Grandparent's Privilege

Missing Mark

Julie Kramer is a local author who wrote Stalking Susan as her first book which won many awards. Her second book, Missing Mark, came out last week so my daughter, husband and I went to the launch event. Here Gloria and I posed with her while my husband took the picture. Both books are excellent! The party was fun-bottled water, wine and cookies were available with the new book logo. Sorry-I ate the cookie so you can't see how cute they were, but it was good!

Blogger did it again, turning my pictures whichever way it wants!

Babies and Bears Sweater for Adults

This is the sweater I started when I was in Door County. My daughter, Gloria, bought a kit for a similar sweater at Arnhild's Knitting Camp in Ames, Iowa, but decided she would never make it. So, Mom got it. (That's OK-she'll have to clean out my stash when I die!) The Babies and Bears Sweater for Adults is very similar to the pattern in the kit, and one I would rather knit, so I told her that this would be her Christmas present. The problem was, the yarn in the kit has a different gauge. Carol Anderson, the designer, was in Door County, so she gave me a formula for changing gauges which she had gotten from the late Sidna Farley, which I'm using for the sweater. And it seems to be working-I'll post the formula when I get done. Here is Gloria modeling the left half. This is such a fun knit-knit from the sleeve to center, put on holders, knit the right side, graft the backs together and put an edging on.

Our July 4th Weekend

I really slipped, not getting this posted! Our 4th of July was quiet. We had our daughter's dog for the weekend, so that added some activity. My husband does a good job of playing with him so he had some unusual activity all weekend. I sat and knit and watched!

Over the weekend, CUB sponsored a hot dog/brat sale to benefit CEAP, our emergency assistance program. Because I drive for the Meals on Wheels every week and this is an organization we do support, we had brats for lunch. On the way home, we stopped at Culver's for some custard and saw these beautiful flowers blooming. This was one day, I did not have my camera with me-it was charging at home-so we drove back later and had dinner there and took the pictures.

Kindle Cover

I love gadgets! When I saw a Kindle many months ago, I really wanted one, but have spent the time since trying to talk myself out of it. Well, I lost the battle and I'm glad I did! I love it! My husband even added his comment, "it saves trees." Because it is a size I can carry in my purse, I wanted a cover to prevent scratching but not something that added bulk, so I made this cover.

Yarn: Opal Sock Yarn
Needles: US 2
Pattern: Cast on 96 stitches. Work K2, P2 ribbing to a length long enough to cover and some extra to cover the top. Kitchner stitch together.

Treasures from Storage

Today's page on Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Never Not Knitting daily calendar is kind of fitting for this post. "When you depart this Earth for the big yarn shop in the sky, you will leave behind all of the things you knit. Think about that. Generations of your family and friends will hold, use, and show these items, and every single time they do, a small part of who you were and what you did while you were here will rush up and be made real again. You aren't just knitting. You're creating a legacy. It just looks like a hat."

Before the shower for my grand daughter, my son and daughter in law went into their storage and pulled out several of the things I had made for their children. They wrapped them up and gave them to Kristin for her shower. Many of the things I do not remember patterns or yarns, so will mention those I do know and if I think of others or find patterns, I will edit this post to add the information. Sorry, Blogger again rotated several of the pictures. If someone knows how to straighten them out, let me know!

Pattern: Cottage Creation's Toddler's Norski Sweater & Cap.
Yarn: Dale Baby Uhl

Pattern: Cottage Creation's Babies and Bears.





Yarn: Lorna's Lace

Rylea's Shower

The shower for my expected great grand daughter, Rylea, was held last week. What fun!!! My daughter made this "cake" from diapers, washcloths, leggings, and anything else you can imagine.

And, of course, I had been knitting!

This is Arabesque from the pattern book, Baby 'V', by Cabin Fever. The sweater was a fun knit with short row shaping for the neck and a mock cable, easy to remember pattern, if you can count rows!
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn, Dream Baby
Needles: Sizes US 3 and 5

One of my grand daughter's favorite books as a child was Is There An Elephant in the Kitchen? so I had to make Elephante by Susan B. Anderson; besides it was so cute. (Available on her blog, http://SusanBAnderson.blogspot.com.) I dug around in the basement and found the actual book we read to Kristin over and over again. It used to be pink, but it was in the back seat of my car for some time and faded to this funny orange color. She loved it!
Yarn: Ella Rae Baby Cotton. I used only 4 colors rather than the 6 in the pattern.
Needles: Size 4 US

For some reason I felt like knitting bibs and washcloths. The one above is Puddles by Elaine Fitzgerald found on her blog, Down Cloverlaine. http://DownCloverlaine.blogspot.com. The one below is another duck pattern I found somewhere free on the net-sorry, I lost the pattern.The yarn for that one is KnitPicks Cotlin.

The bib below is from Comfort Gifts for family & community by Carol Anderson of Cottage Creations. The yarn is Sugar and Cream.

I've misplaced the pattern for the sheep washcloth, also, but again it was a free pattern from the web.(Sorry, I don't know how to turn the pictures when Blogger rotates them.)

This is Stork from Leisure Arts book, Baby Washcloths to Knit.

This is Baby Feet Cloth by Rhonda K. White available at www.knittinknonsense.com/babyfeet.

The other washcloths and bibs will be posted when the patterns have been published. I've been test knitting patterns for Elaine Fitzpatrick, Down Cloverlaine.