Nature's Whimsy

Nature has a sense of humour.  How do I know?  Check out our lovely potato.  Doesn't it look familiar?  Perhaps a duck?

Potato duck?

And who wouldn't love these lovely carrots!  They are so adorable . . .  Entwined to the root . . . these must be love carrots! Ha!

Love carrots?

Yup. nature's whimsy.

Oh Baby!

Yup, there are babies in the foreseeable future--not my babies.  Just nieces (or nephews).  So I thought I'd start a few baby knits.

Cute Stripey Hat

This is the Berry Baby Hat (Rav link), but I've modified the design by adding stripes.  It was supposed to resemble the cardigan a little.  Sadly I goofed up the stripes. Only after starting the cardi did I realize my error: the new colour of the stripe is supposed to be worked as a purl, not a knit.  I may have to rip back to the pink section and redo the striping ('cuz it'll bug me that the stripes don't match).

Circular Yoke Baby Cardigan

Pictured above is the start of the cardigan (and I'm farther along).  The pattern, called Concentric Stripes Cardigan, is free (another Rav link): very cute circular yoke sweater that requires very little yarn (it's newborn size).  When finished, I imagine it'll be tiny.  Maybe my niece will only wear it for a month.  Guess I'll have to make her another sweater.  If that's the sacrifice I must make . . . Have I mentioned how much I enjoy making baby knits?  :D

Finished

So I did it . . . 

Adding the Crochet Trim

The tank is finished!  Yay for me!  I deserve a cookie . . . 

Finished Soliel Tank

However, now I'm confused:  I'm not sure I truly love it.  I really like the added lace with the added length.  The fit is good.  But I have some qualms about adding the purple crochet trim . . . hmmmmm.  I still have extra green Bamboo Silk so I could rip out the lavender trim if my heart so desires it, but should I?    

Tank Love?

I think I should live with it first.  I should step away, and work on something else.  Time and space will help me to look at with "fresh eyes".  Yup, that's what I'm gonna do.

I'm in the middle of writing a paper due this week  (Yeah, I'm back to working on another  course). Have a good week :)

About the Ripping . . .

Sometimes you have no choice but to rip out.  And no matter what, it always feels disheartening, even if you know you've made the right decision.

Prior to Ripping

My Garter Surprise must have had an error in the pattern 'cuz Block 9 called for 54 plus 54 stitches which was completely off (it should have been 63 plus 63 stitches for a total of 126).  In any case, I didn't like the off-centered colour block that had resulted; it had to be more even (like the version in the book pictured below).  

Original Baby Garter Surprise

So sadly I ripped.  Thankfully it looks better now (sorry for not having an updated photo).  This block will take time to finish 'cuz it requires 54 ridges (that's over 100 rows!).  Hopefully by working on it each evening, I'll make some headway.

As for my Soleil Tank, adding length didn't quite look right upside down.  So it too had to go "rip, rip, rip".  

Messed Up Lace

Since restarting and working the lace pattern as written, the addition looks soooo much better.  I'm hoping to work enough lace repeats so I've got enough length.  Then I'll finish off with a garter edging.

Better Looking Lace 

For me, following my "gut" and ripping out worked out well.  How about you? Ever had to rip out something that you've been working on for a long time?   I'm sure we've all done it.   

Garden's Bounty

Have you seen our garden's bounty? All along we've been enjoying lettuce (of which there is no more) and loads of yellow and green beans (may of which were parboiled and frozen). 

Tomatoes

Right now we're harvesting veggies: lots of potatoes, some tomatoes, beets and turnips.  The potatoes didn't do as well as we had hoped--we think the ground was too wet; we suspect there's an underground spring under the potato patch.

Potatoes

The beets, onions, turnips and parsnips are doing very well.  We've had to thin some plants out.  It's a learning experience, so we'll know better for next year.

Beets

Parsnips and Turnips

There's more to come.  Check out our little corn patch!  We've sampled some and it was good--very sweet, tender and fresh.  

Corn Patch

The broccoli is coming up nicely.  If the weather holds, we might just have broccoli to harvest in a month's time.

Little Broccoli

And finally we've got pumpkins--lots of pumpkins! (I made sure all those girl flowers were pollinated right proper).

Wee Little Pumpkin

The peppers look great.  I hope they ripen into pretty red peppers, but I'll take green ones if the weather doesn't cooperate.

Green Peppers

And we even managed some melons!  Not sure when these babies will fully ripen as the nights have gotten cool. 

Wee Melon

Yup, its been a bountiful season.  :)

More Knitting

Garter Surprise Progress

My Garter Surprise is getting there. I finally reached Block 9--yippee! New colour change and with it comes intarsia (not my most fave technique). At least the end is in sight (ha! famous last words).

Soleil Tank Revisited

And I tried to finish my Soleil Tank. After seaming the shoulders, I tried it on and . . . too short (although the fit is quite good)! Since I've got leftover yarn, I'm adding a couple of repeats. I picked up from the garter cast-on edge and am working the pattern upside down (after adding another 20 stitches so that the lower edge will be a large instead of a medium). Hope this "experiment" works.

It's not a hat; it's an octopus!

And I started another project. Of course! This project is a special request from one of my "babies" (who soon will be 12, but just loves the toys I make. So there.). It's one of those "dastardly cephalopods" (seriously, you should check out our website 'cuz its funny when toys have adventures). We hit the local general store that carries a decent selection of colours. My son was quite pleased to pick out his own colours. Now he's patiently waiting for his "friend" to come to life. This is the fun part of knitting. I love it when recipients appreciate your hard work. That's the good stuff.

Later,