caro-rose-creations

Panic Stations

My daughter-in-law started having contractions this morning and it looked as if they new baby was going to arrive early.  Four weeks early in fact.  But after a couple of hours they stopped and baby has dropped and looks to be position so we are all rushing around making sure everything is in place just in case. 

I was tidying up the old toys so that my grand daughter can play with them when she comes to stay.  On the teddy's I found a whole lot of old clothes from my children's childhood.  (They were passed on to the teddies because the kids grew out of them, as you do.)  Two little embroidered tops that were stitched by my mother -in-law.

And a cardigan I knitted for my first child.  We lived in the tropics so I knitted it in cotton.

They are all washed and ironed ready for the new baby.  I am also busy making new curtains for the nursery.  You watch the baby will change it's mind and not come for another month.

The cutest buttons

I found the cutest buttons for the cardigan I have knitted for the new baby.  I think I am finished with cardigans, now it's time for booties and hats.  Only about 6 weeks to go now.

Newby Knitting

When I have down time, like watching the news on TV, I knit for the new baby due in May this year.

I found an old book, with no cover, of knitting patterns from the 1950's in an op shop.  It had 3ply patterns for baby clothes and as I had a whole heap of white 3ply yarn in my stash I sit and knit these at this time. 

White is good because we are not being told the gender of the baby.  I am not going to sew any buttons on until I know, then I will customise these cardigans. I have another two to complete so this baby will not be cold and I have used a synthetic yarn so they can be put in the washing machine.  Still, they may stretch but babies grow so that isn't a problem.

 

 

Knitting

I know it is still summer but it takes at least 4 weeks for me to knit a man's sweater.  I want to knit my husband an Aran cabled sweater.  I have knitted a babies cardigan and a hat in cables but this would be my first whole adult garment.  After looking at retailors in Ireland I am starting to wonder if it wouldn't be less hassle just to buy a sweater.  Then again it wouldn't have been made by me.

I love this video about the history of how Aran sweaters are made.

 

 

Gone before I could iron it.

I knitted this little cardigan for my Grand daughter, finished it a while ago, before I broke my leg.  Somehow or other in all that was going on I overlooked it.  So I blocked in but it has been raining here, for weeks.  Nothing drys.  I even became quite worried that it would turn to mould.  My daugther-in-law saw it come of the block and it was gone.  Didn't even have time to iron it.  What a nice feeling to know it was so wanted.

The pattern is from Kids Tricots and is called Baby Liliha.  I thought the bottom edge was crocheted but it is knitted.  I used a cotton thread  and changed that pattern lightly by eliminating the button holes and jut having one button with a loop at the top of the front band.

This company is French and have some patterns in English, they do knit up well.

 

Oh Bliss

Bliss on a number of levels.

I was able to sleep until 7.30am.

I can now stand in the bath to shower, with one leg over the side.

I can get around the house on my crutches.

I finished knitting the shawl for the baby it just has to be blocked.

 

And this (Russian) crow thinks thinks snowboarding is bliss.

 

Time to start looking for the next knitting project.

Moths

I have been finishing off some knitting that I started a year ago.  I had knitted a shawl for my Godson's new baby only to find that his great-grandmother had knitted the same shawl.  He didn't need two the same and the other shawl was far more significant, so mine went into the cupboard.  I only had to finish the lace edge  around the outside and as I am stuck in one place decided to complete it.

I had knitted the shawl in pure wool and I finished it yesterday, got my husband to wash it for blocking and found that the moths had been into it.  Great big holes.  One shawl binned.

Not to be discouraged I have dug out some more yarn.  This time it is 3ply acrylic and nylon, moths aren't into synthetic fibres and it will withstand the washing machine.  This one is for my new grand-baby due next May.

Cushions & Cosies

There seems to be a lot of copies of this 1930's pattern book around which says that lots of women must have bought it back then.  It turns up on Ebay, Estsy, etc, in Museums and now I have a copy.

Poppalina has a copy of the Koala Cosie on her blog.  My Mardi Gras offers the cosy in Daffodil Stitch and I have a copy of Crocheted Vandyke cosy. 

It still has charm.

 

the Fine Arts at the Ekka

The thing that everyone lines up to see (including the men) is the cake decorating.  They always stand 3 deep around the cases and the lines snake slowly through, accompanied by oohs and ahhs.  As usual there were lots of entries all of a high standard.  I wondered why they had put flowers in the show case then I realised that it was made out of icing and to top it off it only came 2nd in its class.

I loved Cinderellas coach both front,

and back views.  Again a 2nd place.

Here's a 1st place getter.

Some of the icing flowers took your breath away, even the doily was iced.

Then there was the baking.

and the jams and preserves.

Then onto the textiles.  Everything here was very traditional, well most of the judges are from the country.  There was some outstanding spinning,

Weaving and

and lace making.

Alana from the guild scooped the pool with her beautiful Hardanger work,

and I think that I liked the smocking the best of the hand crafts.

 

It took 3 hours to look at all these exhibits and by this time I was ready for afternoon tea.

A new book

My friend Angela brought me back a new knitting book from Iceland.

Because I have been so busy I didn't really look at it in detail but now that I have I see it is wonderful.  I intend to knit this for Monique for winter next year, the weather is showing signs of heating up so it is too late now.

Those monkeys are so cute and the little hat that goes with it will just set it off.

You know I looked at the graph pattern and realised that I can read that.  I couldn't have said that at the beginning of the year.