Last minute knits

I am still home, waiting patiently (or not) in the gloriously sunny but incredibly cold weather, (which is better than the other option of grey but warmer). Evening fires, time to bake bread and cakes, to knit and sew, and clean all those little nooks and crannies that otherwise get ignored...how could I not be happy. And yet somehow...I am becoming impatient!

Anyway, I have taken the opportunity to continue to knit small, warm, woolly pieces for this boy, as it has turned very cold very quickly. And its quite good fun! A little vest, knit in Rowan Purelife organic wool (Tannin and Ivy shades):

The yarn is quite lovely. Its nice enough when you are knitting it, although the Tannin puts quite a lot of dye on your fingers & needles, but after a wash it comes up beautifully and is quite soft and snuggly. Interestingly, not only is the yarn organic but it is dyed with sustainable plant dyes, so it is all very green and lovely. And the excess dye washed out of the yarn pretty quickly, without too much colour change (and didn't affect the lighter yarn at all). I also love the buttons - I think they are perfect!

The pattern is from Drops Design - romantically named 'a sleeveless jumper'. Its simple and easy (I knit it in the round to avoid seaming), I just added stripes and a little pattern that I took from a lovely little book about Estonian mittens that I was given a while ago.

I've also started a lovely little alpaca cardigan, but given the weight of the yarn and the size of the needles (both very small!) it is like knitting a pretty, tiny, waft of cloud, and is taking its sweet time. But it might be done by the time he gets here....if I keep knitting!

A change in seasons

I love England in Autumn. Love it, from start to finish.

We went for a walk on the weekend in the lovely Oxfordshire countryside. It was clear, crisp and beautiful, and Simon saw a hare (I was taking a photo of him at the time, so all I saw was a hare's bum disappearing into the undergrowth).

Requisite bump photo - not the best picture of me, but you get the idea and I guess that with 2 weeks to go I have an excuse...

Also, cows moving from their summer pastures to ones closer to home. Ah, the country.

Quiet times

So after a week of maternity leave I finally get around to blogging! Terrible stuff. Doesn't mean I haven't been doing things...slowly. But the motivation to photograph them and then blog post them is just a bit lacking. So here is a catch-up of all the knitting stuff thats been going on. There were going to be other pictures too, of walks in the woods and so forth, but the camera has just run out of batteries, so I need to go and recharge them before that happens - maybe tomorrow.

But on with the knitting:

Firstly, baby knitting - socks and hats. There is also a vest, which is waiting to be washed, blocked and have buttons. The socks are very fun to knit, and look so cute! I need to start making bigger sizes, I think. The hat is much greener and cooler than in the picture - I think there needs to be a baby shot to show you it properly.

Then there is the Jo Sharp jacket - finally! Apparently, it took me a year to knit this, according to Ravelry. Actually, it took me a few months to knit it, decide it was too long and unflattering, leave it in the cupboard for a few months and then unravel the body down to the cables and reknit it. I'm so glad I did - it is perfect for wearing over the bump, and toasty and warm.

I started knitting this gorgeous silk/cashmere yarn from Posh Yarns - its will eventually be a scarf. Its going swimmingly - nice pattern, pretty yarn, all good.

I also have been knitting S a vest (at his request) from this nice New Lanark wool - I'm ready to split it into front and back for the top part now, which I should do this afternoon (plus some knitting maths to make sure it fits his stringent requirements), but the scarf is just so pretty I'd rather knit that! Ok, so thats all the knitting that my batteries let me take pics of. Its my one area of productivity at this point, so there has been a fair bit of it, but there has also been jam making, cake baking (and eating) and general enjoyment of the autumnal changes. Also, our wood arrived, and sitting down in the evenings with your knitting and a fire is one of the delights of living.