for babe. une.

i can only imagine there will be dozens of these posts so i'm starting a series: for babe.

my handmades for the baby.

i have a feeling i'm getting a winter babe this time around because god knows that this knitting-mama needs to be able to wrap her wee-one in the warmth of a handknit blanket (or cardi, or trousers, or booties, or hat...) and so here's something that's just about to come off the needles. it's been so nice to have this small project - each panel has been completed in a different country - the uk, canada, italy - a little of this babe's travels woven in. hours of sitting on planes and in cars. time available to think and ponder and pray for whomever this small soul will become.

dogwood from tincanknits - a canadian(!) affair - when pieced together i'll post the whole thing for now - the first panel as it was being blocked.

baby.

the reason for the blogging break.

it turns out that the beginning of growing a small human is incredibly exhausting. and so my days were spent like this: wake up (late). work. go home. lay on sofa. go to bed. with a little nausea thrown in for good measure. hence there wasn't anything very exciting to write about. except the most exciting thing to write about (which we weren't telling anyone) - a baby!

well, there you go. i'm due in november and now that i'm enjoying the relatively less exhausting, less ill-feeling period of this pregnancy, i'm hoping to be a bit better about recording our lives.

we are overjoyed. blessed beyond measure. marvelling at god's goodness. overwhelmed by the tiny miracle happening inside. it's good. very good.

for bebe.

we all know how much i love babies, and maybe more than that, i love making for babies. in the past couple of years i've made dozens of little items. there are a few good things about making for baby. it's fast, the wool is soft and the stuff is cute. i never look at a baby item and not swoon. well except for maybe weird things with monsters - what is it with monsters on baby items?

i digress. in a few weeks another of our clan will welcome their first babe. it's an exciting time. and while i pretty much make something for any baby i even hear of appearing on the scene, there are some babies who are just that little bit more special. they tend to fall into the category of 'family, or might as well be family we are just that tight' this babe is of the second order. and because i've not yet made a baby blanket that hasn't been well received (no pun intended) i thought i'd do it again. seeing as this wee-one is to be a summer child, we needed something a bit lighter and more airy. and because i actually did much of this while travelling last month, i opted to crochet instead of knit.

i worked off this pattern on purlbee.com - just sized it down to be about 22" x 26". i finished the edges with a single crochet edge. this was very simple, if not a little repetitive. the colour, well, i went with a grey because the gender is, as yet, unknown. i think the element of surprise is so much fun! and i'm all about neutrals anyway. the yarn is drops baby merino. it's my go-to for all baby projects, great feel to the yarn and fully washer and dryer friendly, which is so important with baby items.

we hope the wee-one will snuggle up with the blanket for years and years to come.

arriving.

we have a baby arriving very soon. we cannot wait for her to come. we are oh so excited to share in this joy and this miracle. today i hosted a baby shower for her mummy.

it was ladies and brunch and endless cups of tea and i was terrible and took pictures only with my phone and after they'd all left - but here's what i've got.

menu:

slow cooker gouda sausage casserole - i used regular sausage instead of turkey sausage, and well, it wasn't as successful, so out of the slow cooker, five minutes before people arrived and into the oven. it ended up as a hit!

banana muffins
fruit salad
pink rice krispies
coffee & tea galore
smoothies

and although it is the coldest day of the year here, the tulips are abounding at the market. thanks to le boy who braved the winter morning to fetch them - it changed everything.

baby blessings.

i'll start by saying - we're NOT pregnant. we don't intend to be for a while. but as it turns out, everyone around us, is pregnant. i've lost count, and really this makes me extremely happy. i get to knit super cute baby items, i get to hold and play with new babies, i get to give the babies back. someday, someone will hand a baby back to me, just not soon!

and so, i'm always stuck with a little conundrum - what to get the wee babe? there are a ton of cute things out there, but i can make stuff. and i like making stuff. and i like that it's fast. baby knitting, is so so so fast. i love it. in fact, i've been pre-baby knitting. the other night le boy asked who the latest item on my needles was for, and i said, i don't know, but there will be someone. the littleness of it all is super cute. and the quickness of it all is super gratifying. plus, i love knowing that new babes are wearing something made with a little bit of love.

i found this darling printable on the 'on to baby' site - the follow on site from the weddingchicks - we used wedding chicks for all our stationery at the wedding and i LOVED it. as a cute little gift i made booties with some matching note cards. one of which i used as our card, and a few others for them to use as notes from the babe.

the bootie pattern can be found here.

bootie baby: take two.

the babes are abounding! last week a lovely's sister had her first wee-one! as a firm believer in babes having handmade items, i quickly cast on for a sweet weekend project!

as i mentioned in a previous post, i thought i'd try to make a different bootie pattern for each new babe this year and then decide on my favourite(s)!

this time i tried this pattern from the handknit librarian. i modified it slightly with a colour change (i ran out of the grey and le boy expertly suggested the navy!) and rather than continuing up the tube, kept on with the 1x1 rib for 6 or so rows...

they almost look like small athletic socks! and i absolutely adore the detailing around the ankle.

baby knitting is oh so satisfying - no more than a few hours total, and oh so sweet when it's finished up!

bootie baby : take one.

we're in one of those seasons where every other couple we know is either getting married or having babies. it's hard to knit for weddings, but babies? they demand small handknit items. the knitting is quick and really really cute. i'm known to get carried away so i decided a while ago that family members get big, involved baby gifts - everyone else gets booties. babies deserve something handmade - and it's such an excellent opportunity to pray for the expectant family and for the newest little one.

 

and so i'm making for babies. and i though this would be an excellent opportunity to try a series of bootie patterns available on ravelry. there are, i kid you not, more than 1500 projects available. so i set some parameters: free, one piece, preferably minimal seaming, and can use up scrap yarn. this narrowed the results to about one hundred - then i just decided which ones i thought were cute...

 

first up was magic slippers. super fast and simple, knit entirely in the round - which means no seaming! they were a treat to knit, with a clear pattern and a great structure. i will most definitely be making these again.

let's hope that baby c like them as much as i do!

made.

a few months ago i was making for baby (not mine!) well baby has arrived. and making finished up just shortly after he made his way into the world.

brown paper packages were sent airmail to a little someone an ocean apart. the first of the next generation. it hardly seems possible that we're there now. that we're at the getting-married-having-babies-being-adults stage. i always remember the antics with my cousins, the fun and the laughter and the roads we've walked together. i'm oh so blessed to have grown up with them near and to be still close (at least in spirit) today. 

and while we didn't grow up around our second cousins, i surely hope that this newest generation will. i simply cannot imagine life and family and celebrations without them all around. even if i do tend to miss a good number of those comings-together at the moment. 

 this was insanely easy to knit up. i mean almost boring. but i used the time to teach myself continental knitting. so that's good. and in the end the baby merino super wash, super soft, stripy, gender neutral (the babe was to be a surprise!) worked just perfectly. and it reaffirmed my love for drops wool. much less expensive than other wools, just as nice to work with. the pattern is from purl - super easy baby blanket. and it was.

hoping it keeps a wee-one warm in the now blustery true-north.

links: baby blanket pattern : drops yarn

makin' for baby.

my world has recently exploded with babies and weddings. in the last two weeks two very good couple friends of ours have gotten engaged! we've got weddings galore coming up. and between august and october there will be four new babies...

i feel a little young to be friends with all these super responsible people, getting married, having children, buying houses. but i say if you can't join, make for them! friends expecting wee-ones get super easy to make, but always loved baby booties - it seemed that family should get a step up. (no pun intended!) the finished project will be revealed after the drop is made... we'll see how this turns out, but the wool that arrived in my office today is gorgeous, soft and super-wash. oh so ready for a baby to be snuggled in. i can't wait to see how it knits up. almost as much as i can't wait to see the little person that will newly grace our family in the coming weeks - how exciting, the first baby!

So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves; 

Offer thanksgiving sacrifices, tell the world what he's done—sing it out! 

psalm 107:22 (message translation)