Saartje's Bootees

It's been another busy week at work, but we've managed to stay pretty productive at home too. The house is slowly transforming into something we want to live in and I'm starting to plan out what we're going to do with the garden.

In advance of major landscaping - new fences, raised beds etc - I spent a bit of time weeding the drive, lawn and an existing flower bed on Sunday. Dandelions are our major problem and in two hours on Sunday morning, I removed half a wheelie-bin full of the devils. Many many thanks to Pat, a friend of ours who gave us a dandelion knife and a paving knife as part of a wedding present, they were put to good use at last and did their jobs admirably.

Knitting also happened at the weekend. I found out last week that my cousin had had a little boy (rather a surprise as I didn't know she was pregnant) so some emergency casting-on occurred. These were the result. Saartje's bootees. I knitted two pairs, the smaller size in left-over Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Ice house colourway and the larger size in some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.


These were an absolute blast to knit. They took about an hour per pair and are sooooo cute. They've already been blocked and are going in the post today. I think that it would be really simple to adjust the pattern to make larger sizes too - the big ones only measured 3.5 inches from toe to heel.



I also got a bit creative in the kitchen and there is now a kilogram of rhubarb and orange jam and 3 kilograms of seville orange marmalade in the larder. Yuuummmeee.