Baby sweater # 2

Sidney's sweater is finished , buttons sewn on and ready to be mailed to BC . I love this pattern , it's an easy top down raglan with the v-neck shaping coming from knitting short rows just after the cast on ribbing . So simple , so ingenious ! Another great idea was to knit the buttonholes on both sides . You can just switch the buttons for another baby.

Specs : Basic v-neck baby cardigan fom Cabin Fever Baby ' V ' no- sew knitting . The yarn is Sirdar Click acrylic/ wool DK . Needles were 3,25 & 4,00 mm circulars and dpns for the sleeves .

I really like this book it has some variations on the theme that are just adorable . I see lots of little sweaters being knit from the patterns on this book . In fact there's already another on the needles . Chantal's cousin Susie had her twins about a month ago . They're preemies and are still in hospital . It looks like they'll be ready to come home this month and they'll definitely need sweaters to keep them warm , don't you think !

Knitting

Life has a way of derailing the best of intentions . Regular blogging has been preempted yet again by baby sitting , birthday celebrations and yesterday a very special christening . There's just 2 more birthdays and then we'll be done till December . I'll have survived another birthday month with no major poundage gained !

Knitting has been going very well , no small thanks to the start of the new fall TV season . Some old favourites are back as well as a couple of new shows that look promising . "The Good Wife " with Juliana Margulies really stands out for me. I think she's a terrific actress and am glad to see her back to a regular show.

There's finally a photo of my shawl . I was so happy with this knit . The pattern was easy without being mind numbingly boring and the yarn lived up to my expectations . It was wonderful to work with , didn't break the bank and best of all the colour was exactly what I'd been looking for .

There's been some baby knits on my needles . I finished a cute little sweater and hat outfit , I can't post of photo quite yet because it's a surprise gift . I've knit a hat for Jessey , which didn't fit so that's going to another baby . I have a terrible time judging hat sizes for babies and inevitably end up ripping and re-knitting .

There is one almost finished knit I can show you . It's a sweater for Sidney , Shirley's latest grandchild , who just left for BC today . I'd started another sweater , but after having met Sidney in person , I didn't like it any more , so more ripping . I had this yarn in my stash , the perfect pattern and voila .... ! It just needs sleeves and buttons and should be in the mail by the end of the week if not sooner . I'm so loving it , hope his parents will too !

Jessey's morning with Omi

Jessey is having a difficult time adjusting to daycare , so he's been spending most mornings with me . Mike took this video with his camera today . In the video you hear me speaking my rather rusty German . Chantal speaks French to him , Casey English , I speak a mish mash of all three.

I have to tell you that the bunny in the video was given to him by Shirley as a little easter gift . At the time he was terrified of it , now it 's one of his favourites . Some days he pushes that little button so many times that I can't get the tune out of my head .

\PS , sorry the video is so long , I couldn't fiqure out how to edit it ....

Getting back to normal

Things are finally settling down after a crazy summer of renovations and wedding preparations . Max & Stef 's wedding was just wonderful , the weather was gorgeous , bright and sunny and just warm enough to be comfortable . The bride & groom looked fabulous and were ecstatically happy to have all their family and friends there to wish them well . Jessey and Emma were perfect in their roles as flower girl and ring bearer .

The reception was such a blast with lots of good food and great music . They had a live band a DJ , both of whom were friends of the bride and groom . They did an amazing job, with something for all musical tastes, young and old alike . I don't remember the last time I danced so much .

Though the wedding was on Saturday Sept. 5th , the party started on the Thursday night with a rehearsal dinner /BBQ . We had family come in from the US, some of which stayed with us, so there was non stop entertaining . We hosted a BBQ on Sunday afternoon the the last of the festivities were on Tuesday evening with another party hosted by Stef's dad and step mom . The happy couple finally left on their honeymoon last Saturday morning . As I'm writing this they're probably sunning themselves on a beach in the Cayman Islands .

I managed to finish the shawl with time to spare . It was done and blocked about a week before the wedding . You can get a peek of it in the picture of Jessey on my lap in the church . None of the pictures we took with our camera were blog worthy so there will be another photo shoot soon .

More about what's on my needles as regular blogging resumes this week . Life is getting back to normal , but not for long as September is birthday month at our house . God help me and my waistline !

Spare time ?

What's that ? That seems to have been the story around here for most of this summer . The renovations are finally completed , except for a couple of minor finishing touches . We have a brand new bathroom /laundry room downstairs . This room has been a pain in my side since we bought the house . It's an odd shaped room with a lot of wasted space ; the shower stall was so small and difficult to keep clean . This one is much bigger , still stuck in a corner , but at least you can move and with the tile , it's much easier to keep clean . I also have shelving for laundry supplies and another over the toilet for toiletries . There's new lighting , vanity and a tile floor . Can you tell how happy I am with this new room ! It was only 20 years in the making ...

All that's left is the big clean . With less than 2 weeks left to Max's wedding I'm starting to get butterflies in my tummy . We're having family from Maine staying with us over that weekend and we'll be hosting a birthday party / family reunion BBQ on Sunday the day after the wedding . Don't quite know how that happened . Anyways I'm really praying for good weather over Labour Day weekend !

If you 're wondering about the progress on the shawl , it's coming along . There's no point posting a photo as it looks pretty much the same only much longer . With last weeks' heat and humidity which left me feeling cranky and dead tired by the end of the day, I barely did any knitting . It's about 54 inches at this point . I'm guessing that around 72 inches will be a good length . I'll be having a look on Ravelry for guidelines for the finished dimensions later today. I'm trying to have it ready for blocking by the weekend .

And just because I love him so much and this is my blog , yet another picture of Jessey...

Summer

Summer has finally arrived . It's been hot & muggy the last couple of days , with some spectacular thunderstorms late in the day . Great pool weather ! The late summer flowers are blooming like crazy, the tomatoes in the garden are ripening with the added sunshine . We've enjoyed them in a meal a couple of times this week . Boy were they good , you can't beat that fresh from the garden taste ! I think we'll be expanding our garden next summer . This year we just didn't have the time to take care of a larger garden .

We're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with the renovations . The tiling is just about done , the painting is done and the new vanity and toilet are installed . Now it's just the lighting and vent , new doors , heater , mirror and window coverings . The shower door is supposed to come in early next week . Keeping fingers crossed that there's no more delays . I can't wait to get the washer and dryer back in place so I can catch up with the laundry . I've been doing a load here and there at Shirley's just to keep us in clean underwear and such .

Not much knitting going on here , too hot , too tired . What little knitting is getting done is on the shawl . The deadline looms ever closer . I've knit only another 6 inches or so since my last post . I'd better get a move on !

What was I thinking !

Did I say in my last post that I could clean less and knit more during our renovations ? Must of been dreaming in colour or had some funny stuff in my tea . Things have been progressing more slowly than we'd anticipated and by jeez if I gave up the "cleaning" altogether we'd be swimming in dirt . So much for that plan ...

I'm starting to worry a bit because the wedding is just a month away and there's still so much that needs to get done . Aside from that I can't get over the prices of construction materials , thank heavens we don't have to pay the labour costs as Max & Mike are doing it themselves and that we can claim some of the costs in the federal government home reno tax credit . Counting our blessings on that front .

When I have a chance I've been knitting on my shawl . That usually means at the crack of dawn with my first cup of tea . I can't believe it , but a couple of times I actually fell asleep with my knitting in my hands when I was knitting in front of the TV in the evening . This is the progress so far , the last time I measured I'd knit about 31 inches . I've still got yarn left on this ball then , I 'll have to wind up the rest . I'm sure I should get about 60+ inches before I run out . That should be adequate to get a decent sized stole after blocking . The socks are on hold till this is done .

I have to end this post with a pic of our little guy . He's been over to the house a couple of times lately . He's so close to walking on his own . Here he is grabbing onto my legs , wanting me to walk with him . Who could resist that face !? We're still looking for his off button , he's such a lively character ...