Logan's favourite things - a holiday meme part two

As promised, today is all about my little Lolo's favourite things. But first, a HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who jumped onto the Peace Baby bandwagon and to Whip Up and the Yarn Harlot who helped me spread the word. I am totally inspired by just how much was raised to date for the tremendous works of Doctors Without Borders all over the world. This is what the tally on the Peace Baby page looks like tonight...


Isn't that incredible! I am pleased as punch and can't wait to see little peace babies pop up everywhere as nearly 300 of you got the pattern so far! For anyone who might be interested in getting it as a kit, Bella Knitting will be offering the pattern and yarn for it on their new site which will launch shortly (I'll let you know when) and will donate proceeds of the pattern and yarn sale to the cause as well so it's an even bigger charitable bang for your buck. Here's a sample I just knit for Bella out of Cascade Pima Cotton (because we love wash and wear natural fibers for baby ;0)


And now, back to the little guy who inspired the whole thing. My little Lolo is 8 months old already and for anyone who is shopping for a baby this holiday season, I thought I'd share his tried and true very favourite things as part 2 of my home grown meme. So without further ado...



Top row: Skwish rattle (this one is actually put together with bungee cord and is really fun to skwish and enjoy the bounce back action. It is also very light and easy to grasp and was the first rattle both my boys were able to handle. The little wooden balls rattle ever so softly - like a little chime. Love it!), Weebles Storybook Castle (the first toy my 2 year old and 8 month old can play together! Lolo likes to make the moat go round and round and of course put the weebles in his mouth. They're big enough that I don't have to worry. Julian's been enjoying playing with it since he got it for Christmas last year), and board books in general but Billy Bunny by Maurice Pledger is a favourite first book in our house. Every page has a tactile component and it is an oversized board book which is pretty neat...this one appears to be on sale for $1 right now, just click on the link if interested ;0).

Middle row: Rainforest Jumperoo by Fisherprice (just like the good old Jolly Jumper with bonus toys, music and a height adjustable seat. Lolo looooves this one and has been jumpin' away since he was abut 3 months old. Great play station ;0), a silicone whisk (also a favourite of his older brother. Hours of entertainment and the only drawback is that I can never find it when I need it for pancakes!), and the Busy Ball Popper (this one is noisy, but giggles are practically guaranteed. The balls fly around to the beat of the music which is just a riot for wee ones!)

Bottom row: Kaloo Doudou Bunny (a favourite snuggly since he was a wee wee one ;0), Infantino Pail Pets (these were originally Julian's and they've been loved with the same fervour by both boys. One crinkles, one rattles, one squeaks. They stack, make great hats and carry other toys. Love, love, love - actually everything by Infantino is great!), and finally a wooden Haba rattle (these are such good quality wooden rattles in the most fetching colours. We have several different ones and Lolo really loves them. I prefer wooden non-toxic teethers to those scary plastic ones with mystery liquid inside! They're a bit on the pricey side but are totally heirloom quality - I'm saving them for the grandkids! - and make great gifts).

Wanna play my holiday gift idea meme. It's simple, just put together a little list of the things you and your family loves and include their ages. If you do it, let me know so I can check out your list and get some gift ideas too ;0)

Next up, my favourite things...and there'll probably be more than 9!

Cheers!

Jujube's favourite things - a holiday meme!

Another day, another pair of mittens! I just can't stop making them. They're so fun to knit, they use up odd balls from the stash, and they warm up my peeps! Here's a pair for my Jubilee Bubilee.


They're the target wave mittens from Norah Gaughan's Knitting Nature. I knit the medium size at a tighter gauge of 6 sts to the inch on US 6/4.0mm needles and ended up with a 3 year old size. Perfect! The yarn is Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool in red and cream. I even made a string by making a crochet chain with two (super long) lengths of yarn. Easy peasy ;0)


And in the holiday spirit these inspire. I thought of a holiday gift idea meme. It's simple, just put together a little list of the things you and your family loves and include their ages. If you do it, let me know so I can check out your list and get some gift ideas too ;0)

Here are some of Julian's favourite things (he's two and a half years old)!


Top row: Crocodile Creek Barnyard Puzzle (I love their stuff too because they come in sturdy storage cases with handles - we have the dominoes and memory game too!), Alligator Pie book of silly poems by Dennis Lee (published in 1974, it's a classic we all enjoy ;0), Imaginarium wooden blocks (Julian plays with these hours on end every day since he got them at age 1 and a half - they're simply a must have!).

Middle row: Super Makit Toy (retro building set that comes in its own storage box - love that! Bonus: dada loves to play with these too ;0), Mobi Tykelight Buddy (a portable night light that charges magnetically so totally child friendly - he used to carry this with him over to our room at night and light his own way), Balancing Cactus (a cool educational game where you take turns adding pieces trying to balance the weight - Julian likes to make really tall cacti and make pretend ice cream cones with it too!)

Bottom row: Home depot power tools set (we got these for him on his 2nd birthday. He plays with them everyday and often takes the hammer and saw to bed with him!), Ikea Lillabo train set (another favourite and at $20 for the whole kit immeasurably more affordable than Thomas the Train set at a comparable quality - I just noticed they now have expansion packs for this set!), Learning Tower (really expensive but has made meal prep time so much more enjoyable for both of us. It's set up at the end of our counter where I prep our meals and give him important sous-chef jobs to help. It's really stable, safe and he can get in and out of it by himself. It's also height adjustable as he grows!)

Next week: Lolo's favourite things (ideas for babies 8 months and under), dada's favourite things (for the almost 30 year old geek in your life), and my favourite things too (for the almost 30 year old mama and knitter ;0)

Cheers!

It's mitten time!

It's cold! Really cold! I'm talking raid- the- stash -for -mitten- yarn- and- cast- on- quick- cold! Presenting hot off the needles Squirrel & Oak mittens by the brilliant Adrian of Hello Yarn. I knit them using 2 balls of leftover Lett-Lopi in ash gray and brown heather and a US6/4.00mm circ for loopy magic.



They were a pure pleasure to knit. And quick too! I knit these in a day and a half - and I'm not talking exclusive knitting either. I'm talking nap time and every chance I get between nursing, feeding and changing Lolo and playing monkey gears with Jujube.


I think they are my favourite mittens ever and I'm almost sorry I already promised them to my husband. Almost! But the grin I got when he saw them for the first time made me feel really good about giving them away -- there were dimples and everything! I'm just happy they're going to warm up the hands of someone who can appreciate their wooly wonderfulness ;0)


I'd love to make a matching pair for Julian (how cute would that be?) though I'm not sure what kind of yarn would have the right gauge to resize these for a toddler. Would fingering yarn be thin enough? I have loads of Knit Picks Palette in the stash. Hmmmmm?! I'll have to investigate that later.



And now for something completely different: Peace, Baby!

Thank you so much to everyone who downloaded the pattern and contributed to Doctors Without Borders. We've raised $375 so far and I am feeling really good about that!


If you haven't done so yet, you can get the pattern from my new website at: http://www.jujubeandlolo.com/Patterns/PeaceBaby.php

Thanks for all the nice comments about the new site too. Dada and I worked on it after the kids were asleep almost every night for weeks since we've never done anything like it and there sure was a lot to learn. It was really fun to see Stephen put his technological prowess to quasi-fibery use turning my ideas into an actual site with pages and counters and everything (see what I mean about how he deserves the mittens)!

I'll keep you posted on future developments leading up to the launch of my first line of knitting patterns for wee ones this Spring, but if you want to be sure not to miss a thing, you can sign up for the Jujube & Lolo mailing list by entering your email address at the bottom of the home page at: www.JujubeandLolo.com.

Happy knitting!

A.

Give a little peace!

I just put the finishing touches on my Peace Baby pattern and can't wait to share it with you. You'll remember it as my keyhole pullover and beanie with a cause ;0)


As promised, the pattern is available as an instant download in sizes to fit a newborn all the way up to preschooler and is yours free with any donation to support the tremendous work of Doctors Without Borders in refugee camps all over the world.

Get it here from my new cozy little corner of cyberspace (way more on that next time ;0)

Peace to you and yours!