yarn along: rosa and taproot

taproot + handspun rosa

My number of works in progress has gotten out of hand recently, so I hesitated to cast on anything new. But I needed a project that allows me to work without a pattern because my two-month old permits only short bursts of activity that don't involve him. Soulemama's Rosa hat fills this need perfectly; I guess she's figured out what works after five children. I've been toting this hat from room to room, knitting a few stitches here and there when the baby falls asleep on my shoulder. And this morning I knitted two rounds during a 15-minute car ride. Two rounds in one sitting! Some of the previous rounds have taken me days to complete.

The yarn is a plump handspun Shetland and alpaca blend that feels soft in hand. It's a thick and thin two-ply in blue and gray, colors that remind me of our trip to Maine.

I'm slowly reading the latest issue of Taproot at bedtime, although sometimes my eyes close after only a sentence or two. My days have been so full lately and a few sentences of Taproot are a wonderful nightcap.

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What are you up to this week? 

Are you yarning along too?

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P.S. See my previous Rosa here.

old man baby pants

 

Old man baby pants make me smile. I hope they do the same for you.

a friend quilt

This handmade quilt has become our downstairs playtime quilt. It's where J spends his time taking in this big world, one room at a time, and where he gets some much-loved tummy time. 

I swear, this kid can't wait to crawl. He lifts himself up and kicks his feet something fierce. After several minutes of not actually going anywhere, he gets tired and sucks his hand. That's pretty much the extent of playtime at five weeks of age. Sometimes we read him a book or attempt to interest him in toys, but generally he's content to lie on his quilt and marvel at all there is to see, such as dust bunnies under the couch and vast expanses of white ceiling (exciting stuff!).  

The quilt was a gift from my longtime blogging friend Amy, who writes the blog During Quiet Time. She's an extraordinary seamstress who makes complicated paper-pieced patterns and screen prints. I love this fun, colorful quilt she made, and I love that it reminds me of her every time we use it. You can see her post about the quilt here. Thanks, Amy!

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{P.S. Jan wrote about the baby gift basket from my previous post and included links to the tutorials she used. It's a great resource if you've got babies to sew for!}

basket of goodies

I promised to show off some of the handmade baby things we've received, so here's a start!

K's aunt Jan (who blogs about her sewing, spinning, and knitting here) sent us a basket full of goodies she sewed just for our little guy. She chose such great colors, too: bright yellow and blue with red accents.

Want to see what's inside?

Appliqued boat towels and a personalized bib, all which look so pretty and pristine. I joked with Jan that the baby will be allowed to use them only when he is clean. ;) And the item at the top that looks like a cute clutch, that's a portable changing pad.

It folds out to the perfect size and even includes a pocket, which will be great for stashing cloth wipes. I've already tucked this into the diaper bag so it's ready to use. 

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I hope you're all doing well! I've been reading your blogs on my phone, but comments take ages to type out on it, so you may find I've been quiet lately. My hope is that once J and I get into a routine I'll have a little time to keep up with blogging and commenting.