If I remember her name I'll never forget her

Despite all appearances to the contrary, there has been some knitting going on here at Chez Kitchen Table. Not as much as I would like, and limited to small, quick projects (because I have the attention span of a boiled carrot right now), but nonetheless I have managed to finish a few things over the last few-ish weeks.

So I thought Id just get a few of them out there in one hit. There's one more to come, but it deserves its own post.

1. Anouk. I actually intended to gift this, back in April last year, but lost my nerve. I packed it away, sans buttons, and forgot all about it. Bu clearly the Knitting Goddess knew I would one day produce a baby girl, becasue I re-discovered it a week or two after Grace was born, found the perfect buttons with some help, et voila!

Knit in Patons Zhivago, no mods.

2. Waratah beret. I adore hats and have been feeling the need for a beret all winter. Espcially after so many other gorgeous ones were popping up in my circle of friends.

This Waratah Fibres colourway (whose name escapes me...blueberry perhaps?) knit up a beautiful simple beret, using Margie's Carla pattern. I love it.


3. Fetchings. Two days before the arrival of some dear friends at the end of July, I realised that Bev would be celebrating her birthday during their stay with us. They live on Kangaroo Island, and are very outdoorsy, so 15 seconds after loading the pattern search page on Ravelry, I knew exactly what to make her. Clearly I am the last person on the planet to knit the most popular pattern on Rav!

I used a single skein of Natually Harmony 10ply from the stash (bummer - no excuse to dash to the LYS for gift-making supplies!). Great pattern though, very fast and I'll certainly make them again.

4. Berry baby hat. Grace has suddenly outgrown almost all of her beanies, but it's still chilly enough here to warrant the wearing of head gear outside. I'm also a sucker for cute baby hat patterns.

I made this in Shepherd Colour-4-me 8ply, increasing the cast-on stitches to 80 to make up for the lighter weight yarn.

I'd post a photo of it on the recipient, but she proved to be a very reluctant model this morning. Trust me, though, it looks very cute.

So, to make up for that, here's one of her modelling Anouk.

Clearly the Knitting Goddess knows what she's talking about.

Avast, me hearties!*

Thankyou everyone for the lovely birthday wishes for Pirate Jim! I'm terribly behind in blogging, but we had a small celebration for him the weekend before his birthday. I've been putting off the whole kids party catastrophe, but I think next year we will go there. This year, my parents (aka Nana and Grandpa) came to visit, along with some other special guests, for a bbq lunch.

Fireman PJ was on duty just in case the bbq got out of control. (That boy loves climbing ladders and being up high. It makes my heart stop and I am dreading the day he figures out how to get on the roof of the house. Or up a tree....)



After the bbq lunch, there was unwrapping of gifts. This one is from Nana and Grandpa. What can it be, PJ?


A Pirate Ship!!


Grandpa takes his grandparenting duties very seriously, and this includes major construction. This now lives in our backyard. I think we have to buy this house now, and live here for ever and ever, because I am not looking forward the day we need to move.

And do you think PJ might have liked it? He's the Captain!

And of course there were Pirate Crew on hand....Ahoy me hearties!!


And a pirate cake....
Made from this book. And because what I lack in parenting skills I try to make up for in baking, I over-achieved and made another cake for PJ's birthday-day at childcare.

It's a bit wobbly, as it's out of my own head, but the kids loved it.

Now I believe I have some First Mate duties to attend to! Arrggghhh!

*Ive been swotting up on Pirate lingo. Can ye land-lubbing scurvy bilge-rats tell?

Three years old today

Today my gorgeous, outgoing, independant boy turns three.

Where did that time go?

He can count to 17.

He can recognise his name when it's written down.

He can put on his own boots and knows his left foot from his right.

He can put on and zip up his jacket.

He can jump with both feet together.

He can balance and walk along the brick garden edge at childcare.

He can name all the ingredients for a cake and help me to bake it.

He can climb the ladder to the big slide at the park all by himself.

He can sing songs from memory, and make up his own.

He can keep a beat and dance to music.

He can help set the table for dinner, and clear it too.

He can make us laugh until we cry.

He can use scissors and draw faces with all the bits in the right place.

He can do so many things that make me wonder, every day, about he he got to be so grown up and clever.

But most of all he teaches me something every day, and he can make my heart feel like its going to burst from pride and love.

Happy third birthday Pirate Jim!





(inspired by one of my favourite knit-blogger mamas, annypurls)

Decisions, decisions

I have mentioned to a few people that I was completely stunned when I discovered the Princess was a girl. Speechless even. Beloved says my face was priceless at the moment I was told.

You see, when she was still on the inside, I was convinced she was a boy. 99.9% certain. I felt it in my waters.

Just goes to show what my waters know. Nuffin'.

It took me several days to come to terms with the fact that I had a girl. I kept opening her nappy to check. Yup, still girl-bits. I may have even said to my mum "What on earth am I going to do with a girl?". Because after nearly 3 years with Pirate Jim, I feel like I understand what makes boys tick. (Can someone remind me of that statement every 12 months or so? Ta). I was all prepared for another boy and not at all ready to start thinking about how girls work.

So now that I have a girl, there are so many cool things to knit. For some reason, I feel that "girls" knits are so much more creative and interesting that "boys" patterns. And more interesting colours too. Probably a bit gender-ist of me, but nonetheless that's what I feel.

And so with the huge range of choices available to me, I am completely and utterly paralysed by indecision. I have no idea where to start. There are probably only a couple of cold months left here - it will take me time to knit, then she'll grow, so maybe I should knit for next year, after all she was gifted so many lovely things that fit now.....(and if I was a half-decent blogger and friend, that last phrase would be linked to the post where I'd thanked everyone for their gifts, but well, I'm still working on that!)

But there is one thing I've decided on. Given there was purchasing of yarn whilst in labour with the Princess, some of said yarn should make a garment for her. Remember the Wollmeise?

150g / 500 m / 574 y of 100% merino superwash 4ply / fingering weight in stunning reds to almost orange colourway.

But what to make? There has been some discussion with helpful people about the February Baby Sweater (Rav link), which I love. Classic, but contemporary. But y'know, I don't really "get" EZ, and I know I'd just get all angsty about trying to follow her "pattern", especially after reading some of the issues other Ravellers have had with it.

And so, dear readers, I am seeking to draw on the wisdom and knowledge of Blogland. What should I make? Something for now, something for next year? It's going to be an heirloom (I hope), something special to keep.

Should I suck it up and try the FBS? Do you have another suggestion? I would really like to knit something for my daughter!

Tell me what to do before my brain explodes!

It's oh so quiet.....

Shhhhh. Please. I'm savouring the quiet. The lack of bustle. Being the only person in the house (well, almost).

Our Germans guests (all 5 of them) departed Friday morning, giving us just enough time to wash (some of) the sheets and towels, vacuum up all the dried play-doh (that stuff gets everywhere) and re-stock the fridge before the arrival of dear old friends from our Darwin days.

B & C now live on Kangaroo Island, along way from Canberra, and we see them terribly rarely. But they were in the area (visiting relatives about 200kms away), so they "dropped in" for a few days. It was a fabulous visit, reminding me how much fun we had in the "good old days" and how I wish we could see them more often.

But in the true style of old friends, it was as if we'd seen each other just last week. We had a lovely couple of days, eating out, meandering around the National Gallery, endless cups of tea.

They left us this morning, and now I'm revelling in the emptiness of the house, and have taken my time feeding and cuddling the Princess, thinking about all the other things I need to do.

Tomorrow.

Shhhh.

Lions and tigers and bears - oh my!

Last Sunday my BIL was due to arrive into Sydney from Germany, to join Beloved's sister and their three teenage daughters who have been staying with us since the day Princess Grace was born.

So we all decided to take the train to Sydney from Canberra, ostensibly to meet him, but with the added bonus of a trip to Taronga Park Zoo.

It was a weekend of firsts for PJ: train, ferry, zoo. He was pretty excited about the whole adventure, and we unashamedly used the threat of not going to keep him in line all week. (This may be why I am yet to be offered an authorship deal on a parenting guide)

It was his first train trip. He nearly burst with excitement every time the train's horn blew. He wanted me to take him to the driver so he could drive the train.

We arrived in Sydney late on Sunday afternoon. Apparently there was another event on that weekend too - there were "youth" everywhere. Pilgrims, they called themselves. Central Station was packed, the park outside Central was full to bursting, roads were closed and there were more people with guitars than a Fender convention.

We walked to Surry Hills against the tide. This is looking down Albion St towards Central, if you are familiar with Sydney.

The upside was that at least it wasn't a crowd of football fans or post-Christmas -sale bargain hunters, so it felt pretty benign and non-threatening.

The next morning we were up bright and early and caught the ferry to the zoo from Darling Harbour. Another first for PJ. He wanted me to take him to the captain so he could drive the boat. (I wonder if he has his mother's control-freak tendencies??)

At the zoo, there were a few must-sees on the list. Elephants, monkeys, seals, kangaroos (well, for the tourists), lions, meerkats and tigers. But these guys were the absolute favourite.
And of course we had to wave to Mama's favourite animals.

We caught the train back to Canberra that evening, exhausted but full to the brim with exciting new experiences.

And Princess Grace, now well-travelled for 4 weeks old (especially if you include the trip to my parents, 450 kms away, when she was a week old), slept through it all.

I know you're all just here for the baby eye-candy now, so here you go:

That's your lot for this post, you'll have to wait for some more! Hopefully now that my computer is back working again after a week on stress-leave, and I'm not competing with three teenagers for use of it, or travelling around the countryside, I'll be able to answer my emails and post a bit more often.

Hopefully!

FO: Princess Grace

We've all had those WIPs that seem to linger on and on, and take forever to finish even when you finally knuckle down and get on with it.

Let me tell you, the last few weeks of working on this particular project were hard yakka. I was totally over the whole thing. If I could have, I would of put it in the time-out corner. But I guess I was kind of attached to it and felt compelled to see it through.

But then, 2 weeks ago today, I finally cast off and admired my work. I decided it was well worth it, and that I'd probably even contemplate making another one. Perhaps.

Introducing Princess Grace, born 440am (AEST) on June 28th:

Pattern: Human Baby, designed by Evolution. Although I've personalised my version, Evolution has been working on this pattern for tens of thousands of years. The design is so elegant, allowing for a myriad subtle mods to get a perfect fit. There are lots of clumsy workings behind the facade, but all in all, the outcome is rather nice. This is my second attempt, and Ive been rather chuffed with how the first is wearing. I get compliments on him all the time.

Sticks and string: I used the recommended DNA double helix, and split the strands initially before recombining strands from two different dyelots as called for in the pattern. Beloved was a big help with this.


Mods: many, but very small and probably barely noticeable. It has been noted she has lovely eyebrows; I like to think I put a lot of effort into those in week 32 or so.

Time: September-ish until June 28th 2008. (Damn it, missed the Federal Government's increase in the FO-bonus by two days!! )

Now, there are one or two rumours swirling about regarding the arrival of the Princess that I'd like to take a moment to address.

1. Yes, I did knit in labour. Much to the amusement of the midwives and obstetrician. I was laying there, strapped to a machine and with a doodad in the back of my hand and antibiotics going in - may as well put the time to good use, working on another WIP!

2. Yes, I did buy yarn online when I was (technically) in labour. I blame Tinkingbell - if she hadn't called me to tell me Wollmeise had stock in her shop, I wouldn't have even contemplated any impulse yarn purchases. Quilting Mick was my partner in crime, but she redeemed herself by looking after Pirate Jim when Beloved and I went to the hospital.

I say "technically" because even though my membranes had ruptured a few hours earlier (on the kitchen floor - thanks for jinxing that Kuka!!), nothing was happening.

That's Farn on the left, and Red Hot Chilli on the right. No photography can do the colours justice - they are quite breath-takingly beautiful and jewel-like.

Does any one have a problem with either of those things? Hmmm, thought not.

And finally, it is my great please to announce the winner of the Arrival of the Bump Competition is Jan, who was only an hour and forty minutes early in her guess! Email me, Jan, so I know where to send your prize. Well done!

Oh, one last thought (the hormones make me a touch philosophical) - perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself in calling Princess Grace an FO? It's probably much more accurate to consider her still a WIP....

Edited to fix incorrect link to Jan's blog!