Knitting Pharm

As always, late to the party

For years, I've been reading about the wonders of Elizabeth Zimmermann. The recent Knitpicks book sale was a great reason to see what the fuss was all about, so I picked up copies of Knitters Almanac and Knitting Workshop.

First off, I wish I could have met this awesome lady before she passed on. Her curmudgeonly wit and knitterly wisdom make for a most entertaining read, and her knowledge of the fibre arts was staggering. [I was particularly fond of her rants on easy-care baby clothes and wool allergy.]

There were a couple of reasons I wanted to get my hands on these books, namely 2 projects I keep seeing in the hundreds on Ravelry and the blogosphere.

First off, the baby surprise jacket. I can't overstate how cool it is to see this:

become this.

It will be perfect for a newly-pregnant coworker.

And with all of the modifications, this can barely be called a February Baby Sweater, but the pattern was my starting point, so I still call it one.

I can see both of these becoming staples for me, as my Breedy McHumpalot friends continue to, well, hump and breed. Every week seems to bring another announcement of pregnancy, so I'll just keep on trucking, Elizabeth's words ringing in my head.

Thanks, EZ.

Stop, knit and breathe

Life around here is not quite as it should be.  None of it involves huge personal trials, just a bunch of little things that have left me not myself.  The mojo, she's left the building.  In the spirit of appreciation, here are the small things I am taking comfort in as I ride this blip.

A pattern that I can do in my sleep.

A cool stitch pattern,

that can even be added to a heel flap for the funkiest sandal socks ever!

A yarn that does the work for me

A very tidily [if I may say so] turned heel.

Out of province yarn acquisitions

Book previews, where my name appears with some quite amazing people.  [I affectionately call the author's list a "Who's who (them) and a Who's that? (me)!]

Hats that will bring comfort

And readers who bear with me, even when I take myself far too seriously.  Thank you, all!

June's Head to Toe

You blog reader types are an interesting sort.  When I fail to post, you don't visit.  [Smart, the whole lot of you].  I'll try to catch up, but you should know that my absence is not limited to the blogosphere, but also shows on my message boards and even (gasp!) Ravelry.

Here's what popped off the needles in June.  I shall skip the niceties of formatting, for fear they will crash Typepad.  [note to Typepad:  you still suck]

2 unbloggable pairs of socks, for testing, editing and the like

Monicas for 2 friends and one daughter

Pretty, pretty blue Pomatomus from a Fleece Artist Mill End

Sheesh, is that it?

One more darned try

Thank you for all of your wise words re. blogging platforms.  I'm trying very hard not to overreact, but since Typepad ran a major upgrade, I've had a hard time with posts disapearing.

Head to toe for June will follow (backdated, natch!), but for now I must bore you with the same project, with only the colours changed.

Like a certain Canadian treasure, I've been blessed with girl babies.  They're all I know, and I love them dearly.  Now that they're a bit older, there are more girl babies in my life, namely their sweet girl baby friends.  There is a nice balance at this stage, because while they're old enough to have friends, they're young enough that I can have some say as to who their friends are, a luxury I'm told I will lose as they get older.

This time last year, all of my girl baby friends were receiving felted backpacks.  The felted backpack of 2008 is not a backpack at all, but a ruffly little tank I can't seem to stop making.

The pattern, as I'm sure you will recignize, is Christine Schwender's Monica, from Knitty Spring 2007.  I made a pair of these for my own girl babies last year, but, as they have a habit of doing, my kids have grown and needed some new pretty knits.

Between a trip to Halcyon Yarns in the spring and the leftovers from a recent sale at Tangled Skeins, I had amassed 20 skeins of Cotton Fleece in many, many shades.  Monica is a perfect pattern because you can work a tank in just a skein of each of 2 shades, or just a smidge more for the body if your girl is a Glamazon-in-training as my beautiful Amy is.

Little time commitment + little yarn commitment = many, many tanks!

First up, for little Eve, in Terracotta with a Blush ruffle.

Next, for her big sister Angeline, in Raging Purple with a Blush ruffle.

For my pal Mikayla, in Candy Apple and Blush, with little ladybugs.

For my own firstborn, in Wisteria with a ruffle in Spryte.

For my baby, in Raging Purple and Wisteria, or, as she calls it, "Purple one dark one", I suppose to distinguish it from big sister's "Purple one light one."

It seems it's photo posting that is giving me grief, so please forgive the multiple saves if you've landed on this post from Bloglines more than once.  I will persevere.

This post was inspired by Heather, Ravelry name scrappygurlknits, who mentioned my blog and described it as a favourite, albeit an infrequently updated one.  For you, Heather, I'll try harder.

Post has been eaten. Twice.