Some Sewing for the Baby(doll)

Some two years ago I made this doll for our middle child, Harvey.  Upon receiving him, he immediately named him Harvey and the doll has been known to all of us as Baby Harvey since that moment.  Baby Harvey comes in and out of style depending on which way the wind is blowing.  Some weeks, he is tended to carefully as he naps, eats, is carried close by our Harvey.  Recently Baby Harvey has moved his bed next Harvey's because he {Baby Harvey, that is} is scared in this night.  Other weeks, however, he will be unnoticed. 

After reading Children at Play (especially the chapter regarding doll play), I began to understand how our children relate to their dolls as themselves, how inextricably tied the one is to the other {the doll's name IS Harvey after all}.   Our middle child is definitely in a period of disequilibrium, as Louise Bates Ames would say, and his constant attention to his baby seems to be a way of calming the storm within, so to speak.  Sometimes the storms erupt over seemingly nothing, like a pair of newly made pajama pants: "Baby Harvey doesn't like STRIPES!" and sometimes it is quite clear: "Baby Harvey is tired and needs to sleep right now."  Whatever the connection, it is wonderful to witness such gentle care being taken of this little doll that I bruised and battered my hands for years ago.

Today Baby Harvey got some new clothes.  Unfortunately, he doesn't like stripes, so he is going to need another pair of pants.  I made them using a pattern in this book.  The pants were made out of some seersucker fabric and the shirt from a t-shirt that was destined for donation but now is remaining here, and on Baby Harvey.

Yarn Along: 8 February

Joining Ginny again today for her Yarn Along...

Knitting a sweater for myself makes me feel like I am crossing some sort of milestone (or milestones) as a knitter.  I am not sure why.  This is certainly not a fancy sweater (although it is a lot more stylish than the zip-up hoodies that I don 95% of the time in our, um, chilly would be a massive understatement house).  This B.O.B. is as close to a wardrobe necessity as I can get right now.  On the rare day like today when I actually comb my hair and put on a little make-up, putting on the zip-up hoodie just cancels out the whole effort, if you know what I mean.  So the B.O.B. will hopefully add a little style to my in-home winter wear.

As for reading, I am still in the midst of Winter World, and I am expecting it to actually take me through the rest of the winter.  I actually can't imagine reading this book in the summer and, if it does not get finished, I may put it away until winter comes again.  Somehow reading about overwintering insects at eight o'clock at night when the sun hasn't yet set and it is as humid inside our house as it is out just does not sound appealing to me.  Maybe this, though.

As a side note, while I am working on my sweater, I am also typically enjoying something on Netflix.  For the past few months, my husband and I have been making our way through every episode of thirtysomething.  We finally finished the series last week, and, I am only slightly kidding when I say that it was difficult to say goodbye to our friends.  So many of their struggles have been our own.  What fun we had together watching it (mixed with the anxiety attacks that some of the episodes brought on ;).   

Happy knitting and reading everyone.  I can't wait to read about what you have been up to this week.

Nature Study Monday: Downy Woodpecker

Oh I spotted one!  I really did!  I have heard whisperings on the commonly sited backyard Downy Woodpecker and I do think I caught a glimpse of this guy for a fleeting moment over the summer, but not since I have begun to take notice of the wonderful world of birds that surround us.  

The Red-Bellied Woodpecker visits us frequently, but this jumpy Downy Woodpecker makes much less frequent visits.  On one very snowy morning last week he flitted by for an instant, giving me no time to either enjoy his presence or snap a shot of him.  So we waited and waited and waited...  and waited some more.  And then, flit!, he was back again.

Downy Woodpeckers are smaller in size to most woodpeckers and they can be found all over most parts of the U.S. year-round.  The red stripe on the back of this fellow's head keys us into his gender.  His female counterpart has the same black and white striped head, minus the patch of red.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Amanda Soule

Winter Outside

 ~~~

 ~~~

 ~~~

Yarn Along: 1 February

Joining Ginny again for the Yarn Along...


It is almost bizarre how excited I get about our Wednesday Yarn Along.  I really love seeing what everyone is knitting and reading.

I have been plugging away on the B.O.B. sweater for myself and having an amazing time doing it!  I am nervous about the gauge as nearly all of my sweaters have been off, but I took it off the needles once and it seems to be sizing o.k.  I am not a huge fan of cables (or lace) because they require too much concentration for my knitting self.  These are simple though and limited in number so they are providing a nice kind of variation from the knitting and purling.

My reading has been fairly limited this week as I have been falling fast fast asleep after only a couple if paragraphs of Winter World.  I love the book and am learning so much about the lives of snapping turtles--they are air-breathing and hibernate in the muddy water at the bottom of ponds for six months at a time!  Fascinating, this wonderful world of ours.

Winter Inside

 ~~~

 ~~~

 ~~~

 ~~~

 ~~~

 ~~~