Here’s a little girl in a new sweater knit by Nana (that would be moi), clowning for the camera. There was some gagnam-style dancing, then just a descent into general silliness (or should that be ascent? Some days, silliness is good!)
Here’s alink to the project page on Ravelry; it’s a pattern called Little Buds, designed by Karen Borrel. Garter stitch, top-down yoke construction with sleeves knit in the round after the body, and with two sweet little leaves front and back. Nola was particularly happy with the buttons I chose because they’re very, very sparkly. Gotta love a sparkle!
Having a bit of a tough time today, anxiety as much as sadness, for a variety of reasons. I’ll be very glad to get my marking done, exams finished, and grades filed — likely by the end of the month — so that I can begin to attend to some clutter. Much that needs to be organized, both materially and mentally. Lists must be made. . . .and some of them are for end-of-May travel. . . .good stuff!
Meanwhile, it’s comforting to look at photos of successful photos and silly girls. . . .
And you? What’s happening your way? Do share. . . I love a distraction. . .
Oh, she is adorable, and her effervescent personality shines right through! The sweater is so pretty and such a nice fit.
I'm feeling a bit impatient with work and obligations right now, when what I really want to be doing is focusing on preparations for our trip. But daily life, it demands our attention, and we ignore at our peril.
That's me — impatient with work and obligations. I'm ready for a complete break, somewhere far away. But you're right, the quotidian will not brook shoddiness. . .
What a lovely color sweater! It looks great with her dark hair. Don't you love gazing at a finished project?
Speaking of …(here comes the distraction) my happy project is giving the kitchen a face lift. I refinished and stained the wood parquet floor, installed a new soapstone counter top which contains lovely tones of grey, black and green, I learned (a little!) to tile a backsplash with grey marble subway tiles, our carpenter installed some new shelves and I scrubbed the old cabinets back to sparkling. It was a team effort and turned out just as my imagination said it would! Enjoy your granddaughter and your lovely view!
Your kitchen sounds fabulous — so satisfying to imagine it and then realize it, especially when you did much of the work yourself. Thanks so much for the distraction!
Oh what a charming, personal sweater. Lucky, lovely little Nola! And now, with a cousine, perhaps this exquisite piece can be handed down when she outgrows it. (I still have the two divine Fair Isle cardis my MIL knit for my sons when they were her age. Someday….!)
One day you should post photos and story of those sweet little fair-isle cardis. . . .Of course that might give your boys the sense that there was some pressure and I guess you wouldn't want to do that . . . đ
Nola's SO cute in that sweater. Very well-suited to her! The colour is beautiful.
She picked the colour — or, at least, gave me the directions. . . it's a beautifully rich heathered yarn.
She has such energy!
It's great to see Nola again…her smile could melt hearts!
She is an energetic girl, and I'll admit I'm partial to her smile — thanks for humouring a Nana.
She is so cute. And the sweater is perfect.
I'm slogging away in the salt mines, that's what's going on. So, nothing to entertain you, only a big wave hello.
Ah, those salt mines, what we might do were we banished from them . . . (and yet . . . )
Big wave back . . .
What a lovely cardi! And a beautiful model đ Knitting – and finishing – is a great thing to do when anxious, I find. I'm in a similar over-busy phase, where I have too much work on, but would much rather be sorting and decluttering and getting my nest in order for winter (I guess it's the converse of the spring clean?). I'm glad you have your trip to look forward to.
And the over-busy-ness feels more chaotic when there's not time to declutter and sort, no? I'm really anxious to find 4 or 5 days to conquer the clutter, soon!
Wonderfully "happy" sweater! I've not finished knitting anything for months. Six projects on needles. All are boring me.
My life has hit a very rough spot and has thrown me off blogging. I so admire your ability to share with us. Without "spilling your guts" as I was once accused of.
You are brave, honest and sincere.
All wonderful qualities, I admire.
I am just biding my time until I can escape to "my island".
I'm sorry to hear you're finding life tough at the moment. I do find I'm sorting out what I want to say here and what I need to keep back right now. As well, it takes more work than some readers might imagine to "spill our guts" — I've never seen you do that in a way that wasn't thoughtful — that accusation must have stung! Looking forward to our visit . . .
Nola looks as though she is a very happy little girl with her beautiful new sweater. The mauve leaves and sparkly buttons would make any girl feel special….and that fact that Nana knit it. My mum has some sweaters in her cedar chest that her Shetland grandmother knit for her before WW 2. They are some of her most treasured belongings. I don't miss marking, report cards, parent-appreciation tea or sports day planning. Today, I am walking to have my lesson with la belle Isabelle who lives off la rue Mouffetard. You will soon be free to enjoy les plaisirs de voyage. I recognize myself that it is only 3 months since my father died and even now my pleasure is mixed with some sorrow, some tiredness
and some anxiety.
Perhaps your Mom will let you snap some photos of those sweaters one day, and post a wee story about them on your blog — no wonder she treasures them so.
Loved thinking of you walking Mouffetard, as I'll be doing before so very long.
Yes, that trinity of sorrow, fatigue, and anxiety. . . only 3 months away from your loss, I hope you give yourself some space to grieve as well as to nurture yourself. You've picked a good spot for it!
I look forward to having a little granddaughter who will appreciate sparkly buttons and a Nana's handiwork. Your Nola is really lovely.
Me? I'm packing for Edmonton where I'll have a wonderful shot of energy from two little boys. The don't notice sparkly buttons but they'll be very happy for the Lego in my suitcase.
Lego! And then you get to watch what they build — have fun with your grandsons!
Great photo and cardigan. Love the smile and the energy. Not much to entertain anybody else but enough to entertain me, running, cycling, swimming, reading and lots of sleeping in between with a sprinkling of hot chocolates for good measure. This is what happens when I have a mid life crisis and decide to try and get fit. I sleep alot.
Big wave hello too and take care of that anxiety.
I loved the tranquil photo on one of your recent posts – can we have some more?
You've really caught the bug, haven't you?!
And I'll keep your request for more tranquil photos in mind — right now, it's too grey and gloomy to please anyone, but next time the weather cooperates, I'll be sure to snap a shot or two.
Hi Mater, Nola looks delighted with her new cardigan, it is beautiful.
I'm deep into spring cleaning – after a long time in denial ("but the grout is *supposed* to be dark grey") I'm cleaning all the grout in our floor tiles with beach and baking soda. I don't think it had ever been done and it needs to be sealed too. Luckily I found knee pads at Home Depot (we have a lot of tile). For Sale signs are springing up in our neighbourhood so that reminds us that we still have lots to do here before putting our house up for sale next year.
Can't say I'd be keen on the grouting, although some of those tasks can't be avoided. But I really want some time for clearing out and re-organizing! My head feels so much clearer when I get that done. . .