Sparkly, Soft Scarf for Mme Martine

It's end-of-year gift time for teachers around here. I've blogged before about how much we loved Hugh's teacher this year, and I had made Neva's teacher a pair of baby booties for her imminent twins, so it only seemed fair that I offer to knit something for Hugh's teacher as well. He thought she might like a scarf, and this seemed like a reasonable request, so I put all of the yarn choices out for him and asked him to choose which yarn(s) he thought she would like. He took this assignment very seriously; he said that he thought she would like "something soft and something sparkly." He felt the yarn to assess their softness, and quite quickly settled on two, both mohair blends. (You can't beat mohair for softness.) I realized that I could hold the two yarns together to create a nice, thick, soft-and-sparkly yarn. I used big needles and a big stitch pattern, and whipped up this little scarf in about ten days. When I showed the finished product to him, he nodded and said it was "perfect." My guess was that she would be touched by the handmade effort and the thoughtfulness Hugh put in to the choice of yarn, and indeed she was. As she thanked me yesterday after school and wished us all a good summer, she asked me to make sure that Hugh "continues to dream." We'll miss her.
Yarn: Sandnes Garn Alfa and Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair, held together
Pattern: Twisted Drop Stitch Scarf

Manly Sling for Kyle

While I was in Prince George, Kyle was looking at infant slings on Etsy and was talking about buying one. He was looking for a "manly" design, and found one for about $40. As a good seamstress [read: a cheapie], I couldn't in good conscience let him pay forty bucks to some stranger for what is basically a glorified rectangle. So I told him I'd make him one. And I did. I picked up the fabric at Fabricland's big pre-inventory sale - I think it cost me all of $10. I was a bit of an idiot when it came to the pattern, though, and misread the instructions the first time around, so the sling was sewn beautifully but was twice as wide as it needed to be. (In my defense: I could never get the hang of using one of these with our own babies, so it took me waaaaaaay longer than it should have to figure out that my proportions were all off.) Anyway, I just trimmed the sides off, but then realized that the curve where the baby's bum would sit wasn't deep enough for safety. Strike two. Today, finally, I got around to actually making it to the correct sizing specifications, but because it was basically my third time making this same sling, the sewing is a little... less meticulous. So: is it gorgeous and perfect? No. Is it manly and functional? I think so. Plus it's reversible, and the stripes match up. Ewan obliged me by modelling it for the craft blog, and I have to say that even though this is NOT at all the way it would be used with an actual infant (see here for 3 great references on how to use a sling with babies of differing ages), it was remarkably comfortable and I can totally see the appeal of such a contraption. All we need now are pictures of Kyle modeling his own sweet baby in it... once baby's fully cooked and out safely in the world, that is. Wishing him many sweet hours of cuddling his own little one, looking manly as all get out!
Pattern: from Handmade Adelaide Baby
Fabric: Cotton Twill and Cotton Stripe
*Note: no part of this post is meant to exclude Courtney, to whom I also wish many sweet hours of cuddling her little one. But it was clear when I was visiting that Courtney had little-to-no interest in having a sling, except in so far as it would make Kyle happy. However, I'm sure Kyle will share it with her if she gets interested once baby arrives.

Delicious Celtic Cardigan

This is one of the aforementioned "UFOs" that I just managed to finish up, thanks to some extended knitting time while visiting my cousins in Prince George. It has been in the works for a long, long time. I started in when we were still living in our old house - so, in 2008 - and I chugged along pretty well with it until I got to a point where it had to be blocked. And we were trying to sell our house and were showing it with very little notice. And having a big, damp sweater that couldn't be moved lying around seemed unlikely to improve the chances of selling our house. So I set it aside until I would "have time" to block it out and then finish the sleeves... which happened 2 years later. (Those were busy years.) But now: it's done! And lovely! And I'm de-light-ed! (Pic courtesy of Courtney.)
Pattern: Fleece Artist Celtic Cardigan
Yarn: Scotian Silk

Tickle Toes Booties

Another baby coming in to the (extended) family; another pair of booties. These ones are for Kyle and Courtney's baby, due at the end of July this year. Courtney spied these on my Ravelry page, and was excited to see the colour listed as "yellow-green." I hadn't posted a pic, thankfully, and so they were still a little bit of a surprise. I think they're happy with the colours, and all I can say is you know it's a good bootie pattern when even the Dad-to-be sees them and says, "Awww..." Wishing them every happiness as they become a family of three.
Pattern: standard bootie pattern from Patons Look At Me!
Yarn: Dream in Color "Classy" in "Spring Tickle"

Twin Baby Booties

It's end-of-year teacher gift season around here, and Neva's teacher is pregnant with twins which provided me with an excellent excuse to whip up a pair of baby booties for her imminent arrivals. Neva chose the yarn and knit a row or two on them herself. Her teacher starts her maternity leave tomorrow so these got done in a hurry, but I've made them so often that I can almost whip them up in my sleep. (Almost. Not quite.) They're pretty cute, and hopefully will get some good use on two happy, healthy baby boys.
Yarn: Ashford Tekapo in rainbow varigated yarn, bought when we were in New Zealand 5 years ago; Red Heart "Hokey Pokey" in "Blue Bonnet"
Pattern: standard bootie pattern from Patons Look at Me! Soft Shades Layette