I've discovered that Indianapolis harbors two great knit shops. And I take this time to confess the envy I have for my friends who live there! Knit Stop and Mass Ave Knit Shop. The websites articulate their differences quite well. These two shops are night & day in comparison with eachother. However, each has it's treasures to share! After a brief sojourn in the city, I am thankful to have experienced both of these shops alongside my Martha Stewart friend :) And I aim to make the trip again!
At Mass Ave Knit Shop, Heather and I were bombarded with everything knitting. The place was a lovely mess of yarn, knitters, patterns, and crates. We took our time to soak in all that it had to offer and took great delight in the quirkiness of it's owner--a spiky-haired woman in her fifties who spoke above her glasses and knew exactly where to dig up a pattern we were looking for. Perhaps tackily, we left with free patterns & no purchases ;)
The pattern we were most excited about is called Baby Born. It is a sweater that appeared in the 2001-2002 Winter issue of Interweave Knits. Mass Ave. had it knit up and placed on a mannequin in their front window just above what appeared to be the baby section of yarn. {Heather and I giggled about the organization of yarn in this shop...} It's a cardigan sweater knit up in chunky yarn. It caught my attention, knowing how quickly it would knit up {a matching hat is also included in the pattern}. Plus, it looked super cute!
The yarn I've chosen is a periwinkle shade of big softie by Sirdar. It is half wool, half acrylic--making it warm, durable, breathable and wearable. Heather and I joked about having to choose a yarn that wouldn't result in a sweaty baby. The last sweater I knit for Lily was done in 100% acrylic yarn, and she sweats like a marathon runner when wearing it...
So far I have completed the back, and the two front panels. I am getting nervous because I only have 1 1/2 skeins left and two sleeves & a collar yet to complete. Hmmm.....this may end up being sweater vest!
What skills have I gained from working on this sweater? I have learned how to bind off stitches in the middle of a row :) This is not as scary as I once imagined, by the way!
And what is new in motherhood?
I've discovered that Lily is not ready for potty training :) I figured as much, but have been testing her awareness lately. Last night shed some light on the issue for us. We have a training potty in the bathroom that she likes to sit on. After sitting on it for awhile, I took her off and pulled up her pants [minus a diaper]. I then scooted her off to her nightly bath. While drawing the water, Lily wandered in: she had pooed in her jeans. The little angel had been waddling around like nothing happened, all the while pooing in her pants. And it was literally like 2 minutes after taking her off the potty! The most disgusting/amusing part is that I wasn't even aware until I stripped her down for the tub and noticed brown shmears on her legs. Not only did she poo, but her momma dragged her through it as I removed her pants! Clearly she is not ready to be potty trained as she was clueless to the stuffing between her cheeks ;)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
No More Chilly Lily Mitts
Do not be fooled: these mittens knit up much quicker than the arrival of this blog update :)
I knit them in a couple hours, completing the second one on the way to our fall excursion at Pokagon State Park! I absolutely loved this project! I even improvised, adding little bows to the wrists :) The yarn knit so beautifully and makes these little marvels look like pure luxury....
Lily wears them well and we were glad to have them for our hikes through the woods!
What a great trip! I can't say that Pokagon is the best state park I've ever visited, but I can say that it was a great place to be that weekend. The colors, smells and textures that surrounded us were intoxicating. We strapped Lily to our backs using the Ergo Baby Carrier our friend Sara & her mom so graciously purchased for us: best carrier out there!! Lily slept while Alex & I held hands like old times :) We had taken this trip 3 years ago with our good friends, Ben & Brooke. It was bittersweet to go again, as we really missed their company :( We didn't do much--hiked, ate overpriced mediocre food at the inn, played at the park, fished some, and overall explored the grounds. Though we were only an hour or so from home, we felt worlds away from all the things that fight for our attention on a daily basis. We were submerged in the grandeur of creation and our love as a family. And we returned to campus refreshed, revived and united.
I cannot say that we returned well-rested, though... Traveling with a 16 month old is difficult. We stayed at a cabin---the same cabin we stayed in with Ben & Brooke actually! However, I would not stay in a cabin there again :( It was dank, worn, unkempt, and a bit like a bad motel. I couldn't sleep. And when you put the little one down, it's not like you can sit and watch t.v. together. There we were, in the dark, in a dingy room at 8:00 at night, not knowing what else we could do but go to sleep. It's not like we could put Lily in another room. And turning the tv on would've woken her up. We succumbed, and simply said our usual midnight adieu: "Good night, Sweet dreams, I love you" & tried to call it a night as we curled under crispy covers and sank into a sinking mattress upon flat pillows. [And let's just say I wished I had taken flip flops with for the shower.] Not quite the relaxation I imagined. But with the sun the next morning, we arose and savored what was left of the weekend before heading home.
Lily's been wearing her mittens ever since & I am ready & rearin to go when it comes to knitting more! I have two good friends (Val & Kristina) and a sister-in-law (Lauren) expecting their first babies in March & April: oh how I hear the knitting fairy calling my name!
 |
| Thumbless Mittens |
I knit them in a couple hours, completing the second one on the way to our fall excursion at Pokagon State Park! I absolutely loved this project! I even improvised, adding little bows to the wrists :) The yarn knit so beautifully and makes these little marvels look like pure luxury....
Lily wears them well and we were glad to have them for our hikes through the woods!
What a great trip! I can't say that Pokagon is the best state park I've ever visited, but I can say that it was a great place to be that weekend. The colors, smells and textures that surrounded us were intoxicating. We strapped Lily to our backs using the Ergo Baby Carrier our friend Sara & her mom so graciously purchased for us: best carrier out there!! Lily slept while Alex & I held hands like old times :) We had taken this trip 3 years ago with our good friends, Ben & Brooke. It was bittersweet to go again, as we really missed their company :( We didn't do much--hiked, ate overpriced mediocre food at the inn, played at the park, fished some, and overall explored the grounds. Though we were only an hour or so from home, we felt worlds away from all the things that fight for our attention on a daily basis. We were submerged in the grandeur of creation and our love as a family. And we returned to campus refreshed, revived and united.
I cannot say that we returned well-rested, though... Traveling with a 16 month old is difficult. We stayed at a cabin---the same cabin we stayed in with Ben & Brooke actually! However, I would not stay in a cabin there again :( It was dank, worn, unkempt, and a bit like a bad motel. I couldn't sleep. And when you put the little one down, it's not like you can sit and watch t.v. together. There we were, in the dark, in a dingy room at 8:00 at night, not knowing what else we could do but go to sleep. It's not like we could put Lily in another room. And turning the tv on would've woken her up. We succumbed, and simply said our usual midnight adieu: "Good night, Sweet dreams, I love you" & tried to call it a night as we curled under crispy covers and sank into a sinking mattress upon flat pillows. [And let's just say I wished I had taken flip flops with for the shower.] Not quite the relaxation I imagined. But with the sun the next morning, we arose and savored what was left of the weekend before heading home.
Lily's been wearing her mittens ever since & I am ready & rearin to go when it comes to knitting more! I have two good friends (Val & Kristina) and a sister-in-law (Lauren) expecting their first babies in March & April: oh how I hear the knitting fairy calling my name!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)