lovely yarns

Knitting is amazing.  The way that you are able to sit and enjoy life while spinning out precise creations fascinates me.  I can be listening to my daughter read a book, watching a tv show with my husband, or chatting with my sister and taking it all in and put something charming out at the same time.  Isn't it kind of like the way we spin out the story of our life?  On many occasions it feels like we're a passive participant, yet we are always working our experiences into our life's great work, our opus magnus.

If you haven't thought about taking up knitting, it's time to shed any pre-conceived notions that knitting is for grandmothers with arthritic knees who knit stiff, scratchy red potholders.  I mean, it definitely can be, but it's more versatile than that!  It's for people who want to tie themselves in with nature, with the sheep or alpacas from New Zealand, and refine that natural beauty into a practical or superbly civilized, yet undeniably unique, creation.  Knitters are precise yet in-tune, focused yet expressive, and always focused on the recipient of their hard work.  I'm trying my best to be one of them!

We welcomed a new addition to our family with the birth of my sister's daughter, R, so I had to get going on some knitting.  I only have one sibling so every child that is born is a very special occasion.  My little family was able to go out to Los Angeles for R's baby blessing and fell in love with her!

(My mother made her exquisitely beautiful and gentle blessing dress and bonnet.  check out her etsy store here for more adorable baby clothes.)

I, a less talented rendition of my mother's abilities, had to turn to my crude (in comparison) knitting skills.  I turned to an old favorite, the Encore 8-hour baby blanket, but used some new yarns this time.  Cascade Yarns SuperWash Wool yarn is a near perfect substitution for Encore yarns and are much nicer because they are 100% wool and so deliciously soft.  

Encore yarns are mostly synthetic and are not sold in the yarn store I visited in Beaverton (For Yarn's Sake).  I think I made the store attendant gag a little when I asked her about Encore yarn, or at least that's what her face indicated.  I am, however, much happier with Cascade Yarn's SuperWash Wool and prefer natural fibers in any event.  And like the name says, it's totally washable.  And, I have to say it again, it's soo soft.

I used Rose Petal (838) and Dark Aqua (849) for R's baby blanket.  I also used a pattern from Etsy for a little toy bear whose design I just loved.  It's Herman the Enigmatic Bear by DangerCrafts.  I made my bear with some of my mom's natural fiber yarn and named it Primrose.

toy bear

encore 8-hour baby blanket

Isn't she beautiful?  We love our baby R.  The children tell people about R and call her "our baby".  I get lots of confused looks.  Baby R is also modeling this gorgeous headband that my mother's super-knitter-friend (and my first babysitting employer) made for her.  Isn't it divine?  I think I may ask her for one!  I love the bird on the branch!

For my son's birthday back in January, he asked my mother to make him a stufftie.  My son is obsessed with small stuffed animals and came up with his own name for them: stuffties.  He doesn't like girlie ones he's quick to inform, just dogs, bears, and animal ones.  He picked a knit narwhal and my mother made him a fabulous, beautiful one with alpaca yarn.  So fun.  He loves his stufftie narwhal and carries it with him almost everywhere.  Unlike Bubblegum the bear (???), Narwhal is nameless.  Here he is, also an etsy pattern by DangerCrafts.

napoleon the nervous narwhal

I really think this narwhal is something great.

I leave you with two more things. I would love, and will try my best, to make a knitting tutorial.  And, I will be doing the earring giveaway I promised a long time ago but then forgot about.

And because I have goats on the brain (my friend C in Oklahoma just got hers and some kids to boot!) and laughed my pants off at this video, I thought I'd share with you!

 

If you didn't laugh at 30seconds and 1min30seconds, you have to tell me how you kept it together.

Comments

[Naarah]

I LOVE the picture with R surrounded by all the knitted stuff. Primrose and the blanket are favorites. (Hey, did the super-knitter-friend "do a twisted german" on that headband?! Ha!-- nerdy, knitter parlance!) By the way, why won't the goat video play?

[Cari]

I am learning how to do socks. I wish you were here to do them with me! Also, aren't goats the funniest things ever? All we have left on the goat pen are gates and a lean-to. Also, the incubator is running and I have 4 baby turkeys in the bathroom. You should come visit! -Cari

[Rachel]

Okay, I will call soon to get the run down on your new niece, but really, Naarah, must you be so skinny so soon after giving birth to such an adorable baby? Love the narwhal. And loved your eloquence on knitting, although I do not share that talent.

[Titania]

Cari, socks are going to be my next project too! And, yes, Rachel, I'm totally with you on that skinny thing! It's hard not to be jealous of that!

[melva]

I love your blog. There is always something new and good to see and learn...Thank you!
Those goats and sheep are incredible...that is the way I sound when I want to sing :-(
The pictures of the knitting stuff are great. R looks so pretty surrounded by all those creations...you are getting good with those needles!

[Fubenets]

Check out our commonplace plant blog, where we write the tot up with leaves and flowers and we pick a outstanding Northwest informer each prime! Below is an benchmark of expos‚ with plant leaves.
http://sztygart.pl/dom,i,ogrod/iberys,pielegnacja,ogrodow,warszawa,s,5520/
http://www.seokatalog.eksplorer.eu/internet-i-komputery/tarasy-warszawa-s-4402.html
http://www.equleuss.eu/iberys-zakladanie-ogrodow-warszawa
http://www.betac.edu.pl/strony,blogi,fora/iberys,pielegnacja,ogrodow,warszawa,s,1045/
http://www.linkowany.pl/dom,i,ogrod/iberys,tarasy,drewniane,warszawa,s,10574/

http://www.kartuski.com/firmy/iberys,zielen,we,wnetrzach,warszawa,s,11415/
http://www.aldre.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/iberys,pielegnacja,ogrodow,warszawa,s,819/
http://budujemyiurzadzamy.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html
http://www.raminter.edu.pl/dom,i,ogrod/iberys,nawadnianie,ogrodow,warszawa,s,4465/
http://www.komornik6.szczecin.pl/internet,i,komputery/tarasy,warszawa,s,9888/