Side-tracked, again!

Did I mention that I have a new grand-son on the way? He'll be here by the end of April -- can't wait!

It struck me that although he'll have his brother's hand-me-down hand-knitted items to wear, he'll need some of his own, too. Then, I realized that April is not that far off, so I'd better get at it!

It's still a little chilly here in April, but not quite enough for a full on cardi or sweater. As I was going through my seemingly endless queue, I came across this pattern and knew it would be the perfect thing for a newborn. It will slip over a tiny sleeper and not only provide core warmth, but also dress up what are basically p.j.'s.

The pattern is on Ravelry, and is called Henry's Manly Cobblestone -- basically a take off on the Cobblestone pullover by Jared Flood.

I had a ball of James G. Brett "Marble" on hand, which I must say is quite nice, for an acrylic. Normally (as you know) I abhor all things acrylic, but I've used this one in past and it gets top marks from me! I needed this to be very washable as newborns spit up a lot and I knew mom was not going to be spending any time hand-washing! I used about 1/2 of a 100g ball, with enough left to make booties and a hat, if so inclined.

The top picture is little darker than actual ... the bottom one is closest to reality.

Actual dimensions of vest: 7 1/2"w by 9"h -- exquisitely tiny!

When the new, big brother-to be(who's just 2) was asked if he wanted a little sister, or a brother, his response was a very adamant ... "NO GIRLS"!!! We were all waiting on pins and needles until the ultra sound came back and thankfully, confirmed a boy.





Next up, a progress report on the Earl Grey sweater ... I promise!

Helmet Liner Updated Info ...

Here is a link that I found on-line, which gives info. on how to send 'donations' to our Canadian Troops.

It's not very encouraging, frankly, as it (for appropriate reasons) states that the aircraft carriers are to be used for military related products and don't really have room for anything else. They discourage care packages.

However, if you are a family member, or a friend, you are still able to send packages -- just follow the instructions in the link below:

Canadian Forces Donations

We Interrupt the Scheduled Broadcast ...

I put aside my 'Earl Grey' temporarily this week, for a very important knitting mission.

Friends from our church have a son with the Forces in Afghanistan. He was given a temporary leave this week to come home to be married on Saturday, then a brief honeymoon and back to the front lines.

His mom was telling me how cold it is there, when it dawned on me that I could be of assistance ... the Helmet Liner pattern! I only had a couple of days to do it in, but I knew I could do it. The pattern says that it fits an 'average' soldier's head. I did some searching on Ravelry and determined that that would likely be too small, as this is a big boy. Actually, most men found the original pattern to be too small/tight. Fortunately, Meilynne modified the pattern to suit (as she puts it) 'linebacker size', which I knew would work perfectly. An aside ... I don't think I have a particulary large head, but the large size was only slightly big on me.

Heads up -- the original Paton's pattern says that it takes 2 hours to complete -- who are they kidding??? I'm a fast knitter and I'm telling you that it took me at least 8 hours to knit!

Anyway, it feels very gratifying to do a little something for our troops and show them that we care. If you're in the US, the Paton's pattern tells you the specifications for knitting, plus where you can send them. I'm looking into the requirements for Canada and will let you know in a future post.

Earl Grey

This is the Tea Leaves Cardigan, however, I'm choosing to call mine "Earl Grey", for obvious reasons. My sister gave me 5 balls of Malabrigo Worsted in the "Polar Moon" Colourway (sigh!) for Christmas, and I immediately cast on for this on Boxing day.

The colours are so subtle and look completely different in alternate light. I was actually a bit concerned when I opened it, because at my parent's place, it looked like a baby blue colour ... even my sister thought so! However, when I got it home and wound it up, it became the gorgeous dove grey that you see above. There are also hints of a sea green and a bit of a lavendar pink, which add to it's beauty and lustre. There are 3 of 1 dyelot and 2 of another, so I am alternating every 2nd row to avoid pooling. I was somewhat surprised that the vendor didn't make that known on the website ... I mean, really -- if someone is buying multiples of the same colour, wouldn't you think that they're making 1 large project and that they'd need all the same dyelot? On many of the other ebay websites, they will flat out tell you if they are different dyelots. Anyway, enough ranting -- the colour is gorgeous, and the FEEL is unbelieveable!

I'm past the arm holes and am currently knitting the body. The ruched design at the yoke is pure genius and so easy! Combo of increases and decreases, plus changing of needle size. Can I just tell you how much I am loving this pattern and the knitting thereof?!! I mean really ... how could I not!

Malabrigo + a great pattern = bliss!!!