Repurposing, or Making Do With What You Have

Two years ago, I knit a cardigan for Natalie. It was a bit big, but children tend to grow a lot in two years so the sleeves were getting short. The yarn, however, was still in great shape. What's a knitter to do? Rip it apart, wind the yarn back up into balls and knit something new with it, of course! So this:
has been transformed into this:
I looked and looked at patterns, hoping to find an easy crochet shrug (since crochet goes so quickly). Alas, I had no luck. I continued my search, though, and came across the Simple Lace Shrug (knit, not crochet) and thought I may have found just what I needed. While it is not written for children's sizes, I was able to adjust the size very easily.
The best part is that Natalie is much happier with her new shrug than she ever was with the original cardigan and I think she will wear it often.

The-Plause

"Don't even think about it," she said. I have started working with Natalie at the piano. We are not on a regular schedule with it yet, but I work with her when she asks. Last week, she was very focused on picking out the melody of Mary Had A Little Lamb on her own, so I left her to her devices.

After a lot of persistence and a bit of frustration, Natalie finally had it. She asked me to come and listen, so I obliged. When she finished, I gave her a hug and told her how proud I was that she kept working on it even when it got hard. She quickly backed out of my hug and said, "Don't even think about it! Don't even think about giving me a round of the-plause!"

It took everything I had not to laugh hysterically. Instead, I did my best to hold it in, but clapped for her, giving her a sly grin as I did so. Natalie grinned back and said, "I'm just kidding. I was secretly hoping you'd give me some the-plause!"

Have you given anyone a round of the-plause lately?

For more funny things kids say, check out Tiny-Talk Tuesday.

Move Over, Knitters

We've got another knitter among us. As some of you may recall, I introduced Natalie to knitting last year and we worked on it when she would ask. Her yarn and needles sat untouched for many months, but this weekend she asked when she would be old enough to knit by herself. I told her that at 6, she was already plenty old enough to knit by herself if she was ready to really listen to the instructions.

I quickly realized that continental knitting wasn't working for Natalie, mostly due to learning to hold the yarn - so we switched to English style and just letting the working yarn hang (rather than wrapping around her fingers). That made all the difference for her. She knit all evening and picked it up again as soon as she woke up the next morning! As a result, I am proud to show you Natalie's first FO (finished object, for the non-knitters):
Here's a close-up...the bottom third is where I cast on and got it started last year, also where she knit along with me (operating the right needle). The rest is all her own handiwork, even the bind-off.
And here it is, in its intended use...a blanket for her dog, Otis:

Finally, here's an extreme close-up of something I'm working on this weekend: