almost a sweater

Sorry for the crappy photos, I used my iPhone. But here it is!





Just needs sleeves and a collar! I had to redo the bind off on the bottom once (too tight) but now it's done - well, almost.

inspiration

I love giving handmade gifts, and I love knitting, and I love giving people my knitting. But I hate being on a schedule! So once this Christmas knitting is finished, this is what I want to knit...

I want to finish this sweater.


Make myself one of these hats out of this yarn.


Make Sophie a bright blue cardigan. (I have this yarn in my stash already)


Make my o w l s...................................................... with this. (Yeah, it's been around a while)


A twinset perhaps? In this storm blue merino (already stashed):


And how could I forget about my Central Park Hoodie? It's been in my queue for over a year, and whaddaya know, I have the yarn in my stash!

Add in a few more (let's see... 3) sweaters-to-be already in the stash, plus a huge pile of lovely silky sock yarn just waiting to fit onto feet of all sizes... sigh.

Next year, Christmas presents are going to be small, people. Small.

a new model

I'm going to put all my knits on Daisy for pictures from now on. Doesn't this color look fabulous on her?





This is the Upstairs Shawl - one Christmas present down! This is a very easy to follow and forgiving pattern, and I'm thinking of shortening the width to make scarves. I still have two more scarves to make before Christmas! Along with two hats, a pair of socks, a sweater (toddler-sized, at least), and who knows what else I'll think of along the way. Can I do it? Perhaps I was overly ambitious this year... I need a schedule like the Yarn Harlot.

Summer is over, and "cold and flu season" has begun. We've already been sick all summer! Swine flu - check. Croup - check. Ear infections, allergic reactions, more infections... maybe it'll slow down as everyone else starts to get sick. We had frost the other night and termination dust on the mountains :)

Sophie is starting to skip naps once in a while, will only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch (uh oh... we're out of bread today!), and had her first night away from Mama last month. I can't believe that her friends are starting to turn 3 already! I still haven't found out about my nursing program, it starts in January and they still haven't decided which 10 people will get in. I've heard from some people who went through the same program that they didn't find out that they got in until November. Oh well. I'll just knit more while I wait.

still knitting

Oh, hey there, neglected blog. Sorry about that. I may have neglected my blog for a while, but I haven't neglected my knitting!

I finally finished my Hemlock Ring Blanket - blocked and everything. It turned out a little smaller than I'd like, partly due to me being scared of running out of yarn, and partly due to insufficient blocking time. Where do you block something this big? On my bed, of course. The only problem is that my bed is needed for nap-time.

So... it could be bigger. Oh well. It's sure cute, especially with a naked baby on it:

(almost) finished!

The lace ribbon scarf for my mom!



I really love this pattern, and I did end up only using one skein of the Aracaunia. It's a little on the short side, but totally do-able. It looks soo beautiful now that it's all blocked out! Just need to weave in the ends now.

I have been knitting like crazy - the other night I started a little sweater for either Sophie or Sierra (her best friend, I'm making them matching sweaters for Christmas), I cast on at around 9:00 and by 2:00am I had finished the body. It didn't help that I started watching Lie to Me for the first time online (I heard a rumor that there would be a crossover with Bones next season - I am completely addicted to Bones. It's bad.). One of the sleeves is finished now, and I hope to finish the second one tonight. I feel like I should be knitting as much as humanly possible before I start school again and have "real" obligations!

what should i do with this?

Sophie picked this out at a little yarn store in Haines - "Me! Me, Mama!" - so obviously I need to knit her something out of it. It's 50 merino/50 silk (she has good taste in yarn!)...

What should I make out of it?

let the christmas knitting begin

I'm getting a late start! Haha. Non-knitters just don't understand, do they?



I have a bunch of lace yarn to be knit into scarves and shawls for Christmas gifts, and yesterday I cast on for the first one. It's the Upstairs Shawl (Ravelry link), and I'm hoping to put two whole skeins in it. We'll see how long it takes.

This yarn is amazing, though. It's KnitPicks Shimmer, it's 30% silk, and I love it!