• June 4, 2010

    Smitten with mittens…

    All I can think about are mittens! Mittens I want to make. I am almost done my second pair in the past few days. The first, which is just drying, is a pair of felted neon-y Noro Kureyon and black stranded mittens in a geometric pattern I made up. The pattern is comprised of rows of leaves and petals that have been distilled from their original inspiration (bright flowers on the cover of Good Housekeeping) into a more South American geometric mitten aesthetic. When I was younger I remember getting mittens and gloves from Global Connections at The Forks that were handmade in South America. The geometric patterns were so simple and pretty, and the colours really made the bold pattern pop. I wanted to use a yarn that was really bright, inspired by both the flowers on the cover and these original mittens I once had (and lost, of course). Anyways. So I bought the brightest Kureyon I could find at Ram Wools. I paired it with a solid black Istex Lett Lopi. I find the Lett Lopi pairs really well with Kureyon, as they both have similar weights and textures, amoung other qualities. It also comes in a decent amount of solid colours to counterpoint the crazy  colour-changes in the Kureyon. Then after spending lots of time with graph paper and pencil, I came to a final pattern. It was a super quick knit, taking only a few hours for each mitten. Then I washed them twice to felt them up a little for extra warmth. If you click on the picture it goes to the corresponding Ravelry page. I am going to update it with the final felted project soon.


    Ben was really excited by the finished mittens. He kept poking one with one of my needles saying “Making holes, fixing holes.” Then he kept stealing them and using them as driving gloves. He told me “Just like a race car (driver).” What a cutie.
    The other pair of mittens that I am still working on, is a pair of recycled sari silk mittens. It’s a little bit of an unconventional mitten yarn, but when I tried to find a good pattern for the ball of Wild Peacock Recycled Silk I got from Darn Good Yarn, all I could find was drop-stitch scarves, and I am just not a fan of them. So I decided, why not make mittens! Because the yarn is so chunky, and the needles so big (8), they are a super super quick knit. I made up the pattern on the fly, and it turned out well. I think the mittens show off all the colours and intricacies of the recycled silk so well. I love all the colours! I can see these giving a lot of hope for warmer days come winter. Again, the picture links to the corresponding Ravelry page.

    Little O is doing so well. He is almost 4 months old.He rolls over both ways, and is trying so hard to move around on his tummy. I brought out B’s old spinning play mat (that is not quite the same one, its a newer model, but the idea is the same), so he could have a bit more fun while wiggling around. I found both of the boys really liked this because it allowed them to spin about really easily just by inadvertent foot or hand movements. Which made them both enjoy tummy time a lot more, because I found they were mostly getting frustrated by not being able to move. O’s little coos sound less screechy and more syllable-ish every day. 

    B is such a funny little guy. He loves his cars. Above is a picture of him with a car mall he asked me to make for him. He loves having places to park them. He calls parking garages “car houses.” Anything an item is stored in is its house, and he loves finding houses for things. Sometimes I will find his Hot Wheels in perfect-sized spots for them in between books in his bookcase. He’s recently started identifying objects by how many there are. He can identify one to four things. Like three cars or two books. Anything over four is four. 

    The next few days will be busy. I have lots of baking to do (buns, cinnamon bread, cookies, cheese crackers, regular crackers, and scones or muffins) and the prepa
    ratory shopping for that. Our library books are due this weekend, and I have some more ideas for mittens I need to work out.

  • April 10, 2010

    Friday.

    For some reason I am in a funk today. I don’t know why. I am attempting to cheer myself up with Easter chocolate (little solid eggs), a documentary (The September Issue), and the cutest little baby smiles which just fell back asleep. Even when he is sad, little O tries to smile.


    Today he had his 2 month checkup. All is good. I think he’s something like fourteen-and-a-half pounds and just over twenty-four inches now. Growing well. B went to Ryan’s sister’s for the day, so I cleaned the storage room. Fun. I did find lots of old photographs, drawings, and art supplies which just further propels my sudden inspiration. I tried to relax by knitting O some booties out of this really pretty yarn I bought in the States about five years ago (the colour is Country Sunset, but really, it feels more Underwater Menagerie to me), but as I got to the cuff of the last one, I ran out of yarn. Pout!! I had forgotten that I had used some of the ball to make a very large and very fluffy pom-pom. And I was so excited to have finally found a way to use this yarn to. I just love the colours. I will just have to pick up more next time we go. But I learned some more about bootie construction, and have some good ideas.

    Yesterday the four of us all went out to dinner, at Moxies, almost an hour past our regular “supper hour” with great success. Is there a Parent Scout badge for that? I should embroider myself one. Then we walked around the mall and I wanted to buy everything. Mostly these nail files (not like I need anymore). And the diaper bag I have been dreaming of. And then today I saw this post on taking good family photos which really just made me spend too much time looking at nice children’s clothes on the internet. I think he needs a good summer cardigan. Like this one. I need to get dressing him like this out of me before he cares enough to not wear the things I pick out! (Ooh, and this shirt!)

    We spent some time this evening finally building B a gas pump for his Cozy Coupe. It has a gas cap and spot for a nozzle, and it always makes him disappointed that he can’t fill it up. he even tries to use the teeny-tiny nozzle on his Little People garage sometimes. So I cut and taped something together on the fly out of a diaper box. Ryan did a great job with the nozzle. I plan to make it prettier at some point, I just wanted to get it finished tonight before he went to bed since he was watching us make it. He was sooo excited when he realized what it was and made lots of glug noises while he filled up his car.

    This weekend is busier than it feels. Tomorrow AM I think we are going to the library to run around and look at books. Then Ryan has to do some work in the afternoon, mostly while the boys nap. And I need to go grocery shopping at some point. Sunday my sister gets home from Montreal so we are going to see her in the evening. I started thinking about gardening, but I am wary with all of the deer around here. I had bad luck on our second floor apartment balcony (even my jalapeños got eaten!) so I don’t know if I want to risk it. Maybe I’ll just try a couple of small plants and look into deer repelling techniques. It makes me a little sad that we are so far away from the Farmer’s Market this year. Instead of a 5 minute drive, it’s probably a 45 minute drive. Maybe there is something around here. We also talked about maybe checking out the one in Portage la Prairie this year. I love car rides.