Jubilee's spring jacket

So I finished Jubilee's spring jacket yesterday and took some hasty shots of him wearing it as he snoozed in my lap post-nursing. I didn't think that those would be the best shots I'd be able to take! Pre-mobility, I would look forward to morning light to get my baby gussied up in my latest baby knit and set him up for a photo shoot. I would take a couple of shots, select the best one and post about it. Ah, those were the days!

But now that he can move around...this little routine of ours is quickly becoming i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e! He won't stop moving! I must have taken 50 shots today trying to get one where he is sitting still, not eating the sweater, and not crawling out of the shot and I tell you it was slim pickings.

This is the first photo I took and that was it. I think I'll have to come up with a new strategy! It will probably involve more spontaneous 'action shots' or a lot more 'sleeping beauty' shots. As I mentioned earlier this week, the pattern is from the Fall/Winter 2002/2004 Phildar Layette magazine knit up in the 12 month size with 8 balls of Phildar Altitude yarn. It was real quick to knit (the gauge is 2 st per inch!) and the resulting fabric is very thick so that it can be worn as a jacket. I love it!

But now I really have to get to my sisters Christmas/birthday sock since her birthday is today! Bonne fete Helene, je t'aime gros gros ;0)

Have a great weekend everybody!

Tricoter en francais

It is difficult to find 'common' knitting magazines in Quebec. Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Rowan... are difficult to come by even in yarn shops. On the flip side, European magazines (especially from France) are very easy to find. One of my favourites is Phildar Layette magazine (you can browse through current issues of it and other Phildar magazines here - just click on the magazine to see inside).

I started knitting the 'Patelot No. 20' from Phildar Layette Automne/Hiver 2002/2003 (I wish I could hyperlink that for you but I couldn't find it anywhere on the web, perhaps ebay?). It is knit from Phildar Altitudes yarn which has a gauge of 2 stitches per inch! Yes, you read that right...this yarn is huge so needless to say, this is a uber quick knit!

All the pieces are knit and all that's left is a little steam blocking, a little seaming up, and the addition of a few white toggles before Julian can model it for us ;0)

There are so many wonderful patterns in this particular issue of Layette (though every issue has lots of lovely baby knits - about 30 patterns per issue). I've already knit the 'Gilet a capuche' for Thanksgiving from this issue so this is my second and there are a few more on my must knit list. Most patterns are written up is sizes 0-3 months all the way to 24 months so hopefully I'll get to knit them before Julian is too big...it's the ultimate deadline! Here are some of the knits on my must get to list from this particular issue:

I'm working on a little translation guide which I'll post next time for anyone who would like to knit from french patterns. I'd strongly recommend the Phildar stuff (you can buy the most recent magazines here some in English even and if you'd like to browse them first you can do so at the Phildar site). But there are also really nice things from Bergere de France. Check out their free patterns for baby 0-2, children 2-16 (click 'fille' for girl or 'garcon' for boy patterns), women or men.

Happy knitting!

Me and my Bristow

Ta-da! Here is my finished Bristow. Did I mention that I love it? I knit it up with $35 bucks (Canadian) worth of Elann's Peruvian Collection Highland Wool (13 balls of "Ruby") and though the wool was a little scratchy at first, it was nice to work with and softened up nicely in a Eucalan bath. This is great yarn for the price and I will not hesitate to use it again. Though because of the slight itch factor, I wouldn't use it for baby knits or for anything that needs to be worn next to the skin (but with a light layer underneath, it's fine). Bonus, it is also very warm and not as bulky as you might expect.

The pattern (free from Knitty) is very well written and easy to memorise. It is perfect for anyone who wants to try some cabling because there is enough of it to keep it interesting, but it is surrounded by a lot of stockinette which makes the whole thing knit up faster. It is also more flattering than an all out aran cableknit would be, especially on us curvy girls ;0)

I did not make any mods. To my great surprise, the waist and bust shaping suited me perfectly. The length is just right too. So it's a good thing I resisted making any mods. The pattern is just right as is! Well except for maybe the sleeves...if I ever make this again, I will probably make the sleeves a little narrower. There is a tad too much ease for my taste, though on the flip side, it will be great for layering.

Not bad for my second attempt at a sweater I would actually wear. (The first still doesn't fit...though I'm trying to do something about that!)

And now on a more serious (and hopeful) note, I've started taking evening strolls with a neighbour and friend who is training to participate in the Walk to End Breast Cancer in Ottawa this summer. The walk is an amazing 60km in two days and each walker must raise at least $2000 just to be able to walk. What a challenge! I won't be participating in the walk, but am ready to help anyway I can so I thought I'd post the link to the donation site, because you never know ;0) I mean maybe one of you just rolled up the brim and won a pile of cash today! Or maybe you have a money tree growing in your yard. Or maybe you've been looking for a great cause to get behind. Or maybe you have $5 bucks (or $10 or $20) to spare?

So, if you'd like to help raise funds to end cancer (and help a friend of a friend get one step closer to that $2000 goal) you can do so by clicking this link (it will take you to Jennifer's fundraising page on the Walk to End Breast Cancer site). It is a great cause. I mean who's family hasn't been affected by cancer? Ours sure has. A tax receipt will be automatically generated for any donation (though I think that's just applicable to Canadians?). Thanks for considering it ;0)

Now enough talk about taboo subjects like money and illness...

It's time to knit, knit, knit and now that Bristow's off the needles, I think I'm getting a case of startitis!

Everything plus the kitchen sink

What a weekend! The weather was terrific (it was 15 degrees celsius today!) and that's a very good thing. I shed my heavy winter parka in favour of my spring jacket, put on my shades and reacquainted myself with the feel of the sun kissing my cheeks. Ahhh, spring!

And in knitting news Bristow's done! Here she is soaking in the kitchen sink on the Friday night. She's since been blocked and seamed. Button, button-hole and neck bands were picked-up and knit this morning and buttons sewn on a few hours ago. I'm really impressed with how it turned out and think I'll actually get to wear this one lots. Stephen's working from home tomorrow since Julian has his 9 month well-baby check-up in the afternoon so I'll definately pull him away for a few minutes to take some pictures in the morning light.

And in Julian news...well there is just so much to tell! He started pulling himself up on the coffee table and has even been working on his balance, letting go of one hand at a time. No cruising yet, but he's so very close. We decided to take him to the toy store on Saturday to look for an exersaucer or some kind of device to help him develop strong walking legs and since he wasn't asleep (a first I think...he is usually fast asleep in the stroller) we thought what better way to choose than to pull them each down and have him 'test drive' each exersaucer.

He had such a great time in all of them, but since the height limit on them is 30" we decided he wouldn't get that much use out of them so off we went to try some scooters and push toys instead. We brought home the Fisher Price ride-on hippo which he just loves. He's had it for one day and this morning he pulled himself up on it and pushed it across the living room. Our jaws dropped when we saw him do this! He's only 9 months and hasn't really figured out how to crawl forwards yet so seeing him up on two feet pushing this thing across the room was quite the shock. We're just so smitten with the boy. And incredibly proud of him too ;0)

And because things happen so fast when you're 9 months old, he also packed in a whole bunch of new teeth this week-end. I felt one of his top middle teeth on Friday and when I showed daddy later that night, we noticed two other ones had also sprouted! That's 3 new teeth this weekend with no tears or crankiness (what's the catch?). The strange thing about his teeth though is the configuration: he's got the two middle teeth on the bottom, and 3 of the 4 middle teeth on the top. So on the top gum, it's tooth, tooth, space, tooth. Weird, eh? Hopefully another tooth with fill the gap soon enough.

Well that's it for now. Time to join my snoring boys asleep beside me.

Zzzzzz...