The problem w/ kids and knitting. . .

Is that both take a lot of time and attention, but the kids grow and knit sweaters don't.

I started this sweater last fall and with only the sleeves left to finish it fell, neglected, to the bottom of my knitting basket. I had a lot of "adoption" knitting to do, then Christmas knitting, more adoption knitting, not to mention taking care of Little Sir, traveling, ect. ect. . . you all know what I mean.



So, when I pulled it from my basket to finish it, it was pretty clear that it wasn't going to fit Little Sir anymore. He just had a pretty significant grown spurt and is now wearing 3T clothing. (He may not be doomed to be short, after all!)



But, I love the color and the simple design. So I finished it up, and mailed it off to Princess P. for ET to wear next fall. It will make me happy to see it on him. (The only thing I ask in return. . . . PICTURES!!!)



The pattern was improvised from The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns raglan recipe.
The yarn is one is a DIY yarn I had made at Yarnia is Portland. (if you haven't been there, GO! So much fun!)
I knit it on a US size 7 needle.
The cable is just two 2x2 cables next to one another, each twisting in toward the center.

I love my nieces and nephews. I'm so glad that there are several knitters in our family, though. I would make myself crazy trying to knit cute things for all of them by myself. Can't wait to see this little guy sporting his new sweater next fall!

Easter Eggs

So, we did almost nothing for Easter this year. The Duke did find a ham steak in the freezer and cooked it along with some eggs and hash browns. I had started to fill Easter baskets before our lived devolved into hospital food and snot. (the Lion Baby got RSV, we spent 4 days with him in the hospital, I then got it and I'm praying for my head to just get it over with and explode all ready!)

However, Friday while Little Sir was napping, I boiled a dozen eggs and got out some food coloring. Here's an interesting fact. If you fall asleep for 30 min after you put your eggs in the dye cups, they turn out really pretty!



When Little Sir woke up he was so excited to have, in his words, "fancy eggs." Eggs are one of his favorite foods. I had intended to be done with the dying before he woke up, but my "I just need to lay down to rest for a minute" turned into a solid nap. I was just happy he came to get me off of the couch instead of exploring the kitchen first. He sat on a chair next to me while we experimented with a few other techniques.



This is what happened when I put more dye in the dye cups and didn't mix it in very well.



Both of these eggs have been tie-dyed. I dripped dye onto a paper towel, wrapped the egg in the paper towel, and then wrapped the whole thing in plastic wrap. The one of the left I also partially covered in electrical tape after it had been tie-dyed and submerged it in a dye cup. The parts covered in tape do not accept the dye. That worked very well.

Hopefully next year we will have better health for Easter and be able to have more fun with eggs. Actually, who says we have to wait for Easter, come to think of it? Little Sir and I both loved hard boiled eggs. :)