A Newborn BSJ

On the needles right now is the start of another Baby Surprise Jacket in fingering weight, possibly for a friend's baby due in the summer. I'm just lovin' the Addi-turbos while knitting up another ingenious Zimmermann design. The needles are so quiet when I'm able to knit after baby sleeps. I keep expecting to hear the click-clacking of the needles, but just don't.

Thanks To Cherry and Grape Kool-Aid!

So, I eventually took a break from knitting baby socks after knitting up this last pair at the end of 2008, a pair I'm highlighting, because I knit it from yarn that I finally love after dyeing it twice!

The yarn started as Spunky Eclectic's undyed superwash wool sock yarn. Back in 2007, I experimented with acid dyes and handpainted a skein along with some fibre. Unfortunately, I didn't like how the colors came out on the skein, so I let it get buried in my stash and didn't do anything with it until this past November when I got this crazy urge to do some dyeing. So, I dug out the offensive sock yarn and the Kool-Aid packets and found my recycled containers to do some simple overdyeing. I wish I had a "before" picture of this skein, but lazy me didn't take one. Anyhow, on one end of the skein, I dip-dyed the skein (prepped and pre-soaked with cold water and a glug of vinegar) with two packages of cherry mixed with about a cup of water, and on the other end, with a package of cherry and a package of grape mixed with a cup of water. After dip dyeing and placing the colours on either end of the skein, I just pushed the entire skein into the dye jar to absorb every last bit of dye before heat setting in the microwave.


It's amazing how the vinegar helps the wool to just suck up every last bit of dye from the Kool-Aid liquid. (How anyone can ingest this "drink", after using this as a dye, is beyond me.)

After the skein came out of the microwave and air dried, the skein completely transformed from a loud, ugly mix of teal blue, navy blue, white, canary yellow, and grass green to a glorious mix of warm, autumn colors that blend well together. I don't think I'll ever be able to reproduce this skein again, but that's ok, I really love the serendipity of the dyeing process! I'll have to carefully choose the rest of my projects for this single yummy skein, but I'm thinking Jaywalkers or a baby sweater at this point... For now, I can enjoy the baby socks on K, which almost fit perfectly on her curling, tiny feet!

Our Baby Girl is a Month Old!

Yesterday marked the one-month birthday of our sweet baby girl! Some things we've learned about her so far... She has a good appetite and is beginning to sleep longer stretches of time, especially in the mornings. Tummy time is a frustration for her, but her neck is getting stronger every day. She can be very alert at five in the morning, refusing to tire out and sleep. She cries the loudest when having her diaper changed at night and tolerates having two curious brothers who like to analyze, touch or kiss her.

And look at the display of affection between siblings that's become more and more common around here...

from another kind of affection that we're used to!

A Pair of Red Booties

A pair of red Mary Janes is definitely in order with all K's hand knit socks not fitting just yet. This pair knit up in no time and is most adorable, like its recipient. I knit the 0-3M size using Elann's Sock It To Me 4-ply yarn and 2.25mm DPNs (not the 3.25mm needles suggested in the pattern), which produced a perfect fitting newborn bootie for our smaller K. K's been settling into a nice little morning routine lately where she sleeps from the time D leaves for school until about lunch time, so I have some "catch-up" time with R or housework or all my knitting projects! Hopefully, this isn't a short-lived sleeping routine. If interested, the sweet, vintage-inspired pattern for the Mary Jane Booties is here, courtesy of Hadley Fierlinger.

We Proudly Introduce...

the newest member of our family, Kaitlyn! Born just a little over two weeks ago at six pounds, two ounces on February 22, we are overjoyed and thrilled to receive our little girl whom we had no idea was a little girl until she decided it was her time to meet us all out here. We're all still on a "high" with her arrival and even more in shock that she turned out to be a girl. We were just used to "Mama" being the only girl in the household and resigned to the fact that this pregnancy would produce us a boy, as boys run in both Mama and Papa's families. Then, as my pregnancy continued, I increasingly felt that I was carrying more and more similar to my first pregnancy--the belly being high, straight out and round with similar abnormal triple screen worries. So, although the intuition isn't too sharp during pregnancy, we're extremely grateful for a healthy baby!

And as it has turned out, K's two older brothers have been absolutely wonderful and tolerant during this sudden transition and shift in focus at home. R's been kissing her everyday throughout the past two weeks, and D's been asking to hold her whenever possible. So, I guess it's now okay for me to dive into the pink and red yarn stash, as K's wardrobe is severely short of anything in this color range. In fact, she's wearing a beloved D and R hand-me-down in the above pic! Nevertheless, we know that K will be one spoiled and protected member of our family.

Kanoko Pants

Here's another FO out of the queue.... Kanoko Pants, a very cute free pattern by Yumiko Sakurai found on Ravelry. I can't wait to see it on the baby! I knit these pants with Cotton-Ease, as called for in the pattern, and just love the versatile colour and practicality of the adjustable waistband. I think this pair of pants would pair really well with the Yoda cardi, in the same yarn, that I knit for my nephew, Zac. See this post. I may just have to start another Yoda, along with finishing up more projects and gift knitting! I know so many babies that are going to be born in the Year of the Ox!

EZ Best Baby Sweater

I've been a bad blogger the first couple of months this year. More accurately, I've been very short of energy to blog, despite wanting to knit more and spending too much time on Ravelry. Now with one more week of work and expecting a baby any day now, even though the due date is during the first week of March, I am knitting as much as I can to finish up baby projects already started and near completion. I say this just because both D & R were early babies. Anyhow, here's a finished variation of EZ's Best Baby Sweater without the lace that used up some of my hand-dyed, handspun merino wool and handspun "Denim Dreams" (wool and part mohair fiber bought from Paradise Fibers). I quite enjoyed knitting up this little sweater with the exception of the realizations that I may not have had enough hand-dyed handspun to finish the project after knitting the yoke (so I had to start spinning and plying some of my "Denim Dreams" right away in January) and that I had forgotten to knit the buttonholes in the yoke of the sweater since Elizabeth Zimmermann doesn't even mention buttonholes until further into the pattern instructions. I ended up making bobble buttons with chain loop closures to remedy the lack of buttonholes on the yoke. The bobble buttons were made by casting on a stitch on a DPN, leaving a 3" tail and then with another DPN, I kfb in the stitch until there were 5sts on the needle. I knit the next row and purled the following row. On the fourth row, I knit the row, but then passed the second, third, fourth, and fifth sts over the first st. I cut the yarn, leaving a 6" tail to thread into a yarn needle for gathering up the edges of the bobble to make a ball, stuffing the bobble with the cast-on tail. I made only three bobble buttons for the yoke to make a swing-like cardigan and did not do the decreases at the end of the pattern. The little cardigan was finished on February 6.

Where Did 2008 Go?

Christmas came and went, just like the rest of 2008. I can hardly believe that we are at the end of another year. Upon reflection, 2008 was quite an intense year filled with anxiety for the unknown, passion for life, and gratitude for all I have around me. I wish you all a happy, healthy, new year full of peace and new endeavors!

Kool-Aid Socks

As you can see, I'm still knitting the baby socks. In fact, I may be addicted to this simple little pattern by Amber Ward. I went and dug out one of my very first hand-dyed, slightly slubby, handspun yarns--some Kool-Aid dyed, handspun Polwarth singles that I never got around to plying, to see how it would knit up as a sock. Since a sock for a newborn wouldn't require the durability of a toddler sock, this was a great way to use up some of my handspun singles. I quite like what I see so far... I really do love how handspun, hand-dyed yarns look and feel so vibrant and "alive" versus the commercial yarns. I will most definitely be digging out the dyeing equipment again soon... I have a few skeins of undyed sock yarns begging to be painted in my "gynormous" yarn stash...

R's Thoughts on Baby

R: Why are you always knitting so many socks? Does the baby have ten legs?

Baby Projects

I've been thinking about knitting for our baby, due to arrive mid to late February, for awhile now, but have had trouble starting projects. There are just way too many patterns to choose from, first of all, and not enough time to go through everyone's amazing patterns and notes on Ravelry! Anyhow, with all the kicking and playing going on inside my belly to remind me that it won't be too long before s/he will be arriving soon, I've had to get a move on with narrowing down a few projects and starting something. Among some of the projects that I really want to complete for this baby are a Baby Yoda cardigan, an EZ Baby Surprise Jacket in my own handspun, some hand knit socks, an earflap hat, and some other crafty projects as well (ie. a kimono style quilted jacket and felted slippers/bootees) I know I'm being quite ambitious at the moment, but there's nothing wrong with aiming high. I decided to start with some socks. Below is my completed first pair of hand knit wool socks in elann's superwash yarn. The pattern is Ribbed Far-Away Baby Socks by Amber Ward found as a free download on Ravelry. My second pair, above, is the same pattern, but in elann's Esprit, a stretchy cotton yarn. I think I like the wool more, which I think, will hold its shape better as a more snug sock. We'll have to put the socks to the test when baby comes out...

Handknits Fit!

Look! The handknits mailed to HK this past spring for my new niece and nephew finally fit! At the rate that these two cutie pies are growing, I'll be lucky if they get six months wear out of these Baby Yoda cardigans!

Here's the link to Cari Luna's super Baby Yoda pattern along with some other free patterns.

Can't Read Charts in Karate

I desparately needed a finished object from being so frustrated at the Koolhaas hat that I had been working on, so I started and finished a pair of Maine Morning Mitts instead. The mitts (my second pair) are such a relaxing knit, that I may have to knit a bunch more for Christmas. The Koolhaas hat, which was almost half finished last week, ended up being frogged due to mistakes made while watching D's karate classes. I fixed some of the mistakes, but more mistakes were made after re-fixing, so I gave up. I should just not bring any kind of chart reading to any of D's lessons. That concentration of mine needs some fine-tuning...

Anyhow, it's just too bad that the Bernat Alpaca seemed a bit itchy after trying on the finished mitts. I had to put in a cuff lining just to remedy the problem before gifting the mitts to a friend at work.

As for the flan from yesterday, I pretty much licked the plate spotlessly clean. I resisted the temptation to gobble up a second serving, despite the boys not liking it, but who'd a thought that D would reject dessert! And because D thought the flan tasted like "barbeque", R pushed it away at the table too. I guess the "burnt" sugar taste isn't for everyone, especially for those with simple tastes. Hey, wait a minute, D loves cambozola and blue-veined cheeses on croissants! Oh well, I'm sure he'll acquire the taste for sophisticated desserts in time. For now, that just means more flan for M, me and baby #3.

A Little Baking... A Little Patching... on a Rainy Thursday

I've been craving flan or creme caramel for weeks now and have finally gotten down to making it. I went through a whole pile of recipes on different sites, but decided on a lighter, Mexican version without the condensed milk. The ramekins are in the fridge chilling until dinner, so we can't wait! My boys have not been eating eggs lately, so this is a good way to disguise a little protein in their meal.

Otherwise, I've also been trying to think of cool ways to patch up D's trousers and sweatpants, which are usually relatively new except for the holes that a six-year-old wears into them right away, more specifically, on the right knee for every pair that needs patching. I love the look of leather patches, but I just don't have the time and patience to hand sew through thick leather sometimes, and for some reason, I'm not very skilled at using a thimble. I just never got used to using one. So, imagine how excited I was to find some bargain iron-on patches at Dressew last week while doing some last-minute Hallowe'en shopping. (Two patches for 25 cents!) This is what I came up with for D's pants.

I simply cut out the skull design I wanted and ironed it on for 30 seconds.

Then I outlined the eyes and nose of the skull using a chain stitch.

That was it! Other designs to consider without having to do the extra embroidery might be a star, a car silhouette, or animal (ie. a dragon, etc... )

On Being a Big Brother

From time to time, your children say amusing things to entertain you. It's just a given....but then there are times when children just say things that seem ridiculously profound or just a lot older and more advanced for their age. Two days ago, D was being very helpful and set the toilet ring on top of the big toilet for his brother to go potty. Being very conscious to recognize my D's kind and considerate gesture, I told him that he was a very good big brother and that he was going to be an even bigger help as a big brother to the baby that was growing inside my tummy. As D leaves the washroom to give his younger brother some privacy, he turns to me and nonchalantly answers, "That means more work and that means more stress." Now, is that really a six-year old talking??!? Seriously, sometimes I think there's a fifty-year old living in that six-year old's body. I hope he's not too worried about his RRSPs yet.

For the Ears and Just Plain Ol' Bad Hair Days

Off the needles and straight onto my noggin is my new Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, a quick, diversion knit courtesy of Natalie Larson. As the mornings and evenings get chillier here in Vancouver, I desperately needed a hat to cover the ears, so it was a bit of research on Ravelry to find the perfect hat pattern. I've been meaning to knit a beret for over a year, so this pattern was really satisfying, as it also fulfilled my urge to knit cables and to knit continuously in the round. As it turned out, I loved knitting this hat so much that I could hardly put this project down as soon as I cast on! The cabling pattern looks more complicated than it really is, trust me. Here are the details:


Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Larson
Yarn: elann's Peruvian Highland Wool in colour, Mocha Heather
Amount Used: 1 skein and perhaps only 1/4 of a second skein
Needles Used: 4 DPNs--6mm and 1 DPN--5-1/2 (because I didn't have another 6mm) and a 7mm circular needle, 60cm/(24inches)

So now, it's back to straight knitting on my Morning Surf Scarf, which is happily growing longer..... photos to come when finished!

Applying Etiquette

This morning, my R carefully came up from the garden to give me a zucchini flower that his father had instructed to bring to me. I thanked him and my soon-to-be-four year old emphatically said, "It's my pleasure!" R's learned this expression over a year ago, but has not used it for quite some time, so it's always a wonderful surprise to hear that he hasn't forgotten what you've taught him.

It's just annoying when R catches me sneezing and reminds me right away that I have to say, "Excuse me," before I even have a chance to.

As for the latest project on the needles, I'm working on the Morning Surf Scarf using my own hand-dyed merino handspun. The pattern is by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer and was recently featured in the Summer 2008 issue of Spin-Off magazine along with many inspirational examples of this scarf pattern knit-up. With fall just around the corner, I thought I'd knit something cozy with some of my hand-dyed handspun. Here's my version. I'd have to say my second and third photos of the scarf are more accurate for colour than the first one taken in more direct sun.

Comfort Food

Yesterday afternoon, a well-intentioned family member brought over some "jook" or congee for me to eat, knowing that it was one of my favourite cravings from time to time. I hate to say, but it was just not the best congee that I had ever eaten--way too watery and just nothing in it that I liked. So, today I set out to make the most satisfying, congee that I could with all my favourite garnishes. I debated over adding meat to the pot, but decided against it, since my plan was to make my congee egg-heavy with salted duck eggs and century eggs. I was also going to buy some crispy barbequed duck to eat with it on the side, but wouldn't you know it, the closest bbq meat store in my neighbourhood just happened to be closed today. So, I got full this afternoon on plain, but delicious basic white congee to which I added chopped scallions, slivers of peeled ginger, chinese doughnut (yiao tiew)--something I haven't had in a long,long time, century eggs, salted duck eggs, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Now, I don't know if I'll be able to ride to work on such a full stomach....

Back from Vacation

what summer is all about
We're back from vacation, and happy to be in our own beds. We can't believe August is amost over, but much has happened since posting a month ago. First, we had an exciting family visit with the twins, A and Z--new cousins to D and R--our first meeting-- and boy, are they adorable! The twins turned four months while they were here in Vancouver, and they've grown so much in the two weeks that they were here! We're so happy and grateful that my brother's family was able to make the long trip back home for this special visit.

new additions to the family
Then, as soon as my brother's family left for HK, it was speed packing for camping in Tofino and Saltspring. All our camping gear and necessities just went flying into bins labeled kitchen, bed and bath, food, clothing, and kids' activities. I let the hubby take care of the rest of the gear, like shelter, lights, cooler, stove, first aid, and the vehicle. I always feel we take too much stuff, but we manage to use most of it on our trips, and we're always able to jam everything into the back of our van. Oh, and I couldn't forget my knitting project for the road-- my Slipped-Stitch Rib Sock that I started back in May of 2007. I'm happy to report that although I did not complete the sock on the trip, I did get a chance to work on it a lot, especially on Saltspring Island where I had free time to work on it in the early mornings and while the boys were out playing by the lake during the day--D in the water with the other kids and R on the tire swing. All I have left to complete is half the foot and the toe shaping for one sock, and then the closing up of the toes for both socks!

finally, time to myself on MacKenzie Beach
We went on vacation as a group of three families this year, and although challenging at times with not all of the kids getting along, it was fun catching up with old friends, making new ones, and working together as one big group to make the trip a smooth, relaxing, and memorable one. Below are some highlights of our trip from Tofino's MacKenzie Beach to Saltspring Island and then up to Whistler back on the mainland:

waiting for s'mores around the campfire
D posing on the beach
building sand castles
the dramatic rescue of a husband without a lifejacket, whose kayak flipped
the beautiful view from the cottage
hanging out at the Saltspring Saturday Market
hamming it up at Whistler while watching the mountain bikers
We can't wait to do this all over again next year!!!