11am, Clementine goes down for her one nap of the day. She falls asleep quickly and easily (thankfully), but as to how long she'll sleep for… Well, that one's a mystery. Without rhyme or reason, she will sleep anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Until yesterday, that is, when she broke all nap records and snoozed for four. Hours. Straight. It was crazy! I debated waking her up, but thought better of it,  deciding that she obviously needed the sleep. She still went to bed at the same time as usual later that night, and didn't wake until the morning so I know that I made the right decision (not always the case).

So what is a mom to do when her toddler naps for 4 hours? There was some laundry and tidying, but that didn't last for long. The couch was calling and so I curled up with some knitting, my current book, a stack of Taproot magazines and quite a few cups of tea. I also managed to whip up a pair of pyjama pants for my girl, once I determined that my sewing machine wasn't loud enough to wake her up. I used this tutorial, and they were super fast and easy to whip up. They ended up on the small size, but luckily I have lots of that flannel left over so I'm going to try again.

In other news, there was a crazy storm in Sydney last night and when we woke up this morning, we found that our roof had leaked. Our new couch is drenched (in parts), as is a big patch of our carpet. So once again, our living room is in disarray. But we had to laugh because as annoyed and frustrated as we were, once the couch was without its cushions and things were hung up to dry all throughout the apartment, Clementine was in heaven. She's treating the couches like her own personal trampoline park, and having a ball. Leave it to a toddler to always, always, find the fun in any given situation.

crafting for clementine: vol 1

 

It seems that Clementine won the crafty lottery by being born into a family of incredibly talented makers. Since her birth we've been showered with handmade gifts, from bed sized quilts to tiny booties and everything in between. In an effort to remember all of the handcrafted goodness, I'm starting a little series here called crafting for Clementine. First up, tiny toques (or beanies to my non-Canadian readers):

1. Clementine's paternal grandmother has been knitting up a storm this winter! She's already made C three of these bonnets, and I can't wait until she fits into this one.

2. This buttery yellow one is the first bonnet that came off her needles, and Clementine has worn in nonstop (see here and here).

3. The big-hearted Sarah from Love love, lady sent me a care package a couple of weeks ago. There were some sweet gifts for me, as well as these two adorable beanies. Clementine looks like a gumnut baby when she wears them; it's the cutest.

purl bee baby blanket for my babe

Back when I first found I was pregnant, I was feeling a bit anxious and overwhelmed and all I wanted to do was start a project. Something simple and rhythmic using my hands, something that would make me feel like I was indeed growing a baby, even if I didn't look/feel any different. I had seen this pattern for a super easy baby blanket floating around the internet, and it seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I first mentioned it way back in September (I also hinted about it here) as a goal of mine before 2013.

Well, I wasn't in a rush and I didn't finish it until a couple of weeks ago. For the last few months it's wandered from couch to couch, being pulled out whenever I felt like knitting a row. It's so simple that other than keeping track of the number of rows, it required no brain power at all. Just the rhythmic tap tapping of the needles. Now that it's done, it's still in the living room where I can admire the beautiful colours and enjoy the incredible softness of the baby cashmerino whenever I want.

I now have my eye on this rad Hudson's Bay inspired baby blanket, which would be oh so perfect for my Canadian winter baby!

The details: It's the super easy baby blanket from the Purl Bee. Knit in Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, in 7 colours I chose because they remind of the sea.

a cozy scarf

Like I said in my last post, the weather has shifted again and our days have been drizzly and grey. I've been bundling up against the cold, grateful for hand knits and heaters.

This little scarf is one of those super simple hand knits. I used chunky black wool and purled every row. When it was done, I sewed a couple of wooden buttons to one end, buttons that don't need special holes - they fit through gaps in the knitting just fine.

Easy, and much more successful than the last knitted project I shared :)

my creative space: comedy edition

For every project that I successfully complete, there is usually a dud. And that dud is often comedy gold. This is one of those comedic jackpots. It's a bikini that I knitted.

Uh huh. A knitted bikini. When I finished knitting it I was so impressed with myself. I mean, just look at all that shaping! Sadly, as soon as I actually tried it on I was less impressed. It is hilarious, so hilarious that there's no way I was going to put it on for a photo. Let's just say that the bottoms look like a diaper. The top's alright, but hardly water appropriate.

If you have any crafty disasters that you'd like to share/get off your chest, please let me know! I'm dying to hear...

my creative space: wrist warmers

Years ago, I used to make wrist warmers all the time. I fell in love with how fast they were to make (hello instant gratification!) and how cute they looked with a few random stripes thrown in.

Wanting to make something quick and easy this week with wool from my stash, I freestyled this pair of wrist warmers. They're a bit too small, and the stripes aren't quite where I wanted them but that's ok... Just gives me more reason to cast on for another pair today!

my creative space: a knit pillowcase

Remember a few days ago when I said that my fingers were itching to make something out of wool.

And I also said that, for now, I would be sticking to something simple. Well here's what ended up happening...

A pillowcase that I made up in one continuous piece, ribbed on the front, normal on the back. Actually, 'normal' is probably an overstatement. Want to see something funny?

Yeah, this is what happens when you run out of wool, THREE times! Oops. I was intending for the whole pillowcase to be the one colour, but oh well. I like to think of it as charmingly kooky.

Finally, here it is in action. I just love the feeling when you finish making something and you can put it to use!

p.s. I just wanted to say thank you all for your sweet, helpful and inspiring words on my last post!

it's wool time

Every year when autumn rolls around I get the itch to bust out my wool and knit something. But I have to admit that I'm not a great knitter; in fact, my repertoire mostly extends to scarves and the occasional toque and every year I hope to change that. Whenever I see the beautiful sweaters that soulemama makes I wish that I could make one too.

Like this one, sigh... It's so simple and lovely, and I even have the pattern sitting on my desktop. For now though, I think I'll warm up with something simple. A scarf perhaps, or maybe some pillowcases. And then maybe, just maybe, I'll get started on my dream cardigan.

In the meantime, I'll hope that a knitting fairy godmother (i.e. someone who can help me complete said cardigan and fix up my mistakes) will magically appear!