New Year's Evolution

Like many people, I can't resist making New Year resolutions. This year, like most years, I am trying to make positive and small changes. My overall goals for the year are two fold: do more exercise, and simplify our lives where possible.

Rather than throw myself into a New Year routine of running, swimming and working out - which is likely to lapse well before Easter, this year I am trying a different route. I am trying to build things up, to evolve our routines and patterns slowly - making more time and space for physical activity. Some of the opportunities will - I hope - be about us as a family, and some will be just about me. If it works, then by the end of the year things should look and feel a bit different. I'd like to be a lot fitter, if nothing else.

So far, we've resurrected our habit of going for a family swim at the weekend. Swim is a loose description of what we do, but that's not really the point when you've got two preschoolers! In addition, I've dropped my pilates class in favour of something a bit more aerobic - my core muscles may be strong, but my fitness level is pretty low - and that's my priority at the moment. So, I'll be swimming instead...

In other news, I have finally abandoned the lovely, but (for me anyway) completely unknittable Betty from Rowan Winter Kids. I love the look of this jumper, which I was trying to make for a friends daughter - but I have failed at every turn. Although this is a lace pattern, there are no charts, only a written description of the 4 or 12 row patterns involved. I can follow those okay - but get into bother when it comes to accommodating either increases or decreases and find myself and the correct pattern parting company making a unholey mess rather than a lovely lace fabric. I have cast on cuffs, sleeves and back in an attempt to get this going. To no avail - I think I have ripped back about 6 times now. Grrr.

FO: Grace

At last, Grace is finished and ready to parcel up and send on to the small girl I've been thinking of as I made this. It's not perfect, but it's not bad either, and as usual for Rowan patterns, has turned out to be rather a generous size (I made the 3-4 size). The bean tried it on for me the other day, and it was plenty big enough for him (aged 4 1/2), so it will do for Bella (3 and a bit) for next year and beyond.

Pattern: Grace (Rowan Winter Kids)

Yarn: unravelled and reknitted from a charity shop jumper (commercially made garment)

Mods: None

Time taken: CO in February 2011. Finished July 2011.

It has taken me ages to finish. There was all the shenanigans with the yarn and then getting the button bands all wrong, and reknitting the collar several times over. In the end I did it as written, but stitched it down in order to cure the curling once and for all.  While I like the pattern, I am not wild about the pleat detail, and found the collar rather badly behaved. I should also report here that after all that angst about running out of yarn, I had barely a yard or two of yarn left once I had done all the seaming and finishing. The good thing about that is the total obliteration of that particular yarn from the stash!

As if this wasn't exciting enough, I've been having fun with the latest husband socks (sock 1 now at the toe). However, because husband socks are not the best thing to experiment with, I accidentally cast on another pair of socks (how did that happen?). Watch this space - tutorial/recipe for seriously stripey socks coming soon. 

WIPs

The WIPs are getting a bit out of hand.

1. Grace is still OTN, but progress has been made. I've redone the button bands - with the correct number of buttonholes this time - and I've knitted the collar again but have a little modification in mind to make it look even better. Then there's the small matter of sewing it up...

2. The Java socks are not done. I'm just about ready to do the toe decreases on the first sock - but I need to check the length with DH's foot, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I dont have enough yarn to make two - which is a major drawback in a sock project.

3. My fingers were itching the other evening, so I cast on for a Betty (Rowan Winter Kids)in a lovely raspberry pink colour very similar to this (although it a substitute yarn) ...

4. The scarf is bimbling along. I am not expecting to finish this soon - it's my fall back project, something to grab when there's a chance of knitting a few rows here or there. The colours are gorgeous...

5. And then there's the sewing. We've been having a few nappy issues lately, and it's getting harder to wrangle the jelly bean (now almost 21 months) into her nappies because she's getting bigger, and they aren't, and there's been a lot of leaking and changing of clothes going on (particularly at nursery). For the most part we use Totsbot bamboozles - a shaped nappy made from bamboo terry, and we also have a couple of the Ella's house hemp nappy. The hemp nappies have a longer rise and fit better than the bamboozles now that the jelly bean is bigger. We love our cloth nappies, and have used them very happily for both of our babies. Given that we are hoping not to need them for too much longer, I have been experimenting. I have made a nappy!!

It makes me very happy. I'm not an accomplished seamstress (I find using a sewing machine awkward, no doubt because it is not designed for a left-hander) so I feel very pleased to have done this. Of course, things may yet unravel when we try it out for real, but so far so good. I used the hemp nappy as a template and constructed the new nappy from a single bamboo terry square and two layers of cotton flannel cut from a crib sheet/head cloth. I elasticated the waist/leg openings with regular elastic from my sewing box, and I'm now waiting for some aplix to arrive so that I can finish it off and try it out! While I had the machine out the other evening, I also got started on the pile of wipes and dribble bibs that I cut out a few weeks ago, and I ironed some patchwork pieces ready for stitching. It's satisfying to get things done...