In the works: horse sweater

I've been planning this sweater for a while. I bought a book of beautiful Rowan children's sweaters last year, when I started getting serious about knitting. I also decided I would try higher end yarn.



I found these two yummy colours, and fell in love with them and the pattern they accompanied. The yarn is a cotton DK (double knit: it's a weight of yarn). It's one of the cheaper kinds, though still not cheap. It's not nearly as forgiving as the acrylic blends. If the tension is off, it shows—the tension being how tight or how loose one knits. So if some of my stitches are a little looser than others, it shows. This isn't a problem for blocks of colour (for me), but it does become a concern when I'm knitting with more than one colour.

The original pattern for this sweater actually has a little heart and the word "sweetheart" on it. I thought Maïa might prefer having a horse sweater, so I designed this:



I hope she likes it...

I hope to have this sweater finished by the first day of spring (so that she can wear it all spring and on the cooler summer days). We'll see, however, how that pans out. I've been busy with work lately, so I've had very little time for more fun stuff!

Solanne's faces

This blog has seen a number of creations by Maïa; now it is time for Solanne to shine. Until recently, Sol's designs had been rather undecipherable. But starting at Christmas time (Christmas Eve to be exact), Solanne has been drawing faces.

The second image is particularly striking as it recalls Edvard Munch's The Scream. I'm proud to see that she is as up on her art history as is her sister.

Christmas cross-stitch

Last year, we decided for a number of reasons to make most of the Christmas presents we were giving to family. I knitted a sweater for my mom and a scarf for Naomi. Derek carved and painted a fish sculpture for Nick. We painted and decorated frames that held our family portrait; we gave them to family (shameless self-promotion!). We even got the kids in on it: they painted little wooden ornaments for everyone.

The one craft-gift I am most proud of, however, is the one I made for Ken, my father-in-law. Almost two years ago, I was having a conversation with Ken about kids and about the empty nest. I mentioned how I could understand enjoying having your kids be all grown up. He looked at me, a mother of two very small children and said something very ironically, in that way that he has of being serious and silly all at once. I laughed and laughed. I immediately had a vision of a old fashioned country cross-stitch with his thought stitched on. So very heart-warming. I planned, then and there, to make it for him. (Just a little side note, there are a number of times that Ken has said things, usually ironically, that are quite memorable and quotable. This is one of the best.)

So here is my creation. I'm glad he enjoyed it! (we made and painted the frame, too)