Jazz is always on the search for somewhere new to sleep...
And he thought his luck was in when he saw that I had left my persian poppies vest lying on the chair by our bed. His luck ran out, however, when he started kneading and clawing the vest. I evicted him and he responded with one of his withering looks of contempt before he headed off downstairs in search of somewhere else to lay his furry head.
Knitting projects seem to have been few and far between for me over the past couple of years… but not because I haven’t been knitting!
My ‘Sweet As’ sock yarn blanket continues to get bigger and at this point in time has 158 rectangles in it. That means I’ve dyed 158 different colourways in the Fibre Alive Merino Mania yarn to date. Wow! I guess that’s why I haven’t been knitting too many other projects. What I try to do with each new colourway is add another rectangle to the blanket and knit up a baby sock as a sample so that people can see what it looks like knitted up. It’s time consuming but the positive feedback I get from people at craft markets lets me know that it’s worth the effort.
Speaking of time consuming… the sock yarn blanket starter kits each take about 90 minutes to put together. Knitting the sample is about half an hour and the rest of the time is taken up by handwinding the balls and printing off the pattern. It’s a great way of using up my odds and ends of yarn, and they are always a good seller, but it does take away from my knitting time.
Here are all the baby socks I’ve knitted up recently in the colourways which are still available. They are very cute and a lot of women get very clucky when they see them. As I’m more of a rooster than a chook I’m not too prone to getting clucky.
But I must admit that I did take some time out to knit a pair of baby socks for my cousin Neville and his wife Serena to celebrate the birth of their first child… a beautiful bouncy boy they have named Alex. I can’t wait to visit them all but as I’m getting over a cold at the moment I’m not going anywhere near them just yet. I did however dye up a large hank of yarn and knit the baby socks out of it as a starter gift and I’m planning on using up the rest of the yarn in a number of other projects for Alex… knowing my schedule they will be to fit a 9 month old or 12 month old!
I do however have plenty of knitting projects flying around in my head that I do want to get started on… namely a lace jersey/sweater for my Mother. This is a photograph of the base yarn I’m going to dye for it. It’s an alpaca, merino nylon mix for that little hint of luxury. The plan was to get it knitted up before we head off to Europe in April but with less than 8 weeks to go now it’s not looking hopeful… but then again there’s nothing saying that I can’t make a start on it and finish it while we’re on our trip. Given the temperatures in the UK and Amsterdam this week I think Mum is going to need as many layers as she can…
Especially after seeing this video my friend Jan posted on facebook for me this morning.
The canals have frozen over for the first time in 15 years and everyone is skating on them. It looks beautiful but I think I'd rather be taking a boat cruise on an un-frozen canal at dusk.
Today is St Valentine's Day and look at what my funky little Valentine (Ian of course) got for us to share tonight. I didn't ask if he used his lips to decorate it!
I provided the liquid refreshments (bubbles of course) to go with it!
Happy St Valentine's Day everyone...
The Ice on the canals in Amsterdam has melted down...guess Winter is over...so we can have a boat trip on the canals in April..No extra layers for your Mum...Already looking forward to meet up..counting the days... XXX
Posted by: Jan | February 16, 2012 at 03:17 AM
But...What beautiful colours!!
Posted by: Jan Ter Heide | February 16, 2012 at 03:19 AM
I nearly had a panic attack when I saw the cat on your gorgeous vest! I hope it survived unscathed. Love the blanket, yarns and socks. What great projects. Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. We had fun here - nice and quiet - and with lots of love. Can't wait to continue to watch your blanket grow!
Posted by: Jennifer | February 16, 2012 at 12:11 PM
handsome jazz; just like his daddies! smooches!
Posted by: anne marie in philly | February 19, 2012 at 11:51 AM