striped rosa

In high school and college I did some of my best work late at night before tests and papers were due. I'd stay up till the wee hours studying and writing, and then I'd crawl into bed a couple hours before dawn for a nap before heading to class. Now I feel like I can barely string a sentence together after dinner. I'm much more of a morning person now and would rather wake up early to get things done than stay up late. However, I'm stretched thin this week because we've had late nights and early mornings, which has made the days feel like they go on forever. Not to mention we've gone through our 3-day supply of cloth diapers in 2 days!

All this to say, I'm not sure I can write a coherent post about this hat I made for my sister, but I'm going to try because it feels mighty nice to be sitting here typing away about knitting instead of standing at the changing table.

So yes, the hat. It's a Striped Rosa. I picked the pattern and my sister chose the color combination. I'm glad I already told her about it because otherwise I'd be tempted to keep it for myself. I may have worn it around the house once, just to make sure it was a good hat (it is!), but now it's safely packed away in my cedar chest until Christmastime. This is the third year in a row I've made my sister a Christmas present from this yarn (she previously received a bow headband and mitts). Somehow the yarn seemed to multiply every time I looked away, but this is really the last of it.

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I finished this Striped Rosa hat as part of My Sister's Knitter's KAL/CAL. Up next is a Fall KAL/CAL. I've already cast on a few things. Are you joining in? 

baby antlers and booties

Finally, my favorite month has begun. Oh, October. The changes in light, the smell of woodsmoke lingering in the air, the chill creeping in. The reds, russets, rusts, and golds clinging to the trees, swirling down in gusts of wind, and waiting for footfall to crunch through.

Jude won't eat his cereal, but he'll eat as many leaves as he can get his hands on. When we sit outside together I'll often find his fingers wrapped around a leaf. He tastes each leaf thoughtfully and goes back for more. I keep fishing stems and other leaf litter out of his mouth. He also plucks purple mums from my pots, and we sprinkle their petals like confetti on the porch steps. We watch the birds flying south. They make a ruckus in the trees and sky that he sometimes imitates.

The Baby Antler cardigan and booties are to keep him warm on our daily outings. He's so snuggly wrapped in all that wool!

gratitude sunday

My husband's grandpa passed away this week. It's been an emotional time, but it's also been time to take stock of some good things. I'm sitting here on a Sunday night with a cup of hot tea, my hair still wet from a warm shower. Jude is sound asleep, and I've got a good book waiting on my bedside table.

This week I'm grateful for:

• hearing Jude's belly laughs and watching him interact with many generations of family.
• being with my husband's family to say goodbye to his grandpa.
• celebrating my husband's birthday with him.
• knitting baby bear hats for two little girls expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
• teaching a friend to knit.
• receiving a skein of handspun yarn.
• finishing a sweater, hat, and booties for Jude. (He will be the warmest baby on the block.)
• going to a festival downtown, where I finally figured out what 3-D printing means.
• letting fall breezes blow through open windows.
• spending a rainy afternoon at a coffee shop.
• feeding Jude his first solid food. (He's not so sure he likes it.)

knitting lesson

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What good things are going on in your life? I'd love to hear what you're appreciating lately.

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I'm joining up with Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday.

babies love hats

Remember this old-fashioned baby hat? Baby loves it. Haha.

Ravelry notes here.

knitting, of late

I've got several projects on the needles these days and not many coming off the needles, but I'm knitting a few stitches every day, which makes me happy. 

I finally (finally!) sewed buttons on the Baby Sophisticate (practically a year later). It's made of baby alpaca, so it's soft and squishy and should stretch easily around his round belly. I think little J is going to look sufficiently old-mannish in his shawl-collared cardigan this fall. Now he just needs some slippers to shuffle around the house in and a book of crossword puzzles to carry around. Our little old man.

I've also been chugging away on my Larch Cardigan after taking a summer break from it. I finished the fronts and backs, seamed the shoulders, and am working on a sleeve. I keep measuring the sweater and myself, and I think it will fit. If not, I'll block it to fit my post-baby body. I'm wearing this cardigan come fall!

And finally, I actually finished a cabled hat for J, but after weaving in ends, I discovered it's too short. I think I'll pick up stitches around the bottom and knit an inch of ribbing. I hope that will work. Otherwise I'll just save it for a baby gift.

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What are you working on these days?

rolling stone

 

This boy keeps me busy. He started rolling over a couple weeks ago and now likes to roll back and forth. He rolled across an entire room yesterday. And he's found his feet. What fun! 

He makes the funniest throaty squeals and yelps, but they are the sweetest sounds to this mama's ears.

He'll be five months old tomorrow. They've been the longest and fastest and fullest five months of my life. 

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The flannel quilt was handmade by a friend of the family. It's really soft and big enough for me to keep warm under too.

balsam fir shawl

Shawl nights. I can't believe we're having shawl nights in August. Last night K and I sat outside in the cool dusk, counting the stars as they came out and watching the moon as it rose over the fir tree. I've cursed that tree so many times; we're always tracking the needles inside where they litter our floors and snag in our socks. But last night I loved that fir tree with the moon and blue peeking through its branches. It made me feel far away from everyday tasks and far away from city life, if just for a moment.

The sun is setting now, and I just heard the neighbor gathering his kids for bath time. Soon the stars will be coming out and I'll be wrapped in my shawl with a cup of tea in my hands. I can't wait.

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Find more details about my Balsam Fir Shawl on Ravelry.