Moving on!

My website has moved!

http://ohdessaknits.com/

B's Favorite Cookie Recipe

B and I have a favorite cookie recipe. We've tried others, but of all of the recipes I've found that involve adding candy bits, this one is the tastiest. We've made it with M&Ms, Reese's Pieces and those little chocolate candy bits, and it was all delicious. I always let B pick out what we are going to put in the cookies when he comes grocery shopping with me. (Except this last week, I went alone, and it was so peaceful!) This time, we had no M&Ms to put on top of the cookies to make them pretty because B decided to dump the whole (luckily small) bag in. He loves making cookies. Mostly sitting on the counter and testing the M&Ms to make sure they are still good. He also likes adding stuff to the mixer. He really likes mixers. I do too! I swear my baked goods are better since I got one for Christmas the year before last. I think its the extra air and stronger arm. 

The one thing about this recipe is that it has to be made as written. I've tried doing it with butter or margarine instead of shortening, as I don't typically have shortening on hand, but it just makes them too soft. Since they are pretty soft to begin with, it's not a good thing. Seriously, these taste like the sort of cookie you'd buy at a coffee house in the good way. Pro-cookies! And they taste terrific dipped in milk (or milky coffee!!)

New mittens in progress

I am half done a new pair of mittens. They are super warm and thick. I used Noro Kureyon in colour 253 for the main body. It's the most boring Kureyon there is, but I wanted someting more than just plain white. I used Ístex Létt-Lopi for the black, because as I've said it's a great solid colour complement for Kureyon. They are knit from the bottom up with a Latvian Braid on the cuff (what can I say, I am crazy for them right now) with 3 nautical stars up the front and classy striping on the palm. The thumb has a little buttonhole for easier texting. After knitting, I duplicate stitched some colour on the stars with some leftover Kureyon. I just need to finish the second one. I would have finished it this weekend, but I was knitting another secret project is crazy cute.

B and the Hot Wheels Color Shifters Tour

We took B to see the Hot Wheels Color Shifters tour the other day.  We drove down to Kildonan Place early in the morning. When we got there, there were tents and tables set up with playsets. Inside the tent was the main attraction, the color changing Mustang. B went crazy for it all, it was awesome. He is still talking about how it changed colors when he touched it. They gave him a little book with all of the current Hot Wheels in it, and he keeps going through it and showing me all the cars he has. He loves cars. He is getting to a point where he recognizes and differentiates between different brands and models well. 

Little O is doing great. He is starting to pick foods up and eat them. And he is hilarious. He has such a big personality for such a little guy. And he is always giggling. 

I have promised myself that if I get one project off the needles today I will dye some wool and roving to make some thrummed mittens. I hope it motivates me! I have a few things on the go, and I think there is one for sure I can get done.  I need more fingering weight yarn! Everything I have seems to be worsted. I keep drooling over yarn online. Make me stop!

New Etsy Shop!

Along with featuring my patterns on Ravelry, I've decided to set up an Etsy shop for my patterns!

There are only two patterns up right now, but expect more in the future! I've committed myself to a goal of at least one new pattern a month, and when they go live, I'll post here. Later on in the month, be on the look out for both a new pattern for sale on Ravelry and Etsy, and a new free pattern here in this blog! 

More mittens and yarn (and some exciting news)

I am working on some new mittens right now, a bulky worsted weight pair on size 6 needles. Thick and warm. I have all this Noro and Létt Lopi leftover from all sorts of things begging to be used up. I actually finished a mitten yesterday, but there were so many little things I wanted to change, I figured I would just start over. There are just so many mittens I want to make and not enough time. Expect some awesome mittens in the future. My favorite part of making mittens is coming up with a good repeating pattern for the palm. This one is more of a simple pin-stripey one. I bet there is some sort of bug related Norwegian name for it. Would they be considered ants? Or lice? Or something else altogether perhaps.

On our weekend day trip I managed to finish the lace edging on the shawl I am working on. It's my first lace (and shawl) attempt. All that YOs and YO a million times knit-twenty-stitches-together-at-once stuff makes me nervous. Mostly all the loose yarn. I do love projects where there are complicated repeats over many rows. It's like a challenge to remember all those rows.

I also picked up some new yarn. I got some Kroy Socks for some gloves I am going to make. This photo does not quite capture the colour (flax) as they come off a bit cool here, but it is the perfect worn grey colour with a bit of a yellow-y tinge. The grey I'd imagine fisherman's mittens to be (as I live on the prairies far away from fishermen) Perfect for some men's gloves. I also finally bought some roving so I can make thrummed mittens. I am going to dye it some fun colours before I start.

The most exciting news is that I am going to have a pattern in the Deep Fall issue of Knitty! It comes out in October, so you will have to wait until then to see it.

Road Trip: Kenora

It being the August Long Weekend, we decided to spend our Saturday in Kenora (or Nora as B calls it). If we drive a couple of hours north, east, or south of here it's all blah and fields (and Target if you go south). I can only tolerate so many fields of corn and canola. But if we drive east just a bit, you hit the Canadian Shield where the road winds through blasted rocks and we wonder if our tiny car can actually go up hills (it can).

We set out early (but later than we had meant because we slept though the alarm). The boys took it easy the whole way there, B in the back watching Cars and O sleeping while I worked on a shawl project I just started. B got really excited when we started seeing all the rocks and water and stuff. And the flipped over car on the highway. Eeek.

We got there before noon and had a picnic lunch in the park by the lake (of the woods?) B thought that the boats were cars on the water and asked how we would get there. That is what happens when you live in the middle of a continent in a city with gross rivers. He was really amused by he boats and the tiny water airplanes. O was really amused grabbing grass. Oh how simple it is to be a little baby. We walked around a bit, as it was Harbourfest, We took B to the kids area that was set up. He was so excited to go on the bouncy houses, but changed his mind when we got closer. They had horses though, and B went on his first horse ride (just like Woody from Toy Story as he put it)  and fed a baby cow (it was really a black and white sheep) some hay. They also had lots of little games set up and B loved winning prizes and having an excuse to throw things. We walked around a bit, and ultimately decided to head back a bit earlier because the boys were cranky and needed a nap. Hottest ride home ever. Eesh. We seem to have great luck picking the hottest days to day trip. And of course, I have a sunburn now. Pout.

And this might be one of the strangest things I have ever seen. It had a rapper costume and a suit too.

Selbu-itus (or one mitten-itus)

So as I mentioned in my last post, I was working on some gloves from Selbuvotter. I finished one, but it was smaller than I'd hope. It fits my hand though, so thats ok. I picked up some Palette in Bittersweet Heather and Salsa Heather to start a newer, bigger pair, Annemor #15. I also went up a needle size. I stupidly bought the Susan Bates needles because they were the longest the store had, even though I am sure the longest in the other brand was more than adequete. These needles suck! The joins are so rough and catchy and the cable is so stiff. I love the pattern though. These are going to be some nice mittens. I seriously want to knit every mitten and glove in the whole book, but will probably stop at one more (some moose mittens or gloves! In bright orange and yellow mohair blend!) I must say though that the sizing is really wonky. The last one I did was supposed to be a men's medium, but the current ones I am doing are a men's small but have more stitches on the same needles and with the same yarn. Oh well, these ones should fit their intended recipient. 

I have three and a quarter mittens (or gloves) that need friends. So that is what I am going to do over the next couple of weeks. I also picked up some more Noro Kureyon (in the most boring colourway - light beige and medium beige with a bit of light tan) to go with some Noro in my stash for some other mittens I am going to design/make. I am addicted to mittens. No more starting anything until I have three pairs! I do have a shawl (with lacey bits!) and sock pattern in my future, I just want to get all these mittens done first.

The boys are doing great. O has a tooth and is standing up holding on to things more. And I can't just put him down, he just rolls and rolls all over the place getting into trouble. B knows his right from left way before I ever will. Is there such thing as directional dyslexia? I can't think in direction. Even something as simple as flipping a pattern or figuring out where north is takes me a lot of thinking. The other day I swear I spent an hour trying to figure out how to place thumbs on a mitten, and trying to figure out which side would correlate to which hand (and I still got it wrong). 

B and I make cookies every Tuesday evening. Usually we make our special recipe M&M cookies. Seriously, they are the best M&M cookies ever. But this week, we are going to make cut-able rainbow chip cookies because I picked up these awesome cookie cutters from Superstore. I had been looking for larger alphabet cutters, because my fondant ones are not so good for cookies. Or even fondant really. So when I saw these I was so excited. And they were only $4.99. Tomorrow is going to be a fun cookie night. 

Memento Mori Mittens

My new pattern, Memento Mori Mittens, is up! It's a fun mitten to knit with a lot of detailing that starts right at the cuff all the way to the tip. And flowers everywhere! I spend a fair bit of time reading about various imagery and customs related to death when working on a series of photographs, and found it as a whole quite interesting.  I recently came across some working sketches I did and liked what was going on. I wanted to do something more with them, so of course I thought mittens! I decided to use a really colourful sock yarn (Marks & Kattens Fame Trend in Party  - #653) as the background colour to stress that these are not a sinister mitten. Skulls aren't all doom and gloom! Even if the title does implore you to consider your own mortality. I really like the patterning on the palm. I wanted to echo the flower detail on the back of the hand, so I decided on simple flowers and started framing around them, which eventually turned into the pattern you see.

This pattern is a great way to use a beautiful soft sock yarn. Pair a bright or vagrieated yarn with a dark solid, or two contrasting colours together (even better if they are tonal-dyed!) for a mitten that really pops. Think golden yellow with grassy-green, icy blue and red-orange or inky black with bright purple. If you are wearing something everyday for half a year (at least up here), you want it to feel and look good.

You need about 200 meters of fingering weight yarn for the background colour, and about 100 meters of fingering weight for the design, size 2 (2.75mm) needles, a bit of waste yarn and a needle to weave in the ends. If you have not tried using the Magic Loop for mitten knitting before, I really suggest trying it, as I find my colourwork to be so much more even compared to when I use double-pointed needles. Techniques used in the pattern include stranded colourwork, knitting in the round, increasing and decreasing and my favorite mitten cuff decoration, the Latvian Braid (you can find a tutorial here if you need one). 

Latvian Braid Tutorial and other such stuff

So my new mitten pattern should be going up in a few days. Memento Mori Mittens if you have not yet seen them. I am just fine tuning the pattern and making it pretty. In the pattern, I use a technique that I had never done before, which is possibly my new favourite mitten cuff stabilizer, the Latvian Braid. So much more attractive than basic ribbing in a colourwork heavy mitten in my opinion!

Basically, a Latvian Braid is inside-out colourwork. You purl with the yarn (I use two strands in the example, but you can use one, or three, or whatever you want) on the outside, using one strand each stitch to knit, and floating the other in front which creates the braid. Does that make sense? Don't worry, I took pictures.

I've used this a few other times now, and this is how I like to set up a Latvian Braid cuff. This tutorial is going to go through how to make a left-leaning braid, and explain how to use these same steps to make a right-leaning braid.

First, cast on however many stitches you need.
Row 1: Knit across
Row 2: Purl across
Row 3: Knit, alternating your colours (in my case, it was red, white) to the end. This is important, because these stitches show up in the braid, and you are going to be purling into them with the same colour. If you are doing something other than alternating two colours, set up for it in this row.

Row 4: Bring both strands of yarn in front to purl. Make sure the first yarn you want to purl with is on top of the other. Make sure you bring the same colour yarn on top as the stitch you are about to purl into.

Then purl while floating the other yarn (in this case the red) in front. You've now done the first stitch! Everything gets easier from here.

Continue doing this throughout the row, always bringing the yarn you are about to purl with OVER the yarn you are going to let float. Make sure to purl with the same colour as the stitch you are knitting into. That stitch makes the little bump you see in the middle of the braid, so if you use the wrong colour, it won't look quite right. The direction you bring the yarn controls which way that row of braiding leans. When you are done, you should have a row of left-leaning diagonal stripes with a little bump on top.

Row 5: In this row, you are going to do the same thing as the previous row, except you are going to bring the working yarn UNDER the float (in this case, the red yarn goes under the white).

Then bring that yarn up over the needle and purl, holding the float (the white yarn) in front. Repeat this action throughout the row, alternating colours, making sure you are purling into the same colour you are holding. In this step, you are creating right leaning diagonal lines.

When you are done the row, it should look like this:

At which point, you can continue on in your pattern. To make a right-leaning braid (as the mittens call for) you reverse the two rows so. You bring the yarn under in the first braid row, and over in the second. Easy-peasy as Jamie Oliver would say.

Other than the mittens, I've been busy, the boys and I went to the library today where I picked up Selbuvotter. So excited. I cast on Annemor #10 (this is one of the first photo results I found searching for it - here is the Ravelry page for the pattern if you can see it.) immediately in grey and black. This is my first glove attempt. I am optimistic! B got a book about the toilet. He loves books about toilets. O mostly slept. Ooh! I finally finished the Manda Ruth hoodie for O. I finished all but the sleeves in just under a week, and then did one sleeve a month ago, and finished the other yesterday. What is it with me and sleeves? It's a good thing I did finish it, because it's a lot smaller than I thought it would be and fits him now instead of in the winter. Which is ok. It's adorable!

Tomorrow we go to the Farmers' Market. I am excited. Mostly for the perogies. They make them with New Bothwell cheese, and also have Mexican and Pizza Perogies. So good. And the bread made with apple cider, oh my! And I hope to finish up the mitten pattern to post up by Sunday or Monday, depending on how much life intervenes.

Oops...

I keep meaning to write a post, but between teething and the beginning of summer, I've been too busy! I just finished typing up the PDF for a pair of mittens I designed. I still have to knit the second mitten, but I figure I'll get some people testing the pattern for me while I knit the second one.

So what have we been up to? Well, this past week, we went to the zoo for Canada day, which was fun but TOO HOT. We got to the Farmers' Market yesterday and got lots of delicious food (fresh peas! swiss chard and kale! perogies! tiny strawberries!). The weekend prior we went to Grand Forks where I got to indulge in some maniac shopping. Mostly for the boys, as B needed a lot of new clothes (and O needs nothing, and it is so so so hard to pass on the cute baby clothes). I might have boughten 1 or 2 (or 10) bottles of nail polish (one was for my sister). Walmart down there has a way better selection of cheap nail polish. I also got Grape Pop Tarts and Cupcake Pebbles. I heart junk food pretending to be breakfast. I also finally got around to getting myself some "office" supplies (the office being the coffee table, or if I need to be really productive, the dining table) including the cutest binder and file folders I could find. On the way home I FINALLY got a photo of the Team Zissou sign that I have only been trying to get a photo of for 8 years now. I just always forget where it is and get my camera out too late. This time, I was testing my new camera and took them by accident. Win.

 B has exploded with language. Things he say make more sense and have more correct pronouns and such. It's neat. And little O is getting giant! He is pushing himself and rolling all over the floor. He keeps trying to get into the kitchen. I think he knows where all the food is.

We've been getting out in the area more. Everything is 30-45 minutes away on foot, which is not necessarily a bad thing. We've gone on long walks to the bank and the library and home from the store, and in the process found lots of little parks and such. My favorite walk is the one to knitting group on Mondays because I can relax and listen to This American Life or Wire Tap on my iPod. Everyone is on holidays or gone the next while I think, but I will probably still go, just to get out.

Knitting wise, I finished the Prairie Boots. I just have to buy buttons for the left boot. I stupidly only bought six buttons, forgetting that each boot needed six. I hope they still have more buttons. I LOVE this pattern. I am going to make at least one more pair. Possibly a shorter pair. I'd also really like to make a pair for O for the winter. But I have other things to knit first, and another mitten idea in my head. I've become addicted to knitting dishcloths. Total instant gratification. If only I knew more people who liked knit dishcloths. As I stated above, I finished the first mitten from a pattern I designed. I really like colour changing yarn. I bought this yarn to make some grey and rainbow striped socks, but when starting this pattern, I really felt it would work for the mittens well, which it did. And I should have enough left over to still make the grey and rainbow striped socks.

Making mittens and a new camera!

I wrote up the pattern for the Leaves and Petals mittens I made the other day and put it up on sale on Ravelry today. My first real pattern (that I wrote down at least) Being on size 8 needles, its a quick knit (I know I say that a lot, but I love instant knitting gratification. So much, that if I am working on a bigger project and am getting bored, I will knit a dishcloth or something to get the excitement of finishing something). And it really showcases an amazingly bright ball of Noro Kureyon, which is one of my favorite yarns. I just love the really long colour changes, and how it can go from neon yellow to neon purple to dark green and it works. There is more about making the mittens in this post. The button below is a link to buy the pattern.

In other news, I got a new camera!!! My very nice mom picked it up for me yesterday at Don's Photo. I am still figuring it out, so I have not taken many real photos with it, but I love it. I got a Pentax K-X. I spent a lot of time reading reviews trying to decide on a camera, but in the end went with the Pentax. I used a K1000 all through university and loved it. It was a great camera, and it still takes great photos. A DSLR is a really different way of working that I am going to have to get used to. It does not feel as second-skin as my old SLR, but maybe that will come with time. The best part is that my old lenses (and I have 4) are compatible with my new camera. I have a nice wide angle, and a telephoto that I did not use much, but just realized it was a telemacro (even though I am sure I used it as such, haha). I have a lot of work ahead of me now in building a photography business. Don't forget, I want to take your picture!

O has figured out how to army crawl, and is now dragging himself around on the floor like a little worm. I need to figure out how to keep the Hot Wheels from the tiny baby! We've been getting outside more with all the nice weather. Chalk is amazing! In the sense that it gets B to stay in one place while I lounge around with little O and try to keep him from eating fistfuls of grass that he rips out of the earth with his tiny pudgy little hands. Today we went to a super fun birthday party for an adorable little girl. Which gave me the opportunity to knit these adorable monsters that I have been wanting to knit forever. I think it's my new favorite knitting pattern. It's well written and easy to follow and so cute. B has insisted I knit him blue ones. And I am more than happy to oblige!

And then the clouds parted...

Poor B was going stir crazy all last week. The weather was just dreadful. So when it was warm and sunny yesterday, despite the things I wanted to get done at home, we headed out. B insisted that he wear a pirate hat. He looked pretty cool. We went to the Forks where Kidsfest was going on. B went crazy in the sprinkler. We mostly just walked around, it was nice to get outside. O was really amused too. And then he fell asleep. He is so adorable. He is rolling around and trying (sometimes successfully) to push himself forward with his little feet.

I am knitting the cutest thing ever. It's a mama and baby monster, and the baby monster fits in a pocket on the mama monster. It's for a birthday we are going to, so it is in girly purple and pink. I wanted to do it in blue and green at first, but figured that purple and pink was more little girl, and I could make a blue and green one later for O. Seriously, this pattern is adorable. I wish I had reason to knit more! I just need to find something for eyes (all the buttons I have look a bit off). Well that, and knit up the baby monster, but it's a lot smaller than the big one. I love the concept of the pattern too! I have half a Prairie Boot left to knit, I would have been done if not for the monsters. I really love both of those patters and plan to use them lots. The Prairie Boot pattern is really well written. And they are so cute.

On photography

So as you may or may not know, I have a BFA. In particular, I studied photograhy (and drawing, and I really liked Modern Art History), with the goal of one day taking photographs. With a capital P. Photographs. Of course, life got pleasently in the way, in the form of two wonderful boys, and I never did gain much momentum on that post-university. But lately, I've been really thinking about what it is I want to do with myself. While I love being a mom to two adorable little boys, I also really need to fulfill the part of me that ended up in art school in the first place. So I am doing it. While it might take me a bit of time to get all the particulars in order (and buy the right equipment - if anyone happens to want to buy me cameras, I won't complain!), I am going to be a photographer. I mean, I guess you can say I already am in the sense that I take a lot of photograhs, but (and I will not bore you with photography semantics or philosophy, but trust me, I could), but I don't feel like its a title I can own. But I plan to. I know it's a pretty saturated market, but I think I have a really good photographic viewpoint, a strong technical eye, as well as a good understanding of what elevates an image beyond a snapshot or an image to a beautiful photograph.

That being said, I need to work on my portfolio. I have a great deal of landscape and architectural shots (and there are lots more still on negatives, I have something like 80 rolls of film to go through), as well as a few more conceptual works, but I really need to flesh out the people part of it (ha! flesh! people!). So if you want a great family portrait, headshot, or event photography (or anything else for that matter) ask me! I will provide you with the digital files (with editing, and even some special effects) at no cost, as long as you allow me to use them in my portfolio. I am especially interetsted in taking pictues of people either in their own environments, with their pets, or outdoor family photographs.

So if you want some awesome pictures taken of you, send me a message or an email or whatever!

Recycled Sari Silk Mittens (or as I like to call them Happy Hippy Mittens)

In my last post, I talked about the recycled sari silk mittens I was working on. I finished them tonight, and figured I'd write up the pattern here. Even though it's a really basic mitten pattern, its nice to have someone else figure out all the math stuff for you. I looked for patterns to use this ball of yarn so I could admire all of its colours and textures, but came up short. Unless I liked drop-stitch scarves (which I don't, all that loose yarn makes me anxious), or had just a bit more yarn to knit a bag (that I probably would not use, so that would be a waste), there just was't much out there. So I decided to use it to knit my favorite thing, mittens!

Mittens are a little bit of an unconventional use for this sort of yarn. It's not really stretchy or particularly soft and fuzzy (although a bit of washing with a gentle conditioner goes a long way!), and some people find it really difficult to work with. Maybe it is the particular brand, (Darn Good Yarn Wild Peacock Recycled Silk), but this stuff knit up really well. And quick! Because it's so chunky they knit up crazy fast, and only took a few hours per mitten. Sure they are not warm fuzzy wool mittens, but think of how much more positive your outlook will be on a cold February morning when you are wearing such colourful and exotic mittens! Like their yarn's namesake, they look like vibrant peacocks strutting their stuff. No one is going to be mistaking these mitts for their Thinsulate flip top mittens. Anyways, on to the pattern.

Happy Hippy Recycled Sari Silk Mittens

Yarn:
Darn Good Yarn Wild Peacock Recycled Silk (or any chunky recycled silk yarn)
The ball is 155 meters (or 170 yards), and I would say each mitten used about a third of it.
Needles:
Size 8 (5.0mm) double-pointed needles
Gauge:
17 rows and 14 stitches in a 4 by 4 inch square
Size:
Finished mitten is 9 inches long and 3 3/4 inches wide, it's on the larger side of medium
Note:
In the shaping of the thumb gusset, when I say M1, I mean make or increase however you feel comfortable, as long as it does not make a hole. I KFB'd (knit into the front and back of one stitch). For more information on increases look here. And here are decreases for good measure.

Pattern:
Cuff:

Cast on 21 stitches and divide equally between 3 needles

Knit 10 rows

This will give you a cuff of about 1 1/2 inches, if you want a larger cuff, just knit a few extra rows.

Shape Thumb Gusset:

K10, M1, K1, M1, K10 (23 stitches on needles)

Knit one row

K10, M1, K3, M1, K10 (25 stitches on needles)

Knit one row

K10, M1, K5, M1, K10 (27 stitches on needles)

Knit one row

K10, M1, K7, M1, K10 (29 stitches on needles)

Knit two rows

K10, put 9 stitches on holder or waste yarn, k10 (20 stitches on needles)

Body:

Right mitten:
M1, K10, M1, K10 (22 stitches on needles)
Left mitten:
K10, M1, K10, M1 (22 stitches on needles)

Both mittens:
Knit 17 rows

Top:

K2tog, K7, SKP, K2tog, K7, SKP (18 stitches on needles)

Knit 1 row

K2tog, K5, SKP, K2tog, K5, SKP (14 stitches on needles)

Place 7 stitches on each on two needles and bind off using kitchener stitch

Thumb:

Pick up 9 stitches from waste yarn, as well as one from each side of the inside thumb (11 stitches)

Knit 10 rows. In the first row knit the two picked up stitches together (10 stitches)

K2tog, K1, SKP, K2tog, K1, SKP (6 stitches)

Knit 1 row

Place 3 stitches each on 2 needles. Bind off using kitchener stitch

Weave in all ends and gently hand wash with a gentle conditioner to soften. Air dry. Dazzle!

Smitten with mittens...

All I can think about are mittens! Mittens I want to make. I am almost done my second pair in the past few days. The first, which is just drying, is a pair of felted neon-y Noro Kureyon and black stranded mittens in a geometric pattern I made up. The pattern is comprised of rows of leaves and petals that have been distilled from their original inspiration (bright flowers on the cover of Good Housekeeping) into a more South American geometric mitten aesthetic. When I was younger I remember getting mittens and gloves from Global Connections at The Forks that were handmade in South America. The geometric patterns were so simple and pretty, and the colours really made the bold pattern pop. I wanted to use a yarn that was really bright, inspired by both the flowers on the cover and these original mittens I once had (and lost, of course). Anyways. So I bought the brightest Kureyon I could find at Ram Wools. I paired it with a solid black Istex Lett Lopi. I find the Lett Lopi pairs really well with Kureyon, as they both have similar weights and textures, amoung other qualities. It also comes in a decent amount of solid colours to counterpoint the crazy  colour-changes in the Kureyon. Then after spending lots of time with graph paper and pencil, I came to a final pattern. It was a super quick knit, taking only a few hours for each mitten. Then I washed them twice to felt them up a little for extra warmth. If you click on the picture it goes to the corresponding Ravelry page. I am going to update it with the final felted project soon.

Ben was really excited by the finished mittens. He kept poking one with one of my needles saying "Making holes, fixing holes." Then he kept stealing them and using them as driving gloves. He told me "Just like a race car (driver)." What a cutie.

The other pair of mittens that I am still working on, is a pair of recycled sari silk mittens. It's a little bit of an unconventional mitten yarn, but when I tried to find a good pattern for the ball of Wild Peacock Recycled Silk I got from Darn Good Yarn, all I could find was drop-stitch scarves, and I am just not a fan of them. So I decided, why not make mittens! Because the yarn is so chunky, and the needles so big (8), they are a super super quick knit. I made up the pattern on the fly, and it turned out well. I think the mittens show off all the colours and intricacies of the recycled silk so well. I love all the colours! I can see these giving a lot of hope for warmer days come winter. Again, the picture links to the corresponding Ravelry page.

Little O is doing so well. He is almost 4 months old.He rolls over both ways, and is trying so hard to move around on his tummy. I brought out B's old spinning play mat (that is not quite the same one, its a newer model, but the idea is the same), so he could have a bit more fun while wiggling around. I found both of the boys really liked this because it allowed them to spin about really easily just by inadvertent foot or hand movements. Which made them both enjoy tummy time a lot more, because I found they were mostly getting frustrated by not being able to move. O's little coos sound less screechy and more syllable-ish every day. 

B is such a funny little guy. He loves his cars. Above is a picture of him with a car mall he asked me to make for him. He loves having places to park them. He calls parking garages "car houses." Anything an item is stored in is its house, and he loves finding houses for things. Sometimes I will find his Hot Wheels in perfect-sized spots for them in between books in his bookcase. He's recently started identifying objects by how many there are. He can identify one to four things. Like three cars or two books. Anything over four is four. 

The next few days will be busy. I have lots of baking to do (buns, cinnamon bread, cookies, cheese crackers, regular crackers, and scones or muffins) and the preparatory shopping for that. Our library books are due this weekend, and I have some more ideas for mittens I need to work out.