making stitches

Life has been quite draining of late, so I've been taking a bit of a break from the computer.
There has been hospital for my husband, now minus a gall bladder via keyhole surgery (amazing what they can achieve with just a few little holes and stitches here and there).
There has been a head cold and cough working its way though the household too.
There has been a young boy desperately seeking attention amongst all the health issues, unable to really understand why dad is at home but not playing games with him.
We have employed various tactics to deal with that, with varying degrees of success. 
There have been tantrums.
There have been calm moments.

It has been oh. so. draining.
There have been bright moments in there- happy play, outings with friends, things in the mail, and the best Easter egg treasure hunt that I've ever been involved in (picture clues leading C around the house and garden).
But at the end of each day I've been spending time away from the internet, with my feet up, doing some very simple, soothing knitting.
Soft red alpaca yarn, simple garter stitch knitting.
It's very nearly finished now and I'm looking forward to casting on a new project- perhaps tomorrow night.

Lacy Pink Bits

This cardigan was an absolute pleasure to knit. The pattern is simple, the lace work enough to keep me interested without having to keep track of a chart, and the yarn, the yarn- totally and utterly divine to knit with. Confirmation of the theory that you should knit with good yarn. So soft and comforting to work with, and I know it will be wonderfully warm for A to wear as it gets colder in the coming months.
It wasn't a garment without issues though. I totally stuffed up the buttonhole placement, and there is a spot on one of the bands where I didn't keep it in garter stitch. And then, as I was nearing the length I was after and had to start a second skein, I discovered the second skein didn't match the first, unbeknownst to me or the wonderful friend who sent the yarn my way. Certainly not problems that couldn't be overcome though. I sewed the buttonholes closed and embroidered new loops, making the dodgy band the concealed band when closed, and to camouflage the change in yarn I switched from the lace stitch back to garter, making a wider garter band at the bottom to get the overall length I was after. If you didn't know I'm sure you wouldn't notice the slightly different yarn. I love the dark chocolate brown buttons I found to finish it off with- pretty but not prissy- and I look forward to A wearing it in the coming months (actually, in my eagerness she wore it this morning but it is a little large at the moment).
More details on Ravelry.

Today I...

 
1) Used my kitchen helper to make play dough. Excellent recipe here (Funnily enough there isn't one on the Kitchen Aid website, but the dough hook did do a great kneading job).
2) Hung out the washing to dry in the fresh autumn sunshine.
3) Spent a lovely afternoon with the kids and Grannie at the Botanical Gardens, enjoying an ice cream from the cafe and a good run around in the Children's Garden.
4) Had confirmation that my husband needs to have his gall bladder removed. In the very near future.
5) Am looking forward to doing a little bit more pink-ish knitting this evening.

My Creative Space...

This week I need to knit.
Just a little bit.
Because it's been a bit of a week.
So to speak.
I can knit OK, if I hold the needle just so and don't try to do too much in one sitting.
And it's an EZ project.
Back to it now.
While the girl child has a (little) daytime sleep.
Make hay while the sun shines, as they say..

ps More creative spaces over at Kirsty's.

pps Yes Mum, I know it's pink. pink-ish. But I actually think it's a really nice pink-ish this yarn. And the colour is called "Turkey", not "Pink". And it's ever so soothingly soft too.

A budding artist

C has been producing some really beautiful paintings lately. I've been offering him watercolours to play and experiment with for a long time now. We bought a small artist's travel set, and he uses them with a variety of brushes and pieces of watercolour and craft paper that I've hung on to since my Uni days.
The paint set used to have a beautiful rainbow of colours, but the rich intense pigments are now blended into a blackish murk when dry, which lightens to greens and blues and browns if he plays with a lighter wash of colour. He still enjoys playing with them though.
I sometimes set him up with the paint set with while I'm having my shower, and lately I've been returning to discover one or two beautiful masterpieces on the table.
He's delighted that they've been put into frames and to adorn our walls. Must pick up some more frames next time we're at Ikea. And find some more wall space.


Perhaps one day he will also get to read How to steal like an artist (and 9 other things nobody told me), some great food for thought for budding artists and creative souls.