Thursday, February 19, 2009

Knitted things for new babes

With lots of little ones popping up here and there there has been a lot of small sized knitting going on. Best part is that again Gabriel is doing his part as well. He has really been the baby hat pro. The pink and purple hats went to my cousin's twins. Gabriel made one and I made the other. This is a super cute pattern and I can hardly think of a pattern where the yarn that they suggest for it couldn't be more appropriate and really added to the final product. The rugged nubbiness of this yarn is so cute and it comes in great soft colors for baby stuff.

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Pattern: Children's Cotton Hats
Source: Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton
Colorways: Foxglove 408 (pink), Phlox (405) purple
Needles: US 7 dpns


This blanket is for a very special little bean due at the beginning of April. Honestly this will be the first baby of a close peer of mine. Gabriel and I lived with Mimi and Jon in the year before we got married and it was Mimi and Jon's first year of marriage. So, for a very special baby, a warm and snuggley blanket to be wrapped up in. The little hat was improvised by Gabriel so I won't put any of the stats on it.

I totally loved this yarn fyi. It is super soft and spongy. You could just squish it in your hands for ever. Plus it is 100% merino and machine washable (dry flat). I also did a modification that many on Ravelry had done of a garter stitch eyelet border. The border alone took an entire ball of yarn!
Pinwheel blanket for Swinger babe
Pinwheel blanket detail
Pattern: Pinwheel Blanket
Source: Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran
Colorways: Natural (201), Moss (210)
Needles: size 8 dpns to start and then increasing sizes of size 8 circulars


Gabriel's hat for Swinger babe

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Christmas 2008 From Coast to Coast

Catching up on a little more Christmas! As usual our Christmas time is spent whirlwinding around between Gabriel's family in Western North Carolina and zooming out to my family and our friends out in California. Here is a little smattering of the fun that was had between December 21st and New Years.


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First family photos now that all the Cade children are all married off. This was taken in front of the wonderful 200 year old barn on my sister in-law Emily's house. Note the Inga hat on Alex's big head! The hat that was soooo huge on everyone else I tried it on is actually almost too small on him.

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Out in California my aunt Sherry hosted a McDowell dinner Christmas Eve at the Pacific Union Club (swanky!). Fun to get dolled up but next time I think I have to insist that my 14 year old sister, Addie is not allowed to wear heals!


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Ah, Christmas! The reindeer and Santa are ceramic and have been in my dad's family for decades. They were made pre Rudolph.


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This was a wonderful day after Christmas that we went hiking down in Big Sur with my mom and Bruce. Chilly but beautiful.


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My grandma Ruth and I. I made the scarf for her for Christmas. Traditional feather and fan pattern.


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Our friends Nick and Analisa included us in their joint family Christmas party which was really fun. This is Nick dressing up his mom's famous brownies.
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Nick's dad, brother and Analisa's brother jammin.
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Analisa and her sibblings in the kitchen.


Bellow are all photos taken at my dad and Carolyn's awesome second home in Grass Valley, CA. It is modeled after a Victorian Fire House. No joke! The sleeping area is just one huge room upstairs with 4 queen sized beds and one twin all swathed in Carolyn's quilts and a huge game table in the middle.
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Playing games.
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No, we don't like Settlers of Catan or anything, why do you ask?

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Anne tucked up with Ginger working on her Phd.
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My sweet sister and sweet husband tucked up together. I feel like a proud mom catching her kids behaving like best friends. It is one of the things you always hope will be the case that your sibblings and partner love each other.

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Mass self-education of needle felting. Our wonderful artist friend Lee declined but she sure got a kick out of sketching the frenzy.
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Fierce competition of Boggle.

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I don't even know what to say. This is Gabriel messing with our felting fleece.
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The obligatory bonfire.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Homemade gifts

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I had a lot of fun this Christmas adding and growing with the homemade gifts that were given by us. You already saw the wonderful Turn A Square hats that were made and other knits. Here are some of the other fun things. Dried apple chips and bananas, hot and sweet mustard, blackberry jam from the summer and yummy chai tea. I was pleased with the way the packaging worked out with the tea. I had found these great tins 1/2 off and then painted them white for labels. I had Gabriel do the writing because I don't like my handwritting and he insisted on doing them all with different labels which actually worked out to be really fun. Oh, and I do love packaging in brown lunch bags!