September

That would be September, not in chronological order...

 A package arrived in the mail. Some of the boys' "old" wooden toys a friend in Germany had been storing for me. Sweet, sweet memories!

 I made the bear in second grade! That makes it almost thirty years old! The doll on the right was Noah's first doll when he was wee. The other doll I bought a couple of years ago for no particular reason. It will now be Nuriel's when she is old enough for it.

Nuriel had a birthday. She's one now. The owl bunting was made by a dear friend. So sweet. Some of you have heard of my picture dilemma on the birthday. It was a crazy day. I learned that having to prepare a birthday celebration that's taking place two hours after work while still needing to chauffeur kids back & forth after school makes it impossible to fit in a trip to buy camera batteries. It was a very sweet lil' celebration, though. Good memories, which is the most important part!

The nature table is looking more like spring, but we like it that way. The Koru maiden was made by Marie over at Softearthart. It will become more autumny soon!

Nathan had a birthday, too. He's thirteen now. I'm officially Mom to two teenagers. 

Nathan used some leftover bass wood to cut out some owls. He's planning on woodburning details.

 Enjoying the last days of summer...

Yarn Along Wednesday

I'm joining Yarn Along Wednesday today. 

I finished this, and then I went to some functional knitting yesterday and stitched up a Vanilla soaker. For some reason I totally got everything wrong. It turned out way too big. So big that (even after slightly felting it) it will not ever fit a child in diapering age! So, it's being felted in the washer now. It was a nice soft rosy hue and will make some nice heart-ornaments for the Christmas tree. :-) I did figure out why it got so big. I wasn't using the right version for the yarn I had. Duh, me. 

I'm also knitting a green shawl using some Malabrigo Sock from my stash. And I have 5 (gasp) shawls waiting to be blocked. I finished The Silver Lining, I have a Rosie Shawl, and I used the white Malabrigo to knit three Shetland Triangles varying in size: Mother. Daughter. Dollie. 

I'm reading Conception, Birth & Early Childhood by Norbert Glas. I'm enjoying the insights he offers about child development. It's so nice to see all of this unfold for Nuriel. If I get around to it sometime, I'll share more.

If you haven't entered yet, the Mother Earth Meltdown Monday Giveaway is still open to entries!

Half A Kiwi {HINE is a girl}

I had the honor of test-knitting this for Kelly over at knit.so.quaint. It's HINE is a girl, the extended version, which is due to be released soon. The pattern is one of those no-seams kind that I love so much. It's a top-down construction. It's a fairly easy knit, yet with the assymmetrical button-band & lace sleeves it has a quite sophisticated look. Since I would love for this to fit Nuriel for two cold seasons, I chose to knit the 18-24 months size.

I used Woolrae (8-ply). I was a bit hesitant at first to use a variegated yarn. I worried about pooling since part of Hine is knit back & forth and part of it in the round, but this yarn was a good choice for this project. I love how the colors blend & mend. I added Paua buttons. You must think I have an arsenal of Paua buttons. I don't. I put Paua buttons on a project for the time Nuriel wears it. When she outgrows the garment, I recycle the buttons for a new project and put some simple buttons on the outgrown garment before I pass it on to someone as a hand-me-down.

Kiwi pattern. Kiwi yarn. Kiwi buttons. On Ravelry the project is here. It looks lovely on my hine. It will make a nice 1st birthday gift.

Knitting & Reading (& Stashing)

~ Inspired by Tonya, I've decided to join Ginny's Yarn Along for today! ~

I'm knitting a Shetland Triangle (Pattern by Evelyn Clark) with Malabrigo Sock from my stash. It's a very simple shawl. It was easy to memorize the pattern. It's giving me lots of time for meditation & reflection as I go along since I don't have to think about the pattern or look at a chart. It's a bittersweet knit. I purchased the yarn a long time ago, anticipating a special knit for a special occasion. This special occasion will never happen. I think you can put two and two together here. I pondered what to do with the yarn & decided to go with the original idea of a shawl. What I will do with it? - I don't know. Maybe Nuriel can wear it one day.

I'm reading "Maori Myths" by A.W. Reed in preparation for a 4th grade block. I always wanted to share these beautiful stories with my class, but didn't know in which grade to fit it all in. Inspired by a Waldorf teacher in Philly, I'm devoting a 3-weeks block to it this upcoming school year. I'm very excited about it.

This isn't supposed to be a blog about "Stashing," but a most lovely gift arrived from Rachel today! Yarn from New Zealand. That lovely yarn in the picture there & also chocolate & a very sweet lil' book. Thank you so much! I just *had* to mention it here.

Meet Potato Sack

You know, on Ravelry everything must have a name. I had originally named it "Phunky Monkey" because of the very colorful yarn. I've renamed it "Potato Sack." I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning (okay, 12:05 a.m.) to block this & the soaking made it huge. The yarn stretched out way too much. There's no way it will fit her anytime soon. Ughh. Arghhh. Well, I suppose it's a pretty potato sack.

I'm starting to think "birthdays." Nathan & Nuriel both have a birthday coming up in September. I'm knitting a hat for Nathan. He actually asked me to do so. I had a look on Etsy for inspiration for Nuriel. I found a perfect lil' doll with a knitted body for her. Price tag: $185. Now, I do want to say that I'm glad to see a doll priced at $185. If you've ever made a doll, you know that it's *a lot* of work. And I do believe we live in a society where handmade is undervalued. However, it is not what I can pay & it's so nice to make a doll for your child, so I'm making my own. I had some suitable yarn in my stash. I have some leftover doll-making supplies from a workshop I did last year. I'm making my girl a doll. Price tag: $0 - sort of. Here's that work in progress...

I'm going to crochet a cap for hair, using an auburn mohair yarn. - That's if my yarn snobby self can get over the 5% nylon content. (Help me, Mindi!) If not, the doll may just need to have a permanent hat. I'm undecided about what color to use for embroidering the eyes. I've also started using some purple lace yarn to make a mini shawl. It'll be a 12" doll, which is a good size for a small child.

Next Up...

I'm knitting from my stash this summer. Oh, the yarn treasures I have accumulated over the years!
Work In Progress... Boheme (I have the free version from way back when, so my pattern might be outdated.) Unidentifiable yarn from my stash - a yarn that turns out being a bit too colorful for my taste. Nevertheless, it will keep her warm in the Fall & Winter months.I'm going to replace the diaper pin with some precious Paua shell buttons which I recycled from a sweater.

She's a lil' stinker, you know...

Meet Greengirl

I finished something! Yay. Green is my favorite color & the color certainly suits my melancholic temperament as well. I bought this yarn last summer. Swans Island Certified Organic Merino - dyed naturally. Luxury! I was going to knit this shawl (and then 4 more shawls to meet the 10 in 2010 goal) during my maternity leave, but that never happened. So, here it is. I'm so glad I finished something!

80" (200cm - 2m, baby!) from tip to tip. 25" (63 cm) from neck to bottom tip. Fiercely blocked.

I'm loving the lace!

I usually give shawls away, but this one is for me!

Hello Blog...

... it's me checkin' in. - It's still up & down for this Mama. These past few weeks have been tough. I thought the second year would be "easier" - not so. Father's Day was extremely difficult. I wanted to blog a note from Nuriel to Brent to honor the day, but I just couldn't get myself there. But, I've been doing a bit of summer knitting with yarn from my stash. I realize just how much sanity I get from knitting. It's so nice to have time to knit.

I finished an Icarus Shawl. It's blocking at the local yarn shop. I can't wait to pick it up tomorrow. It had been in my UFO pile for almost a year. It feels so good to finish something. I have so many creative ideas, but often I just don't have the time or the energy... So, not yay for beauty, but yay for finishing somethin'. In that spirit...

A Collared Pixie in Malabrigo Rios. It will be a gift for one of Nunu's friends. (If you see dust, please clean your computer screen. It's certainly not dust on my floor! My house is spotless. Ha.)

Erika Flory's "Little Red" in Woolrae. It will be Nunu's 1st Birthday Cape. Time sure flies. She'll be one in 2-1/2 months! It will also most likely be a lil' gnome cape for Halloween. The yarn colors are so vibrant. The yarn is so soft. And the lil' Matryoshka button is so cute, too. Back to knitting aka a moment of sanity.