This past semester, my knitters were so motivated! Luckily, 17 of them are back for Spring semester, so we have a lot of wonderful knitting to look forward to. All of the advanced kids will start by learning double pointed needles, and will be making the umbilical cord hat from Stitch N' Bitch. Cute hat, plus it is easy to personalize with color changes and duplicate stitch. There are also 16 brand new knitters joining the class. Today was their first day in class and the energy in the room was HIGH. These kids are really excited to learn how to knit next week. I can't wait to teach them! I will post pictures of the new kids next week, learning the basics. Remember those days?
OK, so here is what is new from moi. A good friend at work is having a baby and I wanted to knit something unusual for her, but something that she would actually use. I am not one to do a big blanket so I chose this...
...a DNA model. Complete with color-coded base pairs. Little Nathan isn't due to arrive until June, hope I can wait that long to give it to her. I am throwing her a baby shower (word got out that I am good at it) so will present it to her then. My friend is the AP Biology teacher at Pali, so this DNA toy is the perfect baby toy for her and the baby. I feel like she will play with it more than the baby! Heehee.
Next is a lobster.
I have been looking for some new animals to add to the huge knit aquarium in my classroom, and I don't have any crustaceans. This pattern is good, very clearly written, knit flat (not my preferred method) and turned out super cute. I added the antennae since all lobsters have them.
Last item to share is this seahorse.
Good story behind this guy. I have recently learned about something called Amigurumi. This is the Japanese art of knitting (or crocheting) small stuffed animals. Who knew there was a word for what I love to do? I got this pattern from a cool woman on Etsy. In addition to the seahorses, i also bought patterns for squid, octopus, cuttlefish and a dumbo octopus (that will be my next amigurumi, btw) from her. Her patterns are complicated but not confusing. Sidney (his official name) required kitchener's stitch (not my favorite) so I brushed up on this technique and settled in for the task. After repeating it 48 times, I have it down pat. This guy will have 5-6 seahorse friends and will be presented to my boss (who is also having a baby in June) as a seahorse mobile to hang in the nursery. Any suggestions on how to construct a mobile? Send me a comment! I need help!
I am putting the finishing touches on a set of cupcake hats for my cousin in Arizona. Her 3 adorable girls NEED cupcake hats. Stat! Kiki, they are on the way soon, I promise! Once I get the sprinkles stitched on, I will post pics then package them up for shipment. It is on the agenda for tonight.
Fianlly, my dad came over last weekend and we cooked. I love this habit we have fallen into. We made mushroom risotto, rosemary chicken and for dessert...
...berry cobbler. Holy cow! This was so much fun to do. I used my brand new food processor (x-mas gift from Mike) to make the crust dough and the berries were so simple! Plus, the resulting little tarts were so perfect with a little vanilla ice cream that we all ended up eating way too much. Delish!
