go go garter stitch

pattern: Debbie Bliss, the baby knits book
yarn: Debbie Bliss alpaca silk (80% baby alpaca, 20% silk) in coral (#25010)
needles: 4.5 mm bamboo straights

A quick knit! I even did the little matching garter stitch hat to go with it. In the end it took me just over 7 balls of the alpaca silk, which is totally outrageous. I knit the smallest size, and checked my gauge, but I think it's definitely still a lot bigger than originally intended. Though I guess with baby knits, it would be better to grow into anyway, plus it's a jacket so it can be a bit big, right?

And with two and a half balls left of this gorgeous yarn, I'm not exactly sure what to do next. I'm thinking about making a kerchief for myself (only because I at least want to have a small sampling of that yarn to wear myself!) --or maybe a matching cowl for the baby's mama?

It's not 100% done as I still need to find/sew on some decent buttons for it:



It's somewhat of an odd colour with neither red nor pink working all that perfectly, so my thoughts of little cherries or strawberries may be dashed. There are so many cute options at Repro Depot, but again. NO EFFING SHIPPING TO CANADA. grr. Anyone know of a Canadian option for stuff like this?

I've been a bit of lazy-ass in the knitting realm lately (although these posts don't seem to reflect it...) but I'm actually not all that motivated to do much knitting in the evenings any more for some reason. Perhaps it's just a phase. I definitely have no desire to purchase new yarn (though there is a lot that I am covetting) and like the tireless "purger of stuff" that I've been known to be I am seriously scheming ways to use up a lot of my stash. The sudden additional space I find myself with after using up all this coral alpaca is what's spurring me on I think. Out with the old before I can get on with the new!

***Button update found here: buttons!

Time for a new bed...

...cat bed that is.

Some of you may remember this. Archie uses that bed a lot. But nothing like his absolute favourite bed, the mysterious kitty cuddler!. Archie's three now, and I'd say that we've probably gone through five or six of these in his short life. It's getting out of hand since he always seems to need a new one. They start out nice, like the one pictured in the ad:



But then after much suckling and kneading and flopping onto, and playing in (it also unfolds into a "play-tube"), not to mention a whole bunch of this:



Well, lets just say that it takes it's toll. We often try to transition him from one to the other by placing the new one on top of the grody old one (no doubt the old one is a total bacteria farm)--note before and after here:

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blech. Boy, I'm really airing my dirty laundry now, aren't I?

I'm not sure if it's the "wooly-ness" of the cuddler that he likes or what, but I think I've come up with a solution. Though only time will truly tell. But it starts with a dab of this:

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and a dash 'o this. I've borrowed the link to that pattern off the unwound podcast site, which I'm so disappointed to hear is now no more. Wah! There are so many knitting podcasts out there now but very few that I seem to be able to really get into. I'd love to hear what everyone else out there likes (and not just the knitting ones!) These days I listen to more podcasts on my ipod and in the car than I do actual music. Is that wrong?

So, fingers crossed that he likes this bed a little more than his at present never-ending supply of 30 dollar kitty cuddlers. I guess it's a good thing I don't have kids, and it may be a moot point right now since I haven't even cast on for it, but I was so excited when the yarn arrived that I just had to post. Once again, Noro "big" kureyon = unavailable around these parts.