Behind the scenes

A while back, my professor husband made a prediction about when things would be shutting down again in Manitoba, and well, he was right.  

I took it to heart and began to rush, and a few days ago, I got a lot more patterns up online on Payhip.  At this point, 57 of my designs are available via Payhip, as well as on Lovecrafts and Ravelry.  This isn't quite all of them, but it's the majority.

It was also a really nice opportunity for me to revisit some of my older designs.  This is the Scarf Cowl-ideal for any weight yarn from lace to DK, and perfect for a beginning knitter or someone who needs some mindless garter stitch.

These are the Knitted Napkins.   In a time when we're all staying home a bit more, it can be nice to make mealtimes look nicer....and cut down on disposable napkin waste.  I was surprised to see this download recently purchased by a knitter, it reminded me about the pattern, which I think may have been first published in 2009.

I also wrote a column for the Jewish Independent, and it went live on Friday here.  It's about the mortality 'wake up call' that the pandemic presents to us...it's both scary, and also a reminder to seize the day. 

We've been outside in the snow...more than once this October.

 

We've eaten more than our share of sweet potato pie, apple crumble with pomegranate seeds (and frozen yogurt!) and more...

We've also returned to remote learning at our house for a bit, so things have been busy.  However, we've had time to play in the snow, make and eat fancy desserts, and create special 'jet packs' for our stay-at-home Halloween superhero.  There's less time for work, but more time for everything else-which makes our pandemic experience much like everybody else's, I suppose.

Making-the napkin efforts

You may remember that over the years, I've knitted a fair number of napkins.  There's been Wipe, Waves & Stars, and even, simply, the knitted napkins.  All of these work, and they are washable, and some of the bright colors even appeal to my kids.  You can also get some of these patterns here on Loveknitting.com.

However, there's worry about them.  The Professor thinks he will ruin them in the wash (he hasn't) and that he can't dry them. (he can.)  Since they aren't dried in a dryer, they are rough, and that can hurt when cleaning up faces covered in jam, ice cream, or yogurt.  (Ouch, according to a survey of two twins.)

So, I looked at the leftover remnants I'd chosen for knitted tunic pockets, a while back.  I ripped the remnant into 6 napkins.  Two full size, and four cocktail/luncheon size, if you're curious.  And, I eyeballed the hems, folded the fabric over twice, and went to town on my ancient Kenmore sewing machine.  Today?  The table has new, bright, shiny napkins on it.  If my Professor reads this:

Yes, you can wash them.

Yes, you can dry them in the dryer.

Please use them, instead of the tattered old ones. :) 

Here, Sadie demonstrates what the napkins are for.  Note location of napkin, it is good at catching drooling while one dozes off.

After I removed the napkins, Sadie was awake and somewhat put out...but I finally got a great photo of her.  I did have a bigger image of her all stretched out.  She is one long tall drink of water!  However, that photo showed how dusty the area all around my Canadian Production Spinning Wheel is.  Ahem.  This is why one crops photos...and chooses the one with the least dust showing...Guess I need to, uh, dust, and spin on it again someday soon!

Wipe: fun reusable napkins for cleaning up

 (You may have heard...we've got two busy six year olds.  We get very messy around here!)

In an effort to tame the spills without adding more trash to the environment, we use cloth napkins.  Mostly linen and cotton ones, and you'd be surprised how solemn and grown up linen napkin colors can be.  Since we wash a set of napkins nearly every day, I thought it would be fun to design some hemp knitted ones. 

 Wipe is now live and available on Ravelry,  (and soon will be available on LoveKnitting.com, too) and it's a quick, fun knit.  I used dk weight hemp for these samples, but any washable, absorbent natural fibre is a good bet.  

It uses about 200 yards/183 meters of yarn, and if you want two napkins in two colors, that would be about 100 yards of each color.


In other news, we've had 5 routine medical appointments in our family this week (five!) --we're all fine-- AND, we're having some electrical work done in our house, so it's been a busy week.

So instead, I'd like to focus on sunshine, picnics, and fun knitting projects.
Wipe, my newest design,  is a US$4 download from Ravelry.com.  Please check it out!

setting a nice table?

This is a quick note as I've got twins home from preschool celebrating Purim!  Luckily, we have to take naps in between running around in our costumes, delivering treats to friends, and going out for ice cream before lunch. :)  We've got to go to a big party later on....

In order to celebrate a new Ravelry download:
...The Hemp Placemats are now available as a single pattern download!

I'm running a sale through the end of March.

Use the coupon:

• Holidaytable

 on Ravelry and put both the Hemp Placemats and the knitted napkins patterns in your cart...and you'll save 30% off the purchase of both patterns.

Cause, you know, spring is a great time to celebrate holidays of all sorts, and to plan on a dressy new table setting or two.

I'm old-fashioned that way....I love a pretty table setting.

I hope you do, too!