Sad tale

Well, it could be a sad tale. Remember those soakers? I have now knit 4 pairs in varying sizes. The little green chicken pants, two pair of traditional old-fashioned soakers like I used to wear (see photo) and a Curly Purly pair large enough for DGS. He was the catalyst for this marathon of soakerism. On Sunday, I proudly presented my offering. But the leg opening was just too tight. Everything else was OK but the poor little guy was NOT happy with such a snug fit! So I am back to the needles and working up another, larger pair. New babies everywhere so no soaker will go unused.

And, I have finished another swap mat. These are fun and quick. And I get to play a bit with color and texture. This one is from two wool jackets - I've put pieces of the original fabric in the photo. I just never know what something is going to look like when it's hooked in. But I've done enough straight lines, the next square will be a bit more curvaceous.

Swords

Here's me with my tai chi sword. This move is called 'immortal fairy points the way'. This is a new bit of tai chi learning for me and so far it's fun. The names are even more beautiful than in the 37 form I've learned. I'll try to add a link so you can see all the poetic names for the moves.

I thought I had a picture of my sword but I guess it didn't get downloaded. Or more likely it was misfiled. I'll look later.

Buying the sword was an adventure although we didn't think it would be. We had planned a trip to Chinatown to a recommended store. Thought we could make a day and have some good food and shopping. But that didn't happen. So, on to Plan B: a little quicker and using the car instead of the bus. Probably just as well - who wants to be on the bus with a sword?

Here's a picture: two middle-aged women walk into a storefront with heavy-duty boxing gear displayed in the window. The store guy is very helpful and we look at all kinds of wooden swords. Then he starts asking technical questions like, which master are you studying with? And, which forms have you studied? Yikes! How to feel really stupid!

But I have my lovely sword. I try to think of it as ceremonial and not a weapon. Me, who wouldn't even let my kids have water guns. I have a lo-ong way to go before I'm a threat to anyone.

Experiment

So, here's the first soakers. Do you call them a pair of soakers? A. thinks they look like pants for a chicken. Unfortunately, I can sort of see that vision. Darn, I'll never look at them the same way again. My own vision involved hot water bottles with legs. Not a whole lot better, is it? I think it's the high waist that gives them an out-of-proportion look. This is the 'curly purly' pattern.

Anyway, they were fun to knit and pretty easy. But I'll definitely pay more attention to gauge and needle size (there are three size changes in this pattern) as these are just slightly smaller than I had anticipated. Because they're so stretchy I think it'll be OK for a newborn. I'm going to make some for Charlie now and he's a bit bigger. I'd better get that size thing right.

Rugs and dolls

Been a busy week - or more. The rug finally was finished and sent off to its auction. I'm told the auction was a success as was the rug. I really enjoyed working on this one. The bright butterflies were a great preview of summer days and warm nights.

The first doll project was the 'reborn' CP Kid who was going in a silent auction. The request was for a skateboarding girl with piercings and dyed hair. But, in the end I couldn't find a skateboard to use with the doll so I changed her to a little girl with big 'skater grrl' aspirations. A black T-shirt with a tie-dyed peace sign applique and hand-made leather 'board' shoes. Even hand-knit socks. She was quite cute and eventually went home with a 6 year old girl. Nice.

Then all the babies and Barbies that needed to be washed and dressed and have a visit with the hairdresser. Then they go back to the thrift store for sale. Thanks to all the donors who help to brighten my day as well as that of other kids. It's fun but time-consuming.

And now I get to design another rug - or maybe another quilt square.

Oh, and I've discovered soakers to knit for all the new babies this year. So far, there are four in my world. Soakers are just such a lovely way to keep baby dry with an older, earth-friendly technology. And much softer and kinder to little bottoms than plastic!