Little Man Knits

I don't find it as easy to find interesting knitting patterns for boys as I do for girls, but these ones make me want to cast on NOW! (Never mind all the other projects on the go!) Of course, these would all be adorable on little girls too, but I think they work especially well for boys.

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Abate

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n e o n

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Colourblock

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Pul Gaspard

I think this would be lovely with a hood too.

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Lots of these designers have published other funky patterns too, so be sure to click through and have a look at their other designs.

I've been interested lately in knitting patterns that have different construction, or finishing details- these look like they fit the bill just nicely!

What are you knitting for little boys?

Little Lady Knits

I've been spending some time on Ravelry lately looking at all the lovely patterns there are for little lasses and lads. We haven't found out what flavour the baby is, so I've (mostly) been making gender neutral knits in gender neutral colours since we found out we were pregnant.

Here are a few of my (current) favourites for little girls.

Louise (free)

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Button Bow Baby (I've actually knit this one!)

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(Petit) Arichaut 

Pattern available in baby and toddler sizes- look for the e-book with both patterns in it.

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Paulette 

(6 months to 10 years sizes)

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Fleur de Baudine

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Wow- looking at these all lined up I can see I have a penchant for dusky purples, and french patterns!

What's on your must knit list for little girls at the moment?

Bebe

Baby will be joining us Earthside in August.
Very excited to finally put to use all of the handknits!

:: Renovations :: The last three photos

I neglected to show these three photos, which are of the final space after we took out that wall between the lounge and dining room.

They also show the final pictures of the kitchen/dining room, with blinds hung and the drum shade up. So we left off here....



And rejoin proceedings here....



With a view into the lounge....



And the lounge itself.




How very satisfying looking back on it all! Now to roll up our sleeves and get on with the next lot!

:: Renovation :: The Laundry ::

Oh laundry, you poor tired YELLOW space. Oh you were so YELLOW and for such a long time.

 

After a little laundry love.

 It's amazing what a little white paint can do!

I was very proud of  myself for plumbing in the new tub. The plumber left the pipes sticking out of the wall and a list of instructions and I got it all hooked up on my own! Yay!

We painted those sliding doors white and I made a blind for in front of the tall cupboard.

On the wall above the sink I put these two pages from old magazines in frames. I found the magazines in the top of one of the wardrobes when we moved in, and thought this laundry advice (Wash Day Helps) was appropriate!

"Modern appliances have taken  much of the grind out of wash-day"

So that was the last room in the house in Auckland that we upgraded. It was such a refreshing change! Looking at these photos makes me want to get stuck in to the house we are in now!

:: Fibre Friday :: Leafy Green ::

I dyed, spun and knitted this wool quite some time ago, then waited for the perfect buttons to finish it off.







The free pattern is the ever popular Peurperium by Kelly Brooker. It is a lovely simple pattern to knit and I've actually made many more in various yarns and sizes! This one came out larger (the pattern is for newborn size) as I used the right needles for my yarn, and just eyeballed it on the body and sleeve length.



The buttons are from this etsy seller.



It's all folded up and in my ever expanding baby box.

On the last three months

Oh, did three months just go by? Hmmm.

Well we have moved again, and are now living in my childhood home- which was also my Dad's childhood home. It has been a big change for Mum and Dad in particular- he lived here from the age of about 4 until just the other week, with a 4 or 5 year gap when he was at Uni, and when Mum and Dad first moved home.

So again with the unpacking, and the moving furniture around and let's put it here, no let's put it over there.

And we are living another house to renovate! I am so excited about picking paint and fabric and design ideas. So I'll have a few before shots to put up soon, then after Christmas some after shots.....

Fibre Friday :: Loom in the House

Image courtesy of Majacraft- mine is still in the box!

Renovation :: Studio Space

I have a few more renovation pictures to share, of the house in Auckland. This space has been a good record of all the work we put into our first home, and I'd like it to be complete.

 

This is Muriel, who you first met here.

Muriel came with the 'games room' which I turned studio. Those who know me or visited my studio, know this was a 'creative space' which is a polite euphemism for hellishly messy most of the time.

We made over the studio in record time (three coats of paint in one day!). These pictures don't really show the huge transformational change, but it was a lighter, airier space after we finished.

I left behind a lot of those shelving units, and have yet to find a new storage solution in my new studio- there are a lot of things in boxes still!

Obviously this photo requires a disclaimer about my bad hair day, dyeing clothes and glasses day. See that loom? We have a date this week!

Magnolia

When I was taking photos of the blanket in Grandad's Garden I couldn't help myself- I had to take some photos of the magnolias. I have taken lots of magnolia photos in the garden before, but we have had a wet and windy spring and a lot of the blooms were damaged.

I think they have a beauty of their own, these less than perfect flowers.