Holy Crap

Long time, no blog.

My partner in knitting has berated me for not posting in so long. My apologies.

Its been a busy Spring and Summer here in MN. My daughter has graduated from high school, we planned and hosted a graduation party, she selected a college, we moved her to Wisconsin, and she started school last week. In the middle there somewhere our son was Confirmed and passed his drivers test. My Mom went though chemo & radiation for anal cancer, at week five of her six week treatment she ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks, then a nursing home for 2 weeks, and just returned from 6 weeks of recuperation at her sister's in SD. All this while holding down a full time job and trying to maintain my sanity.

At this point in my life I think I can handle ANYTHING! (I'm usually not this confident.)

<<<taking a breath>>>

Lets move on to some knitting. Why? Because its what helped me "keep it together" during this very stressful year.


I finished this Trinity Scarf in late March and wore the heck out of it all Spring.

I found a stash of Debbie Bliss yarn that my Mom had bought and it screamed for a Honey Cowl. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!

I think that's it for now. I have several more FO's to post but I need to organize the photos and get everything logged on my Ravelry page first.

More soon! Later!

M

Two Little Things

I made a quick pair of baby booties for my cousin Jenny's new baby daughter, Sydney.

They were super easy, and took less than an hour to make. Syd's Mom Jenny loved them.

In my Mom's UnderTheBed (hidden?) storage bin I found a skein of Dream in Color laceweight yarn (Sour Pear colorway). In the same bag was the pattern she must have received with it, Flyaway vest.

Truth: I started the vest and hated it, so I changed it a little, and I still hated it. So I frogged it.

This is a photo of what I had started.

I didn't like that the edge was a P3K1 rib and that the purl side faces out. I'm a KNITTER because I like the way KNIT stitches look. I'm not a PURLER. Purl stitches on the outside of a project is not my favorite.

I will keep looking for something to make with this yarn. The color is unexpected, but fantastic.

Later Knitters!

M

Hawaiin Twist Socks

I mentioned these Hawaiian Twist Socks in a previous blog entry. Dee bought me the yarn at her Madison Knitters Guild meeting after listening to Sharon of Three Irish Girls speak. She thought the colors were right up my alley. Oh, girl. You were SO right.

I started the socks the same day she gave it to me. I had fallen in love.

As you can see in my Ravelry project I worked on them at home, in the car, on my lunch hour at work (which is never really an HOUR), etc.

They are my new favorite socks to wear. They fit perfectly, and I love them.

I'm not big on hand knit socks that match perfectly. I prefer them to be a little different. It keeps people intrigued when I wear them in public. They ask.."where did you buy those?". (After I am finished being completely satisfied with myself) I politely answer,"I knit them." Most people are shocked.

My most favorite part of these socks is the faux cable cuff, uber girly and super pretty.

Later Knitters!

M

Decision Made!

In my previous post I was indecisive...

This is not like me. I normally have NO time for people who can't make decisions.

After some deep thought, and little math, I decided to finish a WIDER cowl with the yarn I had left and forego the idea of matching mitts.

I've blocked and worn this a couple times and am very, very happy with it.The Madelinetosh Pashmina Worsted is an absolute dream to knit with thus, this flew off the needles once I decided to finish it. I actually weighed the yarn, in grams, after each row, so I could maximize the yardage.

I had less than ONE. YARD. LEFT. It was freaking awesome. Yes, I did a Happy Dance once I made it to the end.

I wrap it around twice and it sits on my upper chest just like I wanted it. I am not yet proficient with taking pictures of myself with my phone (blech). Truth: I'm not very photogenic and this photo proves it. BUT, I love the cowl and how the high-end yarn drapes. This pattern was a great choice.

More to come soon! I have several FO's to talk about and have several WIP's to share.

Later Knitters!

M

Decisions Decisions...

I fell in love with and bought two skeins of this Madelinetosh Pashmina Worsted in the Mansfield Garden Party colorway at my LYS last December. The bright shots of pink & gold, and subtle transitions of lavender, blue and sage was something I just could not resist.

This yarn screamed Spring Cowl to me. I hemmed and hawed, printed and swatched, over and over again. I finally settled on this Tiny Flowers Cowl. Funky stitches like this Risotto Stitch blend all of the colors into a calm, non-stripey product. Several projects I started looked like clown barf where some colors pooled while others striped. Not. Cool.

Now the decision making part: I bought TWO skeins, remember?

I have used slightly more than half the yarn. I added the second skein about three rounds ago. Should I stop here, add the edging and pray I have enough for a pair of fingerless mitts to match? Or, do I continue in pattern and make the cowl much wider?

 I slipped all the stitches onto waste yarn and tried it on. I LOVE IT. And decided to continue in pattern for the wider cowl. Oh my gosh I love this cowl.

I have another project close to completion that I plan to finish first, but will hopefully get back to this today. We have more snow coming here in bright, sun-shiney MN so I should have some time on my hands before shoveling later today.

Later Knitters!

M

Family Day Sunday

Today's Family Plans didn't exactly pan out, but I'm trying to get over it.

We had planned on all 4 of us going to see a movie together yesterday (Wizard of OZ remake, my uber fave!), but a trip into work for Victor and some time at the driving range for Cruz made our movie time frame too narrow. Today was going great until I read some comments on one of my daughter's FB posts. She is all about giving all the parenting credit to her Dad, and leaves me standing there with an empty heart, as if I have no part in her life. Without going into the details, lets just say I'm the Bad Cop Parent, and my husband gets to be the Good Cop Parent. Those of you with older teens or adult children will understand where she and I "are at" in our relationship. Regardless, it makes me feel like crap, she knows it, and will ruthlessly use it against me at every turn because she knows it hurts. Gotta love 18 year old girls...

Moving on!

I finished a Baby Chalice Blanket as a favor for a friend. She has many, many friends with babies on the way, so I thought I would offer to help. I love knitting with cotton, and as a Mom, washing (and bleaching) a cotton item is so very convenient. I enjoyed making this project very much.

My Hawaiian Twist socks have been calling me, so I picked them up again last night after I laid out the blanket to dry. I finished the leg last night, and worked the heel flap and heel this morning. They're absolutely yummy and I can't wait until I can wear them!

I fully understand how self-striping yarn works and that this sock would be best knit with an afterthought heel so that the striping looks "right".

I hate that about hand knit socks.

I like to see what the yarn does. That's art, "Perfect" socks can be duplicated, and I'm not interested in that.

Thanks for visiting!

Later Knitters!

M

Crisp Sunday Wake-UP

I woke this morning to one of the most beautiful things Minnesota weather can provide: Hoarfrost.

I took the picture of the cardinal from inside the house because the crab tree is so close to the front door. He would have bailed.

We spent all day yesterday at my son's wrestling tournament. He took 4th place in his 120lb weight class. He did not advance to the State Wrestling tournament, but as a freshman I think he learned a lot and will be much more prepared next year.

As my kids get older I constantly find myself stepping back and looking at my kids from "outside" my role as their Mom. This is much easier to do when my kids are with other kids in a public/social setting. What I appreciate most about my two children is that they are not afraid or embarrased to acknowlege the love their Grandma, Aunts and Uncles have for them in a public place. Hugs and kisses are the norm and they EAT. IT. UP.

This is my son after receiving his 4th place medal yesterday. He walked straight over and shared his reward with his Dad. Love them!

And a snap of our boy on the podium.

I will post more knitting stuff later today! I knit a lot while at the tournament!

Later Knitters!

M