The Proof

I said I'd been knitting in my prolonged absence, didn't I? Well I'd forgotten just what I'd started and finished til I got it all together to photograph it for the blog and Ravelry.

Back in June, Jomps and I became Auntie & Uncle to our new Nephew, Anthony. I, of course, realised 2 weeks before he was due that I HAD to knit him something. This was the first family member who has had a baby since I've been knitting and it was on the In-Law side so no pressure there then...NOT! Anyway, Jomps' brother knew it was a boy so I picked out this little set:



Pattern: Snuggly Baby Bamboo #1734 Striped Baby/Child V-Neck Pullover or Slipover Vest from the booklet Baby Bamboo Knits and Simple Baby Socks from the booklet Fiber Trends -The Magic Loop .

Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo. Various colours

Size: 3-6 months in the vest and 0-12 months socks

Knit for: Anthony James

Comments: Loved this pattern and the yarn which gives clear crisp stitch definition. The only issue I really had was weaving in ends as the yarn is so slippery. The neck opening on the vest seemed small but I did offer to take it back to add some buttons on the shoulder seam if need be.

This was also the first time I had tried Magic Loop which I really liked, surprisingly! I think I'll be sticking to my teeny tiny circular or Harmony DPN's though!

After these were finished I found out I was pregnant and also found myself unable to knit much at all. I tried...I really tried:

Both these socks were knit with yarn that lovely Cheryl, my SP11 spoiler, sent me last year. The shorties are Cascade Fixation which is a really weird yarn to knit with, soooo stretchy! It took me three attempts to get the tension right and still ending up with completely different pooling on the two socks. The red stripey socks are in Regia Cotton India Color and are my first try at a picot hem. Despite being cotton...they are still pretty warm and I love the colours. They are also identical twins...a first for me!

And then, of course, I had to knit a little something for the bump:

Pattern: Baby to Toddler Socks by Miriam L Felton

Yarn: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM)

Needles: 2.5mm Harmony DPN's

Size : Newborn

Knit for: the bump!

Comments: Oh my, I'd forgotten how cute baby knits are and how quick they are to knit! LOVE these socks even though the foot section looks huge...I guess they'll fit at some point!

So..there is the proof that I haven't been entirely idle!

Pull up a pew

I know, I know. It's been 3 months since my last confession... I've decided that it makes me a real blogger. Many blogs that I read have summer holidays, long breaks without posts, and I still read them. It doesn't put me off so I'm hoping the same can be said for anyone still remaining out there in blogland that bothers to read my little blog.

So, go on, make a brew and I'll fill you in on the news in Woolly Tales.

The kids are back to school and the summer has been a wash out. We had Jomp's kids here for half the holidays so we were busy on days out, picnics and general family stuff. My beloved Pickle continues to grow like a weed. Her vocabulary increases by the day along with her understanding that she can get anyone to do anything she asks if she just flutters her eyelashes at them! Potty training is a laugh...NOT! Still, she'll get there in the end.

Jomps and I have just celebrated our 4th Wedding anniversary and decided, as we do each year, that we'll try for another year. I thank my lucky stars to have him in my life, and I can only hope and dream that we'll be trying for another year together in 40 years time.

I guess this is as good a point as any to tell you that we have another mini Pickle on the way, due March 3rd 2009. We are both thrilled, excited and nervous about how we will cope with another little one in the house but any worries we had faded the minute we saw this little person waving at us:

I have felt terrible almost from the word go and precious little of anything, knitting or otherwise, got done for quite some time. Thankfully I'm now 15 weeks pregnant and feeling much better so on with the show!

Talking of shows.... we spent our Anniversary weekend in London. We saw Joseph starring Lee Mead which was just mindblowing. It was such a colourful show, so much to look at on stage and very funny. I really recommend it.

Then on saturday, another show... I Knit day 2008! I booked the tickets (yes, Jomps came with me, bless him) months ago and couldn't wait! It was a great day and I was thrilled to be in the company of so many knitters, everywhere you looked there were people knitting. I was very restrained:

Yes, only ball of yarn..Noro Kureyon Sock. The new Yarn Harlot book, natural Knits for Babies & Mums, a tiny sock blocker, the kitchener dog tag (I always have to stop knitting and look up the Knitty article) and a new mug.

The talk by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was so funny. I'm not someone who laughs out loud at the cinema or the tv but she had me in stitches! I had to put my knitting down in the end or I'd have made a terrible mistake. It was such a fantastic atmosphere, everyone there for the same reason, mostly with their knitting in hand, listening to someone talk about the health benefits of knitting and telling us all how we are like Buddhist monks! It was the best 90 minutes I've spent in ages.

I was very lucky to be about 10th in the queue for the booksigning and was a bit stage struck but Stephanie made everyone feel at ease and had something personal and genuine to say to everybody (even those 3 hours back in the queue!). Jomps made her laugh and I even made it on to the Yarn Harlot's blog, scroll down to the pic of Jenny holding a picture of her daughter and baby...well that's me to the right in a LOVE(1) t-shirt talking to the better half of Jomps! Not a great picture but I don't care!

So, there you have it... all the important news. I have of course, done some knitting but I'll leave that for another post!

I'm pleased to be back.... I've missed you all. x