Yesterday was a very, very good day.
Good day thing the first.
The snowdrop arrived swiftly and safely, my friend having the decency to deliver her in daylight hours so that I only missed a few hours of sleep. It was with absolutely incredible joy that I wrapped all 8lbs 11oz of her in her shawl, and noted that my friend Teresa’s work was infinitely finer than mine. Her name on this earth will be Ella, but she is always going to be snowdrop to me.
Good day thing the second
When I came home from the birth my friend Ken was with the girls making dinner and bearing gifts. (Can we have an aside here? I’d like to take a moment to say that when a woman walks exhausted through the door and finds a man making dinner, caring for the children and offering an inexpensive present… that this creates in a woman so much gratitude and good will that this woman would be receptive to romance. I’m not saying that Ken was making a move…I’m just saying that if there was a straight guy out there looking to get lucky, cooking, caring for the kids and getting her a present has way better odds than lying on the couch watching hockey playoffs. This advice belongs right up there with “No man has ever been shot while washing the dishes”.)
The present? Only the best knitting needles in the world.
I have a love for coloured knitting needles that borders on obsession. You can’t get them in Toronto very often either. They pop up from time to time at a Walmart, but mostly you just have to wait and hope. Ken scored these on a trip to Kentucky, where apparently, they are plentiful.
Good day thing the third.
I was so hoping this was how it would turn out. Many thanks to Ken for tallying the votes and making the snazzy chart. Everybody got one vote, except Laurie, who Ken and I agreed made an excellent case for getting two votes, so she did. (That’s the way it is in Harlotville ladies and gentlemen. We make our own rules here.)
Dublin Bay it is, and I’m pretty darn happy about it. I admit to having dictatorial urges and planning to disregard y’all if it came down to something like entrelac, so I’m pretty glad it didn’t come to that.
Yarn Harlot
There’s nothing like a brand new babe…. especially one wrapped in a beautiful shawl. My great-grandmother’s name was Ella and my daughter is Eleanor. So I love the name.
Did you get some glasses? Were you able to see what you were doing when you were catching the baby?
Bienvenue a Ella! She looks great in her shawl.
One hopes, though, that even Toronto is past the snowdrops stage.
Beauty here in SE Pennsylvania.
You know, it occurs to me that there are many worse things than gay husbands.
Hell, you’ve got the lovely girls already, and Ken’s certainly nice to look at and smart and helpful.
SO?
What a beautiful baby! And she obviously appreciates her gift, look how content she is snuggled up in there.
I hope too, like Kathy that Toronto is past the snow drop stage…only because I am unselfish. We are at the snowdrop stage here north of Edmonton, the snow dropped for 3 days and sits 6 inches deep in my yard.
Barb
The snowdrops, both shawl and baby, are lovely. I think that Ken’s pie chart actually puts him WAY over the top in “perfect man” status.
And those needles are indeed as plentiful and as colorful in the U.S as Ken reported. I personally love the colors but find the aluminum unpleasant to use. I am coming to Toronto in late May and will be happy to bring some of whatever sizes or available colors you desire. I can leave them for you (discreetly wrapped) at that favorite yarn shop of yours which I am DETERMINED to find while I am in town.
Seems the least I can do for such consistent knitting inspiration and the privilege of two votes.
OH what a precious baby! And such a beautiful way to enter the world – born at home to be snuggled into a lovingly hand stitched heirloom quality shawl.
Now about those socks, I’m sure they will be very nice in the Dublin Bay design, but I sure would have loved to see how those soft natural colors would work up in the Broad Ripple…. Now if you discount the entrelac votes and add them to the Broad Ripple votes….. heh heh heh
Oh, Stephanie! The baby and the shawl are gorgeous. Good work, both of you. I dreamt of a baby last night… a baby boy who I hope one day will arrive in my life. The universe is showing up babies all over the place!
So beautiful!
I wondered where you were yesterday. ;o) She’s beautiful.
Boye needles and hooks are over-abundant here in the States. I had to admit I did a double take when I saw you had them pictured. I’m sure if you cooked dinner here, I could grab a couple on my next Wally World run. ;o) Just a thought…
What a happy day! Beautiful baby, beautiful shawl…
I was going to add “beautiful needles” but for me, they’ve only got the color going for them. They are indeed common as dirt here, residing in cheap craft stores across the land. Lovely wooden and bamboo needles, meanwhile, are hidden in yarn shops or only available on the internet. I think I would have been more enthusiastic about knitting earlier if I’d known of alternatives to Boye needles.
My favorite _crochet_ needle, though, is a Boye in a style they no longer make. Go figure.
Pass along congrats to the mother!
What a breath taking moment…a beautiful baby wrapped in a shawl made with love. How very fortunate you all are. My DH and Ken must be cut from the same cloth…he does ALL the dishes. Looking forward to seeing the start of your socks. Enjoy those beautiful, colorful needles!
Yes, I agree, I’d have probably tried knitting before this if I’d found other things than just the Boye needles! Walmart, all the craft stores… all they have are Boye and Susan Bates. I don’t even like metal needles very much.
I’m just glad I found these Lion Brand acrylic needles… they come in even prettier colors and I love them to death. And for the record… I think I’ve officially switched to preferring straights. 😀 Running the yarn loops over the little nub on the circulars is like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Congrats on the snowdrop!
Beautiful little Ella in her gorgeous snowdrop shawl.
What a great day !
Do you have a Michael’s near you? I know they carry Boye needles. I’ve bought them at the Michael’s at 404 and Hwy 7, so I imagine they all stock them. You could call and see.
Yours is one of the funniest and well-written knitting blogs I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Kudos. 🙂
About colourful needles — Have you seen the Swallow casein ones? They’re totally gorgeous — pearly and tortoiseshell colours, in straights and dpns. Also, I have some very pretty Pony Pearl needles. The Swallow caseins aren’t in my LYS, but elann.com definitely carries them. I’m not sure about where you can get Pony Pearls from a Canadian source.
My first pair of needles (only been knitting for about a month) was Boye and I lovingly refer to them as my “stylish red” knitting needles. I also happen to go to school right across the river from KY. Good ol’ HC. (By the way, for trivial pursuit players, if you ever get asked where is the one place that you can stand in one point and see three bends in a river, the answer is Hanover College.) =)
Beautiful baby, and gorgeous shawl! Did you get new glasses before she was born?? Oh, and I know a straight man who possesses most of those qualities you were describing in Ken. (This guy isn’t big on kids, but I don’t have kids, so…) And he’s single. He cooks, does dishes, gets me little presents, AND uncomplainingly holds yarn while I wind it into balls. He even takes an interest in my knitting. And yes, as I said, he’s single. He is, in fact, my ex-boyfriend. Woe is me. 😉
Ah, so nice to hold a new born. My sister in law is due at the end of September and I cant wait to hold the baby. My two are by far not new borns anymore, and I miss it. Well the holding, not the sleepless nights.
I am also from Toronto, and can find those needles at the two Walmarts in Scarborough all the time. One is at scarborough town centre, and the other is eglinton town centre. Let me know if you need more information.
I’m very impressed. The Harlot can deliver babies AND knit, well…blindfolded! I bow to you.
Ella & Snowdrop are beautiful.
PRETTYYY BAAABY!!!
cute boy too! maybe YOU should hit on HIM! 😉
As for the needles… I like the straights (they ARE common as sirt here…those and susan bates!) but those are the WORST circular needles EVER) Seriously, the cor that connects them is HORRENDOUS. I made the mistake of buying one the day before Easter, as I’d forgotten my knitting at home 🙁 and all the LYS were closed and I didnt want to be without knitting for the weekend! I’m planning on returning it AS SOON AS I finish the critter knitter blankie that’s on them. Susan Bates circulars are alright though. Nothing special, but not bad.
Hey, btw…anyone notice CLOVER needles being sold in a CRAFT STORE?!?!?! I forget the name of the store buy one of my local craft stores was selling CLOVER BAMBOO NEEDLES! I was soo impressed! CRAFT STORE!
I was hoping the Harlot was “absent” for baby duty! Welcome, Ella! (And well done, Mom and Stephanie.)
How lovely to have the privilege to be present at the birth of such a lovely baby. I must admit I envy you. Now the needles on the other hand I can’t stand. They were what I started out knitting with and (as I’m sure you know from the other comments) can be found all over the here (US) dirt cheap. Should I run into some with especially pretty colors I could pick some up for you. Do you like big needles or small ones?
Ella is beautiful!
I wasn’t able to comment on the sock above (some kind of comment problem), so…
I like it this way, a lot. I don’t know about that swirling thing; it may be overrated. Anyway, this is cool. Think of it not as “puddling,” but as “flashing.” Or start over. 🙂
Wow, what a beauty! And the baby is pretty cute too. I hope she has the good breeding to never spit up on her beautiful gift. Oh my, I had no idea ordinary needles like Boye would be rare in Canada. If you like the colored ones, you should check out the cool acrylic needles made by Susan Bates – they are far superior to the old plastic ones we used to use. I still prefer bamboo or birch, but in larger needles the acrylics are great.
http://www.joann.com/catalog.jhtml?CATID=46515&PRODID=71924&AID=10273743&PID=1259339
Waiting on a godchild myself… thinking of making a baby poncho in a neutral color like greens and making older sister the same poncho in lavenders….do baby boys wear ponchos?
cannot wait for the baby I am jumping up and down!
so thanks for being in the same situation. I have to go from Chicago to Michigan about the itty bitty baby….
They’re both exquisite works of art. Congratulations to you both.
well we share 2 passions; knitting for exquisite babes and catching them…are you perchance a doula?
i just keep having babies but i think it is time to catch someone else’s
thus, i am interested in your non-knitting career
beautiful work
suzan, aka wooly pig
Re: another commenter – I bought some size 1 dpns the other day – clover ones – in Ben Franklin. I was frightened by this, but had to do it as a matter of principle.
Also – there are these new acrylic needles in rainbow colors. I have the larger crochet hooks of the same type, but I saw the needles this weekend. They were so pretty, but the 5 skeins of Koigu were prettier. I know I’m behind on comments. I’ll get to your sock nightmare when I get home from work tonight. As it is I called work and told them I’d be a little late because I wanted to catch up on your blog.
“You know you’re addicted to the Harlot when…”