Baby gifts for a baby shower

A baby cupcake hat (with a cherry on the top) ... look carefully!!!!

Welcome to the world little Kaedence (!) I hope these will keep you warm and toasty!!

How much is a Billion?

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

Makes you think, doesn't it???

Cuteness Overload

OMG, have you ever seen anything so cute???
Knitted as a gift for someone I have never met! Hope she likes it!!


















(The pattern is L'il Tux for Baby by Judy Lamb - from Ravelry)

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye ....

A Zebra for Debra

My sister is c-r-a-z-y for zebras and asked if I would knit her a toy one. I duly obliged, even though it looks more like a warthog (according to DD) or a rat (according to DH)! And of course, I had to add some zebra striped sox too!

My fav avatar

Everybody loves a pinwheel! 'Specially cats!

Mmmm, mommy knitted me a blankie ...

Ooooh, nice !

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you!!

Likes my new blankie

Wot??!! Not MY blankie ....!!??

Hmpf, never liked it anyway!!

Christmas was a busy time ... knittingwise

I love love love Alan Dart patterns - they are so clearly written and exact to every stitch ... if you ever get a chance - try one, you won't regret it!

I got so carried away knitting Christmas ornaments (some Alan's and some my own design) that there were too many to hang on my puny little tree, so they just congregated on the table .... next year I will make them into a wreath for the front door.




(In case you can't recognise them, they are ... cupcake, stocking, apple, gingerbread heart, candle, mouse, polar bear, Father Christmas, hat, candy cane, angel, elf, snowman, Father Christmas hat, mittens, bell, wreath, cracker)

So, what did I knit this time??

My dh is no longer shocked when he asks me "What are you knitting, dear?" He is used to getting weird answers, like "A penis purse" or "A yak". So this time, when he asked THE question, he barely raised an eyebrow when I answered "A prawn". Yup, a prawn ... well, sushi with a prawn on top, actually!! For dd who is obsessed with all things Japanese at the moment, especially sushi. So, for Christmas I got her all the doodads that one needs to make one's own sushi and packed them into ..... a knitted sushi bag!!



Her response on opening the present was fantastic ... She looked at it blankly, looked at me .... looked back at the gift ... and as it dawned on her what it was, started yelling ... oh my god, oh my god, OH my god, oh MY god, oh oh oh oh my god! It was hysterical to watch and soooo worth the effort of knitting it!



So, this is what we ate for starters on Christmas day ....

The 3 Stooges and Mini Me's

The title says it all!!

Me with my two closest friends in Abu Dhabi ....

And our Mini Me's

Gifts from Canada

Anne (in Canada) and I did a pesonal swap and these are the lovely goodies she sent to me ....

The yarn has already been rewound and is being converted into knee-high socks as I write ....






...and I officially declare myself "The World's Best Worst Photographer!"
I SUCK!!

Cold Turkey!

Words to live by ...

I have had this for a-g-e-s, suddenly today, I had an urge to post it ... don't know why ... maybe somebody, somewhere needs to hear these words .......

Ready or not, some day, it will come to an end.
There will be no more surprises: no more minutes, hours or days.
All things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass on to some else.
Your wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owed or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, will your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists.
The wins and losses, that once seemed so important, will fade away.
At the end, it won’t matter where you were born or what side of the tracks you lived.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So, what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built…
Not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people knew you, but how many people will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter are not your memories, but the memories that live on in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstances but of choice.
Are you choosing a life that matters?

I looove my sister ....*

*says lulu through gritted teeth!!

The idea of knitting a little something for my sister for
her upcoming 50th birthday, led to this ...















Which led to THIS !!!!















Which FINALLY led to this ...















Being modelled on dd who is a size 8 ...
Sis is .... um .... NOT a size 8!!















Ahhhh .... sisterly love!! I haz it!!

The Birth ...

The Woman said "I don't know if I am ready for this, I don't know how to".

Some women agreed that it would be very difficult and painful, almost impossible. Others disagreed and said "Take our advice, it will be so easy you will want to make many".

The Husband told her "Just remember, I can't help, you are on your own".

She read many books to get courage, she felt sick – but knew this would pass. She had had so many miscarriages and abortions in the past, would it be ok this time?

Finally it was time, she closed her eyes and knew there was no turning back. She began to panic, her husband reminded her to breathe deeply and concentrate. She laboured for many hours, people stopped by and asked how it was going, but nobody could do it for her.

Finally when the last cord was cut, she leaned back and said "I have done it".

She proudly displayed her creation. Friends and family crowded around to see the new addition – Most agreed that it was an ugly, misshapen thing that only the Woman could love. She told them that even deformed and unattractive things have their place and this one would always be special because it was her first.

With time, the pain and uncertainty subsided and the Woman began to think about making another one, one which she hoped would look exactly like her first …. …. And so, a sock was born! http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u274/uysbase/?action=view&current=1174214436.pbw

I LOVE Opal sock yarn

I love that the yarn does all the hard work for me ... making it look like I am a "fairisle" wizard. I love that non-knitters think I changed colours every stitch, and sometimes halfway through a stitch!! Suckers!!!

PS : I swear I did not TRY to make the stripes exactly the same ... it just happened that way!

LOVE

LOVE

LOVE!!

I've decided to start exercising ......

Happy Halloween!

More neck socks ....

Version II : Using thin mohair type wool - more for show than actual warmth, but pretty nonetheless















Version III : Made with some kind of thick fun fur wool - it turned out to be very warm and very very very soft

I thought I was sooooo clever ....

I got an SOS from my sister who lives in South Africa ... she was freezing in their "Arctic" winter .... well, it does get pretty cold in Cape Town.

She wanted a scarf, but I went off on a creative spree and designed a round scarf ... which can also be worn as a headscarf when she is outside in the cold and pulled down around her neck when she gets inside!

I AM BRILLIANT!! Or so I thought!

Once I had figured out (read : guessed!) how many stitches and how many rows .... I looked up "cowl" and "neck sock" and "snood" (who the hell made up THAT word?) on some knitting sites and found that many brillianter knitters had beaten me to it! Oh well, I think it turned out pretty well, and my sister loved it! So much so, that I am knitting her a few more variations ...

Precious and the Yak

Precious still loves her yakkie ...

Chemo caps

My stepmother is battling cancer and chemo has claimed her crowning glory (her hair). She has been remarkably positive, using this as her opportunity to break out of her normally dignified and staid pose. She wanted to make her hairlessness an upbeat time to be offbeat!

Of course, needles were immediately whizzing on this side of the world, and these are the results (modelled by DD)

















And now I am going to cross-stitch her a little motivational sampler ....

...

NSFW (not safe for work)

...

NSFK (not safe for kiddies)

...

IFNSAA (in fact, not safe at all!)

...

The most useful thing I have ever knitted ....

A while ago I won a couple of skeins of home-dyed yarn from Qessentia (http://qessentiak.blogspot.com).




She comes from my home country (South Africa) and included wooden carvings of some of the wild animals that roam the streets of Johannesburg.
(No, they don't really roam the streets, but some people still believe they DO!)



The yarn was so beautiful, I decided that it had to make something very special that I would keep forever. Not a hat or a bag or anything as mundane as that ....

I searched the whole world wide web and finally decided on ... A bolster cushion!! I have never knitted one, or had one, or actually even seen one before, but got to work creating one.

Easy really..... knit a rectangle, sew to make a tube, get husband to roll section of foam from baby matress into stiff sausage (!), stuff ... the tube, tie ends.

Don't you think it looks like a giant sweet? That just makes me love it all the more!!

I can use it behind my lower back, shoulders, neck, head and even prop up my tired ankles. OH!!! I am so in love with it!!





Have a go, you won't be sorry!
And thanks again to Qessentia for dyeing such beautiful yarn - and sending it to me!! Jy is 'n ster!

My next knitting project ....

Each one, teach one

In the spirit of passing on my knitting addiction, I taught DD the basics ... and this is what she created :








Methinks the student will soon become the master ....

I KNITTED A YAK!!

Well, no ... not a real yak ... let me 'splain .......

Firstly, it would be worth your while to note that I am um ... er ... rather rotund (read "really fat") with broad shoulders and an even broader butt.

Anyhoo, a family member (who does actually LIKE me!) sent me some yarn and a pattern to knit for myself ...


The yarn is very soft and huggable, BUT it is that hairy, fun fur and is a bright blue just to make matters worse!

After the coughing/laughing/snorting fit, I showed DD who declared "Mom, you would look like a YETI or a YAK in that thing!" - Hence the blog title!

I felt obliged to knit the yarn up, but opted for a throw/afghan, which Precious the Cat immediately decided was her long-lost mamma cat, snuggled into it and claimed it for herself! At least SHE doesn't look like a yak in it!

And so it continues .....

I can hear you all now ... saying ... "OMG, just what is that Lulu knitting NOW???"







Any guesses???








Well, here are the other constituent parts ...














Aw, a teddy for my other friend "J" - couldn't give "K" the *purse* without giving "J" something too .... She wanted a Mr Bean Teddybear. I thought there would be hundreds, nay ... thousands, of patterns to choose from .... WRONG!! N-O-N-E !! So I designed one from pictures I found on the internet. DH offered to stuff it with foam - no such thing as toy stuffing available here! It grew and grew and grew as DH got more and more enthusiastic with his stuffing (*ahem*). Finally it was the size of a five-year old child. So I had to begin again with a smaller version, which I stuffed with the insides of a pillow that I inherited from the Dubai mega pillow fight (but, that's quite another story!!)





A bit more realistic, I think ...