Baby Gnomes, Baby Birds, and Beautiful Baby Baptismal Gown

Two twin baby gnomes were born on a trip to Florida the spring. My brother was going to baptize our twin baby cousins who were visiting from France with their parents. I wanted to give them a gift so…I knit them each a baby gnome on the go!

I loved the twin baby gnomes so much that on the trip home this little “cutie” appeared from my needles:

In the next few weeks I made several more. Here are some of my favorites:

this is my little

Fairy Gnome.

I just love the golden curly hair and of course, the wings!

The Beard was such fun to make on my Santa!

After much “ohhhing” and “ahhhhing” by my students, I have decided to give a

Baby Gnome Workshop.

Learn basic toy making skills while making an adorable little gnome

You also learn how to do a picot cast-on and bind-off

Plus a nifty stitch that can be used for hair and beards (think Santa!) while making a little

flower or bookmark

in this 2 session workshop.

Dates:

AM: Tue. July 27 and Aug. 3 at 11 AM

PM: Wed. July 28 and Aug. 4 at 7:30 PM

Cost: $35

Email me at notesfromknitclass@gmail.com if you’d like to sign up or get more information. I will need to give you a supply list and a little bit of knitting to do before the workshop.

Speaking of babies, Jean B., one of my newer students (but not a new knitter!), made this lovely baptismal gown for her youngest granddaughter Ella, who is truly a gift from God.

Little Ella sailed through serious surgery a few months after her birth with smiles…a true little miracle baby with a wonderful family. The gown is such a gift of love and I’m sure will become a family heirloom. And, Jean’s beautiful faith as she knit with trust and care during such a difficult time will always be an inspiration to me.

A few weeks ago our dear Dawn (who will always be my “go to” person for all things about nature) discovered a bird’s nest in a hanging plant on our front porch! I immediately put my Iphone camera into action. 6 eggs!!

A few days later , the first little hatchling appeared:

Soon, the nest got pretty crowded:

And, now …an empty nest:

I kind of miss those little guys and the excitement of nature at work on our front porch!

What baby stories have come your way lately? I’d love to hear them.

Don’t forget, dear knitters to join Mittens kitty and me for the fun Baby Gnomes Workshop!

Mary, who is busy knitting on wayyyy too many projects…which will produce lots of new surprises for my summer and fall students to make...

Notes from North Carolina

May 28-31, 2010

Greetings from our latest road trip. We are staying in Cornelius very near Lake Norman and just outside of Charlotte. It's funny what unexpected paths our journeys take us. 2 days ago I had never heard of Cornelius or Lake Norman. What lovely and unexpected beauty!

Today we took walks in 2 parks along Lake Norman: saw beautiful flowers, the lovely shoreline of the lake with several folks taking their dogs for romps in the grass and the water. Also spotted one man seated in a lawn chair at the edge of the water with five ( ! ) fishing poles stuck in the ground. What a relaxing and fun way to spend a warm spring Saturday: sitting by the edge of a sparkling lake fishing and daydreaming. The only thing I'd add to make it perfect would be a lapful of knitting!

And, speaking of fun and knitting, I went to 2 yarn shops nearby. The first one, The Needlecraft Center is in a charming old house in Davidsonville, North Carolina (website: http://www.needlecraftcenter.com ). There is a wonderful front porch with some rocking chairs and a BIG basket of yarn.

There were 2 rooms of wonderful yarns. I took 2 videos inside the shop. Sooooo.....since a "picture" is worth more than a thousand words, I thought I'd share them with you:

While in the shop I spotted and bought 3 kits:


This scarf is called Kusha Kusha Scarf. The kit comes with 1 skein of merino wool and another skein of silk stainless steel yarn. After you make it, you felt it lightly. You can see some other examples of it on Ravelry.com .

The other 2 kits I bought were for this adorable doll called Flora and some clothes to make for her.

The other fun yarn shop that I went to was "Knit One, Stitch Too" in Huntersville, NC. Here's their website: http://www.knitonestitchtoo.com They had lots of beautiful yarn...and very reasonably priced with some even on sale! I bought a bunch of yarns for 2 projects that I bought patterns for. Both are going to be gifts I'm going to be making for Christmas (hey, knitters, NOW is the time to start planning your Christmas gift knitting so you don't have to stay up all night on Christmas Eve!). I didn't take any pictures there, so students ask me to show you what I got when you come to your next class.

And so, dear knitters, friends and family, remember to look for and savor the unexpected beauty you find on your travels even if it’s just a walk around the block!

Mary