Yarn Along: Quick Takes Edition!

*This is a collection of all (I think) of the knitting projects I've finished and begun in the past several months.  I've still been knitting (somewhat at least!) even though I've not been linking up. 

1.  The booties came first.  Stay-On Baby Booties.  I found the pattern out of a library book and it is an heirloom pattern shared initially by an elderly (95!) knitter in a knitting periodical who wanted the pattern to remain in existence.  Very cool.

2.  Then I started the baby pants (with baby en utero--it's so hard for me to do that, having to guess at sizing... anyway..).  I love the seed stitched cuffs.  I still have yet to put elastic in the waist band, but will do that when baby is ready for them to fit to size.  They've all been small in the waist, long in the legs so far.

3.  Because they were made with Cascade Eco, an enormous skein, I had enough left to make a matching Milo.  I chose the heart cable since by that point she was born and she was a girl.  (Finally, a girl to knit for.  ..So much easier.)

4.  The purple and pink Milo was made between the two teal pieces because she needed an extra warm something to go over long-sleeved onesies this past winter.  So I made it in a pinch with left-over Pastaza (? or something like that.  Wool/Llama blend).  That one has the X O X O cable.

5.  Most recently I've been making these canning jar cozies to go with my Cuppow lids when they come in the mail.  (Inspired by Amanda!)  I'm really jazzed about this whole idea, plus it's a super fast, easy knit and also a great way to use up odds and ends.  I've got the smaller, oatmeal-colored one (made out of my gramma-mitten yarn) for a pint jar for coffee drinks (hot and/or cold) and I'm making a big one for a quart jar for my drinking water jug.

6.  On the reading front, I just received The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood from the library.  I didn't request it and I don't know anything about it, but it came for me, so I think it's this month's book club book.  I'm interested to start it to see what it's all about and if it's any good.  Does anybody know?  I know she's a pretty popular author, so it'll be fun to try something from her.

Also, we've been revisiting a bunch of our favorite story books by the author/illustrator Valeri Gorbachev.  We've not found any of his books that we didn't enjoy, but That's What Friends Are For, The Big Trip, The Missing Chick, and What's the Big Idea, Molly? are some of my favorites.

7.  I really hadn't done any knitting for a long while and my basket had just been taunting me from the shelf.  I kept thinking about Ginny's comments about knitting during the boys' lessons (and thinking she was crazy).  But, one day I decided to give it a try myself, and it worked!  My oldest sat reading to me and I was knitting right alongside him.  It was great!  And I found I can also knit behind the baby's back while she's learning to sit between my legs when we're on the floor together.  She's become really grabby lately, though, which makes this a little more tricky.  And yesterday I knit up some soggy, slightly-spit-up-on yarn.  Oh well!

8.  I know my days of enjoying that gummy, toothless baby grin are extremely numbered, so I'm trying my best to capture it while I still can.  L O V E  I T.