Special Delivery

On this motherhood journey, I often find myself inspired by other Moms.  Few more so then my friend Janelle, one of my sorority sisters from college.  Her own motherhood journey has been anything but easy and included the loss of her first child just a few days after his arrival.  A few weeks ago, she gave birth to little girl who they named Lexi.  Upon her early arrival, I desperately wanted everything to go well for my friend who has already faced more grief and worry than any mother should have to face in a lifetime, let alone a few short years.

So, I decided to embark on my own special kind of prayer.  I picked a cute little girl cardigan pattern and started kitting.  With every stitch I thought of this sweet baby and the life I want her and her family to have.  A life full of love and joy and fun.  One full of friendship and family and community.  And I knit and knit and knit until the end result was this...

and this...

and this very special delivery.

It looks like my special delivery should be arriving just in time for Lexi's homecoming!  I hope it finds her in good health and that she has a life full of friends like the one's I've been so lucky to have.  I know she'll be starting life with a huge advantage...one of the best Mom's I've ever seen in action!

The sweater is the Sunnyside Cardigan by Tanis of Tanis Fiber Arts, raveled here.  The booties are Emily Griffin's Garter Stitch Booties, raveled here.

All play and no work

The last few months we've been doing lots of this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

and way less blogging.  We've had a very busy couple of months that included tons of visits with family and trips to see the cherry bloosoms and the aquariumin Baltimore.  However, you can put your mind at ease because there has been lots of knitting, including my first pair of socks. 

These beauts are made from Neighborhood Fiber Company sock yarn in colorway Palisades.  I used a simple pattern from my Ann Budd sock book.  I'd be lying if I said I think that I will be trading in my old hat standby to become a sock knitter but I am pleased with the results.  In the future, I'll be trading in the six inches of ribbing for just an inch of so.  I think if I had done that with this pair, I would be a much happier camper! 

However, I do already have another pair of socks planned for my neice's upcoming birthday.  And speaking of birthdays...a certain little boy will be turning two next month and this pile of knitting might not look like much now...but soon enough it will be a birthday monkey!! 

More on that and my other summer projects soon, I promise!