Bean and the 5 hour baby sweater

The red 5 hour baby sweater fits Bean just perfectly. He's also wearing the red earflap hat that I made to match. It should fit through most of the winter. Don't you love those two little teeth and the big, gooey baby smile?

Another picture of Bean, just because I wish I were at Diametrag's house to give him a hug.

We got lake effect snow on Friday, and today a clipper system is dumping more snow. This vivid pink schlum finally opened yesterday, and it is a welcome spot of color this gray and snowy weekend.

Hat for Bean and Schlumbergera blooms

I finished an earflap hat for Bean, it looks like a good fit to me. The booties are huge, but I'm taking them along anyway. We'll at least try them on and see how close they are. I used Woolease and #8s. The pair I made with #5s was almost too small. I should have dug a bit deeper and found my 7s, but I use them so rarely they are deep in a pile somewhere.

I used a pattern for an earflap hat I found on a blog. It's for dk weight, and I used the smallest size, Woolease and #8s. I feel confident the hat will fit, at least for the weekend.


Two more Thanksgiving Cactus opened this morning. I picked up the red one last year, and nursed it through the summer. It is a beautiful, true red, with a prominent white throat. This picture doesn't show the throat because I like the side view of these blossoms so much.

I picked up the yellow one this weekend, and the first blossom is now fully open. I was looking over the display of plants; pink, white, and orange. Then I saw this one, the only yellow one. I darted around a man who was holding a pink one and looked very undecided. I snatched the yellow from the table, "This one is coming home with me" I said. He put the pink one down and finally decided on an orange one. You snooze, you lose, especially when there's a yellow houseplant involved.

White Schlumbergera

My white Thanksgiving Cactus opened today. It's been in the cold spare bedroom and has a touch of delicate pink on the throat. The buds are creamy white, it's only when it opens you see the pink.
It may be White Christmas, but I lost the tag years ago. Back then I didn't appreciate that some plants were named. I bought it about the same time I got Christmas Fantasy and a yellow schlum. The yellow one died years ago, and I still have Christmas Fantasy, which is a wonderful peach-salmon color. That one is not doing so well, even though I repotted it this spring. I rooted 2 cuttings when I repotted, but no buds on that this year.

I'm not sure how old this plant is. It may be 20 years old; I think I remember moving it from Lansing to Grand Rapids. Last spring I lost the original plant; I rooted 6 or more cuttings so I have a backup again. I am better about backing up my plants than computer files.

I finished one sleeve on the 5HBS, about 1/2 on the second sleeve. I'll post a picture then.

5 hour baby sweater and more

I finished the body of Bean's 5 hour baby sweater. The yoke looks small to me, but it may even out when I pick up the stitches for the sleeves. Bean may end up wearing this to preschool! I must admit I may have overestimated his length.
I figure I must have at least 6 or 8 hours into the sweater, but I'm not keeping close track. I can knit longer and longer before my fingers get numb, almost up to an hour at a time. I hope that next July I won't have any limitations.

Here's Bean! All dressed up and ready for his first Halloween.
He's almost walking and is determined to do it sooner rather than later. See the booboo on his forehead? Bean falls down, but it doesn't stop him for long.

Last I must show a picture of my newest Thanksgiving Cactus. I was at the grocery store where a small collection of schlums greeted me as I entered. They were all the same, a pretty rose-red with white streaks on each petal. I found a tag which gives the name Maruska. Remember the Addams family movie where Gomez dances the Marushka? The memory made me smile, so Maruska came home with me.

Bean Gets a Sunhat

Diametrag wanted a sunhat for Bean. He's a travelling man, now, and rides in the car daily. He also spends time outside, watching the big kids play, and needs some shade for his little head.

Knittin' Grandma to the rescue! My stash of kitchen cotton didn't have any "manly" colors, so I used what I had on hand. The orange reminds me of neon orange hunting hats. Bean will need an orange hat this fall when he goes walking in the woods with his Grandpa T.

Diametrag liked the sunhat pattern I found here. I made the yellow hat first, in the 6 month size and with the closed version of the brim. I thought it was a bit too lacey, and made my own version for the orange hat. I cast on the same # of sts, but decreased 12 stitches every other round until I had the number of stitches needed for the main body of the hat. There is still a little ripple, but it's not quite as girly to my eye. I couldn't find my small #8 circ, so I used my #8 dpns. I knew I would get ladders with the cotton; so I did k4p1 rib on the crown. It puts a purl stitch at the end of my dpns, and adds a little ventilation.

Bean looked pretty good; the hats fit and will keep the sun off his face. The kitchen cotton will fade, but he'll outgrow them before they get washed too many times.


I brought my Thanksgiving Cacti to the back porch for a little summer sun. Diametrag, See how well the Christmas Cactus has rooted!

She gave me 3 cuttings in March, and they all have new growth. I'll have to look for a hanging pot, the Christmas Cactus is more pendulous than my Thanksgiving Cacti. I also rooted cuttings from my white Thanksgiving cactus, and divided them into 2 pots. I know a lady at the lace group that would love a white cactus, but not sure where the second one will go.