Baby Hats and Easter Cactus in bud

I haven't been blogging much, but I have been knitting baby hats. I have finished another dozen hats, just starting my 4th and 5th skeins of Bernat Softee Baby. I think I'll aim for 2 dozen for my next trip to the hospital.
Earlier I repotted my old Easter Cactus because I thought it would not bloom this year. I was wrong! When I watered it I saw it has buds on 2 stems. I think this one was orange-red, I'm happy to see I didn't kill it. It is in a 4" pot; I'll pot up again next year.

Baby Hats and Easter Cactus in Bloom

Here's my latest baby hats. Diametrag put in a special request for a preemie hat, and that's the tiny one, plus I'll tuck in the little tube socks. They look tight, but with the Twisted German Cast on, plus the k2p2 rib, they stretch out pretty good. The hats are the usual suspects, Little Basket Weave, Uneven Rib, Harris Tweed Rib, and Waffle Stitch. Harris Tweed is new, and looks good. Take a good look at Little Basket Weave, because that's the last one on this blog. I can't get the decreases to look good, so I'm ditching all the patterns with a multiple of 6.
My Easter Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) finally bloomed! Technically it's two weeks late, but I think it is gorgeous. The pink is beautiful, and there are hints of a lighter pink stripe. Now that I realize I should treat an Easter Cactus differently from my Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti, maybe I'll have blooms next year. I knew Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti depended on shorter daylight hours to set blooms. Easter Cacti need cool temperatures to set their buds. I have a nice cool spare bedroom that should do the trick.

Too busy to knit? Never!

I'm back! I've been helping Diametrag adjust to motherhood, and came home yesterday evening. I had a great time; Bean is the best baby and Diametrag is a wonderful mother! Well, of course I had to say that, I'm such a stereotypical proud grandma.

Once I knew Bean's size, I grabbed a skein of yarn and knit a little jacket. It fit him well, and he wore it all day. He also liked the little red sleep sack I knit. His first night must have been like a scene from Goldilocks. This sleep sack was too big, that one was too warm, and the red knit one was just right. He was so happy, and slept so hard he peed all over it. hahahaha.

I also got to see my baby socks in action. Rather non-action, because those socks stayed on while he kicked and wiggled all day. Pretty cool. I hadn't ever seen my socks on a baby, and I was pleased to see how well they fit and stayed on his feet.

I've got lots of laundry here, the dog needs a good brushing, and I plan to spend some time resting and cast on another baby hat. Diametrag took some nice pictures of Bean wearing my sweater, and I'll post them later.

I will show you my latest plant. I found an Easter Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) at a local garden center. It is loaded with buds, and I am eager to see these flowers open. I have an Easter Cactus from my grandmother, and it has bloomed only once in 20 years or more. That one is orange-red, and this new plant is pink. I did not expect to find an Easter cactus in the store, they are not as easy to bloom as a Thanksgiving Cactus.

Life seems pretty good right now. The sun is shining, birds are singing, most of the snow is gone, and my loved ones are healthy and happy. I am blessed.

Hoya Multiflora and Easter Cactus

I knit a swatch from the cotton I had left from the kimonos. I washed it yesterday, measuring before and after. There's good news and bad news. The colors did not bleed, however the sample shrank lengthwise, from 6" to 5". This is not good because I think those kimonos are a little on the short side anyway. This will probably limit them to summer use, and maybe that will work out okay. On the plus side, the cotton softened up nicely.
I admit I should have swatched before I knit the kimonos, but I wouldn't have had enough yarn for two if I had. I will wash the swatch several more times, checking for fading and more shrinkage.


If I'm talking about swatches, why are you looking at tatt3r's houseplants? I put the swatch on my kitchen table and the flash bleached out all the color and definition. I decided to show pictures of my hoya multiflora. I am so excited to see it getting ready to bloom. It's also called 'shooting star hoya', and will have white and yellow flowers. I bought it in October '07 and it's doing very well.
I'm not sure where I got the Easter cactus. If it's from my paternal grandmother, who died in 1975, it's been around a long time. I can't remember when I got it, it's been sitting quietly in the corner for years. When it bloomed last year I was astonished to see it wasn't a Christmas cactus. I looked around on the internet and recognized the bloom of an Easter cactus.
It needs to be repotted, I think. When I watered it, I noticed that it took almost 30 seconds for the water to soak into the roots. It is very potbound, and I'm afraid I will overwater it and loose it. I took a cutting last month and saw new growth on it this morning. Diametrag says she needs to repot her Christmas cactus, so I think I will find a bag of dirt and do both plants. I need to do more research because all I have is African Violet soil and perlite. I think I should use orchid mix or maybe peat moss. I'm not sure. Help me out if you know what kind of mix I need for Christmas Cacti.