Knitting for Littles - Yarn Along

It has been hard to find time to sit down and write of late. Somehow there is always something else to do, which is good in a way as it means life is full. We have also all been down with various viruses, coughs and colds which isn't such a good kind of busy. I'm hoping at least we'll all have rock solid immunity by Christmas.

 I find that whenever I take a break from blogging, it feels hard to get back into it again. I wonder if I really have anything to say worth sharing. Yet blogging does inspire me. It tunes my mind to a positive dial. Maybe it's the sense of community and the interaction, or the way it makes me focus on the beautiful, easy to miss details of the day, in order to take a photo or record a wayward thought that would otherwise simply fall back into the great ocean of reflection that make up the moments, hours, days of life.

I like this quote from writer Noah Ben Shea: 

“The details make life holy. If you want a little happiness in life don’t forget to look at the little things. It is a poet’s work to see the incidental, pluck it, place an appropriate silence around both sides and see the profound in what passes for a passing moment. It is an artist’s job to as much discover art as create it. Prayer is a way of making the common profound by pausing, tying knots around a moment, turning our life into a string of pearls."

Little time for writing means more time for knitting though doesn't it? I have been spending lots of quite evenings with needles in hand, breaking every now and then for another cup of tea and some  Pinsperation. It amazes me how much you can accomplish during a few quiet evenings. Poor Nola lamby, has had a couple of ear infections recently. I found a  free slouch hat pattern on Ravelry and knit the child size up in one evening. It was a lovely simple knit. I love the way it fits cozily over her ears. I even learnt a new cast on method to make that cute rolled hem. I will be using the long tailed cast on method a lot more in the future. It is so fast and although sturdy allows a lot of flexibility. Click here for a You Tube tutorial.

To make the fingerless mitts I used the long tail cast on method and cast on 28 stitches onto size 4.5 mm needles using Aran weight wool mix yarn. I simply knitted in K2, P2" ribbing until I reached the desired length before casting off in rib and stitching up the side seam leaving adequate space for a little thumb.

I am making lots of bootees in different sizes for Emmy's baby. We still don't know if it will be a boy or a girl but if takes after it's Mama it will love any shade of green.

Above is the first leg of a pair of leggings. The cable cuff is a fun alternative to Knit2, Purl2 ribbing.

Below is a little top I kind of made up as I went along loosely following the dimensions of a couple of different patterns.

I haven't been reading too much but I have been enjoying the new series of Great Canal Journeys. Wouldn't it be magical to live on one of these?

Joining Small Things and Frontier Dreams