Sick chickies

Thursday night and I am just beginning to see the light at the end of the long whiney, fevery, runny nosey, lethargic tunnel...

Exhibit A: Double ear infection.



Exhibit B: Double ear infection + 6 teeth coming in! Poor chickie.



And of course the growing post-modern art installation taking over every sink, tub and other water tight basin in my house...


Now, I'm not a germ fearing lady. I'm one of those people who believe some germs are good. You know, they help build up a strong immune system! But after being sick myself with a bad cold for 10 days now and after caring for two little sickees all week, I feel the need to air out and super mega de-germify my house!


Three sets of bed linens washed in high-temp: check! Play-mats and all plastic toys soaked in vinegar water: check! All floors vacuumed/washed with vinegar water: check! All light switches, door knobs and solid surface in my house lysol-wiped: check! Knitting: lying in a heap by the couch since last week :0(


But the mailman came this week with a little box of joy which is sitting on my kitchen table and beckoning...


Like I said, there's a light at the end of the tunnel ;0)

Get Ziggy.

The boys have been a bit cookoo lately which has seriously cut into my knitting time. But determined to have an FO, I stood at my kitchen sink this morning felting pom poms while making oatmeal (multi-tasking with hot water ;0) and trying not to be toppled by the kidlets who were literally running circles around my feet...and I did it! I finally finished Get Ziggy!


It's a simple cabled sweater that delivers the wow factor of cables without the concentration required for an allover pattern since the back and sleeves are knit in simple stockinette. I'll be writing up the pattern for Jujube & Lolo and plan to make it available in March.


I plan on putting another one of these babies on the needles right away for my little Lolo. The pattern needs just a few more tweaks (and an alternative hem and neckline that doesn't require i-cord ;0) and then I'll be ready to write it up.


Now, if only the boys would let me...

T'was two weeks after Christmas...

...and all through the house, were sweaters and mittens not even yet blogged! The sweaters were draped on the children with care, awaiting their pic for their mama's blog fare ;0)


The sweaters were winged from this custom-fit pattern with Bershire Bulky in oatmeal and red-ern. The letters were charted with this neat knitter's paper, using big fonts that mama picked hoping they'd flatter. And then for the cuffs, hem, neckline and border: a 2 by 2 rib and a stockinette curler.


The boys loved their sweaters and mama did too, though they got very pilly as Julian ran through the pews. There'll be mittens and more in my next post for sure, but for now how about pics from Christmas of yore ;0)

"Happy two weeks post Christmas and to all a good night!"

Baby sock advent calendar

Remember my half-hatched plan to knit 24 toddler socks in December? Well it was a crazy idea. Seriously deluded. Insane. And totally nuts! So naturally I had to give it a go!


And I almost did it too! I knit socks in the morning. I knit socks in the evening. I knit socks at my MIL's during brunch. I knit socks in the bath. I knit socks until 3 in the morning watching old West Wing episodes on DVD (best show eva!) while Stephen and Lolo snored in bed beside me every other night in December. Of course I was asleep on the couch at 9 every night after that, but you do what you have too, right? And in the end...


Drum roll please...I knit 20 socks in December! I knit polka dot socks. I knit cabled socks. I knit striped socks. I did picot edgings and kitchener cast-ons. I did afterthought heels and taught myself short-row heels (though I'm not sure I'm happy with this technique yet). I used bulky yarns and worsted and even DK yarns too (all from the stash!). I stranded and embellished with duplicate stitch embroidery. I improvised a lot and even designed Flakey Baby Socks to round out the set.


But with all the added Christmas planning and events -- shopping, wrapping gifts, cooking, entertaining, trimming the tree, attending parties, knitting Christmas sweaters for the boys, shoveling, meeting kick-ass new neighbours, taking Julian to see The Grands ballet canadiens perform The Nutcracker, and knitting 3 pairs of gift mittens -- I fell a little short of my 24 sock goal. And I don't feel bad about it!


I raided the sock drawer and pulled out the cable twist socks I knit for myself when Lolo was born in March and the matching pair I knit for him and ta-da 24 hand knit socks on the banister on Christmas Eve ;0)


A quick last minute trip to the drugstore to pick up some goodies to fill them with (crayons, baby spoons, cartoon character soap, chocolate, dried fruit, little notepads, a little train set, chocolate straws, sippy cups, candy-canes...every sock-sized sweet thing I could get my hands on for my two little charmers), and we were all ready to fill them after bed on the 24th for the kidlets to discover Christmas morning.

And what fun that was ;0)