Bliss Beyond Naptime

Knit Your Own Barney Cat

We got Barney as a Winter Solstice surprise for Edie when she was just wee. Look at how cute and little he used to be! I feel kind of bad I was slow to bond with him I think due to my heartbreak of losing my soul cat a few years prior (Miss Kitty! at almost 19) but he squeezed his super poofy self into my heart over the years. He really is the coolest cat around.

Sigh. Look how cute and little he use to be! Now look at him...

HONK! He's the epitomy of the gentle giant though ~ a sweet big boy. He's one of those dog/cats. He let's the kids awkwardly lug him from their bed to his special pink chair, follows us around wherever we go outside, asks to be let out to go pee (no litter box - yay!) and knows that I'm the alpha alpha around these parts (just takes a raise of my right eyebrow (I call it my "Rock" look) and he jumps off the couch. Pronto. Good boy.).

So when Sally Feller approached me about taking part in her Knit Your Own Cat book blog tour the first thought that entered my head was whoa, Barney would take up a lot of skeins. Lucky for me, Sally gifted me a copy of her book that helps fund the Barney yarn and was also kind enough to include a copy of the book to give to one of my readers. That could be you! Just leave a comment below saying what critter you wish you could knit up if you could. For example, I wish I could knit a Dexter cow due to my love for all things Miss Daisy. See? Easy! By the way, Sally also wrote a book called Knit Your Own Dog that may be of some of fun to those of you who wish you could knit up your pooch and/or are obssessed with weiner dogs like me.

Leave a comment and I'll draw a name on Sunday. Good luck!

I drew a random number from Random Number Generator and the winner is number 6 - Lisa! I'll email you pronto to get you your mailing address. Have fun with this! :)

Handsome Man and Handsome Plans

Still not believing I'm the world's slowest knitter? I'm scared to look but if you're brave enough to check out my ravelry page to see when exactly I started this toddler sized sweater - go for it. The pattern's called Handsome Man and, as you can plainly see, the name's fitting.

He loves his new sweater. If I'm on the phone with somebody, anybody, he does this little whisper - he usually never interrupts me when I'm the phone, just as a side: "mama, tell them I'm wearing my new sweater". So sweet.

I have knitting queue this long but I have to say half the things on my list lately come from this really super sweet Etsy shop. I basically want to make everything she offers but in particular the mama bear in me really really wants to make this bear sweater. Can you imagine how long it would take for me to make that happen? Would it be weird to be a grandma and sport that with a tutu?

 

And Edie really wants me to whip these bunny slippers up for her before I do anything else;

And I couldn't resist. I love this hat. So age innaprropriate but the paparazzi don't make there way out here too much and I'll be sure to wear a bright orange vest when frolicking in the woods with it on;

But, I had to make a deal with myself. My own etsy shop cupboards are bare so my usual knitting time, the evenings, will have to shift to some serious spinning time. I'm not usually a number person but I had to make some sort of deal with myself. I'm not going to start a new knitting project until I have me ten new yarns to release out to the world again. Not that I don't love spinning but it's easier to knit on the couch than spin on the couch and the couch is usually where I end up landing my tush after I turn out the kids' lights. But once I start spinning I get into it and it's actually kind of hard to stop (and I can still watch a movie while I do so so that's cool).

For an extra bit of motivation and accountability I decided on another tactic. A while back I put a call out for yarn names. Let's do that again! If you haven't done so, leave a comment below of what your blog name would be (or your favourite nickname) if it were an artyarn. I plan on using all the name contributions and will be announcing their birth stories as they unfold in my newsletter (so please subscribe if you'd like to be in the loop for that).

And, exciting news, my ebook will be made available shortly here and I'll take a draw from the entries below on Monday morning for a winner of a copy of my ebook; The Bliss Filled Mama: Self-Care for Soulful Mothering. And if you're not a mama I can forward your copy to a favourite mama of your choosing. And if you're interested in getting a deal on the book make sure you're also subscribed to the newsletter because that's what my peeps are going to get on those first few days it's up for sale. Can't wait to read about your inner yarn! Let it rip!

We have a winner - number 42! Kathyrn said:

Darn tootin' handsome boy you have there! how about kalemail like a play on chainmail? Is that even how you spell it? idk. Purrtle(a purring turtle), love riot!, pajarita....i call myself stick kitty, mamakat, and catbird. I have an Salvadorean friend who calls me Catocha. I remember your post on your Spanish nick name and Im hoping Catocha is something joyful! Love your blog especially the videos. My little loves call you "the silly lady". XOXO Thank you!

Funny! Catocha will be the first yarn spun and I will be emailing you, Catocha, a copy of my ebook and its accompanying audio :)

SS Wednesday - Onesie as Far As the Eye Cansie

This is embarassing to report but I’m turning into a slack jaw movie watcher. It’s true we are without tv but Craig and I on occasion like to shimmy up to couch together when the munchkins finally fall asleep (on that note, oh my goodness, have you heard of this book? I had the pleasure of hearing Samual Jackson read from it on the radio one day. Too funny.), turn on Net Flix and feel our brains melt into putty just inches from each other. Very romantic. Unfortunately, this is also my designated knitting time.

 You know how they tell you to relax your jaw muscles when you’re in labour because it assists in relaxing other areas of your anatomy that may in turn result in a smoother going birthing process? Same same but different with knitting. My jaw slacks, then my fingers relax to the point of paralysis. Let me just hop on over to  my ravelry page for a second here to see exactly how long... oh my gawd! This teeny weeny baby sweater has taken me three months to complete! I hope it still fits the sweet angel it was intended for. Luckily her parents are little people (though not midgets) so hopefully she’ll have a couple of months still to play in this. It is amazing how stretchy hand knits can be. Especially when the Mama is a knitter herself!

Which brings us what this knitter Mama was donning this week. First, the background story: When Edie was about three months old I went into one of my favourite pre-Edie haunts; a clothing store in downtown Calgary where the owner was familiar with my tendency to try many things on, but buy very little (remember, my mom’s a seamstress). So Ms Patience of a Saint Owner was curious why she hasn’t seen me in so long. I explained I had a baby and I was wondering if she had any really long tops that snap at the crouch to keep my kidneys warm over the winter. I promised her I’d buy this time.

 She re-framed my question; “You want a giant onesie?” Oh my god, I do! What kind of Mommy monster have I become? So I guess this mildly Freudian type desire has never truly subsided because I caught myself purchasing this Hot Pattern on sale and made this body suit in my now trademark banana yellow.

I’m also sporting Kale's scarf that I knit but he can no longer wear due to his apparent wool allergy (I'm not ready to talk about this yet) and a vintage jacket I picked up at a church fundraiser in town last weekend.  It’s awfully soft and fluffy and smells like mothballs. I don’t want to get into the fabric choice but dang it's warm, really, really old and way cuter than my minus forty temperature down parka I’m usually sporting this time of year. And, of course, the jeans I made so long ago. If you zoom on in to the pelvic area you will see I even popped my button recently but haven't had the time to sew a new one on. Thus, it takes just a simple tug on the release cord to drop my pants to prove to you that, yes indeed, this is a onsie. It was pretty cute how Craig, who was acting as my tripod for the shoot, was embarrassed for me. He thought it was so inappropriate. I assured him we’re all ladies here, right?

So speaking of embarrassing myself; I have an idea to celebrate the launch of my new website name: Bliss Beyond Naptime. Many reasons for the change but primarily it was becoming a hassle spelling out my email address over the phone (Wild Tangerine Dreams? No. White Tangerine Dreams? No. What Tangerine Dreams? Never mind!).  So for Monday I will don lots of lead free organic makeup, set up the tripod (the non-Craig one) and answer reader questions about me, Daisy, my Simplicity Parenting training, guilty pleasures, anything! So if you’d like, email a question to Kathy at Bliss Beyond Naptime dot com or leave one below in the comments. Simple as onesie, twosie, threesie.

Fleece and Thank You

I might have to rename the blog The Edie Show for I'm just gushing about her growth spurts this week so much but, ack! ~ a knitting mama's dream just come true; I taught her how to knit last week and she's caught on like wild fire and already has a project list that will put a raveler's queue to shame.

Speaking of fire, there we were, knitting by the wood stove together. Just need Pa to pick up fiddle playing and life will be perfect! Actually a weiner dog napping in a basket, gently roasting beside the fire, will make the scene complete.

I picked up the book the A First Book of Knitting for Children which I'm pretty thankful for for it provided me with a sweet verse to chant while she went though the motion of her first couple of stitches;

Under the fence,

Catch the sheep,

Back we come,

Off we leap.

Which I'm pretty thankful for for it slightly more magical than what I was ready to sing;

Stick the fork in,

Poke your pickle,

Fish it up,

Then spit it out.

Ah, who knows? All I know is she is all over it and is currently working on her first project; a case for her recorder. We are using the yarn we have built from scratch. From the visit to the sheep whose back it came off of, to washing the fleece.

I wrote an article over at rhythme of the home a couple of years ago that outlines the steps we took to get the off white fluff somewhat white again.

And there was a lot of nit picking that took a good long while though wasn't the worst way to spend a glorious warm and balmy Indian Summer afternoon. But that didn't stop Edie from saying, oh, about a hundred times; "If we ever get sheep they're definately going to be wearing sweaters so we don't have to pick out so many gribblies!".

And so we picked, washed, carded, spun and dyed with marigolds from the garden that Edie planted from seed. When I shared this story with Craig he said he felt like he was watching an episode of Portlandia. I laughed so hard after he said that (just like I do everytime he utters something). Have you seen some Portlandia? So funny, totally pokes fun at us mindful, sustainably concious types. Here's a snippet. Why don't you pull out your current knitting project and poke your pickle while you watch it?

 

Baby Wipe That Smile Off Your Face

 

One of my best friends is having her blessingway this week. I wanted to make her something special so I sat and meditated on what was my favourite part of babies. Then it came to me: the butt! So I made her a whack of reusable baby butt wipes and wash. My second favourite baby part might be the head because once that makes an appearance the rest is easy squeezy so I knit her a hat too; the Pointy Elf hat from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I dyed and then spun some merino I had on hand into a super soft soft spun. It has greens, blues and just a splash of pink for good measure.

And this butt wash is the cat's baby butt. I received the recipe from a naturapath that was taking the same Birthing From Within course Craig and I took when I was pregnant with Edie. The recipe makes a big whack of wash that lasts for almost six months. The recipe is super clean and the smell reminds me of newborn. And toddler. And almost school-age kids (yes, boys seem to take longer to potty train; in this household anyway).

I had a few meters of terry cloth on hand to make Edie and Kale matchy match beach cover ups so I used a yard of that, cut it up into eight inch squares, sergered around all four corners, et voila, a basketful of reusable wipes. To use, we warm up a towel in hot, hot water and then cool it off with a spray of the butt wash, then throw soiled wipe into a bucket and just dump those in the wash when the bucket's full. The recipe is above (hope you can read it okay!) but sometimes I like to add a drop of German Chamomile in there because it leaves cool little blue drops in the wash and apparently is the best essential oil to chill out fussy babes. Now I'm all nostalgic. Think I'm going to wipe Kale's butt now!

Gleaning On Weaning

Still not convinced I'm the world's slowest knitter yet? Check out my ravelry page regarding this project. Two months to whip up a baby vest? Geesh. Lesson learned; do not pick a cable pattern knitting project for knitting whilst watching movies knitting. This photo shoot was carefully orchestrated to keep the blaring mistakes from hurting your eyes. See how much I love you?

How stoic my little man looks wearing his new vest.  I presented it to him and he says, "ooooo, pretty!". This guy is going to grow up to be the sweetest SNAG in town. I used leftover yarn from my Spring Oatmeal sweater to knit this up; both to be frugal and have something handy incase a Motherboy contest ala Arrested Development presents itself.

Looking at these pictures just makes me want to give him boob. We have commenced the process of nightweaning this week. Kale has been going through epic nursing bouts during the night that have been driving me and my hormones cuckoo.  I decided I needed to spend a night over at a girlfriend's to see how the boys would cope without me around so I wouldn't have to hear him cry and succumb, bringing us back to square one. Plus I was convinced he would be able to smell my ladies from a mile away (luckily my buddy lives two miles away).

Turned out pretty well after all that fretting. Now at bedtime I nurse him until he falls asleep (only takes about ten minutes) then I sneak out of the room and eventually crash myself in the spare room. Here I enjoy an uninterrupted, sweet slumber and have a taste test of new found night life freedom. I'm going out to knitting tonight with my ladies (my my ladies, not Kale's my ladies) and plan on staying out later than my usual curfew of 7:30. Maybe I'll even stay out until 9:00 tonight. CRAZY!

SS Wednesday ~ Goddess Complex

Something super sacred about morning rituals, no? I recently stumbled upon a magical ebook on How to Be a Morning Goddess. Goddess-y artists and online spiritual gurus share how they greet the morning and set the tone for their day. Thought I'd share my morning ritual and meld my Sustainable Style Wednesday post along side it.

Here I'll make like a Goddess wannabe and share with you how a typical wake up goes. I try to sneak away from the bedroom at 7:00 (Kale sleeps beside me so I try my best not to disturb him) so I can get my latte in before the kids wake up. If this can happen, my Goddess like qualities are much more enhanced throughout the duration of the day. I then look out the window and check out the mist over the mountain valley and am reminded of my good fortune to be living in my most favourite part of the world. I take a moment to do a few quick stretches, connect with my breath and start up my coffee ritual. I get my espresso maker rig rigged up, turn up the flame of the gas stove then scamper off to pee (yes, Goddesses have bladders too!).

The coffee smells wake up Craig just like in the Foldgers commercials and when I come back from the washroom he has usually started his yoga practice. He's a dedicated yogi that one!

 

While Craig moves and flows with his breath I assume my favourite yoga position - blogasana. I  check my email, do some blogging, check on my shops and read my favourite blogs until the kids wake up. By then it's usually eight.

Of course, during this ritual I try to wear any project I cast of the needles the night before. This particular morning I finally was able to sport my Spring 2011 Beret. I used the Spring Beret pattern, and knit it up with some Debbie Bliss Eco Cotton. Super happy to have a warm head to go with my warm latte. Other outfit specs: my organic pajamas I made last year (possibly my favourite outfit in my whole closet), the best thrift store housecoat score ever and, of course, my new spring beret. That's it! And a belly full of happiness, of course. And no kids around as far as the bionic Goddess eye can see. At least for five more minutes anyway. Happy Morning blessings on you, Goddesses! What's your ritual like?

Hope This is to Your Viking

 There is a little boy, same age as Kale, whose blond braids are screaming for a Viking hat to go with. I only wish the horns turned out a little, um, perkier?  I used the Chili Con Carne pattern available here for free with some modification for toddler sizing by casting on 88 stitches at the beginning.

Viggo, the soon to be Viking, is my best friend's boy. Cheechum is one of the most beautiful, angelic and alluring women you could ever hope to encounter.

I remember meeting her when Edie was only about three months old at an attachment parenting playgroup. She was standing across the room with her three month old daughter attached to her. I thought it was so cute because Cheechum had her signature 'do' on (kind of like Princess Lea buns  but higher up on the head, like cute ears) and she was looking around the room looking, as usual, beautiful and regal like a blonde native princess. And then, out of the sling her little daughter's head was poking out - complete with matching hair do and expression. It was so cute and intruiguing! So I had to go over right away and introduce myself and Edie. It was kind of like love at first sight.

We hit it off and quickly discovered we both had Craigs and only lived about a fifteen minute walk from each other. This led to many long walks with our babies in sling saying "well, my Craig this...", "well, my Craig that...".  Back and forth, back and forth. So much fun.

And then our family moved out here to the sticks but Cheechum and I continued our long chats on the phone. Like, alot. And then we we were pregnant with our second Craiglettes at the same time so the chats turned into daily 'so, what are you craving like crazy today?" and "if you were to spontaneously bust through my front door right now I would whip us up some...". Half the time I don't know what she's talking about because she's fancy foody like that, not to mention her vocabulary is big and good. See how homeschooled kids turn out?

Ugh! I miss you buddy. I'll see you in the spring. Hat's on its way. Love you so much!

Art You Knitting?

photo courtesy of Amy Palmer

Thank you all so much for all the birthday wishes! I had a great birthday party complete with sleeping children tucked in bed just as the guests arrived, a mountain of sushi and beautiful friends to help eat through it. Did I mention Mama scored a dishwasher for her bday? Life is grand.

I was tweeted to an article about knitting with art yarn. I checked it out and there is one of my yarns all knit up into this beautiful drop stitch scarf. The extra cool part about this is that the yarn used in the story just so happens to be the yarn that is the cover for the free ebook available over on the margin there. Isn't that kind of trippy?

I'm sometimes asked what to do with art yarns rather than just throwing them in a fruit bowl and stare at them all day long.  I agree with the author of the article that art yarns really shine with simple stitches so you can really showcase the intricacies of the spin and let that "do the work for you". Artyarn; the lazy knitter's choice. Here are some of my favourite things to knit up with these one of a kind squishy treasures, or any bulkier hand spun for that matter:

 

Here's a littler Edie modelling a simple cowl knit up with some of my earlier crazy carded batts I spun up when I was high on caffeine while I was pregnant with Kale (I think this may be why he's such a mellow little guy ~ kind of like a homeopathic effect). This can be whipped up with one skein for a mellow cowl or two skeins for something that can even warm up the schnoz.

You can use either 12 or 15 mm needles. Cast on 38 stitches then K2P2 until you run out of yarn, then cast off loosely. Sew the back seam together. Super quick and easy. Like one movie quick and subtitles easy.

Here's a snippet of a scarf I knit up with one of my flower yarns, very much like the one featured in the article. I still wear this everyday but it has hay bits sticking out from the flowers for it's my milking scarf now.  It's a basic drop stitch pattern: knit across the width you want the scarf to be for two rows, next row knit one, yarn over all away across then repeat these three rows. The yarn overs knit up in the next row will result in drop stitches that highlight the handspun's organic look.

This one I started for a spin then knit along a couple of years ago. The pattern itself was designed with a bulky hand spun in mind. It's available from Year of the Goat . The key word here is I started but alas I spun up a really greasy fleece and after a while it just felt and smelled like I've been heavily petting too much sheep so I frogged it. I don't spin such things anymore unless my hands are uber dry and in need of lanolin. But now that I have my dishwasher those salad days seem long gone. I guess I should wait for it to be hooked up before I type such things.

And, of course, behold the Queen of the Power Beanie, Lexi Boeger. Again, simple is all it takes with a more complex skein. Lexi's preference is a tall beanie. They do look awful cute; plus it never hurts to add  few inches to one's height. If you want to delved into this world of art yarn any deeper her gorgeous and inspiring book on spinning and knitting art yarn is invaluable; it's called Intertwined. I was lucky enough to participate in a workshop of hers whilst pregnant with Kale and plan on attending one again so I can partake in a glass (bottle?) of wine with her this time. She just seems like a fun lady to get tipsy with.

So, want to share what you have done with your handspun novelty yarn? Hmmm?

Deja Cute

Oh, it's so hard to pick just one pun sometimes. I was going to call this post "To Ganomy is to Love Me" because I had that song "God Lord it's Hard to Be Humble" stuck in my head ever since I started knitting these Ganomies. 

I found this pattern over on Ravelry, immediately put it on my queue because I loved the Come Hither/Amish Girl vibe it had going on. And then, I swear, the next day my dear friend Erin comes over sporting one herself. I was then able to borrow her Zimmerman book the pattern was in, Knitter's Almanac,  and immediately hunkered down over some super old movies and knit a couple. A couple because whilst knitting the first one Craig got wickedly ill and I was so worried about him it totally threw my tension off resulting in a teeny tiny Ganomy that may fit Kale for one more month if we're lucky. The next try was a keeper - barely. I think it's my Hajduk Head syndrome making a recurrence.

The photoshoot was hilarious. Kale was one cool cucumber. I couldn't crack a smile out of him. Reminded me of a little someone I knew way back when:

They get that from their father.