I’m writing this yarn along edition a day early as we’re spending our Tuesday on the road.

I’ve had lots of knitting fun this week. I finished the body of the Classic Raglan and good news for me it fits my big guy – despite the fact I wasn’t thinking it would be for him when I cast on. As I mentioned last week, the wool and pattern are perfect mindless knitting. I made lots of progress on it while returning from a day trip late at night despite the near blackness (uh, while Dan was driving). Plain old stockinette, round and round on circulars with no splitting wool while trusting my hands to know the way was fun and felt kind of freeing.

My Rae is coming along – I’m on the decreases now. The fingering weight alpaca is beautifully soft but I do get tired of the thin stitches. I am though very excited to wear my new scarf so I’m hoping to get a lot done during our long drive through the mountains.

I sorted out the figure eight cast on (found this tutorial after the fact) that was stumping me last week. The pattern, which I can’t share with you as it’s top secret gift knitting, actually explained it quite well I just took a couple tries to get it right. Now I’m on my way and absolutely in love with the wool and the big chunky stitches it’s giving me.

My search for a nice gentle read found me browsing through my mother-in-law’s book shelf. I found my current read, An Irish Country Doctor, there. Oddly enough we gave it to her for Christmas a couple of years ago without knowing much about it. I haven’t read far yet but it seems just right for keeping me company during nursing sessions (that is when I’m not being regaled with a certain four-year-olds thoughts).

I’m wishing I could sit by the fire here a little while longer but we’re off on our adventure home.

Happy Wednesday!

::

joining Ginny for yarn along

It’s going to be a quick yarn along from me tonight. We’ve enjoyed a long busy day but it’s wreaked a bit of havoc on the little babe’s schedule. I’ve just slid her from my arms asleep in hopes that I can gulp some dinner – it’s only 9 pm, that still counts as dinner doesn’t it?

So as I suspected last week knitting therapy was required so I tossed aside my previous plans and cast on a Classic Raglan for one of my boys. I say one because I decided on the size four which is (duh!) looking a little big for my slender two year old. I may end up making it nice and long for my tall, gangly five year old. Either way the sweater is serving its purpose of providing me with enjoyably mindless knitting with a wool I don’t have to pay much attention to (Paton’s Classic Wool). When I get bored of that I switch over to the Rae I’m still working on.

I’m also working my way through the beginnings of a gift knit which is perplexing me a bit. Provisional figure-8 cast-on…huh? Wish I could share it with you but it’s still top-secret. I’m thinking I may have to ban all of my extended family from reading yarn along posts until after Christmas.

I haven’t read much of anything since my last post other than reading with the kids (that’s always my favourite kind anyway). It’s suiting then that my photo this week includes a special book from my childhood that my mom sent in a a birthday parcel (she sweetly sent it out to my in-laws). I had just been thinking about this book and wondering if it was still kicking around my parent’s basement somewhere when it magically appeared at the bottom of my package – talk about mama-ESP. I love when a book I once knew so well still holds so much wonder for me.

Thanks for visiting for another yarn along.

::

joining with Ginny at Small Things

Today I’m yarning along from the west coast where we’re enjoying a visit with my in-laws (while we try to extend summer for an extra few weeks).

My hands are fuller this trip now that the sweet babe is no longer in utero (I’m not complaining) so knitting has been put to the side a bit. I did finish the fingerless mitts for E – I added some ribbing in red when I realized the blue wool was not going to last. I’m still working on that bookmark and those hats. Still haven’t broke into last week‘s raspberry wool but I’m hoping to ball it up tonight (in sad news I actually brought my ball winder on vacation….you know, in case of ball winding emergencies).

But in my typical fashion I just may throw it all out the window and cast on another classic raglan for little brother. What can I say, it was a rough day (more on that later) I feel the need to indulge in knitting (and leftover birthday cake).

I’m still reading through This Life is in Your Hands but as much as I’m enjoying it I may have to put it aside. I think I’ll blame it on the post-partum hormone rampage because I’m finding it a bit depressing. I think I need to stick to something light and fluffy. Dan suggested Little House on the Prairie but that had me bawling at the second chapter when the girls and I were reading together the other night. May need to find me a used bookstore, what a shame, huh?

::

joining with Ginny again this week for yarn along

So many projects on my needles this week and plans in my mind for more. We’re heading out on vacation later this week – back out to visit the west coast and Dan’s parents. Our last visit was quite the knitcation and once again I have the dilemma of which yarn, how much and which projects I want to plan for…and I haven’t even started thinking about the books I’d like to bring.

This week I’ve been working on a bookmark, fingerless mitts and an unplanned addition, a scarf for myself. The Hurricane hats I was breezing through last week kind of lost their…force. I still have the two smallest to finish. As I was warned, the bookmark is slower going than I’d expected. It looks nice but because of the linen stitch it isn’t the quick gift I’d hoped. It’s small though and very handy to carry around.

The fingerless mitts are my slightly altered version of the sucky thumb mitts in the same blue so many of you admired previously. The pattern is simple and quick but I’m feeling very nervous that my wool is not going to last. I popped into Michaels to find another skein but they’ve changed the blue they stock so I’m out of luck if I run out. I decided to leave the one I’d started and knit the second on to the same point and that way make the most of the wool…in the meantime I’m hoping it won’t be too strange to do the top ribbing in a different colour.

And the scarf for myself…well, it’s lovely. I mentioned the accompanying KAL as well as the wool I’m using here (Dan would like me to clarify that KAL stands for knit-along). I’m in love with the soft and delicate alpaca and the pattern is deliciously relaxing. I’m so looking forward to having a wool scarf for myself. I’m already dreaming about the next one.

I haven’t done much reading this week other than reading with the kids but I’ve read a little further into This Life is in Your Hands. I think it will be great once I get into it – so far my popcorn style of reading (a couple minutes here and there) has not given me that chance. Other than that I’ve been spending too much time browsing ravelry…oh the joys and sorrows of ravelry.

Oh, and that gorgeous raspberry coloured wool which jumped into my hands at the yarn store, it’s Fleece Artist Africa from Nova Scotia (shout out to the homeland!!). I’m hoping to knit it into one of these for my yellow girl. Although it is not yellow, she also approves of pink.

:::

joining Ginny for another week of yarn along

My head has been full of yarn and yarn projects these last couple of days as I try to sort out Christmas gift lists. For some reason I’m finding it rather overwhelming as I attempt to assign stashed yarn to dreamed projects. I just want to be knitting but I’m afraid to cast on only to tear out if the size ends up wrong.

And all along while I’m searching ravelry and my stash I have a nagging feeling there is something else I’m supposed to be doing. Oh, something like attending to the bread which I left to rise too long, the load of diapers awaiting a sunny day, the school lessons we didn’t quite finish, or perhaps dealing with the peaches, tomatoes, jalapenos and apples we picked up at the market this week.

But before I start into one or more of those tasks I’m going to enjoy a pleasant reflection over the knitting I got checked off “The List” this week.

All those hats I committed to knitting up for our family photo have been coming along nicely. Four out of six ain’t bad (only found three for the photo…hmm). The Hurricane pattern is quite fun and easy – although I agree with Debbie that they are more reminiscent of a tornado. I thought I’d too often drift off into knitting bliss and lose track of the swirling pattern but it hasn’t been a problem.

There are a couple of other projects that are asking to be completed but what fun is there in that? Instead I’m hoping to cast on a quick pair of fingerless mitts for E whose previous pair sadly disappeared and perhaps start in on the gift knitting with a couple of these bookmarks (I finally bought the book).

As for reading there hasn’t been much other than nightly bedtime stories with the wee folk but I have (just barely) begun This Life is in Your Hands and have been thumbing through The Great Big Book of Children’s Games. Hoping I’ll have something to share on them next week.

:::

I’m joining with Ginny, for more yarn along posts visit small things.