Thursday, July 07, 2011

One today!

Thomas is ONE today. The year has flown by.
First Birthday
He has a t-shirt to prove it
I am 1
We went to the farm to look at piglets
With the pigs

He got a tiger cupcake for pudding....
Thomas and his Tiger cupcake

The first 12 months

Thomas - the first 12 months

Monday, June 20, 2011

A trio of shrugs

Three little girls have turned one in the last few weeks. I thought they all deserved a little knitted something. I knit a Little Girl's Shrug for Carys to wear at our wedding and I remembered it was a quick and easy knit; plus it is perfect for spring/summer babies.

So I started off with a ball of Dale of Norway purple merino/cotton that I got in a swap a while ago. I used a crochet edging on the neck as seen here and decided to modify the lace pattern (removing two of the knit stitches) and used this rather than the ribbing on the sleeves. I cast on 12 stitches under the arms, rather and the specificed 8, so the lace pattern would work.
Mathilda is now wearing this on the streets of Paris!
Little Girl's Shrug for  Mathilda

Next up, little Alice. Thomas' friend from down the road, born exactly a month before him. Her mum and I met at a breastfeeding support group in those hard early days, and we have become good friends.
This time I added stripes - which required a little bit of jiggery-pokery as you knit the button bands at the same time, but I think it worked out just fine. This was knit in Rowan Wool Cotton.
Alice's Shrug
Finally, a shrug for Evie who was one at the start of May. This time I followed instructions to make the front curved as in this project. This was knit in the same Rowan Wool Cotton as Alice's shrug. I knit the age 2 size as Evie is a big one year old, and it fits her perfectly. However she is still wearing her February Baby Sweater as a shrug!
Evie's Birthday Shrug
Now, onto a present for Thomas....

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

11 Months

I'm starting to look quite big in my cot.
Thomas - 11 Months
Still smiling lots
Thomas - 11 Months
Sticking my tongue out is my latest trick
Thomas - 11 Months
Along with growling like a tiger (can you see my teeth?)
Thomas - 11 Months
I am also going backwards and mummy keeps finding me in the corner or under the sofa... crawling next month maybe?

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

A Spring Mystery

There have been times over the past year when I felt I would never have the concentration level to be able to knit a lace shawl ever again. However, thankfully those days are (mostly) behind me. I have my evenings free and when Alice from Socktopus announced a Spring KAL at the start of April I decided to take the plunge.
I even managed to keep up with clue one (there were two weeks between clues)
Spriteling Clue One
Clue two was done on time as well, but then I lapsed. Finishing socks, presents, life generally got in the way. However when I started to see some of the finished shawls on Ravelry I knew I needed to buckle down and finish this one.

So, here I present you with a finished Spring Mystery (Spriteling) Shawl.
Spriteling
Made in Malabrigo Sock Yarn (which I now realise is far better suited to non-footwear).
Spriteling
The colourway is Indiecita, which is hard to describe and even harder to photograph... a greeny, bluey, greyish mixture of colours. not quite variegated but far more coloured than a semi solid.
It was always destined for a shawl, and perhaps would be better suited to one a little less lacey, but I love it all the same.
Spriteling

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Allotment

I've got a new project... After 4 years on a waiting list I am now renting a half plot at my local allotments.
This is what it looked like when we got the keys in early April:
Allotment - the beginning
It is an end plot, up against a fence which backs onto the playing fields of a local junior school. There is also a big patch of brambles in front of it which are going to take some controlling!
It took us a while to make a plan. I bought some slabs from ebay and we have made a path around two sides. Eventually we will have a path on 3 sides and two across the plot making three areas to plant out.
The initial plan was to rotivate it, however it turns out that not jumping in all guns blazing was a good thing, the plot is full of bindweed and horsetail. So we've been digging it out slowly.
The allotment
It is amazing what a few hours digging can achieve!
I'm going to be sharing the plot with my FIL as I don't think I'll manage it on my own at the moment with Thomas. He has already been creating incredible structures.
John, Tom and the Beanpoles
All I need is to get the potatoes planted, the beans in and the courgettes out of the greenhouse!

Monday, May 09, 2011

10 Months

Thomas was 10 months on Saturday.

Thomas - 10 months

He now has two teeth and is starting to shuffle around the room.

Thomas - 10 months

And he can clap

Thomas - 10 months

Ickle hat and socks

I'm so far behind with my blogging.... here are some tiny knits for my friends new baby, born at the end of March.

Ben Present

Knit from some random Regia yarn from the 50p bin in House of Fraser.