Our little Xander has arrived!

Angel, 12 years of age, a very relaxed girl

Global warming

Trying new molds

Since I was working on my black glass stovetop, I didn't use the flash on my camera. I was trying to avoid a bright glare.
I sent for some new types of molds online recently. This one is my favorite! I like the large "bath" size soap, so I was drawn to ordering this style! I will definitely have to order more, so that I can pour a bunch of bars of soap at one time.

This mold consists of two parts: One is decorated with a design on the surface, and the other has an arched shape. The mold comes with two very wide and strong elastic bands, to hold the molds together tightly. After preparing the scent and the color that I wanted, I poured it into the little opening at the top of the double mold, which stands upright, once it's banded together.


Out comes a rather heavy bar of soap that rolls nicely in your hands and lasts quite awhile.
Update: I have sent for some more molds with initials on them. The only people who will be recipients of these soaps will have to have certain last names, as I only ordered the L and the D. (You all know who you are!)

It's a cocoon!

I've seen a few pics of these online recently -- baby cocoons, or body socks as they are sometimes called; but lots of knitters are asking for a pattern.
I used size 7 needles, 4 ply yarn and cast on 94 stitches. Using K2, P2 throughout, I made the cocoon about 24 inches long. In the last inch, I decreased by knitting 2 together, purled the next row, then repeated until the last few stitches. Thread a needle through those last stitches and stitch the seam up the back. That's about it. The cocoon is meant to swaddle a newborn and can be used during the first month or so, depending on the size of the infant. You fold it down like a sock, put it around the baby's legs, then roll it up to about the shoulders, tucking in little arms just as you do when swaddling with a blanket. It's warm, stretchy, but snug enough to hold the baby in a cozy position so he feels secure and isn't startled by flailing arms. Supposedly, babies sleep well in their cocoons.
Gee, that looks warm and comfy. Maybe we should make those in adult sizes!

Angel loves Winter sports.....

Angel just loves it when I throw out the bait...
I meant bread.

Beary good models

These bears volunteered to model the two hats I finished today for the new baby.
Since I've been in lately with snow storms, ice and a bad cold, I've had plenty of time to knit and I'm taking advantage of the time.

And for T-Dogg and her BFF... hats complete with braids!

Ribbit

Well, I heard that my little guy needed a hat, since his sister and a friend had the cupcake hats.
There's not a lot on line for boy's hats; so I sort of came up with this froggy after lots of thinking.

The "before and after pics"

(less than 3 wks. later)

Sweets for the Sweet

Here is my latest finished knitting project, a cupcake hat. I made it in one night, as it was a simple pattern which I found on the internet. The pattern was originally for ages up to 4; so I added a little width and length to fit my little sweetie.
The only tricky part was making the little "nubs" of pink frosting around the edges. The pattern was slightly vague describing these directions; but now that I have the hang of it, it's not difficult at all.
The pattern calls for size 7 knitting needles and a cast on of 80 stitches, which I changed to 90. I added 2 inches in the length of the pink "frosting" and this morning I sewed on tiny glistening beads as "sprinkles" atop the cupcake.