Trish Knits.com

Category: Kids

  • Knit Valentine and a Birthday

    Yay! I figured it out!

    red knit heart on card
    red knit heart on card

    Actually, I feel pretty stupid. Elizabeth Zimmermann is always right, and I should just trust her, that even though her patterns aren’t always the most specific, hand-holding things in the world, I should just trust that they’re right.

    It’s all about the short rows. Most of the time, a pattern will specifically say when you are short rowing and turning before the end of the row, and then they specifically say when you will begin picking the unknit stitches back up and knitting them again. This pattern didn’t specifically include those little notes, so it was hard for me to figure out where in the directions to begin picking the unknit stitches back up again. Ok, the pattern didn’t specifically point it out, but if I had just had faith and followed along just as written without second-guessing, then I would be doing it anyway. It all worked beautifully of course. It was Elizabeth Zimmermann, after all.

    To see the pattern, it’s on page 155 of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop. I’m definitely going to make a bunch of smaller hearts starting tomorrow.

    Birthday Boy

    Today is Steven’s 7th birthday! I am so proud of my little boy, who is growing up so fast. His big party is still a week or so away, but my mom and Tony came for dinner tonight and brought an ice cream cake. Here are a few photos from the evening:

    Getting ready to blow out candles
    Getting ready to blow out candles
    Blowing out candles
    Blowing out candles
    Steven and Nonna cut the cake
    Steven and Nonna cut the cake
    Steven, with sister being goofy
    Steven, with sister being goofy
    Diana
    Diana
    Nonno
    Nonno
    Daddy
    Daddy

    Happy Birthday, Steven! I am so proud of you.

    Love,
    Mommy.

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  • If You Squint a Little…

    It kinda looks like a heart, sorta, maybe??

    knitted heart on a greeting card
    knitted heart on a greeting card

    I got the idea from looking at a short video on Vickie Howell’s blog, but mine doesn’t look as “heart-y” as hers. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, right? I have a good friend who has been trying to reconnect by writing letters, and while I’m thrilled to receive them, I don’t really write letters anymore. Not since the advent of e-mail! So you know it’s a special friend. I hope she likes it!

    We’re hoping for snow tomorrow. We haven’t had a good snow around here for a couple of years now. I like snow when it’s enough to cancel school around here, because then I get to stay home with the kids and knit and sip hot chocolate all day. Oh, that sounds divine! The kids went to bed with their jammies on inside out, for luck. Let’s hope it works!

    Ciao for now.

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  • A Merry Knitmas Day

    Well! What a day here at our house. I barely slept last night for I don’t know what reason, so when the alarm went off this morning at 6:00 a.m., I was wishing to put Christmas off another day. But of course, the kids would have none of that!

    Two happy kiddos on Christmas morning
    Two happy kiddos on Christmas morning
    Kid playing Nintendo DS
    Kid playing Nintendo DS

    Steven got a new Thomas the Tank Engine play set and four lego sets. Diana’s favorite gift was a Nintendo DS, with which she immediately adopted an adorable virtual shiba inu puppy, which, thankfully, no one has to clean up after. It was an unusually quiet day at home. Usually we’re busy visiting relatives and such, but this year it was just my mom, her husband and us, so they came here for dinner. It was quiet for sure, but nice to be home for a change.

    I had a very knitterly Christmas. It started yesterday when I got this in the mail:

    girl knitting ornament
    girl knitting ornament

    It’s the City Girl Knitter Ornament from Anthropologie. I bought it about three days ago for half price, but I see that as of today they are reduced to $6.00, so GO GET YOURS NOW! I can definitely attest to its total cuteness.

    Then today I was the lucky recipient of this:

    Rio Bag, eggplant color
    Rio Bag, eggplant color

    It’s the Rio bag by Jordana Paige. It’s purple (of course!) and I love it. It is very roomy and well made, and looks like it will stand up to the workout I’m likely to give it.

    Here it is, all filled up with my junk:

    inside of Rio bag
    inside of Rio bag

    I have two small knitting projects in there, my handy-dandy notebook, my humongous wallet, knitting doo-dads, my checkbook, and other stuff. The really cool thing is that someone gave me a pen a few years ago that looks like it was made to go with this bag. It has a purple leather-look barrel and matches to a tee.

    I also received Stephanie Pearl McPhee’s Never Not Knitting! Page-A-Day Calendar 2009 from my kids.

    Perhaps the most amazing thing I received today was this:

    necklace and pin
    necklace and pin

    My inlaws went on the trip of a lifetime to Europe this fall, and made a quick stop to Burano, Italy. Boy am I glad they did, because they happened into the shop of a local artisan who makes the most amazing jewelery with Murano glass and felted beads! The shop has a website:

    http://www.allafieradellest.com/

    But it’s in Italian so I couldn’t really tell if you can order online or not. My inlaws said the lady told them she learned how to make the felted beads by looking at the internet! My father-in-law snapped a photo of the artist who made the necklace and pin set:

    Jewelry Artist from Burano, Italy
    Jewelry Artist from Burano, Italy

    I don’t know her name, but she makes beautiful things, and I am surely happy to be able to wear her work.

    It was a great day, but a long one. I think I’m going to go to bed early tonight because we’re having lunch with my brother and his wife tomorrow. I hope everyone had a Merry Day!

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