Look what I dug up

It sure feels like Christmas around here! We've had some really cold temperatures and a lot of snow. Yesterday morning we had just a dusting, but by 2pm it started coming down hard and fast, making for an interesting commute home! I awoke this morning to a good 10-12 inches of new snow in the backyard. Today is just gorgeous and Marc and the girls got an early start - they headed up to Stowe for some major powder. This snow is the lightest, fluffiest stuff - very sparkly! I'm sure they are having a blast.

Last night I was doing some computer work at home - going through some old digital photos of the girls when they were little. It seems like just yesterday that they were babies, so how is it that they are already 9? Anyway, I noticed a few hand knit things in some of my pictures. Before you see the pictures... warning! My children were basically bald until they were almost 2. They inherited that from me.

First, I found a picture of the night I finished their Christmas stockings. It was Christmas Eve of 2000, and the girls were 1 and a half. I did try the stockings on... I remembered correctly.
Sarah and Ellie (white tail is visible) were my old cats. They are no longer with us, but they did like to keep me company when I knit.

And then here are the girls the next morning, unloading their stockings. Clearly, they weren't too sure about it all. Helen's looking at Sophie like "What the HECK are you doing?" She was hard to wake up back then, and boy, some things never change. Another thing that hasn't changed? Sophie rips into every package, and Helen savors things. Funny how evident this is at such an early age.
Then I found some other pictures of them wearing things I'd knit for them. I think this is the picture I used for our Christmas card that year. They are wearing their Swedish Day Dresses, a Minnowknits pattern that has been discontinued. It was obviously more a summer dress, but I made it work for fall with a turtleneck and tights. They don't seem to mind.

These pictures are earlier... in this one they are not yet one. Again, wearing some Minnowknits dresses. This pattern is the Brittany jumper, but I do remember adding length to this one. I'm not into short dresses that expose the diaper when the kid bends over. I used Saucy Sport for these, and it really held up well with all the wearing, washing and drying. We still sell this pattern, and have one of these actual dresses in the shop. It's a big seller.

Here we have some more Minnowknits sweaters, though this pattern was in a book, which has been discontinued I think. And finally, two non-Minnowknits patterns! Helen (left) is wearing a great sweater from the Debbie Bliss Quick Baby Knits book. I LOVED this sweater. I think it had a turtleneck which I switched to a crew. It was so great. Sophie is wearing a sweater I had knit for my niece (who is now 18). It was a really cute Rowan kids pattern.
So see, I DID used to knit a lot more for my kids, before I owned a shop. Maybe I will make a New Year's Resolution this year, to try to knit more for them... but will they wear things I make for them, now that they have a say? Stay tuned.