Eighteen months...

...of Lolo cuddles and giggles,  warm milky cheeks and smelly feets.  That's a year and a half of being an excellent young apprentice for our resident big brother.  Five hundred and forty seven mornings of pure sunshine and as many evenings of loving bliss.   It was 18 months ago that our Lolobean graced us with his enchanting cuteness for the very first time on that peaceful spring morn.

So naturally, because we love ourselves a little party, we celebrated the occasion! Julian and dada baked our traditional half birthday half birthday cake, this time we tried the most simple and delicious Boston Cream Pie recipe ever - you can get it from Kraft Canada's website here. And we had ourselves a lovely lunch with grandma and grandpa and autie Libby and uncle Gary and even cousin Neil who was visiting all the way from Vancouver.  It was great ;0)

I also wanted to mark the occasion with a little bit of knitterly goodness but since it took me so long to pick just the right project and to find just the right yarn from the stash, I didn't get started on the actual knitting until the night before.  

I tried really hard to pull it off though, knitting into the wee hours of the morning but despite my best efforts to keep my eyes open, I fell asleep on the couch and didn't get it done to gift to him on his actual half birthday.  So he had to wait a few more days for his present, but he didn't seem to mind at all.  He's great that way! 

The pattern is Mochi Mochi's Sleepy Snake and Mischevious Mouse and I knit it using a full ball each of green and blue Karabella Aurora 8 (oh, how I heart that yarn) and less than a third of grey for the mouse.  

I added a squeaker in the mouse and a jingle bell in the snake's tail to up the play value.  Turns out a big empty tube for chubby little hands to stuff with cheerios, hotwheels and magnetic alphabet letters is all the entertainment this little guy needs though!

Happy half birthday lolobear, we love you ;0)

A little postscript...

How lucky am I?  No really?  Many people pour their heart and soul into their passion and have no one to share it with, no one to shower them with ooh's and ahh's, and no one to do a happy dance with when it's all done.  

And here I am with a great supportive and helpful husband who doesn't mind that I spend his hard-earned money on yarn, who doesn't mind helping me solve tech issues when he comes home after a long day at the office, who can always be counted on to help me figure out knitting math, and who will stay up until 3 in the morning with me many nights in a row because it's the only time the house is still enough to get our website organised for the launch of a new pattern.

And then, as if that weren't enough love and support and kindness, when it's all done, when all the photos have been taken, when the pattern has been written and proofed a million times (or so it seems), when the website is done and the e-mail updates have been sent out, when it's all done, done...I have you ;0)

I really am one truly lucky knitter!  Thank you all for your kind words, your encouragement and your support.  You are making a dream come true for this knitter and for the two sweet-as-pie little guys who's education funds grow with every pattern sold {because that's where all the money goes...the best way I could think of to contribute to the family while I'm at home with the boys}.

I was relly sad to hear that the yarn I used for my Duck Soup was discontinued and have spent a lot of time this week trying to find a good sub and haven't found anything just so.  But here are some suggestions for you anyway.  If anyone has any other suggestions, please do share in the comments ;0)  

• Valley Yarns Berkshire (cooshy and lofty wool/alpaca blend, inexpensive and lots of colours including great baby pastels...I've actually used this one for this pattern and like it a lot but it does pill so you'll need to 'comb' your sweater every once in a while to keep it looking like new)
  
• The new Swish Bulky from KnitPicks (it is washable and comes in lots of colours)
  
• Cascade Greenland (machine wash and dry, soft merino, great cheery shades for babies and tots)
• Cascade Bollicine Baby Night (shrink resistant merino, classic baby pastels)
• Karabella Merino Superwash (super soft and washable and lots of great gender-neutral shades)
• Berrocco Peruvia (great heathered shades to mimic the look of the Countess but not many 'baby' colours)
• Karabella Aurora Bulky Melange (has the same multi construction as the Countess but the colour range is very limited)

Note that I haven't tried most of these and suggest them simply because they should give you the correct gauge of 16 sts to 4 inches, are suitable for a baby or child (not too scratchy), and come in colours I might use for a baby or tot myself.  All have also received at least 4 out of 5 stars from Ravelers.  A note on yardage, the Countess offered 100 yards per 50g and was used to determine the estimates for yarn requirements so keep this in mind when shopping for a substitute yarn.

Before I go, I should mention that I updated the Duck Soup pattern on September 8th and sent this revision to all those who had already purchased the pattern, either from my site or from Ravelry.  If you didn't get it or if it was caught by your spam filter, just send me an email at anny{at}jujubeandlolo{dot}com and I'll set you up.

Happy knitting!

Ravelympics: Days 5 and 6

So my loving husband surprised me by arranging for two full weeks of vacation during the games to care for kids while I knit. And it is his support that has made all the difference. Having him on board has meant guiltless hours of knitting while he feeds and entertains our little guys. He's even been getting up early with them so that I can catch up on some zzz's after long knitting sprints watching olympic morning on the CBC until 3 am for the past few nights.


So given my progress, I thought we all deserved a little break on day 5 for a day out with my sister and brother-in-law. So I left the needles and yarn by the couch and off we went to a historical site in my hometown of Terrebonne, Quebec: L'ile des moulins.


We had such a great afternoon (despite the occasional rain cloud) taking in the coolness of this park from my kids perspective: there are little walking bridges, mini-falls, ponds with ducks and fountains, lots of green spaces under a lush canopy of maples with big rocks poking out of the ground.


Oh, and there was ice cream too while we waited for the rain to pass. It was really great. And I totally forgot about the knitting...


...until I got home and realised a whole day had gone by with wary a stitch! So I cast on for the left front late on day 5 after the kidlets were in bed. Unfortunately, mentally keeping track of all the pattern rows and multiple shapings while cheering for the Canadian divers competing in the men's 3m synchro event meant a lot of head scratching moments and frogging. Turns out those two are not compatible tasks and the diving was more interesting than the knitting so day 5, while a great vacation day spent with the family, was a total knitting bust. Then the story on day 6 was all about sleeping! All those late nights finally caught up with me and I slept in until 11 and napped away the afternoon with the boys.

I did manage to kick it back into high gear late in the evening again though just in time to finish the left front of my Natalie Coat while watching the men's all around gymnastics competition. Another 3 balls of yarn and a 3 am bedtime for this knitter ;0)

...but with just one front and collar left to knit (oh, and all that seaming of course!), it looks like we'll be able to pay daddy back for all his efforts with more vacation fun next week. Cause I sure am going to owe him big when my games are done!

Open for business!

Hubby and I have been hard at work designing and programming my new site for several weeks now and are thrilled to report that it's {finally} ready and open for business! Be sure to check it out at www.jujubeandlolo.com


Isn't it pretty? I'm really proud of how it turned out and hope you'll like it too. The whole thing was completely home grown. I created the look and content and roped my dear husband into translating all my ideas into something a computer would understand! We made a great team and really put everything we had into it. And of course, the kidlets were heavily involved also as the inspiration, yarn enablers, and models ;0)

Hickory Dickory Dot
The mouse went up the...sweater?
All toasty and warm
In his polka dot hom
His mousy heart was aflutter ;0)

The site will be the new home of all my original knitting patterns going forward: premium patterns for sale, benefit patterns for a cause and free patterns just because! There are ten patterns up now including my favourite so far, Hickory Dickory Dot.

This cute little sweater is available in sizes from 3 to 24 months and features a lap-shouldered construction (they are so wonderful and practical for onesies I figured why not a sweater?) and a pocket mouse to play with. Because what can be better than a warm woolly with a built-in toy?

The pattern also includes step-by-step photo tutorials on knitting a hem closed, making i-cord, and sewing i-cord to neckline. More pattern info here.

If you are interested in obtaining a kit complete with the pattern, the delightful Karabella Aurora 8 (the same yarn I used), and even a squeaker for the mouse, check out Bella Knitting where you can also get complete kits including pattern yarn and notions for the Peace Baby sweater and Buddy Bags.

Happy knitting!

The last 5 days...

In the last five days since my last post, I finished knitting this...

Monogrammed Christmas sweaters for the boys (Lolo's is finished too!)
Knit from Valley Yarns Berkshire on US 9s in my own design.
Really cute, really soft, but pilly as all get-out!

And 7 and a half toddler and baby socks for my Martha-inspired baby sock advent calendar (I know there are just 6 below, you'll have to trust me on the other 1.5!) ...

{1} Stripey green toddler socks in Knit Picks Swish in Dublin and Bare
(34 sts, tubular cast on, 6 row stripes, short row heel, round toe)

{2} cabled toddler socks using quietish's pattern with bulky yarn
(Valley Yarns Berkshire) and size 9 needles for 3yr size

{3} basic socks also in Valley Yarns Berkshire and size 9 needles.
Embellished with duplicate embroidered tree.

Trimmed the tree...


Wrapped a garland around the banister to display my baby sock advent calendar in progress...


Distracted a sick toddler (he's all better now thanks to your sound advice, extra cuddles, tandem nursing, steam/humidity, and lots of extra playtime with mommy to keep his mind off how miserable he was feeling) with an art project! I introduced him to pencil crayons (ooh!) and we made little card stock circles to adorn a tiny tree on the kitchen table. Between this and hours of tea party, he managed to forget that he couldn't breath through his nose ;0)


Helped dig us out of what seemed like 12 million feet of snow!

Survived Lolo's first cold (he barely slept for 3 consecutive nights because the poor thing couldn't breath through his nose which meant he couldn't nurse for more than a second at a time)! Got a cold and beat it myself. Went to Stephen's office Christmas party on Friday night. And hunted down DDR Hottest Party for Wii for my honey (what a lucky boy ;0)

Amazing, eh? I can't beleive I got that much done considering and I'm feeling so empowered that I'm thinking I just might be able to knit 3-4 pairs of mittens, 10 socks, and Joseph in the next week all while making 'green' wrapping paper with Julian, wrapping gifts of course, and going out 2 nights in a row on Friday and Saturday nights!

What? It could happen!?

No kidding!

I'm working on another sweater for my spring collection and thought I'd try out O-Wool Classic which I got from Ariadne Knits. The stuff is not all that exciting to knit with but what happens when you block it is pure magic!


See for yourself in the photo below: on the left is a swatch after a nice relaxing soak in a Eucalan bath for about 15 minutes. On the right, two sad little sleevies awaiting their turn in the sink ;0)


Not impessive enough? Check out what happens to the cables below. Can you guess which was soaked?

Nice, eh? I'm totally enamoured with this yarn. Plus it's organic and the 100% merino content is oh so soft. Double plus, the yardage is amazing! Can't wait to get my hands on some more. I have a feeling this one is about to become a staple around here. Here's a preview of my latest design using less than two skeins of this wonderful yarn.


Its another lap-shouldered sweater (because I think that's just the cleverest idea I've ever had!) with a quirky modern aran touch. I call it Get Ziggy. He's getting the spa treatment right now but I'm hoping to show it to you in all its (hopeful glory) next time.

But now, time for the final installment of my holiday gift idea meme: Dada's favourite things! If you are shopping for an almost 30, absolutely loveable, and self-admittedly geeky gamer, here's a list for you ;0)


Top row: The West Wing Complete Series DVD Collection ( we both loved this really smart show plus it has sentimental value for us since before we were married and living together, Stephen would drive up to my apartment to watch it with me on Wednesday nights...good times ;0), the Squirrel and Oak mittens I knit for him (they made his top 9 gifts of all time list! Oh, how I heart that man!), and lastly, the Nintendo Wii (I don't think I have to qualify that one -- it's a Nintendo people!).

Middle row: The Orange Box (you'll have to excuse me because I'm not a gamer so I don't know why it's sooo cool but apparently it is!), Old Navy performance fleece sweaters (they rock and he's always snuggled up in one which usually means I'm snuggled up with him too because I can't resist my warm and cozy man!), and finally the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy.

Bottom row: Zelda Twilight Princess game for Wii (he really enjoyed this one and I got to knit a lot while watching him play. Bonus, the music is cute ;0), Office Space (a classic for anyone who's ever worked in a cube farm like us), and lastly tunes in general but he and the Barenaked Ladies go way back!

So that's it for my family's favourite things. Hope it gave you a few ideas ;0) Wanna play holiday gift idea meme? Just write about your family's tried and tested favourite things and let me know if you do so I can get some ideas too!

Cheers!

Blessed

The past couple of weeks have been kind of a blurr and I have so much to tell you about. Some sad knitting stories, some great big huge moments of my own, and real estate developments with my Jubilee Bubilee. We also were busy little bees getting ready for Logan's baptism which we celebrated during mass on Sunday.


It was a beautiful ceremony. Lolo was all smiles thoughout, looking intently at Father Gavin and even reaching out to hold his fingers during the ceremony. It was very sweet. Julian was terrific too and as a treat, he got to go up to the bell tower and ring the bells for his brother at the end of the mass. It was really special and I was filled with pride for both my sons. It was a beautiful moment. We then had everyone back at our house for brunch and had a really nice time.


And didn't my lemondrop look beautiful in the gown his father and brother wore to their baptisms? My mother in law made the gown for my husband when he was a baby and I'm so honoured that both my children got to wear it too. I had hoped to have Logan baptised in the same church where my husband and Julian were baptised and were Stephen and I exchanged our wedding vows, but sadly that chapel has been sold and is being torn down (see note at the end of this post for the whole sad story).

I wanted to knit a little something something for Lolo to wear with his gown. I spent hours looking for the right pattern and not having found it, decided to design my own. I had an idea for a beautiful capelet and bonnet and settled on the madeira lace pattern from one of the Barbara Walker Treasuries. It took a few days to knit. It was my first time knitting with bamboo yarn and I was completely smitten with its luster, drape and hand. It was a tad split-y but definately worth the extra attention because the result was incredible...until I wet blocked it! Bamboo doesn't like to be wet blocked as it happens and all the beautiful body and luster of the bamboo became a stiff, stretched out of shape, limp disaster. Not good. I cried. All that work. All that time. And sooo not heirloom worthy!


So I took out all my books again and planned another project. I just couldn't decide. Too much pressure to knit an heirloom. I started poking around the web and found this cute little set and started knitting the booties and bonnet out of stash Dale of Norway Baby Ull On US1 needles! It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to knit the bonnet!


I finished it on Thursday night. Tried it on my Lolo only to discover that it was too small and that he really didn't like the feel of the yarn. And I did't cry so much but was angry and mostly stressed out that I only had 2 days left in which to knit AND tidy up the house AND prepare a brunch buffet for 25 people!

But I didn't want to let my Lolo down and was determined to knit him an heirloom. So I planned for a cropped cardi of my own design knit from the same bamboo (no lace = no blocking so I figured it would be okay). I had planned to embroider his monogram on the back and to knit a bonnet with an embroidered cross on the back. I knit and knit and knit. And knit some more.

I tried all my tricks to stay awake and finish it in time. It was 2 am on Saturday night...only 7 hours before the start of the ceremony when I finished the back, both sleeves and one of the fronts. I started seaming what I had and even taught myself crochet for a fancy scalloped edging, then crept upstairs to where all my boys were asleep in my bed and delicately tried the sweater on my sleeping angel only to discover that...the sleeves were too narrow!


Argh! I was so upset that I couldn't sleep. I'm a knitter. That's what I do. All the time. And I got in my own way a lot and not for lack of trying, my son had nothing to wear with his short-sleeved gown on a chilly September morning... Not to mention, no heirloom baptism knit to pass on to his children. The pressure really got to me and having 3 disasters in a row has kinda shaken my knitting confidence a bit.

So my plan for the day is to stash dive, find a fool-proof project and get back on the saddle before I lose my knitting mojo again...

Any suggestions?

* And now, a sad church story for anyone curious as to how it is one looses their church!

Our chapel was on the second floor of a private school which used to be run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. They sold the building to a private enterprise a few years ago and rented the chapel space from the new owners and everything was as it has always been. But this spring, the new owners decided to convert the chapel into a library for their students and gave our parish a 90-day notice after which we would no longer have access to the chapel.

It was so upsetting to me that not only did we have to find a new place of worship, but that this one which had been a pillar of our community for so long (almost 40 years) and which has been the cornerstone of so many important moments in our own lives would be torn down and exist only in our memories. That chapel is where Stephen was baptised, where we celebrated every holiday together for the past 10 years of our courtship, where we were married, and where our Julian was baptised. It was also where we prayed with Stephen's parents most Sundays since we were married three and a half years ago.

It had beautiful stained glass windows and artfully arranged lighting which both our children delighted in when we went. And I will always have fond memories of that church. I had hoped to have Logan baptised there as well but it wasn't meant to be and so we waited to get settled into our new church (rented from a neighbouring parish) to have Logan baptised. And even though we had tried so hard to do it at the old place, in retrospect I am glad we didn't in a way, because now the new place holds a special place in our hearts too ;0)

The good one ;0)

We were sitting on the bottom step together yesterday, hurrying to put our shoes on so we wouldn't miss daddy's train when Julian totally blew me away. This two year old of mine was doing up the velcro on his runners and said, "mommy, I put on my left shoe". And it was! So I asked him what his other foot was? "The good one," he replied. "You mean, the right one?" I asked. "No mommy, it's the good one!"

Stephen was on vacation last week so we were busy little bees, soaking in the sun, visiting the sites and of course running some errands! We took the boys to the Montreal Biodome with grandma and grandpa and it was a lots of fun. Julian got to see penguins, and porcupines, and a moose, and a cougar, and giant jungle birds, and even an alligator! He was very impressed. Logan on the other hand was most smitten with the fish. I was carrying him in the bjorn and could literally feel his breathing patterns change as the aquariums soothed him. Magic!

We also got to do something a little strange...we went to a Stanley Cup parade in our little suburban town! The goaltender for the Ducks is from our little town and brought the celebrated cup over for an impromptu Monday afternoon parade.

It was strange to go for a neighbourhood walk in the deeps of suburbia to participate in a Stanley cup parade when our home team didn't even make the playoffs! It was great fun nonetheless. Giguere (the hometown hero) rode on an old fashioned fire engine with the cup, preceded by the local kiddy teams and followed by what seemed like all the kids in town on their bikes cheering and waving. It was a really cool suburban moment.

Julian was trying really hard to keep up with the parade on his little tricycle. He was so focused and determined, trying to go really really fast... despite his best efforts though, he was the very last kid in the parade. Here he is being tailed by the police escort. So cute ;0)


I did get a little knitting done, too. I started knitting a trellis of my own for Lolo and honestly it's such a fabulous little quick knit that I really don't know why I didn't knit it before. I've got half a front and sleeves left to go before I can consider this one an FO. I just hope it fits Lolo when it's done... I knit the 6 month size but it looks a little small.


The story of the week though...Buddy Bags! The response has been so heart-warming. Knitters are so wonderful ;0) For those of you who have purchased a pattern, you may want to go download it again using the same link you were sent. A few knitters send some minor errata which I have reflected in a new update (any new buyers will receive the revised file).

Here's the errata:

• The row numbers in the 'Birdy wing' section should be even-numbered starting with row 2...(all odd-numbered rows should be as indicated in row 1) - thanks Renee!
• In the basket instructions, Row 20 should read (P5, K3) - thanks Jessica and Renee!
• I added needle size info throughout to make it clearer
• I added a note up front about how the pattern is for your personal use only and should not be sold or distributed. I also ask that you not sell any Buddy Bags you make, though you can knit and give away as many as you like ;0)

Next time, some Q&A for anyone interested in self-publishing a pattern. I'll share my research and experiences with software and online tools...

Happy knitting!

Jazzy good time!

Daddy had the day off yesterday in honour of Canada Day (which technically was on Sunday, yay Canada!) so we packed the kids and drove into the city to partake in Montreal International Jazz Festival fun! It's our favourite of the gazillion festivals in these parts and it was really cool to introduce our little ones to our favourite sites and sounds...

Julian had a blast. Lolo enjoyed the stroll. And Stephen and I reminisced about our festival dates over the past 10 years. It's such a wonderful event. It was our first time with a toddler and we were so impressed with just how many activites there were for wee ones. From face painting to art class (making musical instruments) and a huge parc with music themed slides and activites... heck there was even a fruit stand for snack time!

Of course there were the usual great bands and friendly people. And the best hot dogs in town! We met a lovely retired couple on vacation from Virginia and practically convinced them to move here. We even passed along some real estate sites so they can continue to scheme. It started to rain so we covered the stroller and made a run for our car. It's a two week long festival and we'll definately try to go again before it wraps up to catch some more tunes. Such fun ;0)

I also got a bunch of knitting in while watching movies with my honey. One of my little neighbourettes turned 4 this weekend and I wanted to knit her a little something. I flipped through my knitting library and didn't find anything suitable so gave it some serious thought and came up a super easy and super cute little something something (sneak preview above). Stay tuned for the grand unveiling and details on how to get the pattern later this week.

Can't wait to see what you think ;0)

It's done!

The anniversary sweater. It's really done!

I started it waaaay back in April 2006 and planned to knit it for my sweetness on the occasion of our second (cotton) anniversary on April 17, 2006. And then I started it. And immediately I knew that was not going to happen ;0) I then reasoned that it would be okay as long as I finished it during our cotton anniversary year giving myself and extra 364 days in which to finish it.

I knit on it a lot. Heck I even knit on it when I was in labour! Now that's dedication!

But man, that's a lot of cables and, well, that didn't happen either. Birthday? Father's day? Nope. Nada. But on the occasion of Quebec's national holiday on Sunday, I finally did it!


I knit the smallest size using just over 14 balls of Rowan All Seasons Cotton, modified the sleeves to knit them in the round, cast on fewer sleeve stitches (104 instead of 114) and worked sleeve decreases until there were 60 stitches rather than 56. Other than that I knit it pretty much as directed (for posterity did I mention that I used 4.5mm Addi's). I did have a few beefs with the pattern though. The main one was that if you knit it to the letter, that is, same cable pattern on both front and back pieces, the cables and ribs don't line up when you do the 3-needle bind-off. See:


My other beef? I hate how dropped sleeves fit. This is not that pattern's fault. But I wish I had given it more thought and modified the sleeve shaping. But, I digress. It's done! And more importantly, it's very comfy and daddy loves it. Modelled shots are forthcoming though because it's a gazillion degrees these days and it just seemed mean to make him wear it out for some pics so I'm waiting for a less muggy day... In the meantime, here's another shot before I show Julian's last 2nd birthday cake:


After his birthday barbecool with friends last weekend, we had another birthday celebration for Julian's 2nd birthday on Saturday, this time with our families. I baked him a cookie cake with layers of cream cheese filling. Yum! I got it from one of the Kids' magazines, but the recipe is reprinted online if anyone is interested.


We all sang happy birthday to his great delight and then right on beat at the end of the song when we generally blow out the candles, he went in for a bite instead and his cap extinguished the candles. It was a roar! We're still giggling about it. Silly billy ;0)


And now, he has officially entered the 'terrible twos', but so far it's more like the 'terrific twos'! Awwww. I'm counting on him to change the stereotype for all toddlerkind! LOL!

Happy birthday Jubilee Bubilee. Mommy loves you big like the sky ;0)