Want to keep a child busy for an hour?  How about giving her a pomegranate?  My past experience with pomegranates is this: as a child my mom would hand us each a pom and send us far outside to sit on the grass to first open, then eat.  The former is an almost impossible task for a child; it must have taken an hour for little hands to pry one open, and the latter, the actual eating part, also takes forever and could be the most messy of all messy endeavors ever.  But I do remember loving them so much.  The little seeds looked like my ruby birthstone and I loved the way they popped in my mouth with a crunch and a tiny squirt of juice.  I also remember we'd have to hose ourselves off before we could enter the house again.  Did I say these are messy?

So, what does one do when given a windfall of pomegranates?  As in a whole trash bag full?  I had no idea so sent out a plea to my lovely and helpful friends on Facebook and got some great ideas!  I narrowed it down to freezing the individual seeds for later use in salads and desserts, juicing (jeeze, what a mess) and finally, simmering the juice down with a bit of sugar and lemon for a divine grenadine.  I kept some of the grenadine in the refrigerator, but with most I made some pomegranate vodka, two bottles.  Heaven.  

OK, so the kitchen was a mess, but the red freckles all over the kitchen, me and my clothes cleaned up easily with soap and water.  If you want to do something else messy, make borscht.  I harvested a basket of beets last week and made some quarts of borscht for the freezer--and just like poms, they're beautiful, red, messy, healthy and yummy.   

At the end of the post I have my current knitting projects.

I have some gorgeous yarns on the needles right now.  I have projects in Rowan Felted Tweed, Ysolda's Blend 1, Purl Soho's Linen Quill, Rowan's Brushed Fleece and as always, Rowan Kidsilk Haze.  All these yarns are heavenly; all are equally easy to knit and make a beautifully soft and even fabric.  I'm in knitting heaven this fall, no kidding.  These projects are getting the most attention at the moment:

Knitionary

You might think that because of this post and my last post, all I've been knitting is baby clothes.  But not true, it's just that I've only been finishing and photographing  baby clothes.  I'm planning a post that shows all my half-done grown-up knitting I'm feverishly working on--maybe that will be next week--and I've got some mighty gorgeous yarns on the needles.

Above is the Ava Tunic by Linda Whaley from Little Rowan Cherish, a book that I am infatuated with and a book that I'll probably end up making at least half the designs; I've already made three.  The pattern recommended Summerlite DK which I love, but I had some Rowan Wool/Cotton in my stash.  If you love this stuff, buy it and stash it as it's been discontinued.  It's so soft and cuddly to knit and wear.  It is practical too as it goes in the washing machine in cool water on a gentle cycle.  Even though the ball band does not recommend it be tumble dried, I have had luck putting WC in the dryer for a short time, maybe 10 minutes or so, then lay flat to finish the drying. 

As for the design, gah, it's absolutely adorable!  It just grabbed my heart when I saw it.  This is the 18 mos. size and I can just see a tiny girl toddling around in this wearing capris and bare feet perhaps?  Or leggings and baby-sized Uggs?  I changed the neckline a wee bit (3 rows of garter then cast off) and instead of the embroidered flowers I made these flowers.  Also, I used the "top-down set-in sleeves" technique which I use WHENEVER possible.  It's such an easy technique and it always turns out perfectly.

Ava Tunic, my Ravelry project page

All the Cherish patterns on Ravelry

Little Rowan Cherish, the book at Jimmy Beans

Rowan Wool Cotton at Jimmy Beans

The wooden hangers are from the Container Store and

there are two sets, an animal set and a zoo set.

I'm in love with this little fisherman gansey and it was pure fun to knit.  The pattern comes from Little Rowan Cherish by Linda Whaley, a book I reviewed a bit ago, and a book that I adore.  The yarn is Rowan Pure Wool DK, a soft machine washable yarn that was replaced by Pure Wool Superwash DK--almost the same yarn but now made superwash.  Still, the original yarn can go in the washing machine because the one rule I try never to break is to use only machine washable for baby and children's sweaters.   The pattern is charted and very easy to memorize with just a quick glance at the chart every few rows.

Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK 

Little Rowan Cherish by Linda Whaley

My Ravelry project page
Cute infant hangers are from the Container Store,  I bought both this animal set and this zoo set.

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Look at my Climbing First Prize below!  Here we are in mid September so it's a bit scraggly up close, but from afar, it looks fantastic!

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When knitting books arrive in my mailbox I drop e v e r y t h i n g and flip though quickly, then sit down and read them like a novel.  Then it goes by my bedside for bedtime reading and happy dreaming.  I can't be the only one obsessed with knitting books, right?  I have a few new publications to share in the next weeks, and the first up is Little Rowan Blossom by Linda Whaley, an imaginative and feminine collection of knitted garments and accessories for girls aged 3 to 7 years.  From the book: "Timeless, treasured designs knitted in yarns excelling in comfort, wrapping your loved ones in garments hand made with love."  And from me:  This is simply the prettiest children's knitting book I've seen. I know it will become a classic.

As for gifting to expecting parents, I almost always knit a one year size, but I remember when my aunt gave me some toddler sized clothing at a baby shower.  They looked giant to me, but she said, "Two years may seem like it's a long time from now, but it goes by quickly and you'll be happy to have these clothes tucked away."  And she was right on both counts, those two years did go by quickly and I was very happy to have them when I needed them.  So, at the next baby shower, and if I know it's a girl, I'm going to knit one of these in the three year size.  Now, enjoy these pretty little sweaters on these pretty little girls. Shopping links are at the end.

If the book is not at your local Rowan stockist yet, I found it online:

Laughing Hens

Black Sheep

Lady Sew and Sew

English Yarns

Websters

The suggested yarns are Rowan yarns I have used many times and can highly recommend.

They are all machine washable, soft to wear and easy to knit. 

Summerlite DK

Summerlite 4ply

Wool Cotton

Handknit Cotton

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