Finally – some knitting!

The first blogs I ever got hooked on, several years ago, were knitting blogs, and a true revelation! I continue to enjoy quite a number of them, and remain fascinated by how they lead me on to other interesting blogs and sites covering the manifold interests I have, be it art and design or cooking or animals or minimalism/consumerism… it’s neverending and truly amazing. So when I began to blog, I was expecting to emphasise my creativity more in tracking what I work on in my knitting life and to be showing plenty of FOs (finished objects, for the uninitiated – WIPs are “works in progress”!).

Except life took off, as it does, and the blog arrived at a rather less productive moment of my life. This was changed very rapidly last week, when not only did I become a grandmother for the second time, but my friend also became a grandmother for the first time – a clear sign to get the sticks and string out and get to work!

Baby Mireille was greeted with a small pile of garments I had prepared in advance – the “here’s one I made earlier”-syndrome – a Tiny Tea Leaves cardigan, an even tinier Maile cardigan, a minute hat and bootees, all in fairly neutral if not necessarily traditional colours… but I appreciated the request for another little girl cap and whipped up a Vintage Pixie Cap in no time at all. Oops, it was too small and needed extending! That was soon sorted and delivered – so far there are no photos because this week-old baby would not keep still enough…

I did actually know that the other baby, coincidentally born on the same day (his father and my daughter attended day nursery together 25 years ago!), was going to be a boy, whilst I did not know that my new grandchild was going to be a girl. For some reason, knowing this fact did not click as far as realising I could knit for him in advance of his birth. Or at least in putting anything into action! Duh. Suddenly, a manic need to knit something for a boy kicked in and it had to be fast! Fortunately, my stash supplies me not only with a substantial amount of yarn to choose from but also plenty of yarns I had forgotten about and more patterns than you can actually knit in a lifetime, probably. Naturally I chose softest 100% wool baby yarn and a pattern I’ve already knit four times. Only this time I chose to do it in miniature:

This is Brooklyn Tweed’s Tweed Baby Blanket by Jared Flood, made up in Lang baby yarns, which makes it about 70cm square rather than the larger gauge of the others I have knitted this year, hopefully a useful size for an extra layer of warmth for a newborn, as a pram blanket or in a car seat. It features an i-cord edging, also known as “idiot”-cord (thankyou Elizabeth Zimmermann!), as it is so simple, but the main thing is, it is very effective for finishing the border lace neatly. I’m pleased to say I knitted this up in two and a half days! I know. But it’s an excellent pattern, even the fourth time round. Surely that’s a recommendation in itself?!

Something a little more personal was called for, too, so I added this little gem to baby Jason’s wardrobe:

This is the Owl Baby Vest by Jodi Haraldson, made up in Lang baby yarn in navy and mid-blue, rather than the larger-gauge yarn used in the original. I hope he likes blue!

It seems the knitting muse has returned! My family may even be grateful, if the consequences are that projects scattered picturesquely around the home stand a chance of being finished and removed to more suitable quarters – a pair each of socks and legwarmers are finished, a lace stole is not far off and at least two cardigans may well see the light of day before the next birthday comes round – so excuse me for now, I have work to do…

Tiny Tea Leaves by Madeline Tosh/Melissa LeBarre in blue-green Lana Grossa merino superfein

Maile Sweater by Nikki van de Car in Malabrigo Lace colourway “Snowbird”

hat and bootees of my own invention in Knitters Brewers Sockaholic colourway “Dreamsicle”

Vintage Pixie Cap by Hadley Fierlinger in “Vintage Knits for Modern Babies” in cherry red Lana Grossa merino superfein

(All of these patterns can be found on http://www.ravelry.com, or links to where they can be bought.)