baby mary-janes

Laidey has a new pair of shoes. Little red mary-janes.

Just perfect for these in-between months when she sits most of the time, will soon learn to crawl and then will need proper leather shoes when she learns to walk. She's too old for typical baby bootees now so these have a bit of a grown-up look to them that really appealed.

I made these with some leftover Debbie Bliss cashmerino yarn in Aran weight. It was just right for this project. The pattern is from Hadley Fierlinger's Vintage Knits for Modern Babies again. I love this book and have a few of her other projects on the needles right now.

I have found this pattern to be an improvement on the crossover mary-janes I have made previously from this Ravelry pattern, but still, the strap was too long (or her ankles too narrow) so I placed the button way back on the button band. I think they need a dome too, see where it's gaping a little?

Anyway, these are really stretchy so I hope they will be useful until we hear the pitter patter of her little feet running down the hall in a few months' time. 

Next, I just have to dress her in her red and white dress with white tights and these shoes - is there a special occasion coming up? Do we need one?

another mobile

While we're on the topic of baby mobiles, here is another I just finished.  By finished, I mean put on the final touches and weaved in the loose ends. I finished it, more generally, months ago. I always dislike the final finishing touches, and this time I can only blame it on the baby. She came along nearly a month early and it put paid to several of my knitting projects at the time. I was lucky to have it in a hangable state, truth be told.

Without further ado, I introduce the Bunnies. All knitted with wool from my stash, most of it collected from rounds at the second hand shops. All wool, not that it matters for a mobile.
The blue and pink bunnies were first to be knitted as gifts to Georgia and Hugo from the new baby. I couldn't stop there - the new baby had to have one too. So I knitted three. Then I only needed to make one more to make the mobile complete, so I knit the fourth. Gold and silver.
The pattern again comes from the lovely Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger. The pattern is called Bunny Mobile and it is made up of Nana's Bunnies. I love all the patterns in this book and will hopefully get a few more done [before] this winter.

The mobile will eventually move rooms with Adelaide so for now it is simply hung on a picture hook on the wall. For all the hours of work that went into it (compared with the paper version below) I'm surprised at how non-fussed I am at this ill-fitting hanging job. Can anyone give a name to that feeling you get when you've just had enough of a project, still love it, but just don't want to give it any more, for the time being anyway. That's not precise enough. Here's a go - it is a cross between weariness and restlessness (which both happen to be synonyms for boredom). Insouciance.