New Knitting

I cast on a new project, the Silk Camisole from Last Minute Knitted Gifts that my friend Jes knit for the Knitting Olympics. I love how hers turned out so I thought I would try it out with the Elsebeth Lavold Cotton Patine I had in my stash (meant for another project that didn't work out). I'm using size 4 needles and have just finished the lace and am moving on to the mindless stockinette, just what I need right now! I sure hope it fits, I would hate to have to do the lace over again. I'm making a few changes per Jes' suggestions. First, the lace repeat for the size I'm making has a 9 stitch stockinette patch on both sides and the pattern repeat is 9 stitches. So I just did the lace pattern all the way around. It was not as easy as I thought it would be which is probably why the pattern isn't written that way, but I do think it looks much better this way. Also, Jes suggested adding some waist shaping. I have no idea how to do this, but I will start by looking up what I did on Picovoli. I'm thinking I'd rather do the shaping closer to the sides of the tank. And Picovoli is worked from the top down rather than bottom up. So I'll have to think about it and see what works. Any suggestions are welcome! I know it'll involve some SSK and K2tog but that's as far as I've gotten.

Rollie Pollie

I saw this beautiful knitting needle case on Pink Lemon Twist and decided to make one for myself. I used some leftover fabric from the baby quilt I'm making (yes, the top is finished, one thing at a time). I figured things out as I went along and the main thing I forgot was to sew the lines for the pockets before sewing the main pieces together so it wouldn't show on the outside of the roll. I need to write down how I made it before I forget because I'll definitely be making more. It holds all of my needles perfectly! I made the pockets 1 1/2" wide which I think is a little too wide for the tiny DPNs. I could have made the overall width a little less. Also, I think the pockets are slightly too deep and the top flap needs to be a little bit longer to cover the tops of my shorter needles. And if you look closely you can see the pink embroidery stitch I used, fancy, huh? Thank you mom, I love the machine! Not only did she buy me the new Pfaff quilting machine, she also gave me her old Pfaff Creative 1475 sewing machine. I'm having so much fun!

Hippity Hop

Finally, I actually have knitting content! And not only that, I have a finished object too!!! Here is the cute bunny I've been working on, I think it turned out pretty cute and my son seems to like it and that's all that matters. I have to admit, I didn't enjoy making it very much. There were a lot of pieces and I hate seaming. I thought it would be a quick and easy project but using Cashmerino Aran on size 3 needles doesn't go very fast. Pattern: Debbie Bliss "Rabbit" from Special Knits Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran Needles: 24" Circular Addi Turbo US3 We're still recovering from sugar shock. We had a really nice weekend, even though Hubby had to work on Easter. I remember the day I decided I wanted to try to get pregnant was Easter 2001. Our family ate out at an Italian restaurant for Easter dinner and there were kids running around everywhere. I knew it was time. And look how cute they turned out!!! I have some sewing to show you tomorrow, I need to come up with a new blog name because it seems I'm sewing as much as knitting these days. And my mom bought me an early birthday present, a Pfaff sewing machine & frame for quilting!!! It is huge, it takes up an entire wall in our spare bedroom. I'll tell you more about it soon, I'm hoping if I get good at machine quilting I will be able to make some money finishing quilts for people. If you have any quilt tops you need quilted, let me know! With this machine, quilting is so much easier. I'm really excited to try it out, hopefully I'll have it up and running soon.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a great weekend :) p.s. I actually finished the blue bunny, but hubby took my camera to work and keeps forgetting to bring it home so you'll have to wait for the pics. He's kinda funny looking but at least I finished something which means I can start something new, right?

Knitting Crisis

Ok, I am having a major knitting crisis. Why did I go this far with this project without stopping? I knew from the beginning something wasn't right, but I kept going anyway. This thing is so huge, it would fit me. I've done a lot of Debbie Bliss patterns and have never had a problem but this is crazy. I think I cast on more stitches for this than Picovoli! And what's with the model in the picture? The biggest size in the pattern is 18-24 months and the model must be 2 or 3 years old. Maybe that's why this whole thing is so baffling, I'm expecting it to be a cute little knee length dress like it is in the picture. I'm doing the 12-18 months size which should not be this huge. I know it will fit her someday so I should probably just finish it but I just can't see myself casting on for the front at this point even if I ever finish the back with all the seed stitch I have left. Ugh, I think it's time to start something new. Ok, ok, finish stupid bunny and then start something new. Did you notice I got rid of a few progress bars? They are 'temporarily' out of the queue (stored in the closet soon to be forgotten). Maybe I'll put this in with them and start it again next Spring when it might actually fit her. Grrr....I'm so mad at my knitting right now!!! How can I be so stressed when this is in my front yard?

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Today is C's 1st birthday, I can't believe it's been a year already! She has changed so much in just the past few weeks, I'm a little sad that my babies are growing up and aren't really babies anymore. Here's a picture that was taken the day after she was born, she's so much cuter now! We had a small family party for her on Saturday, she really seemed to enjoy opening her presents. And her cake! Happy birthday sweet baby girl!

Patchwork Quilt

Finished! I'll have to think of a name for this quilt. It's beautiful, I'm so in love with it! I'm not sure what's going on with my knitting, I still consider myself more of a knitter than a quilter, but I'm just not feeling any of the projects I'm working on. Maybe I should cast on something new, although I'm a finisher and don't think I can start something new until I finish something. We'll see, I haven't gone this long without knitting in a long time! I think I just need to pick up one of the projects when I have a lot of time to work on it so I actually make some progress and feel good about it again. And I'm starting a new quilt, something for Project Linus, although I may end up keeping it because I'm falling in love with it already. This quilting thing is addictive, I didn't think I would be so into it but I just can't stop. I need to stop and clean the house or else I'm going to get fired and have to find a "real" job!

Lost and Found

Thank you all for the wonderful comments and concern about my daughter. She is doing great, she seems completely back to normal. Remember that Crystal Palace DPN I lost about a month ago? Well, my mother-in-law moved a chair in her house and heard a little "ding". She looked under the chair and there was my needle! I can't believe it, I am so happy, I loved those needles and every time I would get around to the Clover needle I was forced to replace it with, I would cringe. I'm so happy!!! Here is my vegetable garden. Not very pretty yet but it will be soon! I started it last year and it did ok but I made a ton of mistakes, um, like remembering to water it often! My tomatoes never did very well but I did get a lot of squash which I used all the time. So the other day when it was warm I went outside and pulled out all the weeds. It wasn't bad at all since I had put weed barrier down. I know I should probably till the soil and whatnot but I probably won't. A few of the herbs I planted have come back like the peppermint and chives. I'm not sure what I want to plant this year, definitely squash, zucchini, tomatoes, maybe some strawberries, beans, peas, and peppers. I'll see what looks good when I go to the nursery. I'm so excited, hurry up warm weather! It actually snowed here for a few minutes this morning. Here is our amazing new screen room that my father-in-law has been building. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done (mainly painting and making/installing the screens). I know I will live on the screen porch this summer, it is so amazing and a wonderful addition to our house. My father-in-law called today to tell me the back-hoe was calling my name and will be digging the foundation for my kitchen (we're extending it out back 4 feet - just to the right of the screen room). That's how things work around here, one day you wake up and there's a back-hoe in your yard. I love it!!! And here are the first signs of Spring popping up around our yard.

Scary Weekend

On Saturday my daughter was having terrible stomach cramps and diarrhea. After a few hours when I changed her diaper I noticed there was a lot of blood in her diaper so immediately we decided to take her to the ER. She just started new medication a few days ago so I thought for sure it was a side effect of that. But, it turns out she had intussusception which is basically when part of the bowel folds into itself kind of like a telescope. We thought she would need surgery to have it corrected but they ended up being able to fix it with an air enema. Not fun, but anything is better than surgery. So we're finally home and she's in her high chair eating a piece of pizza with her two new teeth! I'm so glad we took her to Johns Hopkins and not our local ER. It's amazing how resilient children are. I took some pictures of our "gardens" which I'll show you soon. I haven't had a chance to do much knitting lately, I have a feeling the bunnies won't be done in time! ETA: I forgot to mention while we were in the hospital, right after we got back from the ultrasound that confirmed the intussusception, we had this beautiful blanket waiting for us on her bed: It was made as part of the Linus Project. I can't tell you how much this meant to me to have something hand-made for her when we were scared and didn't have anything from home. I definitely plan on making something to donate to them in the future.