Sweet Barley

It's been so darn cold outside this week  that the best thing to do is stay inside , drink lots of hot tea and knit. Which is exactly what I've done for the most part this week . I did have to brave the cold a couple of mornings in order to bring Mason to daycare and  to babysit Jessey and Stella . She'd been running a low fever and was coughing , so Chantal asked if I could babysit . Jessey thought that since I was going to be there that he would keep us company . We spent a very nice day together . I don't get to see them as much as I'd like so it was definitely a treat .

I finished another hat for my grand daughter Charlie this week . This one is knit with some worsted weight yarn that I had leftover from the Entrechat shrugs that I knitted for Roxanne's daughters . The pattern is Barley from tincanknits'  Simple Collection . I just love how this turned out ! The pompom really adds to the cuteness factor IMHO .

I 've put Charlie's Miss Marple on hold while I knit another blanket for her .The cardigan only needs to be done in time for Christmas , so a little time out won't matter . I wanted a change and some mindless knitting , with the added bonus of getting six balls of yarn out of the cupboard , was just the ticket . I'm so fickle like that . I'm a little more than half done , I'm hoping that the end of the weekend will see another cuddly blanket in Charlie's crib .

A Friday Finish

Thank you for the welcome back and for all the words of encouragement  . It was so very nice and I really appreciated it  . It was such a difficult post for me , to try and find the line of what I was comfortable sharing online .

That being said , I have been busy this week trying to decrease the WIPs from my ravelry page , lest they become UFOs . One done and at least four more to go .

These socks were intended as a Christmas gift for Jessey  . He had asked me for some blue socks to wear inside his boots . I think I'll knit him another pair with a heavier weight yarn the next time around . They are warmer than regular socks but still , with the frigid temps we've had thicker ones would be better . An Omi's work is never done !  ;-)

While I was going looking through the stash for the baby hats from the last post , I found four balls of Berroco  Blackstone Tweed that I bought In Vermont a few years ago . I'm getting a head start on the Christmas knitting with a cardigan for Charlie . I have enough yarn to knit the Miss Marple cardigan in the 2 to 3 year old size . I realize that it will be a tad on the large size as she'll only be 15 months old by next Christmas , but  she'll grow into it and get more wear out of it .

I love this cardigan ! You knit the fronts and back all at once  from the bottom and then you pick up the stitches for the sleeves at the armhole and knitting short rows to form the sleeve cap . The sleeves will be the most challenging part I think , another new technique for me ...

I spent the morning baking chocolate chip cookies for a bake sale . Stella is taking part in a little dance show tomorrow afternoon and some of us were asked to help out with the refreshments for afterwards . It should be fun ! Trying hard to keep Mike's fingers out of the cookie tin , the man has some sweet tooth .

Have a wonderful weekend !

New year , fresh start

Well 2013 is come and gone and I can't say that I'm sorry to see it go . I hadn't  meant to stay away from blogging for so long , it just seemed that life in the last few months of 2013 knocked the stuffing out of me . It had mostly to do  with health issues and some family issues . I am feeling better  and I'm confident that the family issues will work themselves out bit by bit . I'm looking forward to a better and happier 2014 .

Aside from the birth of our latest granddaughter Charlie  , this little addition to the family has brought me a lot of happiness . After Alaska died in May I realized how much I missed the companionship of a dog . A friend pointed me in the direction of Animatch a local shelter and this is where I found Zoe . She was a surrender from a commercial breeder and is about 2 years old . It was love at first sight . We filled out all the adoption forms and we were lucky enough to be chosen as her forever family . She is a very sweet ,gentle and happy little dog that follows me everywhere .

Looking back at my knitting of the last year ,2013 was a fairly productive year . I completed 31 projects . I knit some socks but baby cardigans and blankets were very prominent on my ravelry project page . I had hoped to practice knitting more designs with cables but that didn't pan out  . We'll see what I can come up with for this year . I hope to reduce the stash a bit and I have made a start with this trio of hats for Charlie . My first finish for 2014 .

To help me with my goal of reducing the stash I am going to do more knitting for charity . I have enough single and odd balls to knit a fair number of hats and mittens to give to the homeless . Our local hospital also takes baby hats for preemies and newborns . Of course , there is also the Warm Hands Network , which  does a great job helping the northern communities thanks to the generosity of knitters .

Those are the knitting goals ,they are the easy ones to achieve . The harder ones are the personal goals . The primary one is to learn to let go of and  to accept  the things that I can't change . I am going to try to focus on and appreciate all the positives in my life and to forget the rest . Another personal goal is to BE healthier , which means making some changes in my diet and exercise . This has been a constant struggle in the last few years . I 've lost weight but not enough to get me off  some of my medications . I need to find an exercise that I enjoy and can stick to .

Mike, Omi and Mason , Stella & Charlie .

Happy New Year and since most of the continent is under a deep freezing cold spell , hope you can stay warm ...

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

She's here !

After keeping us guessing Charlie Shea arrived two days before my Dad .  When she decided that she was ready she wasted no time in getting here . Mom and dad barely had gotten to the hospital and there she was , 8lbs  8oz  of cuteness .  Her nanny MaryAnn and I were there to hear her first cries , a special moment for both of us .

Mason meets his sister

 He wasn't quite sure what to make of her , but was intrigued and concerned when he heard her cry . He kept telling her " It's okay, it's alright " ! So cute !



Snug as a bug at home

Let the crazies begin !

September has always been a  busy month in this house what with three birthdays all falling within nine days of each other . Add to that my father's annual visit and there's a recipe for crazy that usually leaves me done in by the end of October . This year there's an expected fourth grandchild , due any minute now judging from the size of Stef's baby belly , which will add a little more busy to this month . I can't wait to meet this little one and have been knitting up a storm . Here's the last two finished knits ...

I didn't have enough of the madelinetosh pashmina left after knitting the baby Tea Leaves cardigan to knit a matching  hat . I knit a cream coloured hat and then used a few yards of the pashmina to knit the flower accent . As for the blankie , I fell in love with the pattern  as soon as I saw it on ravelry . It was a fun and easy knit . Mason had two similar blankies that were well used and loved , hoping that Charlie will like hers as much as he did his.

My Dad arrives on Thursday , which is also Stef's due date . We're all speculating on who will arrive first ...

While I was away

While I've been neglecting the blog , the summer has been filled with ...

 spending time with this trio of munchkins .

 

 

Knitting . I've been on a streak with the baby knits . The purple shrug is for Stella , as well as a cardigan and vest for my expected grand daughter .I also knit a pair of socks for Jessey and there are another pair in progress for Stella. I`ll have to get going to knit some for Mason .

Reading .This  pile of books is more reflective of currently reading (The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith , also known as J.K. Rowling in another incarnation ) and to be read books . The book that I most enjoyed reading this summer and one that I can`t recommend highly enough is And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini .  The book begins in Afghanistan the 1940s and continues on through the decades and to other parts of the world with a series of interlinked stories . It entertained me , moved me to tears in places , and taught me a little more about the history and culture of the Afghan people. I have read his other books and thoroughly enjoyed them , but in my mind this is his best one yet .

 

 

On a sad note , we had to say goodbye to our cat Hey You , so named because when he wandered into our lives 17 years ago we had no intention of keeping him ,  the logic was that you can`t keep a cat if you don`t give him a name . He stayed and the no name stuck . He`d been showing his age lately but then started having seizures and getting weaker every day . We finally had to face the reality that it would be kinder to end his suffering . It`s particularly hard for me because he came to us just 3 weeks after my mother died . She loved cats and I always felt that she sent him to me . He was a very good companion , kept the dogs in line (they knew the pecking order ) even the big guy Alaska . He accepted the kids even though he wasn`t too sure about them in the beginning . They loved him in return . We will always miss him , but mom has him back with her ...

 

Emma's socks

I'm doing another happy dance this week . Emma's socks from my last post are finished . I didn't quite make my Sunday night deadline as I had hoped , but they were completed yesterday and ready for their photo shoot today .

 

These are the Baby Cable Rib socks from Sensational Knitted socks . I use this book often when I have to knit children's socks .  You are limited when you have to knit for small feet and there are a number of patterns in this book that look great with just about any sock yarn . I'm not worried about the fit because I was given Emma's shoe size and with the sizing charts in this book you can just about knit custom socks . I hope she likes them ...

 

Up next ...

 

 

Baby Tea Leaves cardigan . It's coming along nicely , more on that another time .