My Knitting & Crocheting Staycation

For the past two weeks, the boys have been in full-time daycare, Paul has been at work, and I have been home - by myself! It has been great - very relaxing, rejuvenating, and relatively productive. It was just the break I needed before I start working 3 days a week this week (and the boys are home with me for the other 2 days). In addition to keep up with regular household chores (i.e., laundry, vacuuming, laundry, cleaning the kitchen, laundry, cleaning out the car, and more laundry), I had lots of time to knit and crochet and watch a bit of "junky" TV - including the start of the new season of Downton Abbey - which, by the way is not "junky" TV. (I also did a bit of work on an article I have been writing, but didn't quite get it finished). It was fantastic!

At the beginning of last week, I discovered two crocheting and knitting blogs: mooglyblog.com and stitch11.com. Both sites have loads of cute, practical and free patterns, as well as links to other cute, practical and free patterns. So, in addition to knitting and crocheting, I also spent time checking out these (and other) great sites and making mental lists of items to make for future birthday and Christmas gifts.

If you follow my blog, you will know that I started this knitting and crocheting marathon with a crown for Vincent as a celebration for his first day of pre-school. He loved it and immediately requested one in blue for Desmond. And then, two days later, he told me, very politely, that the one I made for him was a bit too small and asked if I could make a bigger one. So I did - but it got a bit too big and is more like an ear warmer than a crown. Oh well - he can grow into it!

Desmond's new blue crown.

In addition, I started working on Vincent's birthday gifts (even though his birthday isn't until April). After spending time drooling over the great patterns on mooglyblog.com and stitch11.com, I chose this cool shark pouch/pencil case and this fun snake puppet. I still have to put the teeth, zipper and eyes on the shark (and I really have an aversion to putting in zippers...) and I still have to start the snake. But I think he will really like both!

Here is the unfinished shark - looking a bit like a beached whale!

The wife one of Paul's co-workers is expecting a baby soon, so I also made a pair of my "go-to" booties from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Moms and Babies. These booties are great - they are knit flat and seamed up the back and across the sole. Very quick to knit and use only a small amount of yarn - great for "stash-busting!"

I spent most of the first part of this week working on the Artfully Simple Infinity Scarf from mooglyblog.com for a friend. I had a few skeins of a highly textured yarn that ended up producing a lovely scarf/cowl/wrap. I was very pleased with the result!

Finally, I have spent the last day or so working on a set of crocheted coasters for my father-in-law's birthday. He is a tough guy to buy for - but I thought that these coasters (also shown here) would be great to keep in their camper-caravan for when he and my mother-in-law go touring around Australia! They are easy to make and the result is beautiful. Before I decided on using this variegated yarn for his set of coasters, I made a "test" coaster in a solid yarn - it is stunning! I think I will be making several sets in bold colours for Christmas gifts later this year! (And in case you are a crocheter and interested in what materials I used for this project, I used an 8-ply or DK weight yarn and an F hook.)

Here is one of the coasters I made for Paul's dad.

Here is the detail of the coaster - it is lovely!

This week was capped off with a night "away" with Paul. We went to North Sydney, had a yummy dinner at an Indian restaurant in McMahons Point, and spent the night in a boutique hotel in North Sydney - Paul's sister and her husband watched the boys for us :-)

It has been a glorious two-week "yarn-tastic" knitting and crocheting staycation. Just what this mama needed!

Knitting for Charity: a mama and baby koala

In mid-October, the boys' daycare centre - Kids Academy Hornsby - is participating the Australian Cancer Council's Relay for Life. The centre is holding various fundraising activities in hopes of reaching a $2000 goal. I'm not big into selling/buying chocolate bars, but when they notified us that they were looking for donations for the raffle, I decided that I would offer to provide a knitted contribution. I knew that Susan B. Anderson's book of knitted toy patterns, Itty Bitty Toys, would be the perfect place to look for a pattern. (By the way - I am totally in love with the giraffe on the front cover and am hoping to make it for Desmond for Christmas. And I think I am going to make the snake pattern from this book for Vincent's Christmas gift.)

In the end, I decided on her pattern for a mama and baby koala. I figured that it was very appropriate - not only because we now live in Australia but because Desmond's classroom at Kids Academy is the Koala Room! It took just over a week to complete the two stuffed animals. I learned one valuable lesson - it is really not a good idea to work on knitted toys on the train - too many small pieces, too many double-pointed needles...just not worth the hassle! It was a fairly easy and straight forward pattern. The only downside was all the bits and pieces that had to be assembled in the end. But that is what happens when you knit toys!

I dropped the mama and baby koala off at Kids Academy earlier today and the staff just love them. I hope that who ever wins them in the raffle loves them too!

PS: Thanks to my mom for scanning and e-mailing the pattern - my book is still in storage in my parents' garage in Decorah.

Desmond's new sweater

Before we decided to move back to Sydney, I started working on a sweater for Desmond. It is a pretty straightforward pattern by Elizabeth Smith at The Brown Stitch - a little cardigan with raglan sleeves and a truck on the back. I had made the same one for the baby of a friend of ours a few months earlier, so I knew that it would be cute and functional.

Then we decided to move, Paul left for Sydney, and I suddenly ran out of time to knit. I was about three-quarters of the way through the pattern.

Now that we have settled in a bit in Sydney, I have finally had a chance to finish this sweater! I was a little worried that it might not fit Desmond any more (he is kind of a big and chunky guy), but it fits perfectly and is the ideal sweater for the cool Sydney winter days we have been experiencing lately.