St. Nikolaus

December 6th is "Nikolaus" day in Germany. You put your boots out and if you were a good kid during the year, Nikolaus will leave some goodies in them. (Yes, I know it sounds a lot like Santa Claus, this is confusing. But Germans don't have Santa for Christmas, we have the "Christkind" who leaves the presents.)

So Egg got a little gift, too. She loves it. She's been pushing around Erna for the whole afternoon.

Ever once in a while she leans over or squats and talks to her doll, only to get up and going again. It's too cute.

On growing but not outgrowing

Egg has been growing like a weed - at least in my opinion. I mean, in one year she managed to add 30 cm to her height and put on about 8.5 kg of weight. So one would expect that she outgrows her clothes in no time, right?

Well, most she does, some she didn't. I wanted to put some knits away I had made at the beginning of the year and just for fun put them on her once more. And, don't you know it, they still fit without looking outgrown. I know they had been too big when I made them, but I never expected them to kinda grow with her. So if you want to knit for a baby and make sure to get some a lot of use out of what you worked hard on, try one of these (pattern to come soon):

The Tapestry Tee:

January 2009

November 2009

The Velvet Yoke:

February 2009

November 2009

I been busy

With life. You know how it goes.

With knitting. Small things for small people.

With working. Now, that's a lie. Though, it depends on what one calls 'work'. So maybe not.

Here are some of my favourite FO's:

The "Lili Kimono" - I think Egg just looks übercute in it. Two balls of Diakeito Diamusee Fine I had in my stash did the trick. I'm working on the pattern. The sample knitter is already waiting for it. And there will be a vest version, also.


This is the "Shishiza Cardigan" - it was a gift for my nephew's first birthday. It's worked from yarn from my stash.


This scarf is inspired by the "Baktus Scarf" - I modified it and as you can see it looks great as a head scarf also! This one is Malabrigo Worsted. What can I say, it's just the perfect pink.


The "Purpleneck" - Egg can totally grow into this sweater. Lorna's Laces DK Swirl Blackberry. Love it.


And, last but not least and only finished yesterday (sewing on the darn flowers!): "Flower Power". It's also large so Egg can wear it for a long while. (First thing she did was try to pick off the flowers...) It's made from Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. Who else could get away with colour combinations like that??

A very happy 1st!!

Egg turns one today. Seriously. Where does the time go? We've had a wonderful year, she's a delight and the best kid ever as her Daddy likes to point out.

Happy Birthday, my lovely, beautiful daughter!!

Good Bye, Johnny Castle

Patrick Swayze passed away.

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

And that's all I have to say to this.

Whirligig Shrug

Saturday Egg and I spent the day at the Roxham Woolgathering with some friends. More about that tomorrow. Today it's about the Whirligig Shrug from Interweave Knits Weekend that I finished after we came home from said Woolgathering. I had started it Friday afternoon.

It's a sweet little knit and I didn't think I would like it that much, but I do! And Egg looks really cute in it. I used Reynolds Odyssey, a 100% merino yarn in variegated reds. It took only 86 grams (about 200 yds) for the 12-18 months size, so it is the perfect project for leftovers I dare say. Come to think of it, why not hand spun??

Are you fed up yet with Egg pictures?

Thanks for your good wishes - the toe is on the mend. Today it's already much better!

Toe Woe

It looks like I'm on house arrest. Today I stepped on one of Egg's toys and one of my toes on my right foot got tangled in it, gave way and broke.

OUCH.

It stuck out in an awkward angle and hurt - after the initial adrenaline shock wore off. Once Rolf was home from his soccer game we went to an emergency clinic, where we spent the afternoon (I didn't bring any knitting, big idiot that I am!) waiting for x-rays and a doctor who said about my toe that "it is broken and crooked. I can yank on it to make it more straight but otherwise there's not much I can do." I let him yank.

OUCH! No, seriously, OUCH!!

Now the broken toe and the one next to it are taped together and I took some pain killers and won't be able to go out much for the next, say two or three weeks for sure.

OUCH.

Egg Vogue

Egg likes to be informed about what goes on in the fashion world.


That's a beautiful coat! That colour would look fabulous on me!


Those gap boys are fer sure goodlookin'.


Ellen's doin' a commercial!


Oh, Manolo, I wish they came in my size!



When she was bored with perusing, she ripped out what she really, really liked:

Yes, it's the Manolo Blahniks.


And the Ugg ad. I'm sure it was the knitted item on every single page (as our friend Todd pointed out, I hadn't realized it before) and not the boots that caught her attention.

More than one year later

Remember last Summer when I was put on bed rest when pregnant? Some of that time was spent in the Hospital, which was no fun at all. While being there Mary and Molly Ann brought me two skeins of Schaefer Anne, which is one of my all time favourite sock yarns. They even brought me a set of dpns to get knitting. Problem was, I didn't feel like knitting socks.

So after looking through some pattern books which Rolf brought me I cast on for what I thought a small cardigan. I had to think of that baby in my belly a lot, after all. It turned out a bit large, I thought Egg might be able to wear it in Spring, but it is only now that it fits. I didn't use the whole skein, and it's quite loosely knit on a 3.5 mm needle. The body is a lace pattern and the sleeves have garter ridges, that can be found in the raglan decreases also.

Here, have look again:

Calling Oma?

Egg never ceases to amaze me. She's not keen on 'talking' on the phone, she'll listen politely for about 5 seconds and then she wants to play with the phone and push buttons. I did not think she grasps the concept, yet.

Imagine my surprise when I found her on her own phone, babbling away and having fun? That was last week.


Every day there's something new she can do, sometimes we have a whole day of discoveries: Friday she stood for about 10 seconds on her own, she climbed stairs (I never showed her how!) and she phoned people all afternoon.

The night from Monday to Tuesday was rough. She woke up at 10 p.m. and just wouldn't go back to sleep, just sit in her bed and talk to herself, play and undress (yes, another thing she can do now!). I could tell she was tired, but she was up and about until 1.30 a.m. Then she fell asleep and stayed that way. I had no idea why until last night when I by chance spotted something white on her gum - she's sprouted a molar!! I never would have known, since except for not wanting to sleep she showed no sign of distress or pain. Haven't I the bestest kid ever??

We're off now to Mommy and Baby knitting - maybe I'll get to knit a couple of stitches, maybe not.

That's my girl!!

Egg 'found' some 3.5 mm circs this morning and I caught her clicking the needles together. Here she is with a bit more kid friendly (well, I'm trying) 8 mm:



Please excuse the bad quality, I'm still figuring out this youtube thing - and the heavy breathing, that would be me...(yikes!)

We're still knitting

This is "Evangeline", a cardi knit in bulky yarn with a leaf pattern edge. It knits up real quick, I did it in two days.



Egg likes it, too.


Find the download link for the free pattern in the sidebar. Or click here.

Kid in a Box*

*Some assembly required. Batteries not included.

There's a new book in town

The Joy of Sox. I have a pattern in it. It's called Royal Flush and there are twisted stitches involved. Hope you like!

The youngest Kaffe Fassett Fan ever?

Let's see, what do we have here?


Boy, what a nice quilt!


I wish I was big so I could make this!


I gotta have a closer look!

Brotherly socks

A couple of weeks ago I met a pair of brothers at a party. I don't really know how old these kids are, but when the older one saw me knitting on a sock he asked what I was doing. "I'm knitting a sock." I said. Now, I would have expected anything as a second remark but "can you make me some, too?". Apparently he liked what he saw and thought it appropriate to order a pair for himself (pink and blue, who'da thunk?) and for his brother (green and red). He kinda expected me to start right away, I think, 'cause he kept asking if I had more yarn in my bag. Talk about enthusiasm!


Armed with the necessary information (shoe size?) and after digging through my stash (I actually considered for a teensy weensy moment buying that perfect shade of pink) I cast on and knit away. Blue socks with pink stripes- as seen in picture - and green socks with red stripes, yet to be started. I hope they'll please the recipients once they are done.

In which I realize that...

...my daughter is wearing a gross and really dirty bib. Ah, well.


But she knows how to handle her spoon!

Stok(k)ed!

About a Tripp Trapp chair from "Stokke". Egg loves it too. Ours was bought in Germany, though, by Egg's Opa. That means I have the European version of the baby set. Otherwise it's of course the same.

May 2009:

July 8, 2009:

Egg kept ripping off the orange cover for the back, so it went.

Today:

Yes, she insists on feeding herself. And, apart from the mess, she's not half bad at it.

Hey you!

Stop taking pictures! Yes, I mean you, Mommy!!

Egg has learned to point with her finger. She does it all the time now. She also waves bye bye - when she feels like it.

In the meantime I'm working on the re-release of my patterns previously published in Interweave Knits. Hooray, I get to knit all of the samples again...

I am also excited about my first knit night tonight in a loong while! Egg is staying home with her daddy and I get to go out and knit, I mean, really knit! And talk. Without the distraction of constantly having to rescue wares in the shop and other babies. Me time. Yay!

Hmmmmm....?

Elle USA

Elle Canada

It's like this game you play where you have to find the 10 discrepancies in the two pictures.

Hmmmm.

Last Wednesday at Mommy and Baby Knitting...

Here are the best action shots:

Adorable, aren't they?