sticks, strings & crafty things

Swoon: Block 1

2012-01-28T09:50:00.003-07:00

Swoon: Block 1, originally uploaded by samjoepics.

Class was so much fun last night! The teacher was fantastic and I learned a lot:

- How to make flying geese per the pattern, but also another way that uses uses a flying geese ruler template, and less fabric
- How to make half square triangles per the pattern, and an alternate way that uses 'Thangles'- That I need to take better care when ironing my blocks as I have been distorting them slightly (and that's contributing to why my points and lines dont match up perfectly)

I love learning new things!

In class I was able to make all the half square triangles and flying geese that are needed for the block. When I got home I was itching to do more... I spent the rest of the evening (and into the early hours) assembling them into this. And then doing a happy dance because I'm tickled with how it turned out! :o)))

My first 'real' quilt block!

Swoon Lesson 1: Don't pre-wash your fat quarters

2012-01-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

Washed and ready for ironing, originally uploaded by samjoepics.

So, the first thing I learned, before I even set foot in the Swoon class, is that pre-washing the fabric was a bad idea!

I didn't connect the dots at all:
- the reason you pre-wash fabric is in case the fabric might shrink
- there's no room for error in the pattern cutting

If I had connected the dots I would have realised that no room for error in cutting also means no room for shrinkage. Hmmm.

On a more positive note, it's not drasticly off. I've managed to cut my squares for the 2 blocks we'll be making in class tonight. They were just a touch under! Let's see how this works out :o))))

Never has an ironing pile been so enticing

2012-01-26T11:58:00.002-07:00

Never has an ironing pile been so enticing, originally uploaded by samjoepics.

Tonight's job is to tackle this ironing pile. That's right it is my fabric for the Swoon quilt, all washed and ready to go.

The tricksy part will be the cutting. No room for error makes this newbie a little nervous. Then class tomorrow!

Fancy Tiger... aah I dream of owning a place like this!

2012-01-22T19:44:00.005-07:00

This weekend I headed over to the new Fancy Tiger location with some friends. There are a group of us that are all about to make the swoon quilt and we decided it was a good reason to head over to the new Fancy Tiger location to check out the line of fabrics they have there.

Wow! I walked in and immediately thought that this was a place that I could happily spend my days. (I often find myself pondering how I could make a comfortable living out of crafting). The store is gorgeous, spacious and they have some of the most wonderful crafty goodies. I love that they stock a great range of fabulous Japanese fabrics, books, embroidery, yarn. The staff are helpful and there's now a parking lot that is next to the new location. All good stuff.

The night before, I'd pulled out my ever-growing fabric stash to see if I had anything in sufficient quality to make the swoon quilt. It turns out that I do have 15 fat quarters (of the 18 needed) of Ruby which is what the original swoon quilt is made from. I was hoping that I'd be able to get my hands on the final 3. I was also thinking that if they had the entire range of Echo that I'd be tempted to shift gear completely and make my quilt out of that. As it turned out, despite the amazing range they do stock, they did not have Ruby, and only had a few bolts from the Echo line. So I'll be sticking with Ruby and picking up a few extra fat quarters online.

Talking of sewing goodies, I received a wonderful gift from Mum this year - a Cath Kidston sewing box. I love, love, love this! As soon as I got back here I started stocking it with the sewing niknaks that I have. It's good to have these all in one place. And a bonus that this one place is super cute!

For the rest of the weekend it's been fairly mellow. I put together a couple of Valentines token gifts for family. Its a simple, but super cute, robot box (Target... love that store!) filled with Hershey's kisses.

And I did get a good start on this cross stitch that a good friend gifted me for Christmas. Just a teaser for now... expecting I'll have this done soon and can share in a future blog post.

Hope you had a great weekend too,
Sam

EZ February Toddler Sweater

2012-01-12T19:19:00.008-07:00

Here's another of my favourite patterns: the Elizabeth Zimmerman February baby sweater on 2 needles. This time upsized for my toddler :)

I took the exact same approach as the baby version that I make on sock yarn:
- Cast on 71 stitches and then follow pattern for yoke, adding a few extra rows of garter stitch
- Knit the rest per pattern instructions (except I only add a few buttonholes at the top)

By simply upsizing the yarn, and the needles, I was able to convert it from a baby sweater to a toddler sweater. Yarn is Debbie Bliss Cathay, and I used just over 3 balls. Needle size is US 7.

I do love this pattern as it is pretty, stretches a little with blocking, and is a different than anything you'd find in the mainstream stores, without being too different if you know what I mean :) I think she likes it too.

Stay warm,
Sam xxx

Ruffles #5

2012-01-08T07:08:00.003-07:00

I know I like this pattern, but I was actually surprised to tot up, and realise, that this is the 5th time I've knit it. Yes, it's a favourite gift knit.

This version is Josie. Josie has been a good family friend for as long as I can remember. Her husband and my Dad were also very good friends from school age onwards. Josie is also a Sister at the hospice where Dad was lovingly cared for in his last few weeks. She was wonderful to our whole family, and made sure we had fond memories during what was otherwise an extremely difficult time. In fact the whole staff and volunteers at the hospice were some of the most uplifting, caring and amazing people I have ever met. A very worthwhile charity to support.

I digress...

The scarf is made with some yummy Sundara Fingering Silky Merino in the Robin's egg colorway. Josie loves scarves and this is her favourite colour. It took only half a skein, so now I need to ponder what to do with the rest of this delicious yarn.

As for the pattern, I did make some modifications to suit this different weight of yarn, although in truth I can't recall now how many stitches I cast on this time. I'm thinking it was 1.5 times the amount that the pattern calls for. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have cast on 2x the number of stitches the pattern called for as I certainly had enough yarn and the scarf would have benefited from some extra length. (My first sock yarn version was 2x the amount, and turned out really well... just a pain to get that many stitches on your needle :)

I tried to get the little Miss to model this for me. As you can tell from the pictures, she was less than interested in cooperating - she's a toddler now with places to go, and people to see :)

Wishing you a lovely Sunday.
It's a beautiful day here in Colorado - a smattering of snow on the ground and crisp, clear blue skies.

Sam xxx

Back again

2012-01-05T20:25:00.004-07:00

If there's anyone still out there checking in on me I apologize for being gone without any word as to why. You see it has been an extremely difficult end to 2011 as my Dad passed away in August and I miss him so very much. In June he wasn't feeling great and went to the doctors who did some tests and discovered that he had an aggressive form of brain cancer. I'm having a hard time with it all and continue to replay all that happened in those few months. I am thankful though that my managers supported me working remotely so that I could be there with Dad, and my family.

Here's a pic of my Dad, Mum and I taken at my brother's wedding the previous year.

But that's not why you come here, which is why I've kept this short. This is just a note to explain why I've been gone. And that I'm back again now. I think Dad would like that; he helped me get this blog up and running in the first place and was also very passionate about his hobbies.

So, moving forward, I have lots to share. Including this short poem that Mum sent to me today. I'd like wish you the very best for 2012 and look forward to getting back in touch.

May your troubles be less,

Your blessings be more,

And nothing but happiness come through your door.

Sam xxx

Catch up

2011-07-17T12:26:00.003-06:00

Hi, Lots been going on here and so I've been away from the blog. Time to provide an update on the crafty stuff...

First, I have caught the quilting bug. On Bea's blog I saw Sherbet Pips and became fixated on the fabric. Little girls, puppy dogs, knitted scarves are all in the designs - of course I "needed" this fabric! ;o) I've made a start, piecing together the quilt top, and will share more about it in a future post.

PS I think I have the cutest little helper, ever. But of course I'm somewhat biased!

I was back in the UK for a couple of weeks. I took my scrappy sock blanket with me, but after the first week ended up working on new projects instead. I'd purchased some Vesper sock leftovers on Ravelry, and started making these cheerful socks out of a random mix of the leftovers. Love how these are turning out.

Mum and I also picked up some novelty yarn to make these ruffle scarves. I'm not a big novelty yarn fan, but have to admit that I really quite like how they turned out. Other bonus - made each scarf in a matter of hours. (You can make 2 scarves out of one ball of "Loopy" yarn. One scarf was 7 stitches wide. The other, shown here, only 4 stitches wide). So if you need a last minute, fun gift...

While at home I spotted Henry - Henry is a bear that I'd made for my Mum about 10 years ago now. Got me to thinking about a future potential project - little bears made out of cutesy print fabrics. Let's see if that ever comes to fruition! (Too many ideas, and crafty plans, not enough hours in a day to execute!)

Ooh, yes, and saving the best 'til last - check out this cute sheep in Harry Potter sweater! That's right, you know you want one! A bunch of us went to the opening midnight showing of Harry Potter and a couple of the girls gifted this to me. Love my friends!

Happy Sunday,
Sam
xxx

Estes Wool Market

2011-06-12T09:25:00.003-06:00

This weekend is Estes Wool Market in Colorado. Joe, Naomi and I headed up there to check it out. Not that I need any more yarn. Ever. But I figured it would be fun for Naomi to see the animals - she loves animals! (Are you buying that excuse? ;o)

As you can see, she had a great time! There were alpacas, sheep, goats and super soft angora bunny rabbits.

Oh, and maybe I did find a little yarn ;o) Naomi seemed pretty fond of it too! (This was a great company I hadn't heard of before - Creatively Dyed yarns out of south carolina. I was tempted by soooo very many of her colourways. Check it out!)

Hope you are having a great weekend too.
Sam
xxx

My First Quilt

2011-05-28T20:18:00.003-06:00

I did it! I made my first quilt. It's going to be a playmat for my new nephew/niece who is expected to make his/her debut sometime in August, and goes with this diaper bag that I'd made a few weeks ago for my sis.

I wanted something simple to start out with, and saw a great strip quilt that my friend Stacey had made. So I did a mini web search and found this great tutorial for how to put a strip quilt together. I followed these steps to piece together the top, and then referred to the Better Homes and Gardens Complete Guide to Quilting (thanks for this gift Mum :) to figure out how to assemble, quilt and bind.

I chose a simple channel stitch for the quilting, after seeing this gorgeous inspiration piece. I love how it echoes the stripes in the quilt. The binding is double fold that is machine stitched to the front and then hand stitched using a ladder stitch to the back.

I'm hooked! I have my fabric for my next quilt. And am eager to try my hand at doodle quilting. I fear the knitting may be neglected for a little while!

Camp Wanna Knit Knit

2011-05-21T18:11:00.002-06:00

Last weekend was the local knitty girls annual trip up to the mountains. We tuck ourselves away in a lovely home, enjoy each other's company and get some good quality time on our projects.

This year I spent time on my Snowbird. It's a lovely pattern and the cardigan is progressing nicely. Hmm should have taken some pictures to share... maybe for a future post.

I also spent time working on these cute little purses:

Oddly enough, last year I had plans to do something similar for the goody bags using the sheep fabric you see here. I really don't know what I was thinking though (I blame the sleep-deprived baby brain) because at the time I didn't own a machine, or posess the skills! I guess it just seemed like it would be a fun idea... if I could have pulled it off. But this year all came together - our great teacher Stacey showed us the way, I had the lovely stash of fabric and zippers, and Joe has been 'best husband ever' (as always!) and bought me a lovely sewing machine for my birthday! :)

And what camp wouldn't be complete without awesome goodies:

This year Stacey and her Mom really spoiled us with the goodies - a beautiful 'knit happily ever after' necklace, sheepy pjs, a knitting theme notions purse and a lanyard with fold away scissors. Thank you ladies! And thanks also for cooking for us all weekend. I felt truly pampered!

What do you do when you can't sleep?

2011-05-07T07:44:00.002-06:00

Last night I was exhausted,but for some reason could not sleep. This doesn't happen to me often. In fact Joe jokes that I'm normally fast asleep by the time my head hits the pillow. But last night, whooo, I have no idea what was going on.

After laying there for a quite while I decided to just get up and make the most of this quiet time alone to do some crafting! I needed to make some thank you cards anyway, so it was a good way to feel productive and creative. And by the time I was done, I was feeling quite sleepy and was able to get a good few hours nap before my furry friends came in to bid me good morning.

Aside from loving the outcome, I also loved that I was able to use up some odds and ends of paper - the bits that are left from other projects, but I can't bear to throw away because that would feel wasteful. So armed with my cupcake paper punch and a box full of papery bits (and Bruno dog, under my armpit, observing every move) I created these cute little cupcakes. I used pastels to add some shading and some mini beads to add 'sprinkles'. What do you think? Not bad for a bleary eyed effort, if I say so myself! :)

Baby Olive

2011-04-30T20:02:00.002-06:00

What a fun afghan! I was looking to make a baby blanket and wanted something a little different from the norm. I was flicking through Larissa Brown's 'Knitalong' book (love this book - made quite a few projects from it) when I came across 'Olive's Afghan'. The interesting zig zag lines and simple garter stitch called to me.

I had quite a lot of the Rowan 4-ply left in my stash from another baby blanket, and since it has held up really well to numerous cycles in the washing machine I decided it would be perfect for this project. So instead of the yarn and needle called for in the pattern, I used the Rowan 4-ply and a US 3 needle. I didn't make any changes to the number of stitches that the pattern recommends you cast on for each panel, but did only knit 12 stripes per panel. This seemed to be a good size for a baby blanket - it is about the width of a standard crib/cot.

I found that I only needed 6 panels to make the baby blanket (which was a good thing as, although I love the Rowan 4-ply cotton, I find it unforgiving on my hands - after a good stint of knitting I feel like I have achey claws instead of young, supple hands! Aah the scarifices ha ha!)

To finish, I placed right sides of the panels together and joined them using whip stitch in a nice contrasting steel blue colour. I chose the whip stitch because I wanted it to be a little visible, but not overly dominant (as a crochet join might be). And then of course added a crochet border in the steel blue (I seem to have this thing for adding crochet borders to all my blankets these days!) It is about 5 rounds of double crochet. At each point I'd dc 3 stitches into 1 hole, and at each trough I joined 3 stitches into 1. (I'm sure there's a correct way of describing this, but I'm not familiar with the crochet lingo!)

And that's about it. Oh it does have a 'design feature' - I ran out of the pale green yarn on the very last stripe in one of the panels, and ended up using one of the other colours from the blanket. I think it works out ok. In fact if it hadn't been one of the last panels I knit, I would have considered purposely adding an 'odd' stripe into each of the panels for a fun touch.

I'm pleased with how this turned out. But perhaps the biggest fan of the project is our big boy Bruno who would actively seek out this project and then take it on tours of the house, garage and dog run, leaving a Hansel and Gretal style trail of yarn everywhere! Yep, the end result had a good spin in the washing machine before being gifted!

Birdie Sling with a Kanzashi Flower

2011-04-10T15:23:00.003-06:00

I have some good friends. Big thanks to Stacey and Genia for hauling round multiple sewing machines, and their patience, yesterday. They kindly showed Terrie and I how to make the gorgeous Birdie Sling bag. It was a fun day. And we had fabulous finished projects at the end of it.

The bag I made is for my sis - a diaper bag for when her new baby comes along. She loves this skully pattern and the random polka dots seemed to be a fun touch. I absolutely loved the bright fabric on the inside.

I decided it needed a splash of that bright colour on the outside and so made this Kanzashi flower from my scraps using the online tutorial here.

Super happy with the outcome. Can't wait to start the matching baby quilt. Oh yes, and I finished those Easter cards and got them out in the mail last week. These were a nice quick and easy project. And a little pic for family members that don't get to see Naomi very often.

Hope you've had a good weekend, Sam

Hello... I haven't disappeared

2011-04-03T11:39:00.002-06:00

A whole month since the last post? Where does the time go?

Happy Mothering Sunday to all Mums in the UK! Most especially mine :)

Since the US and UK celebrate mother's day on different dates I find it is easy for me to miss the UK one (which is alwways before the US). This year though, I was ahead of the game and was proud of myself for getting a little something in the mail in plenty of time. Except wouldn't you know it, it didn't arrive! Harrumph! So, sorry Mum if this ruins the surprise. And hopefully the goodies arrive in the next couple of days.

I put this card together and used a little plastic cup in the center of the flower to hide a package of troll beads. How cute is that!

I've also been putting some Easter packages together. The little flowers are simply pencils (for the stalks) with the heads made by using a flower shaped paper punch and some patterned paper - simply cut 2 flower heads, stick the sides together using double sided sticky tape and slip on the top of the pencil.

Ooh yes, I've also started getting the photos ready for this year's Easter card. Need to finish the cards today and get in the mail tomorrow.

And felt it was only right that Bruno get a turn! (Bella, quite rightly, was having none of it).

And of course there has been some knitting. I have been making slow progress on the baby olive blanket - my priority one project. 3 panels done. 5 to go. I need to step up the pace on this one to have this completed in May. Loving the last strip with the blue and green colour combo.

Next project which I am super excited to start is a baby quilt and matching diaper/nappy bag for my sister who is expecting a baby in August. That's right, I'm going to try my hand at sewing again. I had soo much fun at the fabric store with Stacey and Terrie picking these out. And now am itching to get started! Roll on next weekend :)

Wishing you all a Happy Mothering Sunday,
Sam

Birthday Girl

2011-03-04T22:00:00.003-07:00

My little girl recently turned 1. That's right, where did the time go?

Aside from the whole cutting teeth thing, she had a lovely day (I think the pediatrician threw down the gauntlet at our 9mth appointment when she seemed surprised that Naomi had 0 teeth at that point... so we now have a grand total of 10! I'm thinking that's quite the mouthful in a few short months.) It's amazing when you think about how much these wee ones develop in such a short amount of time.

On a crafty note, I churned out a pile of thank you cards as baby girl made out like a bandit!

And of course it only seemed right that I make her first card:

Although I'm learning that my dear girly is much healthier than her Mum, prefering some yummy grapes or slices of bananas over cakes anyday. (The birthday cake was not the hit I thought it would be!)

Bits and pieces

2011-02-20T14:57:00.003-07:00

I've been working on a few smaller projects recently. There's something satisfying about finishing a couple of items that have been hanging around the WIP pile for a good long while.

I had been working on some embroidered summer sandals and the needlepoint is now complete. I need to either send these to be finished professionally, or try my hand at it myself. I'm tempted to do the latter... once I figure out how!

Then some wristwarmers that I started in 2008. (I know, I have no idea why it took me soo long to pick these back up) I couldn't remember how I did the first one, or the needle size I used so they have a 'little miss matched' vibe to them. Which I kind of like! These were knit in 2 colourways of Noro sock yarn, alternating every couple of rows. And because I can't resist adding crochet borders to my projects, I did the same here.

Ooh yes, we have a new puppy - Bruno. He's also been keeping me busy! In addition to his basic training, I'm also trying to train him to be one of my knitwear models! If successful you should see it a bit more of him here.

But my favourite knitwear model is Naomi! Baby girl is going to 1 year old this week! Wild! Anyhoo, her hair is getting really long and she's started pulling her hair clips out. Plus last time I had her fringe cut she looked like Mo from the 3 stooges! So I wanted to try making a hairband to keep her hair out of her eyes. This seems to have done the trick and she kept it on all morning. I simply crocheted a chain with some sock yarn and then measured it around her head. Once the chain was just the right size to go round - not too loose, not too tight - I joined to make a circle and then single crochet around until it was the desired thickness.

It looks cute on its own, but I'd also made some felt flowers last night (from a Martha Stewart kit) and added one of these as a little bit of flair!

And finally I just started another baby blanket - a version of Olive's Afghan from the Knitalong book (except I'm using rowan cotton 4ply instead of the thicker alpaca yarn that's called for). It's for a baby that's due to arrive in May so that gives me a little time to crank this out. And the cotton will be nice for the warmer summer months.

Wishing you a good rest of your weekend,
Sam

Staggered eyelet shrug

2011-02-10T20:02:00.004-07:00

It's been extremely cold here. Temps below freezing. And so I decided to make Naomi a little something to help keep her warm while she's indoors... something that would allow her to move freely and continue exploring. I also wanted something that was straight forward to make and didn't require me to follow a pattern. So a make-it-up-as-I-went-along shrug was just the ticket.

I used Socks that Rock heavyweight sock yarn in Storeytime colorway, and US 6 double pointed needles.

Here's the approach I used to make this shrug for a 12mth size:

Cuff:
- Cast on 39 stitches and divide evenly over 3 needles
- Join to work in the round, and k1, p1 rib for 8 rounds (approx 1 inch). Note that because there is an odd number of stitches, your round will start on a knit stitch and end on a knit stitch

Sleeve 1:
- Decide on the pattern that you want for the shrug. You could simply do stocking stitch for example. I chose to add a little interest by adding staggered eyelets as follows:
- Round 1 and 2: Knit every stitch
- Round 3: (K2, K2tog, Yarn over)* repeat to last 3 stitches, K3
- Rounds 4, 5 and 6: Knit every stitch
- Round 7: (K2 tog, yarn over, K2)* repeat to last 3 stitches K2tog, yarn over, K1
- Round 8: Knit every stitch
- Continue with rounds 1 through 8 until sleeve is desired length (I measured against one of her other cardigan sleeves. I also write down every row so that when I work the 2nd sleeve I can make sure they'll be exactly the same length)

Back:
- Instead of working in the round, now you want to work back and forth as if you were knitting a scarf
- Implication for the eyelet pattern is that for rows 2, 4 and 6 you will need to purl every stitch
- Continue in pattern until back is desired size

Sleeve 2:
- Return to knitting in the round, as described in sleeve 1
- And finish with 8 rows of K1, P1 rib
- Cast off off in rib pattern

Edging:
- I picked up stitches around the opening for the back (picking up 2 stitches for every 3 rows worked) and worked 8 rows in K1, P1 rib.
- Cast off in rib pattern
- Weave in ends

And that my friends is it!

It has turned out to be super practical - great for when she's busily active, but also perfect at night if it's a little chillier (since all her sleep sacks are without arms and the t-shirt material pjs don't seem sufficient in my mind.)

Hope you are keeping warm.
Sam

Valentines Cards

2011-01-30T14:45:00.002-07:00

This weekend I whipped out a batch of Valentines cards for my family back home. I figure it's a nice way to send a recent photo of Naomi, as well as my love. (And who doesn't like to get something nice in the mail every now and then?)

As usual, my supplies are from "stampin up" - card stock, heart patterned paper, heart stamp, ribbon, frilly border punch. I think they turned out nice, although if I were to re-do I would have done these portrait, not landscape, so that I could make the picture of Naomi larger. And maybe use the sepia version of the picture instead of full colour. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

(FYI, I use Picnik to work on my photos - it's a great, free, web tool that enables you to make various edits to your photos. I've also been using it to put a 'brag book' together for my Mum, using some of the collage style layouts they have available. Hmm, thinking of which, maybe I should share some of this in a future blog post?).

In addition to the Naomi Valentines, I normally get together with a couple of girlfriends each month to stamp. Here are the cards that were produced this month. (Sadly I wasn't there this time as Naomi had the bug-du-jour from daycare, but my girlies made these cards for me :) I especially like the one that uses a chocolate heart as decoration.

I can hardly believe that Valentines day is just around the corner. This means my baby girl will be turning one very soon. And might not be considered a baby for much longer and she tries and tries to stand and walk... that's right my baby girl is becoming a toddler.

Wishing you a happy rest of your weekend,
Sam

This year's annual batch of felted slippers

2011-01-26T18:53:00.004-07:00

These felted slippers probably aren't the prettiest things, but they are soo warm and comfy that they have become a must-own item for most of my family. And since they are loved soo much, they pretty much get worn out each year. This is a good thing in my mind... much prefer that my hand knits be well loved and consequently well worn vs sitting unused/rarely used in a closet or wardrobe.

So this year I've churned out another batch:

First request was from my brother for some in our local football teams colours - the Tangerine Army. And I'd heard that his wife needed an updated pair too.

My Mum is probably the #1 fan of these slippers so I made another pair for her:
(I think Naomi is inspecting the workmanship of these since they are for Grandma!)

Joe is a huge fan too. To the degree that he gets a little disappointed when he has to throw an old pair away. So he's been looking into ways to make them last a little longer by putting a protective coat on the bottom (similar to that used on the underside of some non slip rugs). I'll let you know how that pans out...
(Love Bella to bits, but she's nowhere near as cooperative a model as Buster used to be)

And one of my good friends had a birthday and I know she likes these.

Finally I also like to have a new pair each year. I normally use scraps of yarn for my version and used up a bunch of leftover tapestry/needlepoint yarns again this year:

Our newest family member has taken quite a liking to these. But given his fondness of chewing, this is the first and last time he'll be allowed to be this close to them :o)))

Besides he's found a much comfier place to lay down and rest - right on top of poor Bella!

More holiday handmade

2011-01-04T19:28:00.002-07:00

The rest of the photos are now downloaded and I'll start with the good news about the scarves - everything came out in the wash! I was over the moon happy and the scarves went off to the ladies at daycare today. Yay! (Better late than never I say ;) I used a little ribbon on the packaging and these super cute sheepy gift tags that Terrie had made (she made bundles of these for all our knitty girls this summer and gifted them to us at knit camp). I think this was the icing on the cake, thanks Terrie :)

First Thermis - I've been wanting to make this one for a while, and it is a great gift knit as it is fairly quick to whip out. Think I might be making one for myself to keep warm now that the cooler weather has come by. I used RYC Cashsoft Aran, and made no mods to the pattern. It turned out nice - not too flopsy, but still retaining the softness of the yarn despite the density of the knitted fabric.

(Oooh nice crows feet, and don't even ask about the hair ;o)))

And second is the ruffle scarf, a fave of mine - I think this might be the 4th version of this that I've made now. Another great knit that's pretty quick if you are looking for a last minute gift or relatively instant knitty gratification. Again, used the RYC Cashsoft Aran.

(OK, maybe smiling is more flattering, despite the crows feet!)

In addition to the scarves, I've also put together some thank you cards for all the lovely gifties Joe, Naomi and I were lucky to receive this year. These were fun to make, and I'm pleased with how they turned out. If you are a stampin up stamper: Colours are tangerine tango and baja breeze, and I added some chalk to the petals and leaves to add some shading, and a little glitter spritz on the petals.

On the topic of stamping goodies, check out the gorgeous hand stamped gift from my friend Cheryl -- it's a big ole batch of the most decadent chocolate cookies that I've ever tasted. What an awesome idea - she wrapped the jar with pretty Christmas paper, handstamped the labels and added her secret recipe on the inside of the tag. Love this super thoughtful gift!

And last but not least I'll leave you with the felted animals that the super talented Jessica made. Note that this is her first 'attempt' at needle felting - yes, she truly is a natural at everything she tries her hand at.

Hope you also enjoyed some handmade lovelies, and crafting, over the holidays.
Love,
Sam xxx

Handmade Holidays

2010-12-30T14:45:00.006-07:00

First, thanks for all the kind words about Buster. He was such a good boy, and so very loved. I think it's poor Bella who is having the hardest time because her lifelong pal is no longer here. But she's getting loved on and I'm happy to be at home with her over the holidays to love up on her and spoil her lots.

Now onto craftiness... This year I was able to make a few things for Christmas:

There's the advent calendar that I made at the beginning of the month - a cute addition to our Christmas decorations this year. It was a great little kit from Stampin Up.

Then there's the handstamped Christmas cards featuring the santa suit picture of Naomi. I figured since most of my friends and family back in the UK rarely get to see her that they'd enjoy a picture card. And these were super simple to put together with a bit of patterned paper and ribbon.

And I really got some mileage out of the pic because I also used it as a gift tag on decorated boxes of chocs that I gave to all the lovely people who take such very good care of Naomi at daycare.

I also handknit a couple of cream scarves for a couple of ladies at daycare who've been looking after Naomi since she got there. I chose cream because I figured a neutral like that works with most people's taste. However, aside from being late, I've managed to stain them a grungy grey because my brain wasn't in gear when I decided to handwash them with a dark sweater of Joes. (Yay, well done Sam!) ...So, I'll see what I can do to fix them... first they are sat in some water with bleach (and who knows what that will do to the lovely cashmere blend yarn I chose!) And if that doesn't work I may try my hand at dyeing them a darker colour.

But lets not dwell on that :) The good news is that in the process of knitting the scarves Naomi got involved - she enjoyed playing with the yarn:

and grasping at the project when I wasn't knitting on it:

Although the full on lesson seemed to bore her to sleep ;o)

One of the highlights this Christmas is that Jessica, Naomi's older sister, came to visit. It was great to spend good quality time with her. She's such a talented soul too - seems to excel at everything she puts her hand to. We made some pretty cookies and packaged them up for the neighbours. That was a fun project, and the end result was soo very Martha Stewart! (Or so we thought :o)))

More to come as I get pictures uploaded. Hope you are having a lovely Christmas and I wish you the very best for 2011.

Buster

2010-12-22T16:42:00.009-07:00

My big boy Buster passed away yesterday. It was sudden, and unexpected, and I miss him soo very much.

We were lucky to find Buster at the local humane society about 10 years ago. He was a couple of months old at the time and when I laid my eyes on him it was love at first sight... I wanted him to be part of our family.

He was my first 'baby' and the very best companion. Yes I know, I'm a crazy dog lady! But if you have a pet you probably know what I mean - they have a way of working their way into the centre of your life, and your heart.

I just wanted to drop a note here to remember him. I loved him soo very much.

If you too have a loved pet at home, give them a scratch on the head from me. In the meantime I'll be hanging out, and loving on, my girls. And fondly remembering the good times with my big boy. I miss you dearly Buster xxx.

Holiday hats

2010-12-19T07:24:00.008-07:00

Goodness it has been a while since I posted anything out here. Here's a little post to share some of the quickie projects I've been working on.

There's a Santa Hat for Naomi.

(Yep, piccie has been used on the Christmas cards this year)

Joe and I both have a handknit santa hat and so it seemed only right that Naomi get one too. You should see the looks we get when we are out and about together! ;o)

Hat pattern is from handknit holidays book, and the yarn is the blue sky alpaca that the pattern calls for. I love this yarn. I think thats what really makes the hat. Well, I guess the model isn't too shabby either! ;o)))

(This is a picture of her trying to escape... you should see how many shots it took to get to the first picture... and how heavily I cropped and edited it to make it work for the cards. Baby girl is mobile!)

And then there's a little elf hat.

Naomi received a gorgeous winter coat off her great Grandma and I wanted to make a hat that went well with it. I do love the meathead hat pattern from knitalong book and figured this would work with a mother's schedule: big needles + big yarn = fast knit. I had some of the lovely bright pink Red Rocks yarn from a cardi I made (think the pattern was shalom?) and that complemented the colours in the new coat nicely. It wasn't quite the right weight of yarn for the pattern and so I used 3 strands held together. Unfortunately it wasn't the quick knit I was hoping for -- this hat has actually been knit and re-knit about 3 times. It didn't seem to be quite deep enough for baby girl's head. I even tried to stretch it:

In the end I couldn't bear the thought of reknitting yet again what was supposed to be a churn-it-out-in-one-evening project and so decided to just add some ear flaps instead. Oh and the big flower came off one of the baby dresses she had that no longer fits... and since she'd actually worn through the dress (yes, I loved it) it wasn't any good for donating either. Ooh and Daddy has one of these hats too... a 'manly' version... but goofy nonetheless. Must get a modelled shot ;o)

Now I'm trying to whip up a couple of Thermis cowls for the lovely ladies at daycare... I'm new to this whole gifts for teachers thing so I hope this isn't going to seem lame? The ladies are always making kind comments on Naomi's handknits, and Thermis seems like a good versatile, go with most styles and tastes pattern? Can you tell that I'm second guessing myself at this point. Ah well enough twitter, I need to get to the needles... tick tock tick tock time is flying by....

Barn Raising

2010-10-30T19:20:00.002-06:00

Whew! This took some knitting. (And some seaming.) But it was well worth the effort. Barn raising is complete!

Aside from loving how it turned out, I know I'll always treasure this project because it kept me good company throughout my pregnancy and the first few months of my baby girl's life. And on top of this it also includes squares from some of my knitty friends.

Hmm what else to say? It's a really straight forward pattern and the perfect take along project to have stashed in your handbag at all times.

I thoroughly enjoyed laying out the squares - arranging and rearranging until I found a layout that I loved. As you can probably tell I worked diaginally from one corner to the other, moving through the colours of the rainbow.

I also spent some time toying with how to seam it up and decided to make the ridges visible on the right side, as the pattern suggests. I love how this looks. Adds to the rustic feel.

Coincidentally EZ has a very similar blanket in one of her books where she does not cast off each square - choosing to put it on scrap yarn until the end when she kitchener stitches/grafts all the squares together. Can you imagine? I have a hard time kitchenering (!) the toe of a sock... a whole blanket? You'd certainly be an expert by the time you are done!

But enough of my waffle! Last note - I added a border (of course I did - I can't seem to help myself when it comes to blankets). It's a simple crochet border. Nothing fancy. But I do think it ties it altogether nicely.

And that my friends is it. Hope you have a happy Halloween tomorrow. I can't wait to dress the little miss up and parade her round a couple of lovely neighbours before cosying up inside with bowls full of candy to see what trick or treaters swing by.

Wedding Shrug

2010-09-21T16:02:00.002-06:00

Last weekend my brother married the woman of his dreams. It was a beautiful day filled with many fond memories.

On the knitting front, I wanted to make a little shrug to go with the sleeveless dress that I'd picked out for the occassion. I had some kid silk haze in my stash that just so happened to be the perfect colour.

After seeing the lovely dream in colour shrug that Stacey had made I decided I wanted to do something similiar - just in this lighter weight yarn. I saw that the dream in colour shrug was a simple rectangle shape, and figured it would be fairly easy to replicate -- just needed to find a lace pattern that I liked and figure out the number of stitches to cast on.

After some fiddling with needle size and gauge etc I cast on 80 stitches using a US2 needle and knit in rib for about 10 rows. I then followed the lace pattern from 'Waving Lace Socks' by Evelyn A Clark from the Interweave Favourite Socks book. I worked using the US 2 needle for 1 pattern repeat and then upped my needle size to US4 so that the back would have a little extra width than the sleeves. Worked a bunch more repeats in the 4, before switching back to the 2 for the last set of repeat and 10 rib rows. At the end I simply sewed the sleeves together (If I were smarter I should have just knit the beginning and end rows in the round to save the seaming). And that was it. Simple.

I really like how it turned out, although truth be told I opted not to wear it on the day. Instead I found a sparkly scarf that was perfect and a bit more razzly dazzly than my knitted shrug. In hindsight I wished I'd added some seed beads to the shrug... I think that would have been the cherry on the cake. But, as they say, hindsight is 20/20!

And of course Naomi had her whirligig on. Aside from the bride, I think she might have been the most oohed and aahed over! ha ha ;o)

More squares...

2010-07-31T05:57:00.004-06:00

Were you wondering what happened with Barn Raising?

You may recall that I'd set a goal to have it completed by the end of my maternity leave. Ahem, yes, that was 2 months ago! To be fair, if I'd stuck with the 42 squares that the pattern called for, I would have been done at that time.

Unfortunately though, it just seemed a little small - more of a lap blanket than a snuggly throw. I tried to convince myself otherwise. That it really was big enough. I even tested with Joe: "It's a good size, right?" But both he and the nagging feeling in the back of my mind confirmed that it needed to be bigger. That ultimately I'd be disappointed if I kept the size as-is. Thing was I was a little burnt out on the non-stop knitting of squares - the thought of having to make oodles more just wasn't appealing. So I hid it away for a little while.

But it's back out of hibernation now, and I have a renewed interest to complete. Let's see how this goes... (Btw - if anyone said they were knitting a blanket out of sock yarn, wouldn't you think they were bonkers?)

Little Cotton Cardigan

2010-07-24T23:55:00.008-06:00

I've been eager to finish a knitted project. It certainly wasn't going to be either of the blankets that I have on the go right now (I decided to make barn raising bigger than the pattern suggests and the araucania hexagons aren't seeing as much progress as I'd hoped). So it was time to whip out another baby cardigan for Naomi!

I had some Adriafil Fruttamix cotton yarn lurking in my cubbies and thought it would look pretty on the little miss. I wasn't much in the mood for following a pattern so this is one that I kind of made up as I went along, using the EZ February Baby cardigan instructions as a starting point.

I cast on 71 stitches (the amount recommended after the 2nd round of increases) and knit a few rows of garter stitch, and then increasing a row (K2,M1)* to the end of the row. Then knit stockinette for about 4.5 inches, at which point I put the sleeve stitches on yarn holders and continued knitting back and forth on the body.

Toward the bottom I wanted a ruffle and knit a (K2,M1)* increase row. Stockinette for a few rows, and then another (K2,M1)* row before adding a few rows of garter. I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Finally I picked up the sleeve stitches and added 15 additional stitches to each side. A few rows of reverse stockinette and then cast off. A garter stitch button band up the front and TA DA it was done! If only adult sweaters could be whipped out in a similar amount of time.

And on a side note... isn't she growing up soo quickly!

Wedding Whirligig

2010-06-26T12:58:00.004-06:00

Later this summer we'll be going to the UK to enjoy my brother's wedding. It will be the first time the majority of my family will be meeting little miss Naomi in person. I can't wait!

I found a gorgeous little dress for the day of the wedding and wanted to make a knitted something-something to go with it. You were so very kind with your suggestions from an earlier blog post, and in the end I decided to make the Whirligig shrug.

I couldn't be happier with the end result! The details in this pattern are adorable and the decadent hand painted silk yarn with the little glass seed beads strewn through it is fit for nothing less than a princess ;o))

Pattern: Whirligig Shrug by Stephanie Japel (from Interweave Knits 'Weekend 2009')
Yarn: Tilli Tomas Hand Paints (Beaded Lace, Stony Mist) - just over 1 skein... I had to break into the 2nd skein for the cast off edge. Boo!
Needle: US 4 (instead of the 6 called for in the pattern - I prefer the tighter fabric that was made with the smaler needle size), I went up a size to compensate - 12-18mths
Modifications: Other than the needle size, I chose to add a seed stitch border around the neckline (to match the hem and cuffs) instead of the edging in the original pattern.

Ribbed wrap top

2010-05-09T16:05:00.003-06:00

I'm warming up for the ravelry 'WIP cup', pulling out works-in-progress and trying to finish them up. Here's a project that's been hanging around for 3 years. It's a summery ribbed wrap top from Debbie Bliss's silk collection. It's pretty simple. But pretty nonetheless. And has a perfect non clingy drape for my post baby bod!

Not a lot to tell you about this one... I followed the pattern word for word. One exception though - I added a row of single crochet across all top edges (fronts, back and shoulders) to make them a little sturdier and a tad more 'polished'.

Other than that, I just wanted to add a little note to wish all Mums a Happy American Mothers Day (UK one was back in March. And yes, I'm trying to swing it with my husband that we celebrate both! ;o))))

Barn raising update

2010-05-07T09:27:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the suggestions and thoughts for the baby wedding cardigan. I added 2 more links to the list in the previous post, if you want to check those out, and comment?

Anyhoo here's a quick update on barn raising... I've been continuing to knit the sock yarn squares and I have 35 now! That's right, I'm on the home stretch!

My plan is to try and finish this project by the time my maternity leave is up at the end of the month. I think it is possible to knit the final few by then. But I'm not sure how long it will take to assemble... we'll see.

By the way, for any fans of ravelympics (and other timed-based knitting/sporting-related events) out there, do you know that there is a world cup group out on ravelry -- WIP Cup. The focus is to finish WIPs during the world cup. And there are prizes!

I'm thinking of bringing the araucania hexagon blanket out of hibernation for this event. This could be a lofty goal - finishing a blanket in a month with a wee one at home, and a full-time job to return to. But I do like a good challenge.

Hope everyone has fun plans for the weekend,
Sam

Suggestions?

2010-05-06T11:09:00.004-06:00

In September we'll be attending my brother's wedding back in the UK. I've found a gorgeous dress for Naomi, and some beautiful yarn to make a little cardigan or shrug to go with it. (Yarn is Tilli Tomas beaded lace in colour stoney mist- it is super cute!).

Now I just need to figure out what to make. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I put this request out on ravelry, and received the following recommendations (click on the link to view):
Whirligig shrug
Annie Amelia Baby Bolero
Tiny tea leaves
Baby's tied shrug
Confection baby shrug
Helena
Hannah Fettig's Yoked Cardigan

Thoughts, preferences and additional suggestions all welcomed.

Naomi's new blankie

2010-05-05T09:46:00.002-06:00

Check it out - the gorgeous sock yarn blanket with the fun monster backing material (to match the nursery theme).

Thanks to my knitty friends - Stacey, Jeni, Terrie, Tiffany, Mary Kay - for making this for Naomi. (And to Stacey's Grandma for sewing on the backing :)

Thank you xoxo

Barnraising

2010-04-16T14:17:00.002-06:00

I'm having a lot of fun with the barn raising blanket. But not as much fun as I'm having with little miss Naomi... she's over 7 weeks old now, and growing like you wouldn't believe! She's also started smiling and babbling -- I think we have a chatty little soul here :o)

For the barn raising blanket I've been using Pagewood Farms sock bites (mill ends that are sold at my local yarn store) and scraps of sock yarn from my stash. I've also swapped a couple of squares with local knitty friends.

I'm really liking the color combinations so far and enjoying arranging the squares to see how I'll want the final placement.

Another great simple project!

Simple knitting

2010-04-08T07:57:00.003-06:00

With free knitting time at a minimum, and those few hours being quite bleary-eyed ones (need more sleep!) I've chosen to focus on a few super simple WIPs that have been hanging out in my yarn cubbies for a good long while.

First WIP to be completed is the Anthropologie-inspired capelet.

This has been hibernating for 2 years. Hard to believe. Anyhoo, nothing to get too excited about - it's a super simple pattern. But what I do love is how the bamboo yarn drapes so nicely. And it has a little shimmer to it. What I'm not real excited about is how I've woven in the ends - it seems to pull the yarn and is visible on the right side. I'm sure you can spot it in the picture. Not to worry. I still think it is very wearable. And as my sis would say - it's a design feature!

Pattern is: Anthropologie inspired capelet (free ravelry download)
Yarn is: Berroco Bonsai, 6 skeins
Needle size: I used a size 9 needle, instead of the needle called for in the pattern. And must have cast on more stitches than the pattern called for (to account for the smaller needle size and thinner yarn I used). But I couldn't tell you how many now... it was too long ago. (But if anyone is desperate to know I can always count the rib ridges for you, and let you know!).

That's all for now... Naomi calls...
xoxo

More handcrafted goodies

2010-04-08T07:36:00.007-06:00

Naomi is 6 weeks old now! I can hardly believe it. She's been keeping me quite busy (hence the absence from the blog world). 6 weeks on, and still the gifts are coming in. She's one lucky little lady! Here's a few handcrafted gifties that she received recently.

First is a selection of gorgeous sewn items that Terri had gifted her. These are from Etsy seller Francesca Baby. Aren't they pretty. I love the 'ducks in a row' pattern. There's belt covers (that we'll be using in her stroller), a wet bag with antimicrobial inside (for when we get caught outdoors with nowhere to put dirty/wet clothes), a burp cloth and a couple of bibs (we call Naomi the milk bandit when she's wearing the triangular one - soo cute!). Terri also made Naomi the very cute crocheted hat. Love the yarn - looks like ice cream colours to me. And this will be perfect for keeping the sun off in the summer; it's made from a lovely soft organic cotton.

My parents were over for a good 10 days or so (sooo much help, and lovely to have them here). They brought a bunch of gifties from friends and family back home. My sis sent with them a whole host of handcrafted goodies. First off there is the sock monster - how cool is this! (Hint, hint sis - I could fill up a whole shelf with a family of these ;o) And look how happy Naomi is with her sock monster! Thanks Jac xoxo

My sis also made a mobile for the nursery. What cracks me up is that Jac made a fuss about the yellow bird looking a bit pyscho. In fact I believe she almost wasn't going to gift this to Naomi, thinking that it wasn't good enough... are you kidding? It is AWESOME!!! I took a few pics of the felted birds on the mobile and also of Naomi looking at the mobile. This particular shot made me laugh because it looks like Naomi is shielding herself from said pyscho bird! LOL! Love the mobile. And Naomi loves it too -- she watches those little birds as they float over her in the crib.

Thanks for all the lovely gifts.

Next up, some actual knitting content!

The other lovely vintage cardigan

2010-03-09T14:33:00.002-07:00

Just a quick post to share the 2nd lovely vintage cardigan from Amanda and Lily over at Joli House. This is the one that the very talented, and very lovely Lily made for Naomi.

Naomi wore it on March 7th -- that was supposed to be her official due date. But like her Mum, she was a little impatient and decided to make an earlier appearance!

Thank you Lily, it so very beautiful. I'm touched by your kindness.
Sam
xoxo

Look what the stork brought...

2010-03-05T09:18:00.002-07:00

Little Naomi Claire arrived on February 24th, 2010. She weighed 7.0lbs, and measured 19.5 inches.

We are in love with our little angel!

She's been putting me through 'New Mum basic training' which is why I've been delayed posting the good news. (In fact pretty much everything is upside down right now while I learn my new role, and get to know this precious little person... please bear with me until a new normality returns).

Here's a few photos... many more to come as the new schedule allows.

First is a gorgeous sweater from Amanda and Lily over at Joli house. There's also a second vintage cardigan that's equally stunning, and model shots will be coming. These arrived on Naomi's 1 week birthday so it was fun to dress up to mark the occasion.

Here are the gorgeous pink booties from Terrie (love these booties - so, so cute!). I love when Naomi wraps her hands together like this, and then places them on her chin - like she's plotting her master plan!

And this one I call twinkle toes -- it's one of the gorgeous sets of socks that Kim had made. My goodness these handknit socks from Kim have barely been off her feet. They fit so well, and don't fall off and make mum happy knowing Naomi's little tootsies will be all toasty!

And of course the Indian jumper off Grandma. Dad's determined to make her a Tribe supporter. Or a Rockies fan... apparently that would also be ok since she'd be supporting the home team.

And the shot at the top - that's the pea pod and hat that Stacey had made for Naomi. Sooo cute. Joe loves this hat... in fact he said he wants one to match ha ha, he's such a goof! I'm thinking about using this shot for the announcement/thank you cards that have still to be made/sent...

Baby photo overload? I'll leave you with this last one - a big yawn... one of my favourite faces she makes. Mum has a yawn to match, but it isn't anywhere near as adorable!!!

Baby Shrug

2010-02-23T09:56:00.002-07:00

This was a super fast knit that was nice to work on when I fancied something that's a little mindless. It's Debbie Bliss's baby shrug from the 'Simply Baby' book. I made size 3-6mths and used some more of the Mama Blue poppy sock yarn that I'd used for Penelope, and to trim the cheerleader's dress.

I'd actually decided on the shrug thinking it would be nice to 'girly up' some of the cute onesies that Joe has been buying for BOB. When it came to taking pictures though I figured I'd match it with the cheerleaders dress and I think it is a winning combo!

I'd added the little crochet flowers to make the top a bit more interesting. Not needed of course, but to me it looked a little plain without them. (I didn't actually make these flowers -- I bought them from a scrapbooking store. I don't think I can look at another crochet hook for a while, after working on the blanket border!)

I'm thinking it's now back to the adult knits for a while... little lady should be set for her arrival!

Alphabet blanket

2010-02-21T16:48:00.003-07:00

I'm still here. Or maybe I should say that BOB is still safely tucked indoors all cosy and warm. Joe's told me (read 'ordered' ;0) that I sit back and take it easy now. So that means lots of crafty time for me, and consequently a finished alphabet baby blanket for the nursery!

The inspiration for this baby blanket is Debbie Bliss' Alphabet Blanket from The Baby Knits book. I used her lacy alphabet charts to create the intarsia alphabet squares with Rowan 4 ply cotton, and needle size US 4.

When the blocks were completed and sewn together it looked a tad small. And a little unpolished. So I pulled out some Rowan Cotton Breeze in a lovely bright pink to add a crochet border around the entire blanket - 4 rows of double chain and then one row of scallops using a 2.5 hook (I'm a self-taught crocheter - don't inspect too closely!)

So far, so good. Except I was thinking of little baby fingers plucking at the back of the intarsia squares: it could really do with a backing. Which is all well and good except 1) I have no clue how to do that and 2) there isn't a functioning sewing machine in our house. So I trolled the Internet for adding a backing to knit fabrics, by hand. I came across various different techniques, and am thinking I might have employed them all (and a couple I'd made up too!). Whatever works I say - and it seems to.

In case you are interested in the backing details:
I washed both the knit blanket and the flannel first, to make sure that any shrinkage happened before the 2 were permanently attached. Once dry, I laid the knit fabric out, taking care not to stretch. And then measured the dimensions of the blanket minus border. I then cut and hand tacked a piece of the cotton flannel to match this size.

Next I added a blanket stitch border to the cotton flannel, using the same pink cotton yarn that I'd crocheted around the entire border - I used this as an 'anchor' to crochet the flannel and the existing border together. But before crocheting, everything was pinned in place, including the intersection of every block to the backing (later I hand tied some of the pink yarn at each intersection). After all of that was done, all that was left exposed was some of the blanket stitch border on the flannel and so I added another couple of rows double crochet to cover that up and backstitched the edge of it to the flannel backing.

It was quite the labour of love you could say! And any experienced sewer/crocheter may be shaking their head in disbelief! But it all worked out, and at this point I have nothing but time on my hands as I play the waiting game! Oooh I'm happy to have this done before the wee one makes her arrival.

Showered with gifts

2010-02-16T16:50:00.002-07:00

This weekend my knitty friends threw a wonderful baby shower for the little lady and I, on valentines day (great was to spend a valentines morning - brunch with good friends!). I don't think anyone has ever been soooo very spoiled in the history of baby showers! And check out the fun theme -- that's right, knitty goodness!

There were soo many gorgeous, thoughtful and generous gifts I could hardly believe it. I think I spent the entire day with a massive grin plastered across my face. Thank you ladies. It means the world to me that you been supportive and excited throughout this journey. And that you'll all be there to love on BOB when she makes her debut.

Since this is primarily a knitty blog, I'll highlight some of the gorgeous handknits (but believe me I got soooo very many other fantastic goodies... they can all be seen on my flickr page):

First there's the group project -- a beautifully soft blanket made from exquisite sock yarns. I think this is going to be a favourite with the little lady. And check out the cute backing material - monsters! Yay! (Ignore me and my massivosity - by all accounts 'little' lady might not be so little after all! ;o)

And then Kim had knit these gorgeous socks. Check it out - not 1, 2 or 3, but 4 pairs! She's been very very busy and little lady is going to be spoiled with handknit socks from the get go -- between her and her Dad I think I may have a full time job whipping out hand knit socks in the future! And in case 4 sets of socks wasn't enough, Kim also made a couple of hats. Super cute! (And perfect for this chilly weather).

Terrie had made some gorgeous booties. How adorable are they! Something I'd been meaning to do, but never quite got around to. Another treasured keepsake. And then there's Hermann Bear too. Perfect size for a (not so) wee one.

Speaking of Monsters, Jeni has also added to the collection with another danger craft monster - Sammie the sock monster. Hee hee I love these guys. He has now joined the rest of the posse in the nursery. And Jeni also made this beautiful cardigan in some deliciously soft yarn and beautiful colours. Aah I think precedents are being set that may be hard to uphold!

Stacey has also been very busy with the knits -- there's a couple of gorgeous and fun hats to go with some onesies she gave me. Loving the bright colours and fun designs on these.

And then there is the knitted papoose. I'm soo very happy to have one of these to model my newborn baby in for her first photos. Another thing I'd been meaning to get round to, but, erm, never did.

Speaking of which, it appears that BOB is on her way sooner rather than later. Was at the docs on Monday and she thinks it could be any day now... we'll see!

Thanks once again for the wonderful shower. I had such a nice time with you all and can't thank you enough. Big hugs, Sam xoxo

Check out this beauty!

2010-01-31T17:45:00.002-07:00

I was hoping I could show this off in a finished nursery, but that's going much slower than I'd like (too much napping and other obstacles...). So this weekend I took a few photos because I was eager to share this stunning, and very generous, gift from Bea:

Bobbin' for Hourglasses Quilt:

Bea had posted about this lovely quilt on her blog a little while ago and I found myself drooling over the pics - it is gorgeous, fun, and makes me happy just looking at all those bright colours. (The back is very pretty too - go check Bea's blog for better pictures).

I couldn't believe my eyes when only a week or so later she offered it up in a blog contest. WHAT? Give that stunner away? So of course I entered, kept everything crossed and hoped for the very best.

Seems my luck was in! I still shake my head in disbelief. It couldn't be more perfect for the nursery. And I love to think how it will become a treasured keepsake.

Bea, I can't thank you enough for this gorgeous quilt. (And Bella says to tell Gus and Abby that she's keeping a good, watchful eye over it too!)

Penelope and pals

2010-01-21T22:34:00.003-07:00

Here's the latest addition to the nursery critter collection - Penelope:

Pattern: Penelope the Empathetic monster by Rebecca Danger
Yarn: Main colour is the very lovely Mama Blue Troika Sport in colourway Poppy, with pink Berrocco comfort ears, feet and eye spot (which oddly enough matches the nursery walls perfectly).
Needle: US Size 5
Modifications: I used crochet to create the eye spot vs knitting it - just because I found it too fiddly to knit. (Lazy, yes! ;o) And then embroidered the black eye balls and white felt teeth vs glue.

Here's Penelope with her monster pals. Ooh I can't wait for the room to start taking shape...

Having fun with the nursery

2010-01-13T15:47:00.002-07:00

I finally got started on the nursery, and I'm super excited about how this could turn out. The room in question was a spare room that was looking a little ratty and so it was nice to rip out the carpets and replace with wood floors, and to add a splash of colour to the walls.

Now I hadn't planned on this being a super girly room. The theme is a little monster's playground (hope I'm not tempting fate here ;o) I was originally thinking neutral colours for the room itself with bright accessories to add some colour and fun. The bright accessories in question are ugly dolls, knit monsters (of which I made Frances, Daphne and Delilah so far) and knitted odd-bods (of which Jessica has made us Bert Bear).

But I guess some trigger went off at the paint store because I now have pale pink walls and a peachy ceiling and skirting boards, window ledge and door frames:

Plus the accessories I've been looking at are super girly too:
- I'm thinking this might be a cute rug - 'cos little monsters need fields of flowers to play in, right?
- And this might be an awesome wall decal - a little tree under which my monsters can get shade
- And then of course I need to find some cool shelves to display all those fun monsters and critters that I'm hoping I'll magically be able to knit between now and not-so-little lady's arrival.
- Ooh yes, and of course Etsy has a whole treasure trove of goodies of which I saw these 3 cute monster pics that I think would work well in the room

Not so sure about curtains yet... if anyone out that can point me to something fun that would work with the very-loose-at-this-point theme, I'd welcome the suggestions.

So on a knitty related note, I have decided to make a blanket for the nursery. I have a pile of rowan 4-ply cotton that needed to be put to good use. I loved the alphabet blanket I'd made a while back, but wanted something brighter like the Barnaby blanket with a fun trim around the edge-- so I'm making a multi-colour alphabet blanket that I'm thinking will work well with the colours in the room. I've set myself a goal to complete 7 squares a week. That way there's a chance of getting it completed before the baby gets here. (Originally it was one square a day, but with late night work meetings and baby classes at the hospital I wasn't always making the one/night... but this way I can play 'catch up' on my nights off.)

More than you ever wanted to know? More links than you ever wanted to click in one blog post? :o)))

Please, please, if you know of any decorations for the nursery that you think would work well with the theme, please let me know. At this point I still have a fairly blank canvas!

A quick needlework update

2010-01-09T10:01:00.004-07:00

I'm late to publicly thank Dany for the lovely gift that she sent over for the little lady. How cute is this - a hand stitched baby bib. It is gorgeous! Thank you Dany, as always you are very sweet and thoughtful xoxo

And on the topic of cross stitch, this Christmas I'd received a cross stitch project from a good friend. It's a 'Princess Palace' that I think will be perfect in the nursery. (Assuming that by the time I'm done, it's still a nursery and not a teen hang out for the little lady! - I'd forgotten how much time it takes to make seemingly small progress on cross stitch projects). But I am loving working on cross stitch again. Aaah too many crafty loves and not enough hours in the day to devote to them!

Last, but far from least, on the needlework update -- go check out Bea's blog. She has a contest posted out there for a gorgeous quilt! (And for those who prefer knitty swag there's an alternate knitty prize). Good stuff.

That's all I have this morning. Have a great weekend!

Noro Wildfell

2010-01-07T06:09:00.003-07:00

I've been plugging away at my big Noro Wildfell cardi/coat these last couple of weeks. I was figuring that it would get good use between the super chilly weather here and my ever-expanding belly! That's right - 32 weeks now!

I'd picked up the yarn a good while ago on sale - 50% off, yay! I couldn't choose between 2 very similar colourways that were available and so bought them both. A little decadent, yes. Since I didn't have enough of either colour for this big ole coat, I chopped and changed between the 2. I think it works ok, akthough there are areas where there seems to be too much of one type of colourway - in hindsight I should have changed it up a bit more. Hey ho, hindsight is 20/20.

The details for the Cardi:

Pattern: Wildfell by Jane Ellison from 'Noro Simply'
Yarn: Noro Kochoran in 44C and 47C - approx 8 and a half skeins used
Size: small - athough if I were to do again, I might make extra small. I don't think it needs to be quite this big.
Needles: US 10

I'm loving how snuggly this cardigan is. And light too. I think it's going to see a lot of use. Especially over the next few weeks.

Bert Bear

2010-01-06T20:42:00.002-07:00

Over the Christmas and New Year my dear step daughter Jessica came to stay with us and celebrate the holidays. I'd taught Jessica to knit a couple of years ago, and although she's not been bitten by the bug (darn it ;o) she did offer to make a whimsical toy for her little sister's nursery. Awwwww :)

Here it is - Bert Bear. It's from Donna Wilson's Knitted Odd Bods book. There's a whole host of crazy characters in there that are fun knits. I'm trying to decide which creature is next on the nursery knit list!

Jessica used 6 skeins of Jaeger Matchmaker Merino Chunky that I had stashed away and knit this on US 7 needles. It turned out rather large, and I love it! I think she too was tickled with the end result. Here's a pic of her showing it off before we had to say goodbye at the airport. :(

Bert is now all stuffed and sewn up and waiting for his new home in the nursery. I'm making slow and steady progress there... but slow and steady wins the race, right?

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T14:20:00.002-07:00

I can hardly believe that it is a New Year already... where does the time go? I hope you had a fun evening yesterday and wish you all the very best for 2010.

I do like the New Year: Looking back at all the blessings of the previous year, and looking forward to the possibilities of what the new year can hold. Having this blog gives me the chance to look through my projects of last year. I find it interesting to see how I've been spending my crafty time.

There was the valiant effort at NaKniSweMoDo - knit a sweater a month. I was on target until the last quarter of the year. If only baby sweaters counted! Although I didn't meet the goal, I'm happy with how it spurred me on to complete projects that might have otherwise gone into hibernation.

Gift knitting also featured high on the list this year. I do like making things for other people; it's my way of saying I care.

And of course baby knits! A couple of friends had babies this year, and with BOB's impending arrival there have been a couple of projects there. Surprising though - I always thought I'd knit a lot more for my own kiddo. However I had never really anticipated how pooped I'd be - knitting was replaced by napping for a good portion of the pregnancy so far!

The last couple of things I noticed after reviewing last year's efforts are that:

I seem to be addicted to starting blankets/throws. Wish I could say there was as much energy invested into finishing them. Maybe this should be one of my goals for 2010 -- to finish those blankets I've started. The hexagon blankets for example might be a great addition to the nursery.

I have a fair few projects that have been in WIP status for well over a year. Hmm, maybe that should be my other crafty goal for 2010.

In truth, I don't know how realistic these goals are. At the end of the day I know the next couple of months will be pretty tiring and the focus will be on staying healthy and rested. And then of course after little lady's arrival I'm trying not to kid myself that I'll have a tonne of time for craftiness. My attentions will be on loving my new little bundle of joy, and learning the ropes as a new Mum.

Hope 2010 has all good things in store for you,
Sam
xoxo

Frances the Charismatic Monster

2009-12-31T10:52:00.007-07:00

Another monster has been completed for the nursery -- Frances the Charismatic Monster. Yay for a fun pattern from Danger Crafts.

Mum had started this when she was over on her pre-baby visit last month. I picked it up again the other morning while watching The English Patient and was able to polish off 2 legs and an arm. That gave me all the incentive I needed to just knuckle down and finish off the remaining arm and ears and sew this cutesy pie together. (That's right, I'm putting this holiday break and pre-baby time to good relaxing and crafty use!)

Here's the details:

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Snapdragon. I think Mum and I may have used 4 balls between us. And that's only because we used a double strand (in hindsight not necessary, but it does make the fabric denser).

This was gifted to me by Nachaele when she moved from Colorado last year - I think she'll agree it's been put to good use :) And I think there might be enough left to make a cute cardigan wrap like this one (ravelry link).

Needles: US 6

Mods: I chose to handstitch eyes and teeth again since it is intended for a baby

Ooh I am looking forward to seeing how the nursery will turn out. I also painted the walls yesterday. Opted for a traditional pale pink. Nothing too bright -- I'd like the fun accessories to pop and be the feature.

Festive feet

2009-12-29T06:06:00.002-07:00

Joe loves his handknit socks. But some of the pairs he has in the sock drawer are looking a little bit too loved... far beyond their best. So I had this grand plan to make him a new pair of socks for Christmas, as a surprise.

The surprise part didn't work out too well... or the getting them for Christmas part... but hey they are complete now, and it's still December.

A little zany aren't they! :o)))

I used Zauberball sock yarn, knitting from each end of the ball to force the striping. I think it's fun. A little Dr Seussical. I do much prefer the one that has more blue in it vs the yellowy one. But they work together well enough in an odd kind of way.

Another super simple knit. I used my basic sock pattern(which I need to modify to fix the heel shaping, btw). And a k3,p1 rib for the leg and top of foot.

He's super happy with the end results and has even worn them into work today. Wonder what his colleagues will think if they see these dazzlers peeking out!

Daphne and Delilah

2009-12-28T06:07:00.002-07:00

I have this idea for the nursery -- that it's going to be 'monster themed'. Which of course sounds a little odd... Monsters? For a nursery?? For a little girl???
Yes that's right - monsters for a nursery for a little girl.

When the monsters in question are as cute as these guys, I think you might agree that it actually might work. And heck, be cute too. So here's Daphne and Delilah. One of many great patterns from Danger Crafts.

Daphne and Delilah are made using Lion Brand Cotton Ease, and a size US 5 needle. I didn't modify the pattern in any way but did add the following details:

Momma monster has a handstitched heart on her belly (using some yummy Mama Blue yarn I have in my stash)
Baby girl monster has a little knitted bow (For the bow portion I cast on approx 30 stitches and worked in the round for about 10 rows then cast off. For the knot portion I cast on approx 6 stitches and knit until it was long enough to wrap around the middle of the bow. Then simply sew together.)
Both monsters have hand stitched felt eyes and teeth. I chose to stitch these details figuring it might be safer for baby.

Next on the nursery crafting list is Frances (ravelry link). Mum started this for us when she was over last month. Need to get cracking on that. And my dear step daughter is working on one of the Knitted Odd Bods (ravelry link) to go in the nursery for her little sister (melts my heart). (The theme has evolved a tad to include other whimsical creatures... and the patterns from the Knitted Odd Bods are perfect!)

I have high hopes for how this is going to turn out... But first job for this week is to paint the room in question.

The kindness of folks

2009-12-23T05:49:00.003-07:00

(I know, my blog posts are like buses... you wait for ages for one to appear, and three come along at once! )

I was thinking the other day about how kind people can be. This has been especially true during the pregnancy -- the kind words, the support and advice, the surprising and thoughtful gifts. Thank you to all my dear friends who have been enjoying this journey with me.

I mention surprising because sometimes it's the little things that just pop out of the blue. Take work, for example... There's the lady that operates the coffee cart who makes sure I get my daily dose of vitamin C -- she catches me on my way to my desk and gives me a couple of clementines each day (and a little bit of English toffee on the side!). Or the colleague who, knowing this is my first child, went out and bought me a book all about pregnancy. The list goes on and on... And believe me, I certainly couldn't ask for a more supportive boss right now. I've been truly blessed there.

I wanted to show my gratitude for some of this kindness, and of course this means handknit gifties! First up is the ruffle scarf. It's nothing momentous to shout about but I do like this pattern a lot (this is the 3rd scarf I've made using this pattern now). And with the designated weight yarn it's a very quick knit - I cranked this one out in just 2 evenings. (So if you need a very last minute gift, you could always plop yourself in front of the telly today and tomorrow and whip one of these out).

I made this one using some Kathmandu Aran that I had in my stash. I think it was probably close to 3 balls that I used (it was odds and ends of a couple of balls so hard to be sure on the yardage -- but that guidance will be in the pattern). With this tweedy yarn, this one feels a little more rustic than the other two. But I'm thinking that it should be super cosy. I hope she likes it.

Oh yes and that's a pic of me modelling it with my 28week belly. B.O.B. is certainly growing in leaps and bounds now!

Handmade goodies for the little lady

2009-12-22T06:53:00.002-07:00

I mentioned in the last post that Mum came from the UK to see me over Thanksgiving. What I didn't note was that she was hauling a suitcase full of goodies for the little lady, from friends and family back home. I was blown away. Christmas had come early :o)

I won't post everything now - you'll be seeing plenty of modelled shots in only a matter of months. But I did want to share some of the handmade goodies:

First up are some more hand made gifts from Mum. Knowing that Joe is a huge sports fan she made little lady's first baseball outfit, complete with Cleveland Indian's logos:

How cute is that handknit sweater! And I love that she has matching jeans and socks. She'll be all ready for the opening of the 2010 baseball season!

And Mum also made a cute rag doll that's kitted out in Miami Dolphins colours and logo. (When I was a little girl I had a Raggedy Ann and Mum tells me that I loved my rag doll. There's other stories too, to do with the dolls red hair and my nostrils... ;o) Anyhoo she thought my little lady might also like her own rag doll. I agree.)

Mum is probably going to tell me off for posting it here. You see she's not that fond of the end result and has been referring to the rag doll as Ugly Betty! (I think she was even thinking of not gifting it... crazy!) I LOVE it!

The other handmade goodies came from my Mum and Dad's neighbour, Barbara. Barbara has been a dear family friend and seen us all grow up over the years. She loves to knit and even owned her own yarn stall at our local market for a while. You can only imagine how giddy I was when Mum pulled out not 1, but 4 knitted outfits from Barbara. Whoa! Little lady is going to be decked out in nothing but the finest handknit goodness!

Mum and I also worked on some projects while she was here. I want to finish them up before I share them... maybe over the Christmas break. They will form part of the nursery decor. My plan is to work on the nursery too between Christmas and New Year. It feels like the countdown is on as I'm into my third trimester and have a lot of prep to do... More to come in the next couple of weeks...

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with this -- we went for a 3D scan while Mum was over. It was amazing! So wonderful to see the little lady in all her 3D glory. She's either a little shy, or a feisty soul - she does not like her picture to be taken! But after much prodding and poking the sonographer was able to get a couple of good shots. What cracked me up the most though was when she raised her little fists at the end as if she was ready to take on the sonographer if he didn't stop! :o)))

If I don't blog again between now and then, I wish you a Merry Christmas. Only 3 more sleeps...

Christmas stamping

2009-12-21T08:23:00.005-07:00

I can hardly believe it's been a whole month since I last posted. Time is flying... I have been busy with work and play. And part of that play has been some craftiness. So here's the first of a couple of posts to get caught up.

After I finished the mittens I needed to knuckle down and get started on my Christmas cards. I received very disappointed looks from Joe last year when I (who owns too much stamping stuff to be buying a card. Ever.) went out and bought all my Christmas cards. This year I was ahead of the game and pretty much made every single one. I even made a couple of batches for my sis - more on that below.

Sometimes I lack inspiration for a design, and so I scouted the web and my idea books to come up with these. I really like the simple red/brown, green/brown and red/green colours.

And because I was on a roll I offered to make my sis some. She wanted some fun ones and I had this great stamp set with cute animals so made her a batch of those.

My sis also makes cool resin jewellry and ornaments, so Mum and I made her a batch that could 'house' the resin goody so that it would double as a gift and card for her friends. (Mum was over for a vist over Thanksgiving... we had such a nice time, and I was sad when she had to return to the UK).

Next up, some knitty goodness for the Little Lady...

Bella's Mittens

2009-11-20T07:43:00.003-07:00

Who went to see New Moon last night? What did you think?

I thought it was great! And the midnight showing had a really fun atmosphere with a bajillion teenage girlies in their pajamas. I think I'm well and truly in the minority routing for team Jacob. And Taylor Lautner... whoo he looked good. But as my stepson correctly pointed out, WAAAAAY too young for me LOL! We're thinking that Dwayne Johnson might make a more age appropriate substitute though (for me that is, not Bella. Pah!). Erm, er, sorry Joe... you know I only have eyes for you ;o)

Anyhoo, my dear friend that invited me is a major Twihard fan and so I thought it would be fun to make her a pair of the Bella's mittens that have been circling round blogland and ravelry.

There's a couple of free patterns out there and I chose Phenomenom by Carine Ancel (Ravelry link) because I really like the cross stitch type effect she's created on the palms. The yarn I used was Dream in Color Groovy, colourway Black Pearl. I needed 2 skeins. My first time using Dream in Color and I was really happy with it - nice and soft and held the stitch definition well. I especially liked the subtle change in tone from black to charcoal grey in this particuar colourway.

And if you are looking for some last minute Christmas knitting these could be just the ticket - each mitten took me about 2-3 evenings to complete.

They were well received by my dear Twihard friend yesterday evening. Which makes this knitter a very happy girl indeed :)

February baby sweater

2009-11-09T06:56:00.006-07:00

One of the cutest baby gifts I feel that I made was the EZ baby sweater out of sock yarn, for my cousin's daughter. I decided my little lady lady also needed one.

This is a great project if you are looking for a fast, easy and interesting cardigan for a baby girl. I took mine on a business trip to the east coast last week and was pretty much complete by the time I returned home. Besides, anything that makes good use out of my ever-increasing stash of sock yarns is a good thing.

There seems to be a lot of discussion on baby knits - whether it's worth the effort. Right now I think so, but soon I'll have firsthand experience at how fast the wee one grows. (Who am I kidding - I'll be knitting regardless of how fast they grow... and at this stage, maybe the amount of time it takes to knit is in relation to the amount of time they'll be wearing it!) I'm telling myself that this particular cardigan might last a bit longer because it is lace, and there's some manipulating that can be done during blocking to stretch a little as baby grows. That's all theory at this point. I'll be able to let you know in a matter of months! Maybe February baby for a February baby sweater? (More likely early March, the Feb part is wishful thinking).

My modifications to the original pattern are shown in the post on the first version I made. Essentially all I did differently was cast on more for the neck, and then knit a few extra rows on the yoke. Everything else is per the guidelines in the book.

I still favour my first version most (it's that delicious sundara yarn). But this one in Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn (colourway Lobster Pinch) is still cute, vibrant and fun with those contrasting purple flower buttons. Although Joe is being a little more practical than I and is advising that I might want to avoid buttons for future baby knits -- that little ones love to chew.

I still have a little yarn left from the one skein of sock yarn - potentially enough for some Saartjes booties. The little lady will need matching accessories after all ;o)

Tempest

2009-10-25T20:10:00.004-06:00

I'm really happy with how the Tempest cardigan turned out. This counts as my September NaKniSweMoDo09 effort.

The yarn I used is Aspen Sock from Red Rocks Fiber Works. I really like Mary-Kay's yarns, in case you hadn't noticed! (They make a frequent appearance here) :o))) It's actually one colour of sock yarn, in darker and lighter shades. I think it's fun how some of the stripey lines look a little wiggly where the lighter shade may have some darker areas, and vice versa.

I picked up 2 skeins of the dark, and one skein of the light. It was a close run thing with the light - the ball I have left is about the size of a marble. I dipped into the 2nd skein of the darker shade, but still have quite a bit left there. Maybe a similar sweater for my little lady? (Because I'm a bit of a dork like that!)

I pretty much followed the pattern word for word. Chose the 36" size. The only mods were to add a garter stitch border at the bottom vs the approach the pattern called for. If I were to knit again I might not do the slip stitch edging as that made the seaming a bit of a pain. I also learned a new technique with this - the bind off on the button band was a new approach for me. It's really neat and produces a great finish.

This will probably get tucked away until both the weather and my figure are more suited to it. (21 weeks pregnant today - woo hoo, that's over the half way mark).

Little Lady (Cheerleaders?) Dress

2009-10-08T05:48:00.009-06:00

A few weeks ago I picked up my first skein of yarn for BOB - it's a beautiful String Theory 'Casper Sock' yarn. I thought it was really pretty and figured it would work for a boy, or a girl. I brought it home to show Joe and he loved it too - it is a colour used by the Miami Dolphins, his favourite football team (erm, yes sweetheart that's exactly what I was thinking when I picked it out! ;o)

It sat in my cubbies for a bit while I was trying to decide what I'd make. During that time I had a couple of scans and found out that BOB is going to be a healthy little lady. Ooh so many pretty choices when knitting for little girls. I've admired the 'Little Sister's Dress' projects I've seen and thought this would be the perfect travel project for my trip to the East coast last week - it's small, portable and knit in the round.

The pattern is darling and I'm tickled with the end result. To make 'Dad' even happier I added a single crochet trim of orange (the other colour from the Miami Dolphin's kit) to the neckline and to create the buttonholes. And also found these cute orange flower buttons that matched the yarn perfectly. This final touch makes it pop and adds a fun girly twist to the dress.

So there you have it, little lady's first Cheerleading outfit. (Although, technically she's not scheduled to arrive until after the season is over.)

Pattern: Tora Froseth's 'Little Sister's Dress'
Size: 3 month
Yarn: String Theory Casper Sock (Green/Aqua), and Mama Blue Troika Sport in Poppy (Orange).
Mods: None

***Edited to add: I only used 1 skein of the string theory sock yarn and still have some left over. But this could be because I did not hold the yarn double as the pattern suggests - I just knit with a single strand.***

Fiery Featherweight

2009-09-20T12:08:00.004-06:00

Whooo it is done!

This one felt like it went on and on forever, with all those stitches in such fine yarn. At times I was ready to tuck it in a corner and let it collect dust for a while, but NaKniSweMoDo spurred me on -- I was a month behind my self-set goal and this cardigan was the closest to completion. I'm glad I persevered because it is sooo very lovely, soft, airy and doesn't scream 'hey I made this'.

Pattern: Hannah Fettig's Featherweight
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace, just a smidge over 2 skeins
Mods? Not many - I knit the body and the sleeves a tad longer than the pattern calls for. And instead of the stocking stitch collar that has a tendancy to roll, I plumped for a matching K1P1 rib border... which at first looked like it was going to pull up the edges of the cardigan, but after a little blocking, lies perfectly flat.

So this is NaKniSweMoDo09 for August. Better get busy if I'm going to catch up and whip something out for September...
(Oh yes, and that's a sneak peak at my baby bump - 16 weeks along!)

Slipper Season

2009-09-19T08:55:00.003-06:00

It's getting a little cooler here and there are flashes of autumnal colours in the neighbourhood trees. That's right, it's officially the start of slipper season!

Each year I produce a batch of felted clogs for dear family members to keep their toes toasty. They've become a much sought after item, and by now I'm thinking I should be able to crank them out in my sleep.

First up this year were my step son's slippers. He moved from sunny warm Florida to come live with us and his proto-man toes aren't used to Colorado's chillier climes. I won't share the pics - boring, boring grey man slippers.

And then there's my Mum's. Mum can easily go through 2 sets in one wintry season, and since I believe it's also chillier back home already I needed to get hers out in the mail pronto. Women's slippers are far cuter than the boring man version - I can give them 'flair'! :o))) I'm really fond of the colours in these and the ribbon fringe cuff.

I tried to get Buster to model them, but as you can see he's less than impressed about the whole modelling gig. Which, to be honest, just cracks me up even more. Just wait 'til I have my wee one to do some modelling for me as well... I can hear it now, 'Awww Mum, do I have to?'

So that's 2 pairs down, and I think 6 to go...

BOB

2009-09-10T21:00:00.005-06:00

I'm about to join the masses of knit bloggers who are blessed with kiddos. I couldn't be happier :)

That's right, I have a Baby On Board - BOB to friends and family.
(The name originated with my 6 yr old nephew when I was asking for potential baby names - his first suggestion was Bob, followed by Thomas, and then Spiderman - which apparently would be very cool!) Bob kind of stuck around here and evolved to stand for Baby On Board. I think it's cute so it became a keeper.

Although BOB isn't set to make his/her debut appearance until March 7th, he/she is already the recipient of some super lovely gifties from Grandma and Grandpa. Super lovely and especially awesome because they are handmade:

BOB's first knitted item of clothing - a super duper jumpsuit that will be perfect for a cold, snowy Colorado March, April and May.

And BOB's first toy - what could be more perfect for the child of a crazy dog lady, than a toy puppy. And one that's personalized, no less. Love this A LOT!

Yep, BOB's going to be one lucky ducky surrounded and clothed in handmade goodies, and the recipient of much love, kisses and cuddles :)

Thank you Mum, I was really touched by the parcel (and it probably won't surprise you that I welled up when opening this ;)
Love you both xoxo

Precious Pinwheel

2009-09-10T20:50:00.004-06:00

A dear knitty friend is due to have a bouncing baby boy very soon... I'd learnt about this some time ago and started working on a small baby blanket for her new bundle of joy.

Pattern: Pinwheel Baby Blanket from the Knitalong book
Yarn: Rowan All Season Cotton - a mix of blue/cream for the center and beige/cream for the seed stitch border
Modifications: I made the seed stitch border a bit wider than the pattern calls for, but that's it.

This is a great simple knit. Movie knitting, if you like :) It's knit in the round and only has a few ends to weave in. Perfect portable project. And I do like the All Seasons cotton it wears really well after being thrown in the machine and dryer... ease of care for a new Mom.

Halloween papercrafting

2009-09-06T14:58:00.002-06:00

The other week I was hanging out and stamping with my friend Cheryl. She taught me to make some cute Halloween goodies:

There's the card of course, but also the 2 candy carriers. One is a little gift bag that's made from scratch, the other is a decorated recycled/cleaned Frappuccino bottle that's filled with M&Ms. Cute heh? I love these little giveaway/party favour ideas.

As it turns out, for my monthly stamp club swap, the ladies chose a 3d swap. So I put my new candy-carrier-making skills into action and replicated the little gift bag that Cheryl had taught me how to make with some fun black stripe/red skully paper. I filled them with some Hershey's kisses so the stamping ladies can use as Halloween giveaways if they choose.

These are adorable, but they did take me all night to make! Well worth the effort as a one-off, but I don't think I'll be mass producing for the kids in the neighbourhood come Oct 31st!

A new crafty addiction?

2009-08-23T07:02:00.004-06:00

Before Camp Wanna Knit Knit I was wracking my brain for what to contribute to the goody bags. I took a trip to Fancy Tiger because they have some really unique gifty type things there. Browsing around I came upon some gorgeous Japanese sheep fabric. That was it, I was going to make zippered pouches for everyone. I picked up a bolt of fabric and lots of matching zippers and headed home with my loot.

When I arrived home I pulled out my Mother-in-law's sewing machine, threw the fabric in the washing machine and set to planning out my next steps. Joe came in and asked what I was doing - well, I'm going to be sewing of course! I'm going to make some zippered pouches for everyone at camp. Looking a little surprised he mentioned that he didn't realise that I knew how to sew. Ah yes, it's been a while. In fact I can only recall making one thing on a sewing machine at high school and that was an elasticated skirt. To which he then wandered off shaking his head mumbling that he saw a disaster afoot! Giving his comment some thought; realizing that there were only 4 days 'til camp; testing his Mom's machine and understanding that it was less than fully functional I decided he might be onto something. It was time for Plan B! (which you can see in the post below).

But still, after seeing all those lovely fabrics, and knowing I now owned enough bits and pieces to mass produce zippered pouches I was eager to learn.

Stacey gave me the nudge -- Fancy Tiger have a zipper skirt class. We signed up for it.

But first I figured I'd take their 101 class. It was awesome. The lovely lady leading the 101 class showed us how to use the machine, load bobbins and thread yarn, try a multitude of stitches, and we even walked away with our first project - a cute eye glass case:

I was now ready for the skirt class the following day. Brimming with my newfound knowledge and a couple of yards of super cute fabric I headed to the store with Stacey. Another great class - the teacher was super helpful, friendly and fun.

I could hardly believe that a newbee sewer could walk away with a completely wearable, well-fitting skirt after just a 3-hour class.

I see many more sewing projects in my future... perhaps those zippered pouches next. But first a trip to the service shop with my MIL's sewing machine...

Camp WannaKnitKnit... belated post

2009-08-16T21:05:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to write a quick note about this year's Camp WannaKnitKnit -- I had such a fun time with my knitty girls.

Each year a few friends head up to the mountains and spend the weekend knitting, hanging out, laughing, eating good food, watching movies, playing games... It is bliss.

Unfortunately we didn't get a group shot this year which is a shame as we had fab new Camp WannaKnitKnit clothing to model! In addition it's become a tradition to come away with a goodie bag, and this year everyone chipped in to create something. Thanks all for the super gifts everyone - I love everything :)

I wrangled my sis into helping create my piece for the goodie bag. She made some super cute Shaun the Sheep resin badges. You can check out the details on her blog. I found some little tin pails and modge podged them with cute paper, and created a little matching notepad and added in some jelly beans - knitters need snacks!

I spent my time there working on Featherweight. It's a pretty pattern, and I love the malabrigo lace. But man, after a whole weekend of non stop knitting on this I was ready to tuck away for another day. There's a lot of teeny stitches to work on.

So tempest has come out of hiding again. I'll need to get a move on if I'm going to finish it up for August's NaKniSweMoDo.

Scrappy Cotton Ripples

2009-08-06T17:53:00.003-06:00

Hi, sorry... been on a blogcation I guess. Maybe it's the summer weather but there's not been much knitting going on. And not much blog posting, or browsing for that matter.

I have been dabbling in some crochet occasionally. Inspired by all the lovely crochet goodness I've seen out in blogland this last year or so. I had a bowl full of scrap cotton yarn and figured it would be fun to try my hand at a ripple pattern blanket. Mixing the different cotton yarns and colours, and adding a white in between to help tie it all together. I used one of the patterns in Erika Knight's Simple Crochet book to get me started.

Truth be told, I didn't have high hopes for this project - it was just relaxing to work on, and made me happy to know that random scrappy bits of yarn were being put to good use. But I'm quite pleased with the end result. Not quite gift quality though, which is a shame as a few friends are having babies this year. But I'm sure I'll find a use for it...

Hope you are having a good summer,
Sam

Liesl in Sundara's Aran Silky Merino

2009-06-29T21:11:00.005-06:00

I'm in love with Sundara's aran silky merino yarn - it is so very soft to the touch, and the colours are striking. A little while ago I was able to pick up 3 skeins in the colourway Viridescent, and have been eager to cast on with it. After an exhausting business trip last week, a lazy weekend of knitting was on the books. I picked up this yummy yarn and the pretty Liesl pattern and cast on.

The pattern is really well written and extremely flexible - wide neck vs tighter neck, short sleeve vs long sleeve, frilly picot edge vs standard cast off, buttons vs ribbon vs other... lots and lots of options to customize and make it your own unique version.

I used a slightly smaller needle than the pattern called for, and went up a size to compensate. I cast on for the wider neck because I figured the thinner yarn and smaller needle would end up producing a smaller neck than the one in the pattern - it turned out just as I'd hoped.

This is July's sweater for NaKniSweModo.
Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda
Yarn: Sundara Aran Silky Merino, Viridecsent - 2 skeins (only a very little bit left over)
Size: 36in
Needle: US 10.5

I'm so very happy with the end result. Just need to find a suitable button for the top.

Rowan Joy

2009-06-20T14:13:00.003-06:00

I'm still plodding along with the NaKniSweMoDo challenge, and this top - Rowan Joy - marks June's contribution. That means I've passed the half way mark - yay!

This felt a little like another 'cheat' project to help keep the monthly FOs coming -- it was in the WIP pile, it's chunky yarn on big needles which always goes super fast, and there are no sleeves to work on either. Yippee!

Pattern: Rowan Joy, size medium
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Tape x 6 skeins
Needles: US 10.5 and 11
Modifications: None

With the exception of wrapping my head around the slip stitch/chain stitch edging (took me a few goes to figure it out, and then had to be careful that the 'chain' was appearing on the RS) this is a super easy and fast knit. And unlike most of the chunky yarn sweaters I've knit to date, I actually think this one turned out pretty nice and doesn't make the wearer look larger than they actually are.

Ooh what to work on next? Pull Tempest out again, maybe?

Cashmere Lace Ribbon Scarf

2009-06-06T23:22:00.003-06:00

It truly is deliciously soft - this is the lace ribbon scarf that I was knitting for a dear colleague, out of a silk/cashmere blend. It has been a delight to work with, and will be difficult to part with.

I'd planned on finishing up sooner, but luckily our farewell luncheon had been pushed out until later this month. So I still get the chance to gift it in person.

Seems I like taking pictures of this type of scarf in a tree - I did the same with my last one. At least with the last one it was in the privacy of my Mum and Dad's back garden. For this one I was laid at the base of the tree in my front garden, snapping pictures up to the sky. I can only imagine what the neighbours must think about the eccentric English lady next door ;o)))

Pattern: Lace Ribbon scarf - free from Knitty.com
Yarn: Jade Sapphire Silk Cashmere in colourway Caribbean Mist, one skein

Rowan Geno

2009-05-30T23:30:00.004-06:00

I just completed Geno for my NaKniSweMoDo (Knit a Sweater a Month in 2009) May sweater.

This one's been in the hibernation pile for a good while now. I'd started back in August 2008 - it was going to be my Ravelympics sweater (cast on during the Olympic opening ceremony; cast off by closing ceremony). I'd made a pretty good effort and just needed to knit the buttonband and then finish. But picking up stitches, and finishing in general, tend to be my least favourite parts of knitting, so it had been tucked away in my yarn cubbies.

It wasn't until I realised that I don't yet have a sweater completed for May's NaKniSweMoDo that I decided this would be a quick solution. (Technically you don't have to complete a sweater every month but I know myself well enough that if I don't there'd be little chance of completing 12 sweaters in the year).

I am thankful to have the nudge of the NaKniSweMoDo challenge - sewing the sleeves on seemed to be more problematic than I'd anticipated. The pattern was written with a little gathering at the top of the shoulder. I was trying to avoid excessivly poofy shoulders and instead ended up with poofy armpits the first time round! Erm, yes, not a look the best of us can pull off. It took me several attempts to make the sleeves sit to my liking, and if I hadn't committed to finishing this for KAL it probably would have been returned to it's former home, never again to see the light of day.

But all's well that ends well - I'm really happy with the cardi. In fact I'm thinking it could be one of my handknit faves so far.

Details:

Pattern: Geno by Marie Wallin from Rowan 43
Yarn: Rowan 4-ply soft (instead of Rowan 4 ply cotton as is used in the original pattern)
Size: 34
Needles: US 2 and US 3
Cast on: Aug 8, 2008
Completed: May 30, 2009
Mods: None (that I can recall)

Temporarily distracted

2009-05-24T17:40:00.002-06:00

In the back of my mind Ive been thinking that I should be working on the scarf that I'll be gifting early next month. Or the sweater a month KAL project - I still haven't completed anything for May.

Instead I've been distracted making these barn raising squares:

On Friday night I picked up a bag of Pagewood Farms 'sock bites' (think a bag jammed full of mills ends) and couldn't wait to try out the yarn and different colourways.

Although a little fiddly to start, once you get going they are great 'on the go' projects.

I'm completely hooked!

Bright and Cheerful

2009-05-16T18:58:00.002-06:00

That's the theme for May's card swap at stamping club. I decided to use the "Wild about you' stamping set - I just love the Elephantika. I don't think it comes more cheery than this little guy.

As I was in the stamping swing I also put together some thank you cards - I've been a little overdue in sending some out for my birthday bootie :)

It's gorgeous here today in Colorado (after a rainy night) and so I spent the afternoon doing some much needed work in the back garden. Hope you are having a great weekend too.

Now back to the scarf...

Still knitting...

2009-05-12T21:48:00.003-06:00

It's true. Despite what you'd think from my recent blog postings :)
I'm currently trying to stay focussed on another lace ribbon scarf.

It's a gift for a dear friend at work who has been a mentor to me over the last couple of years. She will be leaving our company at the end of the month and I'm sorry to see her go. I wanted to show my appreciation... and well, isn't this what us knitters do?

The yarn is scrumptious! It is Jade Sapphire's Silk/Cashmere 2 ply and is soo very lovely to work with. The colour is pretty too with some slight changes in depth of shade. So it's proving to be an enjoyable knit... good thing too... I am trying to complete this by a week tomorrow. Wish me luck! (Yes, if you read my blog regularly you'll know that I don't learn from past experiences :o)

Birthday Crafty Goodies

2009-05-10T21:14:00.003-06:00

Joe and I have been away celebrating my Birthday this last week - first to Disney in Florida, and then a few days relaxing by the beach. We had a lovely time and I thoroughly enjoyed what turned out to be a birth'week' (vs a birth'day'! :)

In usual fashion I was spoiled rotten with lots of fabulous gifties - a BIG thank you, and much love to friends and family. xoxo

Amongst the birthday goodies were a bunch of crafty gifties:

My Grandma got me these really pretty Cath Kidston sewing accessories -- pin cushion, sewing kit and needle holder. I'm really loving the Cath Kidston designs and was tickled pink with this set. The other thing that made this so special is that it complements the sewing basket that she had put together for me when I first left home for University (what seems like many, many moons ago). I still have, and cherish, that basket today. It's nice to add to it with these beautiful new accessories.

My sis, Jac, sent me this fabulous 'Big Birdie Skirt' sewing kit -- how cute is this! Can't wait to try my hand at it. (First a 101 sewing class at Fancy Tiger methinks). Oh, and if you have a wee one I'd definately recommend checking out their clothkits website as some of the designs for kiddos are too cute for words.

Jac also sent me this resin fishy key chain. I love it! She's been crafting some fun and funky resin jewellry recently and I got to receive some of the spoils. I always love a good hand made gift :) Thanks sis - this is cool!

Mum and Dad sent me some brilliant craft inspiration books - one for polymer clay beads and another for pottery. I enjoyed making the polymer clay stitch markers and now I have some pointers on how to achieve different effects. I'd also been thinking about going back to our local rec center to take some more pottery classes - they have great facilites and a wonderful teacher. I really like the projects in these books and am eager to try my hand with the clay crafts again. Thanks Mum and Dad xoxo.

Lots of wonderful birthday goodies tempting me to keep the crafty bug alive and kicking!

On top of all this, the lovely Dany had also sent me a package with some really pretty Italian yarn, and a pattern she has written for a skull cap. The pattern is really cute and will be perfect for those snowy Colorado winters! Thank you Dany I really appreciate your thoughtfulness :)

All in all another wonderful birthday!

Spring

2009-04-30T06:31:00.002-06:00

It's starting to feel like Spring is really here: Hoping we've had the last snow of the season, and enjoying seeing the flowers start to bloom.

I'm making good progress on my Spring sweater - Tempest. The back is now finished and blocked. (Which makes all the difference in the world - it now looks like it should fit me, rather than a small child!).

The theme for this month's stamp club was Spring and so I made these tulip cards for the card swap. I'm really happy with how these turned out, and they were really quick and simple to make.

Stamp club this month was also dedicated to flower motifs. We made a pretty 'watercolour' rose card. I think this is an effective technique and will be trying it again: You stamp and emboss the (rose) image and then spritz the whole thing with water. Take a paintbrush and some ink and dab it onto the wet design - the ink spreads with the water and creates this watercolour effect. Simple! (You probably didn't need this much info right?)

We also made a cutesy flowerpot Mother's day card (this one will be going to my Mother-in-Law as Mother's day in the UK has been and gone already). My MIL loves to garden and so I think she'll be tickled by this.

Hope you are enjoying Spring too ?
Sam

Crafty Twitterings

2009-04-26T21:34:00.004-06:00

Some updates on my crafty endeavours (be warned, it's a long rambling one...):

First a long overdue thank-you to Hyeknitter. The lovely Lisa awarded me the Kreativ Blogger award. Talk about making a girl's day!

There are times I wonder why I do the whole blogging thing - whether to continue, or not. Especially with Ravelry and Flickr out there enabling me to share knitty projects with friends, and pics with friends and family. But then I think of the super nice people I've met through blogging and it all seems more than worthwhile. Thank you to everyone who swings by :)

Back to Lisa's blog - if you are unfamiliar with it, I'd recommend that you check it out. She's got some lovely projects posted out there - leftovers vest, Ariann, tree jacket... And a gorgeous pair of Malabrigo socks.

This sock posting was the last little nudge needed for me to run out and splurge on some Malabrigo sock yarn of my own - umm yes, 3 skeins of the yummy stuff.

Side note: Every time I come home with more yarny loot Joe has started doing his best Shirley Bassey impression and singing 'Yarnfinger' (think Goldfinger) - "She loves only yarn.... only yarrnnnnn"! I asked him whether he thought I might have a 'yarn problem' (I've been acquiring it at a ridiculous rate recently). He said it would only be a problem if I didn't like the stuff. Good man!

OK, back to the crafty goodness. A little while ago I'd posted some earrings that I'd made. My blogger friend Dany really seemed to like them, and so I popped some in the mail for her a couple of weeks ago. They arrived the other day, and they are a winner. Result!
I've also been stamping quite a bit. I attend a stamp club every month where we make a couple of items at the club and swap cards we've made at home. Here's a few showings from the last couple of months ('cos I've been a lazy blogger and not posted about them until now... that and I think that most folks that read the blog are coming for knitterly fodder).

Feb stamp club projects (there is candy on each of those St. Patricks day lolly sticks) :

March stamp club projects - that's right there's chocolate in there too!

March stamp club swap (I made the green card with the little blue birdie and dark pink ribbon. The others were gifted to me)

And I also stamp with my good friend Cheryl (which is always a treat as she makes me the most delicious lunches too!)

The first is a Ghirardelli chocolate box (that's right, more of the sweet stuff!) And the last row of 4, Cheryl made the 2 Easter cards on the right for Joe and I, and his parents. How cute are they!

Whew, bet you are glad that lengthy post is done!

Hope you are having crafty fun too,
Sam

Loppem

2009-04-21T20:28:00.005-06:00

So here it is, the lovely Loppem:

Pattern: Loppem (From Norah Gaughan Collection No. 3)
Yarn: Red Rocks Fiber Works 'Winter Park' (100% Merino) in Colour 'Sing like Pink' (if only I could!)
Size: I chose to knit one size larger than I normally would. One of the things I like about this pattern booklet is that it shares the actual size of the model, and the size she is wearing. It seems the tiny wee thing in the book was wearing a size larger than I would have picked for her... and so I figured I'd take the same approach.
Modifications: I did knit the yoke a little longer than the pattern calls for simply because I wanted the cable pattern to finish at the end of a repeat (vs the middle of one)
Things I'd do differently next time: In hindsight I would have made the lower section a touch longer instead of the yoke. This way I'd still get my full cable pattern repeat and I'd have the cute cap sleeves. Not that it looks bad as is. I'm actually super happy with the outcome. I just think it could be improved on... aah the beauty of hindsight.

I was a little disappointed with how the pattern was written. (Note: check for errata before you begin - I know this should be a general rule of thumb for all patterns). Aside from the errata issue, I'm never fond of having to figure out how to evenly space increases or decreases... I like the pattern to do that for me. (Picture it - late at night, feet up, glass of wine... that's right the brain has gone into relax mode... last thing it needs is to kick back into gear to solve some basic math).

I absolutely love this yarn. Such a rich colour. And so very soft and smooshy. And I think there might be enough left to make myself some fingerless mittens. Bonus!

And, as I mentioned in my last post, this counts as my NaKniSweMoDo sweater for April.

Knitty Update

2009-04-20T18:15:00.005-06:00

Loppem is blocking! That's right, still on track for the NaKniSweMoDo one sweater a month. I'm enjoying the nudge it is giving me to finish sweaters. This one is for April - just have a couple of buttons to sew on and a few ends to weave in. But first it needs to finish drying. The knitting went pretty quickly (being tucked indoors as a result of a snowstorm helped).

While I'm waiting for Loppem to dry I pulled out Tempest and some Red Rocks sock yarn in 'Granny Smith' colourway. This will be a nice lightweight Spring cardigan.

And then there's the araucania/patagonia hexagon blanket -- I added a few extra hexagons this last week, and like this more and more as it grows. The colours are fun, bright, happy colours and the nubby texture adds interest. Seems it has another admirer...

And last but not least I received this fun card from my Mum. She just loves the handknit felted clogs and is on her 2nd pair this winter. Dad says she has 'special slipper eating toes'. (Seems Joe has the same problem.) I know it's just slipper love as demonstrated by some serious wear -- gotta love when a handknit is soo well received!

This cracks me up! Thanks Mum xoxo

Hibernating

2009-04-18T11:53:00.006-06:00

It's been snowing in our neck of the woods. A lot.

The winter storm watch started yesterday morning and by the end of the day we had at least a foot of snow.

Still Joe and I ventured out (like crazy people) to celebrate a friend's birthday and watch Tang Concubines at the theatre. Which I thoroughly enjoyed! The performance was spectacular - the dancers pulled off moves I've only ever seen in Cirque du Soleil performances. The costumes are dazzling, the stories interesting and the music majestic. It's a little saucy too: At one point the mother of 2 young boys leaned over and suggested they cover their eyes!

It was quite the hair-raising journey to get there and back (snowy roads on the way there and a pea-souper of a fog on the way back). But we made it home safe and sound and when we woke up this morning it was still snowing! Big, wet, heavy drops of snow. (I'm hoping that once all this snow clears up our lawn will start to look a little more like grass and a little less like straw!)

Needless to say I won't be going anywhere today. If at all this weekend. Which means good hibernation time -- watching movies, hanging out with my hubby, baking and trying to make a dent in my mound of work. Oh and knitting, of course!

To all my local girls - stay warm and safe!

Hot Pinks and Bright Reds

2009-04-16T07:53:00.006-06:00

The new NaKniSweMoDo project I'm working on:

The beautiful flowers I received from Cheryl and Vince for Easter:

The yummy trifle that I'd made for Easter lunch:

I'm drawn to certain colours... are you?

Here and there cables scarf

2009-04-09T20:34:00.004-06:00

Yay! It is done:

This one felt like it might have gone on forever... but I'm soo very glad I plugged along because the end result is pretty.

Joe was joking that maybe Carmen wouldn't like it, and that I should keep it. Tempting as that sounds, it is going out in the mail this weekend to my dear friend.

Now I wonder how she'll feel about my handsome fella getting in a few model shots? Lovely scarf plus a few random dog hairs? Aah she knows me well enough, she'd probably expect nothing less.

So, the details:

Pattern: 'Here and There Cables' by the incredibly talented Norah Gaughan (from the book 'scarf STYLE, Interweave Knits')

Yarn: Red Rocks Fiber Works 'Paradise' (yes it is true to it's name) in colourway 'Green Grass'

Mods: None really to speak of... I used a US 6 needle (instead of a 7) as that worked better with the thickness of the yarn. Pattern calls for you to knit for 72inches. I just carried on until I ran out of yarn - ending up at 64 inches long by 6.5 inches wide (after blocking).

It feels good when the effort invested was worth it!

New York, New York

2009-03-31T20:45:00.005-06:00

...a town so nice they named it twice!

The second trip I took to the East coast this last month was to New York. A good friend and I went to visit her daughter, who was on Spring break from NYU, and we had a blast!

Highlights included:

Visiting the Guggenheim. I love this museum -- the architecture is wonderful and I enjoy the spiral flow through the museum that allows me to see all the art that's on display, knowing that I won't have missed a thing.

Watching a performance of The Lion King on Broadway. Oh my gosh, this was fantastic! I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when it was her first night at the Opera when my eyes filled up at the dazzling performances. These people are so very talented, the music and singing divine, and the costumes and stage sets extremely creative.

Checking out some of New York's knitting stores - Purl Soho and Habu. Each very different from the other and yet both an absolute treat.
Purl is a bright, fun, hip store that's crammed with yarn in every shade of the rainbow. They have an interesting range of books too - I came away with some cool needlefelting books for my Sis (Happy Birthday Jac!)

Habu has a very laid back feel. You are greeted by overflowing baskets galore, and the yarns come in a variety of interesting and sophisticated-looking fibers. (Note: Be sure to check the address beforehand if you intend to visit as Habu is not visible from the street).

I picked up some goodies in both stores (of course!) and look forward to choosing some projects on Ravelry for the yarns.

All in all it was a fabulous trip -- there was much laughing, catching up, sight seeing, walking and let's not forget the eating! I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

UGH: Rebecca Pullover, 9

2009-03-29T20:09:00.006-06:00

I just finished the Adrienne Vittadini Rebecca Pullover #9.

UGH!
I think one of the few things going for this sweater is that it satisfies my requirement for the NaKniSweMoDo March Sweater. Oh yes and it's green, so it also qualifies for Project Spectrum.

The main problem is that it has this bizarre underarm bulging thing going on. Not an attractive look is it:

I looked back at the pattern and see a hint at this, but also that they have the sides pulled waaaay down (I wonder, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, if that's to combat the bulge effect?). Needless to say I tried this but it just looked odd! ;o)

So what to do? I'm toying with seaming again and taking in extra from the underam area to see if that would help. And perhaps seeing if there's a way to reduce the length of the sleeves. But for now I'm going to tuck it in the back of my closet and devote my attention to prettier things...

Washington DC

2009-03-28T12:02:00.002-06:00

I'm playing catch up today after 3 weeks of trips to the East coast. Whew I'm pooped!

First trip was to Washington DC to meet up with a dear friend from my Amsterdam days. (This is who the 'here and there' scarf is for... sadly it didn't get finished in time. What was I thinking -- a 72inch cable scarf, in skinny yarn, in a week? Next time I should plan for a cowl!)

It was my first trip to DC and I fell in love with the city. Unfortunately I was just a couple of weeks too early for all the Cherry Blossoms to be in bloom (I envision that the city must look spectacular at this time).

But still Spring was in the air with a few early bloomers, budding magnolias and daffodils. Beautiful.

Since it was a short visit, we started by jumping on one of the tour buses to get a sense of the city with great commentary from the guide along the way.

There's so much to see and do, I was a little sad that I didn't have the time to visit at least one of the many museums, and the botanical gardens. I think you could spend years in the city and still not feel like you'd experienced all it had to offer. But I did get to see The White House, Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Memorial. I'll certainly be returning at some time.

Then it was back to Colorado (aaah) for 2 days before my next trip to New York...

Hope you are also enjoying some relaxing time this weekend,
Sam

Here and there cables update

2009-03-07T17:50:00.005-07:00

What a great pattern -- I'm loving the 'here and there cables' on this scarf. The pattern is very simple to memorize, and the cables appear on both sides of the scarf (I find it a little odd when scarves have a distinct 'wrong side'). The instructions recommend lightly blocking the cables and I can see why -- they really open up and look stunning!

I don't know if I'll be able to get this done before Friday. I should have realized that this is quite the ambitious goal! Of course it won't be the end of the world if I don't complete it by the end of this coming week... but it would be nice to gift to my friend when I see her in person next weekend.

As for the 'bowl', I'd tried my hand at throwing pottery a year or two ago. It was a great class, but it seems I have limited talent for this craft -- with some very bizarre looking pots to prove it! This one comes in handy because it prevents the yarn ball rolling all over the place.

Ooh and since I'm enjoying project spectrum's green theme, I wanted to share some of my recent swag here. I swung by Colorful Yarn today to hang out with some of the girls, and to check out Mary-Kay's trunk show. I came away with some of her wonderful Red Rocks yarn - the Aspen sock in colourway Granny Smith! I'm thinking about making a striped cardigan out of this yummy stuff.

And last, but not least, it was a work friend's birthday this last week and so I made her a pair of turquoise and coral earrings. When I'm in need of instant gratification, and a quick gift, I'll dive into my tin of beads and see what I can create. These are pretty simple, but I do love the 2 different colors of turquoise and the coral together.

Ok back to the scarf... If nothing else, I'm determined!
Sam

Knitting Green

2009-03-03T20:37:00.005-07:00

I like to collect old knitting needles, especially the colourful metallic kind. They sit pretty in a tin bucket in my crafty corner in our loft. Here's a couple of green ones to kick off project spectrum.

And if I can drag myself away from my camera, and this computer, I will also get started on a green project -- the 'Here and There Cables' scarf by Norah Gaughan. I'm knitting it in some very pretty silk yarn from Red Rocks Fiberworks in colourway Green Grass (Mary-Kay - this yarn is a dream, so very buttery soft).

This pattern hadn't originally called to me. Until I saw this one on Ravelry. Don't you just love Ravelry for that -- how different folks can take the same pattern and turn it into something unique - with their personal stamp on it, so to say.

I better leave you and get cracking on this project -- it is to be a gift for a dear friend that I'll be meeting up with in Washington DC in just over a week.
Happy knitting!
Sam

Project Spectrum

2009-03-02T22:13:00.004-07:00

I was excited to read that Project Spectrum kicked off again this month for it's 4th round. I've seen some lovely blog posts that reference Project Spectrum as their inspiration. This year, for the first time, I'm going to join in.

In particular I'm interested in the photography angle -- I love how photography makes a person seek out beauty, especially when it requires changing perspective to find it.

PS4 will be an interesting way to look for new sources of inspiration, and practice my photography. The idea of seeking out beauty in different colours, materials, elements, seasons and even directions intrigues me.

For March/April: NORTH

Color: Green
Material: Stones/Gems/Rocks
Season: Winter
Element: Earth

I have some green knitting projects in mind, and will be toting my camera around this week for Lolly's first challenge.

Are you going to play too?
Sam

Colorado Rocks

2009-03-01T15:00:00.004-07:00

I've had it in my mind for some time that I'd love to capture a sunrise at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre.

Red Rocks is a spectacular venue that's nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is impressive during daylight hours. I could only imagine how dazzling it would be in the wee hours of the morning as the sun was coming up. This morning I ventured out and was not disappointed. The skies looked as though they'd been painted in shades of yellow, pink and blue.

Red Rocks is a famous venue for concert lovers. It also hosts some church services -- I've heard that the Easter sunrise service is something to behold. And can you imagine getting married here?

The highlight though for me this morning was on my journey out of the park - there were grazing deer almost at every turn.

The scenery and wildlife are two of the many things that I love about living in Colorado. In fact, only last weekend we were taking a trip down to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs when we came across a herd of grazing Buffalo.

I consider myself very lucky to live here.
Hope you are also enjoying a wonderful Sunday, and a Happy March 1st.
Sam

Baby boat-neck and matching hat

2009-02-23T19:44:00.010-07:00

A colleague is due to have a baby and I wanted to make a little something for her soon-to-arrive bundle of joy. Imagine my surprise last Friday when I learned that her last day in the office was today, Monday. That I only had the weekend to whip something together.
(Sometimes I could kick myself -- it's not like there isn't plenty of advance notice with these things).

After work I swung by the house to grab a pile of baby pattern books and headed to the yarn store. I needed to choose something that would be quick i.e. simple, with a thicker yarn and larger needles. And something that would work for either a little boy or girl as the parents have decided to wait and see. It was the boat-neck sweater in Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits for Beginners that jumped out at me -- the pattern calls for an aran weight yarn so it is sure to be a quick knit, and suitable for either a boy or a girl.

I circled the store searching for the yarn I'd use and couldn't help being drawn to Kollage yarns' Corntastic. Although it is more of a sport weight, it comes in such lovely colours. And I've used it for a couple of other baby projects that have been well received. I decided to go for it again.

To add a little visual interest I opted to add stripes to the sweater and selected a couple of colours to put out to group vote -- the pearl, amethyst and sunstone combo won out. I think these colours are a little whimsical. And gender-neutral.

A couple of basic calculations later I started the pattern using the sportweight yarn and smaller needles. Even in the skinnier yarn this one is a pretty quick knit. To add a finishing touch I created a duplicate stitch heart in the bottom right hand corner of the front of the sweater. I like small details that set something apart, and this is a super simple technique.

Since I had yarn left, and some time before the weekend was over, I thought it would be nice to add a coordinating hat. This time with polka dots instead of stripes to play up the fun factor. I used the Simple Hat pattern (from the same DB book) as my guide, and adapted as follows:

Knit 5 rows for the roll brim
Divide the stitches on the needle into 4 equal sections
Sketch out a polka dot pattern that can be centered in each of these 4 sections (I decided to create 2 different size of polka dot)

Work 1 row, adding the large polka dot in sections 1 and 3
On the 2nd row, start adding the smaller polka dot to sections 2 and 4
Continue following the polka dot sketches until the 1st round of polka dots is complete
Knit 7 rows
Add a second round of polka dots (this time the larger dots go in section 2 and 4, and the smaller in 1 and 3)
Finish hat per instructions in the pattern

You'd laugh if you saw the inside of this hat -- I use my very own special brand of fair-arsia, or inter-isle, to add them in as I knitted along. (The polka dots are interarsia, but the white carries behind them like fairisle!)

Despite my less than perfect approach to adding the dots, I think the outcome is pretty cute. The recipient was over the moon too!

Hourglass (NaKniSweMoDo09 - Feb)

2009-02-16T20:36:00.005-07:00

Hourglass is finished, and I couldn't be happier:

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater (from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson)
Size: 37in chest
Needles: US Size 8, or 5mm
Yarn: Plain and Fancy
Modifications: I added a contrast band for the hem, sleeves and neck using some Colinette sock yarn in a bright turquoise. I also added a 5 extra rows (with the alternate row decreases) to the neck after seeing that other folks were getting a flashdance-esque neck on the sweater when following the pattern. Mine still has a wide open neck - I like it that way - it's just not falling off the shoulders (or needing matching leotard and legwarmers!)

I'm probably one of the last few knitters in blogland to make one of these. And I'm soo glad I finally got around to it. I think it's a really wearable sweater, and see there could be more in my future. Despite the errata issues (check them out online before you embark on the pattern) it was a pretty straightforward knit - perfect for tv viewing, or when you want to 'switch off'. And reknitting the yoke didn't take that long - I've been full of a cold so it was a good way to keep occupied this weekend (while watching all those romance movies on tv!)

And one last thing -- I love the Plain and Fancy yarn. It is extremely soft and the colours vibrant. I picked it up at the Estes Park yarn fest last year. I'll certainly be making a visit and replenishing my stash this coming year with a new colourway. If you aren't into the variegated look and would prefer an overdyed feel, my friend Terrie made a gorgeous version in a pink colourway.

Oh yes, and as the title mentions - this is my sweater for the NaKniSweMoDo09 - February. I'm loving this knitalong. A great nudge for me to finish up some of the many sweaters I have in my queue, or various stages of completion.

Hope you all had a good valentines weekend,
Sam

Spot the Difference

2009-02-13T20:43:00.005-07:00

I've been working on my hourglass sweater for February's NaKniSweMoDo. Whipped out the sleeves last weekend, and started work on the yoke this week. That's right the end was in sight.

But hang on a second, the instructions for the decrease rows on the yoke seemed a little funky. Should I really do an SSK, K1 and K2tog after every marker? No, no, I should follow the pattern. I've learned the 'I'm not smarter than the pattern' lesson the hard way. These people are professionals - the shaping will be just fine. Stick with it, you'll see.

Hmmmmm:

Stick with it. Ha! I should have trusted my instincts. The shaping is not fine. Although the front left quite correctly points in, towards the neck, the right hand side has some flaws -- it points straight up towards the collar bone. Pout.

I tried the sweater on and gave my husband and the in-laws a modelling show to see if they'd notice, 'cos you know there are some little errors that one could perhaps pull off as a design feature. "Oh yeah, it's meant to look like that - a little bit of unique detailing". Umm yeah, there's unique detailing and then there's plain old weird. You know this falls in the latter category. No-one in this house was falling for 'design feature'.

After pouting some more, I decided I'd Google errata for the pattern. Yep seems that the instructions for the yoke shaping, in the first edition of the book, contain a few errors. So, lesson learned -- I should check for errata before I get stuck into a pattern.

...hi ho, hi ho, it's off to riiiiiiiiiiip I go.........

Mummy's little helper?

2009-02-10T18:26:00.009-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that I've been clearing out the clutter and getting organized around the house. Seems I have a little helper...

You see I came home the other night to find a pile of my yarn on my computer seat.

Panic not. It's some leftovers that I'd been using when a pattern calls for waste yarn. I'm wondering in which 'safe place' I must have tucked it away, because it wasn't in my cubbies. But my little helper located it and left it on the computer seat for me! (As you've probably gathered, I spend quite a bit of time on the computer). This cracks me up. All I can think is that it was either a truly bizarre coincidence, or that she realized I was tidying up my yarn and that this also needed to be put in it's correct place. Too funny!

Why am I convinced that it's Bella and not Buster? Well, Bella will take it upon herself to move things around the house - for example if I go out for a while she'll drag her blanket downstairs to the window by the front door so that she can wait for me there. And well Buster doesn't do such things. He likes his humans to do it for him!

Simple squares

2009-02-07T11:11:00.009-07:00

This year I've made a promise to myself to get organized and take control of the clutter. I decided I may as well start with something fun -- organizing the yarn stash! I was inspired Stacey's reorg by colour scheme and thought I'd flat out copy that approach! ;)

The square cubbies were kindly donated by Nachaele when she left Colorado for Wisconsin last year, as was some of the yarn. (I believe you can pick these cubbies up at Target). Thank you Nachaele, I do love these yarn cubbies.

As I was tidying through the cubbies I came across a bunch of cotton odds and ends that I wanted to put to good use. I've seen a couple of cute Granny squares on Ravelry and decided this would be perfect. I'm not overly familiar with crochet, and so using Erica Knight's Simple Crochet as my guide I tried my hand at a couple of squares this week. They each have their flaws but I love them! And with practice they can only improve, right.

The other project that was unearthed was my Colorado blanket (or rather a mound of yarn to make a blanket!). You see beyond the shopping part of this jaunt, there really wasn't much progress in the knitting department! The biggest stumbling block I'm having is to figure out how to substitute my colours for those in the original pattern. I just need to sit down with a piece of paper and some felt tip pens and map it out, I think.

But in the mean time I started with a couple of neutral squares. Neutral they are, boring they are not with their silk and sequinned bling! Maybe I need to rename this the Diva blanket?

Back to knitting

2009-02-01T09:13:00.005-07:00

To the detriment of my knitting, I've been thorughly engrossed in reading 'A thousand splendid suns'. What a great book! If you liked 'Kite Runner' then I recommend that you pick this up. It is set in war-torn Afghanistan and touches on some of the same themes of friendship and family, this time between women.

Incidentally, I'd been using a little Christmas tag as my bookmark. This tag is near and dear to me because it was written by my adorable nephew. I was there as he was writing, and it's supposed to read:

To Sam
The Coolest
One in a million.
Love
Chaz
Turns out there wasn't space to add all the zeros for a million. So I ended up being 1 in 10,000. This cracks me up and melts my heart all in one go.

With the book completed I am back into knitting again. I've been working on Noro Wildfell jacket/cardigan which I think is going to be one cuddly cardi when it's done.

This is a stashbuster cardigan -- I had 2 different colourways of this yarn in my stash cubbies, and since Wildfell requires quite a significant amount of yarn, I needed both colourways to make it work. I think the colours are close enough that I'll be able to pull it off. The primary difference is that one has an lime green running through it, and the other a peppermint type of colour.

I'm planning on this being one of my NaKniSweMoDo sweaters. I'm not convinced that it will be February's though -- there's quite some knitting to do. Although today is the perfect day for it -- there'll be much knitting as I watch the superbowl this afternoon. Happy Superbowl Sunday to you all!

When I'm not knitting

2009-01-29T20:13:00.009-07:00

I love to make things. I've always loved it - my parents and grandparents kept us entertained with crafty projects when we were kids. So it's probably no surprise that when I'm not knitting in my spare time that I'll often be doing something crafty.

Most recently I've been drawn to needlework. There's something soo consuming about needlepoint - I 'switch off' and time flies. I picked up my mermaid needlepoint this week, out of which I'll be making some fun summer sandals. I'm really drawn to the bright colours and wonder if subconsciously I'm dreaming of summer and warmer weather. It is sooo very cold here at the moment.

I've also started stamping and paper crafts again. On my work trip last week I learned that a colleague's wife runs Stampin' Up workshops. And they live down the street from me - bonus! I joined one of the groups earlier this week and we made the most adorable box and filled it with chocolates that are wrapped to match. I'm thinking a version of these might make cute valentine gifts.

The other thing that's keeping me occupied is reading. I received the most wonderful stack of books this year for Christmas. The first I dived into is 'A thousand splendid suns'. I'm thoroughly engrossed and can barely put it down. I'll get up a little earlier than normal to sneak in a few pages, a few more on my lunch break, and again just before bed.

Yes, I'm a crazy (double-chinned) dog lady!

Of course all this reading is eating into craft time! But I'll have this book polished off soon. I'm thinking at that point I should probably return to working on my February NaKniSweMoDo sweater.

More purple ruffles

2009-01-26T20:23:00.005-07:00

After making the 'Just enough ruffles' scarf for my Mum out of sock yarn, I decided I needed one for myself. I had one skein of some beautiful Mama Blue Troika sock yarn on hand, in the Urchin colourway, and wanted to see if I could make the scarf with just the one skein.

Last time I doubled the amount of stitches than the original pattern called for, to compensate for the skinnier sock yarn I used. Since I'd used about 1.5 skeins of sock yarn for that version, I was convinced that if I cast on just 50% more this time, that I'd be able to pull off the pattern with just the one skein. Alas no.

I toyed with pulling back and knitting fewer short rows than the pattern called for. And then thought better of it. My Mum's scarf looks so nice with the contrasting edging that I figured I'd do the same with mine.

I found some lovely grey mohair in my stash and knit with 2 strands of it for the last few rows of the ruffle edge, and to cast off. To balance out the grey ruffle edge, I added a couple of single crochet rows of the grey mohair to the cast on edge. Although I would have liked to have made this just out of the purple, I think the grey works well. An added bonus - it goes well with my new grey winter coat.

I think this is the most wonderful pattern -- a quick easy knit that results in a unique looking scarf that isn't too fussy. I see more versions on the horizon... and maybe I'll figure out that magic recipe for making it out of just one skein of sock yarn!

Sisterly Sweater Swap

2009-01-11T11:22:00.004-07:00

This year my sister made me Rowan Anise out of Rowan Little Big Wool (colour Sugar Spun), and gifted it to me just before I left the UK. I love, love, love it! Thanks Jac -- you are awesome! :)

I'd seen the pattern some time ago and fell in love with it and when my sis started making it I teased her to see if it was a gift for me. I'm not sure if it was originally intended for me, or not, but I certainly lucked out when she presented it to me this week.

Knowing that she was working on this, I thought it would be nice to make something for her also. And I certainly had a massive pile of yarn after the visit to Texere yarns. She mentioned she liked the Rowan Caraway pattern and some of the yarn I purchased - an Alpaca Mohair blend. Since the yarn knits up as bulky, I figured it might work well and was really happy with the light airy fabric it produced. I pulled an all-nighter on this bad girl to make sure I could leave it behind for her (it's just missing ribbon ties at the front).

The quality of the photos is due to the fact that we they were snapped just minutes before we ran out the door to the airport (you can imagine how popular that made 'wait, wait, I HAVE to get a shot of this sweater before I leave!'). Anyhoo it is done and I'm calling this the 'booby prize' -- I think I did much better out of the sisterly sweater swap. I'll be interested to see what she thinks (and hope that she'll be willing to send me better modelled shots... hint, hint Jac ;o)

Oh yes, and this is my Januray sweater for the NaKniSweMoDo (complete a sweater every month in 2009). Extra big needles for this project means that I got a good start off the blocks on this one!

UK Knitting Delights

2009-01-07T11:51:00.009-07:00

I've been back in the UK, with family, over Christmas and the New Year and it's been great! There are a few knitting related highlights I wanted to share with you here on my (mainly) knitblog.

First was meeting the lovely, and talented, knitbloggers from Joli House - Amanda and Lily.
Amanda, and her daughter, Lily live in the same area of the UK as my family and so it was nice to be able to meet up in person at a local cafe. I love the Joli house blog -- Amanda takes some of the most wonderful photos of her gorgeous knitting projects and Lily is a wonderfully talented knitter at such a young age. It was super nice to meet them both.

Second was a trip to Texere yarns - a yarn shop and warehouse in nearby Bradford. What an amazing place!
We arrived and were guided to the shop section which had a lot to offer. We were also offered mince pies and hot drinks. Yum! But it was when we walked into the warehouse that we really got giddy! The place is huge. And full of a wonderful selection of yarns -- British wool, Scottish wool, cotton, silk, mohair, etc etc... all at a really attractive price. Don't even get me started on the bargain section upstairs where yarn was 1p per 1g. Can you imagine? Needless to say I came away with quite the stash. Let's hope it all fits in my suitcase!

And finally there is the knitting content on some of the commercials (quite surprising as knitting isn't as big here in the UK as it is in the US). One was the Shreddies ads (breakfast cereal). I read a couple of reviews that people just didn't like these ads. I thought they were cute.

Knitting Nanas

Nanas Return

The other that does seem to be popular is for PG Tips (tea bags) and features a knitted monkey (not unlike the sock monkey that you'd see in the US). Another cute ad, IMO.

And lastly I'll leave you with this one -- a take on the Queen's Christmas message.

And on that note I'd like to 'shave a stoat' to you all in 2009!

Double the Ruffles

2009-01-04T07:36:00.006-07:00

I finished the Just Enough Ruffles scarf to go with the purple and brown gloves that I'd given Mum for Christmas.

The original pattern (Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau) calls for a thicker yarn than the Sundara sock yarn I'd selected to go with the gloves, so I made a couple of modifications to the original pattern:

Used a 4mm needle (as that what is recommended for the chosen sock yarn)
Cast on twice as many stitches as the original pattern calls for
I did 20 wraps in the curve
I knit a couple of extra rows for the ruffle

I also used 2 colours in the scarf - a dark espresso brown Koigu sock yarn for the first and last few rows, and then the Sundara poppy for the bulk of the scarf. I wasn't sure about using 2 colours at first, but I think it turned out really nice in the end - an extra little detail.

I love the outcome and am going to make one for myself in some mama blue yarn that I've brought with me. Since the above version used more than 1 skein of the Sundara sock yarn, I probably won't cast on as many stitches -- probably increase by only 50% this next time. The scarf is plenty long so this should do the trick.

I love the pattern and think the end result is adorable.

Silky Lace Ribbon Scarf

2008-12-28T08:45:00.007-07:00

A little late for Christmas, but finished nonetheless:

(Do you like my handsome model?)

The pattern is Veronik Avery's Lace Ribbon Scarf available, for free, on Knitty.com. I used Handmaiden fine yarn 'Silken' - 2 skeins - in this lovely bright berry red colour.

The pattern is a simple knit that is easy to memorize. Be warned though -- the recommended length for the scarf is a whopping 80 inches! Mine is just a touch shorter than this as I stopped when I was out of yarn from the 2 skeins.

I'm thrilled with the end result. As is my Mum who received the belated gift.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!
Sam