Something Blue (and Wee)

Today I finished a wee little baby sweater. It took only a few days for me to put together and I really like how it turned out. The recipient will be for the sister of a friend who is expecting a little girl this year.

Pattern: Abigail Sweater by Kay Squared

Yarn: I don't remember the yarn I used, but it was a blend of acrylic and wool in worsted weight.

I'm kind of hoping that the baby will be born in a colder month before she is too big to wear this little treasure...but, I can always knit more...

Lasagna

This afternoon after service, my mother is going to teach me how to make homemade lasagna. I know that it is an easy thing to put together, but I still enjoy learning new things and my mother is an excellent cook so I'm looking forward to spending the afternoon with her.

When we are done cooking, we are going to have an afternoon of tea and knitting. To top things off, I have today off from work. Cheers!

This Year It Will Happen

Every year, I tell myself that the Christmas presents will be done early and everyone will have a knitted treasure under the tree and in their stocking. It never happens that way, and I do not know why I feel like it will actually happen this year. Maybe it's because, my friends, this is the year 2013, and 13, although superstitious for some, is a favorite number of mine, so I consider it somewhat lucky.

I started making up a list of this year's Christmas gifts and the appropriate recipients. There are all but three with a knitted item next to their name. I have great faith that those three names (and the other seven), will indeed have something not only next to them on paper, but also under the tree and in their stockings.

This past year, it was only one item that wasn't finished in time, this time, that number will be zero. It's a personal challenge I have set for myself. The first one (a hat for our annual Christmas gift swap) is already halfway finished, and the second one (next month's project), was just ordered this morning.

Cheers and Happy Knitting!

Just As Promised

I promised that I would post up photos of the BS when it was fully completed, so here you are:

I love it. I am going to wear it to work today. It's a bit puffy under the arms, but I prefer to claim that it's a unique variation on the pattern and not a mistake that resulted in too many increases to shape the sleeves.

If you want to make one yourself here are the details:

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne

Yarn: Rouge Swish Worsted by Knitpicks 

As always, happy knitting!

Finished!

My beautiful Birthday Sweater was cast off the needles this morning. The buttons have been chosen (they are not sparkly as planned, but that's okay), and the lovely mass of pink wool is now in the wash and will be blocked this evening. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

This was another day to have an adventure with my dear friend Barbara. We got the buttons and then I stumbled upon the most gorgeous turquoise acrylic/wool blend. It's so soft and lovely and affordable and (would you believe it?) I walked out with nothing more than my buttons. And a free hat pattern. And a skein of the same blend to knit that hat.

The turquoise will be bought another day to knit my sister a sweater. That just may be February's knit...

Cheers!

Almost

This is an exciting day. The second sleeve on the BS is half finished. It should be done in the next day or two and I am hoping to go shopping for the buttons tomorrow. I am thinking that I will wash the sweater after sewing the buttons on to make sure they will be sturdy enough to hold up. The decision has been made to absolutely go with something sparkly. The buttons will come from the Mill End Store. They have a great selection of buttons (organized by color) and are reasonably priced.

I shall keep you posted and share pictures as soon as everything has been completed. Cheers!

The Beginning of the End

Yesterday I began the sleeves of my BS. There are even photos to show. The goal is to finish one sleeve this weekend and then the second next week. It's all very exciting.

I'm thinking 3/4 length sleeves and have decided for sure that the buttons will be something sparkly...

Happy Friday!

Purple

Purple is a nice color, and I have nothing against it. We had it in our wedding, I have a plum-colored purse from Alex, and I own a few tops shaded in lavender. Nice color, never did me any harm, until last night. Really, no harm was done, as the problem was quickly taken care of, and I can laugh about it now, but last night, I was not laughing.

We were at my mother-in-law's home and I was getting hungry. In search of a snack, I came up with the ingredients for a nutritious fruit smoothie. I tossed in the banana, strawberries, almond milk, orange juice and blueberries and watched everything swirl together to create a lovely shade of purple. I'm not sure what the technical name would be, but if it were a crayon it would probably be something like marionberry pie or something.

My mother-in-law recently purchased a new blender; one of those fancy models that allows you to remove the bottom part so as to clean it easily. After pouring the smoothie into a glass, there was still quite a bit leftover and not wanting to waste I turned to put it into the refrigerator for later. I was curious about the bottom piece; not realizing that the entire thing is what keeps the contents inside of the blender. Surely I would need to remove that first before putting it into the fridge.

I couldn't have been more wrong, nor could I have stopped the horrible gushing mess that immediately followed the second I unscrewed the connecting piece. I watched in horror as the purple flooded over and hit the floor. Alex was in the next room and the moment he heard me swearing (which I don't' often do), he rushed in.

He asked what happened and I stared at him a moment. Before explaining that I was learning how to use the new blender and getting familiar with all the pieces. Alex went for some paper towels (when cleaning up something that will stain something that doesn't belong to you, it's best not to stain something else while trying to clean up the previous mess...)

And together, we cleaned up that two-foot puddle of purple goo that had temporarily adorned Julie's kitchen floor. We had a few laughs about it later, but really, I would most happy if this sort of thing didn't happen again for a very long time. It was a pain to clean up and a terrible waste of a good thing.

Pictures

Hello all! I have a few pictures of the BS to share. It's so pretty, and so far, fits perfectly :)

Only a month to finish...

I'm going to make my sister a sweater in this pattern- it's simple but elegant. The lace pattern is called "Gull Lace"

Making Progress

I don't have pictures yet, but the sweater is coming along very nicely. I'm very fond of the simple, but elegant lace pattern that makes up the body and sleeves. Tonight was knitting night and NCIS (our favorite television program) with my delightful mother-in-law, Julie. She worked on a little green cap for the charity knitting group we attend each month, and I worked on the BS.

Tommorrow, my father-in-law, Ron, is coming for supper. He requested that I make pork ribs with Memphis-style barbeque sauce; neither which I have ever made before. The sauce is simmering away on the stove right now and the meat is waiting in the fridge to be cooked up in the morning and put into the crockpot.

When the house chores and cooking are done tommorrow (and probably before and in-between) I will be knitting on the BS and thinking about the other twelve projects that I really want to start...

Day 2

Yesterday the yarn came for my Birthday Sweater (BS). It's soft, cozy, and just the right shade of pink. The BS was cast on only after I finished a second Saroyan with the leftovers from Alex's sweater.

That was Day 1, and now it is Day 2 and this is what I have so far:

The buttonholes are done- I didn't care much for the ones in the pattern, so I changed them a bit. The buttons themselves have not yet been chosen- I want to see how the sweater is going to work up before making that decision. Barbara suggested sparkles, and I am seriously considering it...

On My Way

Last night, I borrowed my husband's bank card to place the first Knit-Picks order of the year (I say the first, because if I plan just right, there will be a new project coming off the needles every month or two...)

This month, I will be knitting up what I am calling my Birthday Sweater. The yarn is pink (my birthdya is in February, and this seemed an appropriate color choice), and the pattern looks fairly simple but not so much that I can't handle it.

I'll keep you posted step-by-step.

Cheers!

Happy New Year

Good morning everybody and Happy New Year! I didn't stay up until midnight; Alex and i toasted and then I went to bed shortly after 11pm and listened to the fireworks going off. Today I'm going to start the new year by working a 12 hour shift. Somewhere in there, the knitting will be a part of the welcoming...

I have not yet ordered the yarn for my birthday sweater (February 11) but it will get here someday...there was a snafu with the checking account (that was completely unrelated to the knitting) that has resulted in the card no longer being in my possession. Hint: if mysterious phone charges in Thailand suddenly appear on your bank statement, you can almost be certain that your card will be be shut down and replaced...

Now, there is not much time until I leave, so may you all be blessed this year and have good health.