Hallowe'en drawings, by Maïa

The theme for this week at daycare is — surprise, surprise! — Halloween. Maïa drew this cat pumpkin, as she calls it. The lines coming out of its face are whiskers, which is self-evident, once you know. The eyes are in the shape of hearts. And you can see that the cat pumpkin is surrounded by little hearts, three of which have rounded bottoms, but one is done quite well, I would say! Oh, and that black blob on its head... that's a crown (all princesses need crowns, you know).


The main figure in this tableau is the cat at the centre. Note the vertical pupils in the cat's eyes: Derek told her about cats' pupils a couple of months ago. Her capacity to remember such things always amazes me. The figure to the right is Rapunzel. I'm not sure what she has to do with Halloween, but it's a pretty good likeness, I'd say. The figure to the left is another cat, which you can tell by the whiskers, pupils, and myriad claws.

More knitting (and some cross-stitch, too)

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This pattern was taken from an Icelandic book of knitting patterns that I found for a very reasonable price. I made a number of variations: Icelandic patterns, it would seem, are normally knit in the round (in one piece, knitting around and around, like a tube). I found it very difficult to do with so many colours, so I broke it up into pieces. Also, the colours are different than those called for in the pattern. But given that I have a Rubbermaid container FULL of yarn that my mother and mother-in-law have given me, I thought it wise to use what I had!

This particular yarn is a wool-acrylic blend that my mother-in-law had been using to make an afghan. She was tired of using the circular needles required to knit such a big piece, so she gave me the half-made blanket, yarn and needles and all and told me to do what I wished with it! The colours were so beautiful and rich, I couldn't resist taking them. They also all coordinate with my in-laws' home. I always joke with Derek that we shouldn't let Solanne wear this sweater to her Nana and Grampa's house because we'd never find her among the décor!



These are the two cross-stitch name samplers I made for my girls. I started Maïa's when I was pregnant with her and finished it in the months after she was born. I started Solanne's while I was pregnant, too, but only got around to completing it this past summer. I switched up the colours a bit for Solanne's to make it a bit different, but I liked the pattern so much that I couldn't bear to try to find another. It goes very well in their animal/Noah's ark-themed room.

Some knitting

This is the place where we'll post our latest creations. By "our" I mean mine and Derek's and Maïa's and Solanne's.

I'll start this blog with an entry on my latest knitting creations. Actually, things I've made in the past six months or so...


This is a little coat I knitted up for Maïa last spring. This is actually a pattern from the cover of my first knitting book, Monkey Suits. I liked knitting it because the pattern (like all patterns in this book) was relatively easy. I like the little details like the pockets, and the hat adds an extra je-ne-sais-quoi. Instead of the recommended blanket stitch around the edge, I decided that the coat and hat set needed a crochet border. So I learned a basic stitch that really cleaned up the look of the set. (There are also mitts that go with the set; one is done, I have yet to take the hour or so to do the other!)


This is actually the second time I've done this pattern. The first one was made in an oatmeal colour with burgundy trim for Solanne. She wore it last fall, winter, and spring. This particular sweater was made in a size 3 to 9 months, and it's also from the Monkey Suits collection. I whipped it up in about a week this summer for my cousin Shawn's new little baby boy, Joël. It's actually a very easy pattern, without any increases or decreases in the body of the sweater, and only a couple of increases in the sleeves. The hat was another matter, but it kept me on my toes, so it was fun (and it knit up in no time at all).


Derek loved this hoodie and was really excited about me making it. It had been on the back burner for a while, but the biggest size this pattern comes in is size 4, so it was now or never to make it for Maïa. I had a bagful of a wool-acrylic mix yarn that my mom gave me, so I didn't even have to buy any, which was a treat.

The body and hood is made of one piece, which reduces the amount of assembly at the end, but makes for a really long project; sometimes it's nice to have a few smaller pieces to make so that you feel like you're getting somewhere! This was the first time that I was using two colours to create a pattern, which is very different from using two colours to make stripes! It was also my first time making cables. My mother-in-law assured me that it was a cinch. I must admit that I wasn't convinced — until I tried it, that is. It took me exactly one try to get the hang of it, and now I'm ready for twisty and complicated cables... when I find the right pattern.