Primrose needlepoint draught excluder

We all piled in the car to go to Colorado Springs this afternoon to pick up my primrose needlepoint pillow form the finisher at Needleworks. I love the end result and now need to decide the perfect spot for it. Originally I had thought that I would use it as a door stop. But it's too nice to go on the floor and I certainly don't want to risk getting Bella's drool and dog hair all over it! For now it will take pride of place on my sofa...

Happy flowers

I know it's not Friday... but here's some eye candy:
My husband brought these lovelies home for me this weekend -- we are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. When we married, I had Gerbera's at the wedding reception, in the very same colours. Happy flowers -- I love them!

The B&B team, on the other hand, seem less than impressed! ;o)

Stumped no more!

I picked up Shingle again this weekend.

I wasn't looking forward to it -- when I last put it down I couldn't figure out how to reverse the slip stitch edging from the left front, and apply it to the right front. I was stumped.

Now I'm pretty sure if you are reading this you are wondering where the trouble was... and you'd be right. All I can put it down to is a brain freeze, because when I picked up and knit a swatch this weekend it came straight away! Yay!

Baby Kimono by Debbie Bliss

Pattern: Debbie Bliss' Kimono from the Baby Knits book
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
Modifications: Smaller sizing for a preemie; tubular cast on for the trouser waist (to hide the elastic).

I think this turned out really well and is a fun gift for my friends who run the local Taekwondo school. Yes, I do love Debbie Bliss baby knits :)

Kimono progressing nicely

I had my wisdom teeth pulled this last Friday (yuck!) So under doctor's orders I've been taking it easy this weekend... which translates into quality knitting time! Consequently I've made some great progress on the baby kimono -- it's blocked and drying in the sun as I type.

I also started the matching trousers. I made a small modification to the waist -- I think it's a tubular cast on with a picot edge, (I'm not up on knitting terminology, but it's a tube that will allow me to thread through some elastic. The pattern calls for elastic to simply be sewn onto the inside, but I'd prefer it to be hidden). Here's hoping that I can finish up today, and get back to Shingle for my very patient friend.

Baby Kimono

I'm currently working on a baby Kimono and Trouser set from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits book. The pattern begins at a size 3-6 months but I'm trying to size it down a notch so that it will be suitable for a newborn. And I've substituted the suggested Debbie Bliss yarn with Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece.

Why a Kimono? My friends (the soon-to-be-Grandparents) run the local TaeKwondo school, and their daughter (the soon-to-be-Mom) is a talented black belt. Given the family's love of martial arts I decided that this might be a fun pattern to make. (I have a dorky sense of humour, but I hope they get a kick out of it too.)

Austermann Step Man Socks

I completed some socks for Joe in the Austermann Step yarn. And since I started them after April 1st they count towards the 5280 sock challenge!




Size: Men's Large
Needle size used: 2
Yarn: Austermann Step
Method: Cuff down on dpns
Who the socks are for: Joe
Date finished: May 1st

Hedera: Vacation Knitting

I just returned from the most wonderful vacation in Nayarit, Mexico. We stayed near the quiet town of San Francisco (known as San Pancho to the locals) in a lovely hotel that overlooked the Pacific.

I did sneak in a little knitting - Hedera in Koigu yarn. Now it's back to reality and the grindstone...