We Interrupt This Hiatus

to inform you all that i have not fallen off the face of the earth.

I have, however, been a little busy with this delightful new friend:

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Meet my new nephew. This picture is nine months old, so I’m a little behind, but I can assure he’s an absolute delight.

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I love him madly, and his personality is starting to peek through in between feedings! He loves the book my roommate bought for him (“Each Peach Pear Plum” by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, a wonderful little rhyming fairytale story) and we read it together every time I visit. Right now we are crawling everywhere like a speed demon and paying lots of attention to the construction happening next door.

So of course I am also knitting ALL THE THINGS for my little guy.

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This wonderful blanket is the Baby Chalice Blanket [rav link], knit with a skein and a half of Madtosh tosh dk in Mineral. This is a superwash yarn, so it can be laundered as needed, but it’s incredibly soft to the touch and looks beautiful knit up. I used just shy of two skeins for this blanket, so about 400 yards, and it came out the perfect size to wrap up a newborn or tuck into a stroller. If you’re looking for something a step up from acrylic to knit for a little one, I highly recommend Madtosh! According to my sister the blanket has held up very well.

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For Christmas I knit Nephew a Baby Sophisticate [rav link] in some leftover Filatura Lanarota from last year’s Rhinebeck sweater. Buttons are from Knitpicks and came from my stash. He only got a few wears out of this but that’s ok, because look at how cute he is:

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I will probably whip out another one of these for him this fall, appropriately sized and knit in superwash to counter that alarming tendency of babies to generate… messes. Of all sorts.

(that’s his Your Camera Is Highly Offensive To Me Face, btw. He wears it a lot with me.)

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I also knit a shawl/blanket for Nephew’s christening.

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I recreated this from an old family heirloom that’s unfortunately out of our hands now, but I think he likes his new one, don’t you? It deserves a post of its own, so once I get the pattern written up and tested you’ll see some more of this.

My next Big Idea is a cardigan with a hood and ears, so that Nephew can be Max for Halloween. I think there will be lots of literary/knitting crossovers in my future. I can’t wait.