The Afternoon Knows - A Knitting Pattern

The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected. 

― Robert Frost

Sometimes I dream of having the insight of my older self.  Hopefully it would mean that the worries of today would be so much less worrisome. 

One thing I LOVE about designing knitwear is that when I have a vision for the perfect sweater, I can go with that inspiration and come up with something exactly like I want it.  

I love this one!  I've called it: The Afternoon Knows, and it's another old man sweater to match Grow Old With Me. The double thick collar and the oversized fit make it comfy and cozy, while the worsted weight yarn it's knit with make it a quick and enjoyable knit. 

You have got to go over to Ravelry and check out all the projects of other knitters, because they are so beautiful:

Seriously, knit this one right now! You will love it. To purchase the pattern, all you have to do is click >>>>>>>>>>>> 

Circe - A Knitting Pattern

So, I saw this neon yarn from madelinetosh and couldn't really say no...  Then I had to figure out what to knit with it.  Thus, Circe was born!  Circe was the Greek goddess of magic, and I have no idea why this little number makes me think of magic, but it does. I love it. It's one of the few things that I have made that I am sad to not have a girl of my own to put it on. In fact, I haven't brought myself to give it away yet, as I do so many other girl knits.

 

The color choices are limitless, as you will see by the other projects knit: 

And, with the pattern going from premie to size 12 years, the number of people you can knit this for is endless as well.  So, do it. Buy it. Now. 

Anticipation - A Knitting Pattern

Here's another child's sweater pattern for you.  I knit this one up while I was pregnant with Machen, and I love it.  

Anticipation, a simple, versatile v-neck pullover with two options: rolled or ribbed hems. It is knit entirely in the round from the top down. The sleeves and v-neck are picked up and knit in the round as well.

It's sized for children newborn to 12 years, which makes it perfect for everyone.  You can head on over to Ravelry to see all the details and the projects from other knitters: 

Of course, if you just can't stop yourself, feel free to just buy it now:  

Hawthorne - A Knitting Pattern

Here's a pattern that has been out for quite a while, but I have never posted it here on the ol' blog. I named this one Hawthorne, which was Atticus's name until he was 6 weeks old and we decided we liked Atticus better. Hawthorne is really the most perfect beginner project, as it is knit in garter stitch and there is no shaping or seaming. It couldn't get much simpler than that. It would also be perfect as a last minute baby gift, as it knits up extremely quickly.  You can make it with just three buttons as the top, as I have done, or put them all the way down the off-centered front.

This pattern can be yours!  Just click:  and you will be on your way to knitting a Hawthorne of your own!

You can check out other knitter's projects here: 

And so it begins!

Today I'm sitting and knitting. But, not in the comforts of my home, cozy on a couch. I'm sitting at a cafeteria table in a noisy ski lodge. I'm entertaining Atticus by sending him to and from the garbage can with tiny pieces of paper over and over again. He is entertaining everyone between the garbage can and our table by his cute waddle, only mastered in a full ski suit with winter boots on.

Getting out of the home with four kids, plus all their ski gear, made me promise to sell all the equipment as soon as possible and buy an XBox, but once here, on the snow covered mountain, I understand why my parents did it year after year, and know I will do the same. Eli and C are both, after only a few hours on the bunny hill, cruising with their cousins like they've been doing it all their lives. Si is out with his dad, proud as punch to have mastered the pizza and the French fries.  Even Atticus strapped on a pair of skis for a jaunt down the hill.

So, despite the craziness of getting us all put together enough to be here in the first place, and the sacrifice of sitting in the lodge rather than "shredding" the hill myself,  I'm glad we're all here, and can't wait for a few years down the road (or maybe a little more than a few) when the whole Wiebe clan can be out there on the hill together.

Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, a day to remember all those who have fought for the freedom of those who can't protect themselves.

This past week we have been studying the subject, and the boys have worked at memorizing "In Flanders Feilds."  Silas is pretty sweet, isn't he?

While I didn't want to dwell on the horrors of war, I did want to be honest about what it was like for the men and women that we are remembering.  The boys decided that they wanted to do a poster to show what they learned.

Here's Eli's.  He cut out everything so carefully and thoughtfully.  He also copied the entire poem on a separate piece of paper to put with it.  He is so wonderful.

And, here's Silas's.  I have to tell you, it is very interesting to me to homeschool two different children of two different ages.  As we started off making the posters, I kind of wanted both of the boys' posters to look like Eli's did.  But then Silas started cutting and pasting, and he knew exactly what he was doing, and he was just so cute. Then, when he cut out the big blob in the middle of the page, I was about to put a stop to it, thinking he was about to ruin the whole thing, and he said, "No, Mommy, it's the poison gas!"  That boy amazes me.  We'd talked about some of the awful things that the soldiers endured, and poison gas was one of those things.  Sometimes I think Silas isn't catching a word, but he got that.  I love him.

Anyway, I just wanted to say, that I am extremely grateful to the people who have fought for freedom, and for their mothers who are left behind.  Bless them all.

Halloween 2013

If there were a holiday I could do without, it would definitely be Halloween.  I'm a total party pooper, but seriously?  I just don't like it.  Which is why, when Eli planned on being a mummy for an entire month, I broke it to him three days before the big day that he had to pick a costume from the dress up box.  And when Silas wanted to be a vampire bat more than anything, I convinced him he actually wanted to be a knight, which he may or may not have been the last two years.  I did get a little creative when Eli came up with a "Coon skin hat" and a musket, and made him a Davey Crockett shirt (out of a tunic and a old curtain I bought at Value Village).  He doesn't know who Davey Crockett was, and neither did anyone who saw his costume, but he felt cool all tasseled up.  And hey, they got to eat ton of candy, and the Halloween fairy and "Dr Evans" took care of whatever was left after Halloween night, so they were happy in the end.

Here they are in all their costume box glory!

Of course, on Halloween night they needed costumes they could wear their snow suits under, so here they were in their revised costumes then:

And this one, because Aaron is amazingly creative, and everyone needs a little Aang in their lives: