A Little Summer Fun

I was uploading the camera to the computer and was reminded again of some of the fun stuff we got up to over Summer...

BigMiss went to her first real trail ride and had great fun on the kid's track.



LittleMiss even got a ride with Uncle P

We went to the Castlepoint Beach Races.

Yep, that's horse racing on the beach!

MiddleMiss' logfire

The kid's treasure hunt - dig for $1 & $2 coins in the (very wet) sand

Plus the great holiday around the Coromandel and Northland.

And now summer is really, truly over.
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A Splash of Sunshine

If your week's been anything like ours weather-wise, then a little sunshine-yellow brightness is in order...


LittleMiss no longer fit the first Clara I'd made so a new one was in order.  I let her choose her own yarn from my stash box and she picked this bright yellow yarn.


It's Vintage Purls Sock (75% Superwash merino, 25% Nylon) in the colourway 'Yellow Submarine'


 I only just had enough in one skein, though I would've liked to make it one more lace pattern longer.  I added beads to this one too, and did a fancy plaited ribbon tie (three shades of yellow about 2mm wide) with beads hanging from the ends.





And, in case you're wondering, I made this back in December and took the photos then!
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Knitting for Babies

One of the first questions I've been asked when friends find out about the baby is if I've been doing any baby knitting.

I have, but none of it for our baby yet!

Within my circle of friends there's plenty of babies on the way.  First there was a baby born just last month, another one born just last week, one due in May, four due in July, three due in August and then me!  So guess whose baby knitting will happen last?

(And that's not including the knits I have to do for up-coming designs.)

I do have plans to make a blanket for this little one, though.

Most likely a Wool Leaves or an Umaro:
Both patterns by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed

I've ordered the yarn and will decide when it arrives which one it suits best.  This will be a special blanket made with special yarn, but more about that when the yarn gets here.
(I'm expecting it to take around two months as it's coming from the US and was a special limited edition colourway dyed to order.)

But, knowing myself and my uselessness at getting around to things I figured a quicker knit would ensure this baby isn't born without anything handknit by me.  So I spent some time on Ravelry looking at booties and sock patterns, favourited a whole heap but decided on none!

The other problem appeared when I went through my stash - I've really only got either girl colours (funny that!), bright colours (think frog-green) or dark colours (grey & black).  Yarn shopping might be in order, I think!

So, anyone got suggestions for quick baby knits (links are great!) and what are good newborn neutral colours (we're not planning on finding out the sex)?
I like plain, but modern and don't really like a lot of garter stitch.  And crochet booties or hats are great too!
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Exciting News #3

So this is the biggest news of the lot...

Life-changing news even...
(And, no that's not an exaggeration...)

This news involves a lot of sleepless nights, early mornings, busy days and plenty of worry...

But that's still to come.  At the moment it involves me feeling blah, slowly getting fatter, planning the teeny, tiny knits and three very excited girls...


Yep, you guessed it, we're expecting a little addition sometime at the end of August!

Pretty exciting news right?!

And it won't matter if it's a girl or boy as we haven't kept anything except the buggy and highchair (as those things are handy for visitors/babysitting nieces/nephews).  No clothes, bedding, toys, gear, etc so it's like being a first time parent again trying to remember all the stuff you need!  So please feel free to remind me of things I need to get, particularly clothing I need (I have a car seat sorted at least).
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Exciting News #2

Ever heard of Three Irish Girls?

It's a yarn dyeing company based in the States and I love the way Sharon, the owner/dyer-extrodinaire, has it set up.  You get to pick from a choice of yarn bases and have it dyed in a choice of colourways.  And I mean a choice!

There are currently 14 different yarn bases to choose from, ranging from fingering weight to bulky, including superwash, non-superwash, sock and even a silk merino yarn!  And there are currently 84 (yes, I counted them!) different colourways to choose from, including semi-solids and variegated.  How do you choose with that much choice!?

Doesn't the photography just make you want to buy some?
Colourway details here.

So, why am I telling you all this?  Well, it's because sometime at the end of last year I saw a call out for design submissions to be included in their new 'Lookbook' (a publication that showcases their new colourways including a range of patterns that are available for purchase through their website - click the link to browse through the last one, it's gorgeous!)  And can you guess what I did?

Yep, I submitted a design!  But not just one, I submitted three and two of them were accepted!  So more crazy deadline-designing/knitting will ensue.

Though I won't be able to tell you anything about the designs (I can say that they're children designs and one is a girl pattern and the other is a boy/unisex pattern) until the new Lookbook is released.  Or even show you the yarn when it arrives as it will be a new colourway!  I think the Lookbook will be released sometime around or after July, so I will let you know about it all then.




PS.  Don't forget to check back for the last instalment of 'Exciting News' coming soon!
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Exciting News #1

So you want to hear about my exciting news?

A couple of days after our holiday finished and I was busy trying to catch up on the three weeks off work, I got an email.  The sort of email that goes "...we are happy to tell you that we have accepted your submission for xx (pattern)!"

I was very excited and had to tell all my knitter family/friends!

But, I had only got as far as working out the numbers and doing a small construction swatch when I sent off the submission.  I had decided to not think about it until I heard back in case I was disappointed and it wasn't accepted.

Turns out that wasn't too smart an idea, really!  I had just six weeks to write up the pattern, knit the prototype, take photos and email it through by the deadline.  And this was a 4-ply (fingering) garment in size 8yrs I was making!

Everything turned out ok in the end.  I managed to just get everything done by the deadline (except for an email issue - don't try and send too many high res photos in one email!) and the sun even co-operated for the photo shoot.

You're probably wishing I would give more details about the pattern, but you'll just have to wait until it's released!  Though I can tell you a few things about it:
  • it's a girl's pattern
  • it'll be free!
  • it'll be in the spring issue of Petite Purls, due out in April 2012
  • and I will let you know on here when it's up and all the other details too!

And because a post isn't complete without a picture, here's a sneak peak:





PS. You might have noticed I titled this post #1.  That's because I have MORE news to tell!  Watch this space, it just gets more exciting...(well, for me at least!)
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You May Have Noticed...

...that I've been a little absent from here.

It started out with a little bit of visiting places like this:


And this:


We did lots of this:


Plenty of this:


And don't forget this:


Then we came home again.  School started again.  And summer thought it was time to disappear.




I did think that once school started I'd be back on here regular again, but I came home to some exciting news that has kept me rather occupied.  Keep tuned for more details!
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