shoe fail, pinny win

I know conventional parenting hegemony wisdom dictates that babies should be decked out in pretty pastel hues of blue or pink. But I much prefer to dress tiny people like their outfits were sourced from the comfort-for-old-people section at the back of the sunday supplements. It just amuses me. So I was very pleased with the look of these baby shoes. Rubbishknitterjunior is on the verge of walking, a little too timid to let go of furniture / mother's legs yet, but socks just aren't really enough on their own any more. I thought I could save a few bob in this transitional phase by sewing up these shoes out of some scraps. Only slight issues being that I don't have a printer to print out the pattern pieces, and my child is 1 year old and rather too large of foot for these anyway. In a moment of foolhardiness I thought both problems could be solved by drawing round the foot using a crayon onto some greaseproof paper and sketching the remaining bits freehand, whilst keeping one eye on the web page with the pattern on. It was one of those quick, scrap using type projects that can be accomplished in a couple of naptimes anyway, so I thought it was worth a try. I made the shoes, and then, guttingly, realised that the child had been clenching up his toes when I had drawn round the foot. (Little blighter must have changed his Plantar reflex without giving me any notice.) Those chubby plates of meat just weren't up for being crammed into their nice new cosy corduroy slippers, despite many attempts. Shoe Fail. I might actually have to go to a proper shop. But I know lots of smaller babies of various sizes, and these have been passed on to rubbishknitterjuniorcousin. Rubbishknittercousinjunior. This is getting a bit confusing now, but hopefully you know what I mean.


Since then I've been enjoying a bit of quiet knitting in the form of Anouk for a friend who is due to give birth in a couple of weeks. She's having a girl, obv. Weirdly, this was in my ravelry queue once before - when I was pregnant and they told me at the 20 week scan I was having a girl. I wasn't. I was a bit gutted at having to unqueue it then, so it's nice to have the opportunity to make it again now. It's for a close friend who knows me well enough to request themes for potential knitted gifts - she asked for mice and/or daisies. It's unusual and quite nice to have such specific requirements, although I haven't quite decided how I'm going to implement them. I think with duplicate stitch and / or embroidery. I am very much enjoying making this so far. It's using up a big cone of some old mystery aran weight cotton than a friend destashed ages ago. I used some of it in my stripy brown baby blanket, which has lasted through many, many machine washes - it's good to be able to feel confident in the longevity of a gift.

Oh and I made another pirate hat. For my nephew's birthday. I couldn't help it. It was the funnest pattern evah. I love the way you can fine tune the fit with the provisional cast on - this was a teeny tiny bit small (large heads run in the family) so I added a few rows of garter stitch to the brim before knitting the lining. He appraised it as Well Good Knitting.