A sweater for Harriet

I knit Harriet a sweater! It's from the Debbie Bliss Baby and Toddler Knits book, and I've been working on it since last autumn. Seeing as I only knit whilst watching TV and that I hardly ever watch TV, this is not bad progress. We have Mad Men Season 1, Midsomer Murders weekly and a few movies borrowed from the library to thank for this project.

Naturally, this sweater was knit with the wrong size wool AND needles, using cheap polyester wool I had around the house. Considering all this, it turned out surprisingly well. I messed up the collar though-- there were supposed to be two buttons on the shoulder but I ended up with the second buttonhole on the wrong side of the sweater, hmmm.

I'm pretty proud of myself though, and the sweater is cute, even if it makes Harriet look like a boy (according to the waiter at the restaurant we were just at). I will not make her wear it after today, as she has clothes that are cuter and far less wonky. I expect in a few years it will have been relegated to the doll clothes pile, but still-- go, me!

Making stuff lately

Harriet's sweater has been on hold as I've tackled more urgent seasonal tasks, namely Harriet's Christmas stocking. I knit the other two four years ago, for our first Canadian Christmas. Harriet's is knitted with a bit less care, and with a purple flair, because she's that kind of girl. Kind of wonderful to think as I knitted it that she's going to keep this all through her childhood, that she was witness to nearly every stitch created, and strange that she won't remember a bit of it. Anyway, she's now officially a part of the family, or at least the bits of us that hang above the fire.

I've also been baking cookies to give to our friends, which is good because the cookies are delicious and I've finally found a use for the mason jars I've been hoarding for years and years (in vain hope of one day taking up canning, which isn't happening any time soon).

And finally, we've been making baby food. Which is the kind of thing that makes it obvious that I've only got one child.

I've been making this lately...

And that is all. Oh, and sorbet. And I just started knitting Harriet a tiny sweater, and will post an update when it's done.

Wiped

I've not been making cats lately. but I did find this one asleep on my baby's change table, on top of Baby's going home outfit, no less. This is my part-time cat, belongs to our next door neighbours, and she likes to sleep curled up in inappropriate places. I've also never posted a photo of a cat on a blog before, and thought this represented an ideal opportunity. Mostly because from this photo you can see that I've been busy preparing for baby, who actually has clothes, books, toys, and a changing pad. And also the stack of reusable wipes in the lower right hand corner-- I sewed them myself!! I learned how to thread my sewing machine, how to wind a bobbin (well enough for it to function, though not quite correctly) and made these wipes out of towel and an old shirt. Stuart helped cut out the pieces. And I'm pleased with them, pleased that learning how to sew might not be an impossibility, though I don't actually think that I like it that much. Sewing is not a multi-task, is it? But still a skill I'd like to acquire.

Baby Blanket DONE

And knit with so so much love, every stitch. We can't wait to meet you, little squirmster!

December knitting

My most exciting project lately has been growing a baby, and this seems to have been going well for the past nineteen weeks. On Wednesday we'll discover whether I'm growing a boy or a girl, which is very exciting. Also to see those kicking feet again, and get some kind of sense that this is real.

Below is the baby's blanket, knit from a recipe in Stitch and Bitch using "granite" tri-coloured Mission Falls wool. I spent $50.00 buying the wool, only to realize that I'd only bought half what I needed, and I need to get some more of the stuff, but none of the knitting stores I went to had any of the tri-coloured left. There's time though, as the baby won't be born until May. And this blanket-so-far is quite significant, different than everything else that I've ever created, in that it has absolutely not one mistake. Yet.















Next up are the booties I've made for our friends' Steve and Carolyn's baby. Project was a little more urgent as wee Spud is due in March, and so I whipped these up as an in-utero Zmas gift. This is my third or fourth time making these, and I never fail to be overwhelmed by their adorableness at completion. How amazing to contemplate a real live baby-to-be whose tiny feet will fit these.















And finally, I had to knit this rather furtively so Stuart wouldn't have his Christmas morning spoiled. Not that the hot water bottle was the highlight of his pickings this year, but still, I didn't want him to know. So I told him I was knitting a sweater for the cat, and though he didn't believe me (I am quite outspoken about my loathing for animals in clothes), I sure confused him plenty. This was a last minute project, knit from scraps in my basket, which is why the front and back of the cozy don't match. But it looks quite cool, actually, and is somewhat brought together by the snazzy matching buttons. I am proud of this, and it was most well received.