small wonders

 I was complaining about how long it has been taking to finish Perry's sweater, but I have to admit, I have been getting distracted by various projects and leaving his sweater in the bottom of the basket for long periods of time. It sat in there for quite some time after I got to the part of the pattern where I had to unite the sleeves and body altogether on one needle- I was scared I would mess it up, so I just avoided it and worked on other things. I have pictures of a few of the things I've made when I should have been working on the big belated solstice gift. 

This top project is my knitting-while-the-kids-fall-asleep project. It lives in a little basket under their dresser and is growing very slowly as I usually only get a row or two in before they are off in dreamland (though sometimes I sit in the low light listening to them sleep and getting a few more rows in, which is pretty blissful.)

This is going to be a shawl for me. I found this super soft bulky alpaca wool at a local shop and wanted to make a warm shawl with it- something simple that I could knit in low light without a pattern to consult.  I became obsessed with a shawl I saw in the BBC Beatrix Potter movie I watched with the kids during the cold snap. I searched through a ton of stitch dictionaries trying to figure out how to make a shawl like hers but I figured that the shawl from the show was definitely not going to satisfy the simple-and-easy-to-knit criteria. So I searched for a stitch pattern that was textured like Ms.Potter's but still really easy and I settled on a drop-stitch and am just knitting it in a simple triangle. I am looking forward to having a warm shawl to throw around my shoulders on chilly mornings though it may well be a season or two of listening to my sleeping babes before this one is done. 

 This is an Elizabeth Zimmerman Ganomy which I had always wanted to try, but I thought I was casting on a baby size. I have this problem with EZ patterns a lot, I just don't have the knitting experience to figure out sizes from her patterns properly, unless I spend a bunch of time on Ravelry seeing how other people worked them, which I didn't with this one. But in showing this I can say who it was meant for, and slip in the news of something that is very exciting to me: it was intended for my sisters baby! She is expecting her first baby this summer and I am so excited for her, and the kids are thrilled to have a new cousin on the way. And I am thrilled to have a reason to knit little tiny things again! Though so far I have had little luck actually making something small. Oh well, Dori is quite pleased with this hat, and Ari says he wants one in red for his birthday. 

This is the starts on another EZ pattern, also much bigger than intended. It is going to sit awhile in the knitting basket until it becomes clear who it will be for. I am loving this wool though. Variegated wool is just interesting enough to make endless rows of garter stitch fun for me. It doesn't take much to keep me entertained.

And some slippers for me (in an awkward position as I attempt to catch my own feet in the dirty mirror with my 5omm lens) I knit these in a bit of a panic when my feet were freezing off during the cold snap in our drafty little house. A good use for two different balls of wool that were sitting in the bottom of the stash basket- one too scratchy and one with too much acrylic to be anything but slippers for me. I also knit myself a new hat, but have not managed a picture of it. Now, back to Perry's sweater!