Barnraising

I'm having a lot of fun with the barn raising blanket. But not as much fun as I'm having with little miss Naomi... she's over 7 weeks old now, and growing like you wouldn't believe! She's also started smiling and babbling -- I think we have a chatty little soul here :o)



For the barn raising blanket I've been using Pagewood Farms sock bites (mill ends that are sold at my local yarn store) and scraps of sock yarn from my stash. I've also swapped a couple of squares with local knitty friends.



I'm really liking the color combinations so far and enjoying arranging the squares to see how I'll want the final placement.



Another great simple project!

Simple knitting

With free knitting time at a minimum, and those few hours being quite bleary-eyed ones (need more sleep!) I've chosen to focus on a few super simple WIPs that have been hanging out in my yarn cubbies for a good long while.

First WIP to be completed is the Anthropologie-inspired capelet.



This has been hibernating for 2 years. Hard to believe. Anyhoo, nothing to get too excited about - it's a super simple pattern. But what I do love is how the bamboo yarn drapes so nicely. And it has a little shimmer to it. What I'm not real excited about is how I've woven in the ends - it seems to pull the yarn and is visible on the right side. I'm sure you can spot it in the picture. Not to worry. I still think it is very wearable. And as my sis would say - it's a design feature!

Pattern is: Anthropologie inspired capelet (free ravelry download)
Yarn is: Berroco Bonsai, 6 skeins
Needle size: I used a size 9 needle, instead of the needle called for in the pattern. And must have cast on more stitches than the pattern called for (to account for the smaller needle size and thinner yarn I used). But I couldn't tell you how many now... it was too long ago. (But if anyone is desperate to know I can always count the rib ridges for you, and let you know!).

That's all for now... Naomi calls...
xoxo

More handcrafted goodies

Naomi is 6 weeks old now! I can hardly believe it. She's been keeping me quite busy (hence the absence from the blog world). 6 weeks on, and still the gifts are coming in. She's one lucky little lady! Here's a few handcrafted gifties that she received recently.

First is a selection of gorgeous sewn items that Terri had gifted her. These are from Etsy seller Francesca Baby. Aren't they pretty. I love the 'ducks in a row' pattern. There's belt covers (that we'll be using in her stroller), a wet bag with antimicrobial inside (for when we get caught outdoors with nowhere to put dirty/wet clothes), a burp cloth and a couple of bibs (we call Naomi the milk bandit when she's wearing the triangular one - soo cute!). Terri also made Naomi the very cute crocheted hat. Love the yarn - looks like ice cream colours to me. And this will be perfect for keeping the sun off in the summer; it's made from a lovely soft organic cotton.


My parents were over for a good 10 days or so (sooo much help, and lovely to have them here). They brought a bunch of gifties from friends and family back home. My sis sent with them a whole host of handcrafted goodies. First off there is the sock monster - how cool is this! (Hint, hint sis - I could fill up a whole shelf with a family of these ;o) And look how happy Naomi is with her sock monster! Thanks Jac xoxo


My sis also made a mobile for the nursery. What cracks me up is that Jac made a fuss about the yellow bird looking a bit pyscho. In fact I believe she almost wasn't going to gift this to Naomi, thinking that it wasn't good enough... are you kidding? It is AWESOME!!! I took a few pics of the felted birds on the mobile and also of Naomi looking at the mobile. This particular shot made me laugh because it looks like Naomi is shielding herself from said pyscho bird! LOL! Love the mobile. And Naomi loves it too -- she watches those little birds as they float over her in the crib.


Thanks for all the lovely gifts.

Next up, some actual knitting content!