Trying to Do Good One Sock at a Time

Yesterday the husband and I took Baby Man to the doctor for this 24-month well baby check-up… in the pouring rain.  Yes, a good old downpour on January 25th.  It hit a high of 6°C here yesterday, which is exceptionally unusual for January.  And because Baby Man gets car sickness so easily, we had to walk.  Thankfully the doctor is close, and Baby Man had a great deal of fun splashing in all the puddles.  (The doctor also offered a solution for his car sickness. Yay!)  Baby Man is doing fine.  He is a bit tall and a bit thin for his age, but he is perfectly healthy and on track developmentally.

Beyond celebrating Baby Man’s birthday (thank you for the good wishes) and the doctor appointment, I haven’t had too much free time.  Really, when do I have much free time?  However I did manage to cast on for a pair of Francie socks.  Through Ravelry’s Help Haiti system, the designer of this sock is donating $6 to Doctors Without Borders from every pattern sold until the end of February.  And, if you finish a pair before the end of February and send her a note on Ravelry, she will donate another $1.  These socks have been in my queue for some time, so I figured this was a good time to knit them.  I’m using Crystal Palace’s Panda Cotton in colour Powder Blue.

Francie Socks by Rebekkah Kerner

I’ve also put in some time on Planet June’s Groundhog.  Yesterday afternoon Baby Man helped me stuff the body.  The husband insists it looks like a seal, but I think it will look more like a groundhog once all the limbs are attached.

Groundhog by Planet June

Okay, in that picture it doesn’t even look like a seal. Really, it is much cuter in person.  And I have a good reason why there is in earring hook in its nose: you are supposed to mark the nose to help with eye positioning and embroidering in the nose later.  However, I have misplaced my package of stitch markers and just used what I had on hand.

As for cross stitching, well, I haven’t had the time.  I’ve been reading a really good book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell, which has got me thinking quite a bit about where the things I am buying come from and just how is it that they can make it all the way here to Canada and be so darn cheap.  As an extension, I’ve also been thinking more about where the food I eat comes from and what sort of chemicals I’m using to clean my house.  I have a feeling that some soul searching and some big changes may be in the works shortly.

But, on the other hand, how can I say I care so much when I knit with bamboo (rayon) and acrylic, both of which are created through processes that aren’t exactly environmentally friendly.  *sigh* It really is hard to know how to do right in the world today.  But, I suppose doing something is better than doing nothing at all.

And, since we are having yet another dull and cloudy day here today (but it is more seasonable at -1°), I thought I would share some fun pictures of Baby Man playing with me on the sofa.

Baby Man