Autumn knitting & babies

Well, the autumnal air has done something to me, and I just had to pick up some odds and ends of copper coloured yarn and knit myself an autumn. I decided to go with the gift pouches in last minute knitted gifts, and turned out two in no time at all.

These are knit with an unknown yarn that I inherited from my grandmother. It's soft and light and has a slight sheen. I knit the first one as instructed, fastening the base with a 3 needle bind off. For the second bag, I decided that I preferred a seamless look and used good old Kitchener to close the base.

With those out of the way (filed in the gift stash) I started ferreting for another project (completely ignoring the current WIPs..). With various small birthdays coming up (one aged 3, 2 aged 2) I thought I would get started on a stripey tank from the Rowan Family book. It's proving to be a quick and addictive knit (I've finished the back, and I'm up to the armholes & neck shaping on the front). It's made much easier by knitting flat using DPNs - this means I can manage the one row stripes without having to cut the yarn. I'm already planning to knit another one or two of these - they look so good...

Finally, huge CONGRATULATIONS to friends Helen & Stephen who recently welcomed a new daughter to the family. Baby Iona was born at home in a pool - the same pool that her older brother Digby was born in, and the same pool that our little bean was born in! Welcome little one - cant wait to meet you!

Edited to add:
Congratulations also to Gayle - a near neighbour - who had a little girl on Sunday last. Her son Jack is a day younger than the bean and we shared many coffees and chats about baby things in the early months. We bumped into her on Saturday: she was ready to pop and slightly trepidatious about the prospect (Jack was a breech baby and born by c/s) but with a head down baby this time, she was all set for a normal delivery. Go girl.