A little sweater

When I finished the hats for the kids I still had quite a bit of yarn left.  So, I decided little miss Dorothy needed a sweater for her first Christmas.  It will only fit for this month (as she is getting quite big!), but that is fine.  I love it (minus the mistake with the short rows...turns out reading isn't my strong suit when I am under stress) and she has been wearing it to all of the events around town.

I have also finished a scarf for Sawyer that just needs buttons (the scarf has a dog head on it, so it needs eyes and a nose) which I think he will love. I am hoping to finish Lucy's super lion in time for Christmas, but there are still a lot of little parts. We will see. 

The other sweater Dorothy has been wearing all winter is her "Rain or Shine" sweater that I test knit. It is a fun knit and my only regret is that the grey is not a super wash yarn...normally I wouldn't care about that but Dorothy loves to chew on things and she has actually felted the front of the sweater! Oh well, it is her sweater and she can chew it if she wants....

Radio Silence

I am still here. A little baby has been taking up a lot of my time.  Dorothy showed up a month early with quite a lot of fanfare, but was perfectly healthy and wonderful.  She is a delightful baby and I am really enjoying spending my days with her.  I am still getting some knitting finished...not as much as I would like, but that is ok! My latest project was a set of matching Christmas hats for the kids.

And a little snapshot of the baby that has been getting most of my attention....

Striped Mittens

And just like that, two pairs of mittens flew off of my needles....

I had the kids pick out the yarn for these and they are both very pleased with them.  I bought far too much yarn so I think they might be getting socks in their stockings or something.... 

I cast on a hat this morning for Josh...hopefully.  I'm playing yarn chicken (it is leftover yarn from another project) and I'm not sure it will be big enough, but hopefully it will all work out! If all else fails, the yarn is from my LYS and I am sure I can get my hands on more, but that will leave me with another almost full skein, so I am really hoping it doesn't come to that. 

Until next time, happy knitting!

So much knitting...

I am still being far more monogamous with my knitting than is typical, which has led to quite a few finished objects this past month.  That combined with spending eleven days on a mom-stay-cation (the kids went with Weston up to town) and I have quite the pile of things to show!

First up, a small shawl I knit for myself.  I have had this yarn in my stash for about two years.  I fell in love with it when I first traveled to Cordova, but didn't buy it then.  When Weston and I traveled down for his job interview, we went to the yarn store and I was tempted to buy it again...but I didn't.  When Weston came home from that interview (I had to come home sooner than he did) he had purchased it for me.  He is amazing. Anyway, I had tried to knit it into a few different things, but none of them worked. This is wonderful.  It is the Wild Goose Shawlette by Paula of the Knitting Pipeline podcast and it was a simple knit. I love the way the pattern is written, using a percentage system that allows you to weigh your yarn so you can knit the biggest shawl possible using up your skein.  I have already worn it once, and it is the perfect size to use as a scarf under my coat for the rain and wind.

Next is a flurry of baby knits. I knit a bit for each of the previous children, but for some reason I really want this one wearing wool at all times. I have finished a number of things and have the yarn for three more sweaters already wound and ready. Knitting for little ones is so quick and satisfying! 

This is the Melting Rainbows hat that I whipped up out of some neon yarn I had in my stash.  I am pretty sure all of the kids will have these soon.  They are so bright and fun, it will be the perfect hat for the winter. And I can't resist matching things for the kids...

This is the Stripey Duffle Coat by Kate Oates. I have found the perfect wooden anchor buttons for this sweater, I am just waiting on them to arrive.  I loved knitting this little coat (minus the sleeves, I sweat baby sleeves take for-ev-er to knit for some reason) and am tempted to make matching ones of these for the other kids as well. 

This simply flew off of my needles.  This is Prairie Fire by Tin Can Knits.  I love their patterns, and this one was no different.  The lace was simple, but also interesting, which kept me motivated to keep knitting.  This pattern is sized from NB to adult L, so I am half tempted to knit myself one, but I know my track record with adult sweaters isn't great, so I am holding off.  This was yarn from my stash I had leftover after knitting a hat for Sawyer, and this used up every last bit of it (hence the awkward sleeve length) which felt great. 

This is another hat I whipped out for the baby. It is Charlie's sock yarn hat and I know you have seen this pattern before since it is the FIFTH one I have knit! I just can't get enough of it.  And with the self-striping Felici yarn from Knit Picks, it is just a joy to knit up. I whipped this out in two days. The stripes keep me interested, and since it is just knitting I can work on it whenever I have a free moment. 

One other thing I wanted to quickly mention. I hope you will notice the quality of my knitting pictures improving.  I recently took a class with Bonne Marie Burns (and if you have the chance to take *any* class with her, do...she is amazing) on photography and it was wonderful.  I still need a lot of practice, but I am learning more about how to take better pictures every time I put some time into staging my knitting shots now.  I am particularly proud of the one of my shawl up top in this post. Alright, hopefully I will be checking in again soon with more FOs. I still have the romper for tater tot on the needles and today I started a pair of mittens for Lucy, which should be finished in a few days. Until next time, happy knitting!

Hats!

Apparently I am going through knitting spurts....the past couple of weeks it has been hats. So many hats! I finished a hat for Lucy, one for my niece, and one for myself (!).  Plus, I have a number of little preemie hats on the needles! I have just been knitting these at the park and keeping a bag of them to donate to a hospital my friend is a nurse at.  They are so little and satisfying. The pattern I have been using is the Scrappy Sock Yarn Preemie Hat by Greg Cohoon.  He is one half of the podcasting duo of the Unraveling with Greg and Joey podcast...if you haven't listened, hop on over to iTunes and download an episode!

The hats I knit for Lucy and my niece are both from the pattern I linked to last time, Charlie's sock yarn hat.  I knit them out of KnitPicks Felici yarn that I bought at Christmas. The colors are great and the yarn was very soft.

The hat I knit for myself is one that I am sure you have seen a million times.  It is a free pattern on Ravelry, the Baa-ble hat, and it is super cute. I ordered a kit for it and it just flew off my needles.  I think it would fit better if I knit it out of worsted weight yarn, and I am thinking of knitting a set of them for the kids (my flock...ha!). Either way, I love my hat and it will be perfect for the winter. 

I did finish one other project this week which I am very happy with...Lucy's dress! I was so happy to see it finished.  I started it last year, but it kept getting shoved to the back of my closet because it needed more attention than I could give to it while watching the kids.  All I had to do was pick up and knit the arm holes and collar. It took maybe an hour to finish and Lucy is in love with it. It fits her great and I just loved seeing her run around in it today.  I do wish it didn't have as much white at the top (as she is quite the messy child) but I guess it will have to do. 

Hopefully I can keep up this pace and continue to finish things! I cast on a little romper for tater tot today and I am trying to decide on a pattern for matching hats for all the kids.  I loved when Sawyer and Lucy had matching hats when she was born. Until next time...happy knitting!

Blankets galore

So I am not sure what is going on, but I have been finishing things like crazy. Not things that should be finished (like Weston's Gansey...) but really simple things. I don't seem to have the brain space to finish the math for the Gansey. Some part of it is knit flat and I know my gage is a lot different than in the round. Plus the gage I am knitting at now is different than I had originally calculated for the pattern so I am a bit befuddled at where I should go from here. But, I do seem to be able to keep knitting and making progress on simple projects.

The only knitted FO I have to share right now is a blanket I knit for tater tot. It is the zagaround blanket by Kate Oates and it was such a fun knit! The texture is squishy and reversible...I love it.

The other blankets I have finished are quilts. I was able to get the borders on two tops and the binding on a little baby quilt for my niece. 

This is the little quilt I made for my niece.  It is so cute! I love the fabrics I chose, girlie without being pink. I hope it is useful for the little one. 

This quilt top is one I made for Lucy. She chose the fabrics from my stash and I love how it turned out. It is the perfect little girl quilt and it should be a great bed sized quilt for her. 

This one I made just to use the fabric...I had it in my stash for years and I am happy to see it all grown up into a quilt. I am not sure what the plan is when I get it quilted, but I really like how it turned out.

I am going to finish a little rainbow hat for Lucy tonight. I have already cast on one in a different color way for my niece. The hat is a simple pattern which has made for great park and t-ball knitting. It is Charlie's sock yarn hat and it is a great knit. I love the double brim which keeps ears nice and warm. 

Alright, off to kitchner the top of the hat! Happy knitting!

Sunshine!

The weather the past week has been amazing.  It was actually hot outside a few days this week (seriously, close to 70F, which for me is HOT!) which was crazy.  The kids and I have been spending as much time as possible outside at the park.  I have been trying to knit, but sometimes it is too hot for me to be holding wool (I just can't win...lol).  I feel like I have been doing a lot of knitting, but don't have any FOs to show for it. I started a blanket for tater tot.  I have had the yarn for this blanket for about two years, so I am glad to finally get started on it! I am loving the knitting on this...it is the zagaround blanket by Kate Oates.  It is a simple pattern that makes a squishy, reversible blanket.

The blanket is a bit bigger than the picture and the color runs are getting a lot shorter.  I knew that would happen, since the blanket is knit from the center out. I wanted a rainbow blanket though, and this will surely fit the bill!

I do have one FO that I am very happy with.  Sawyer's tiger is all finished.  He loves it. He sewed the cape for it (mostly alone, I sat next to him and let him know when to start/stop stitching) and he was so proud! I am very happy with the finish work. I had to sew the face on three different times before I was happy with it, but it was worth it.  And the nose/mouth turned out great too, in my opinion. Finishing is not my forte, so I was pretty proud of myself for taking my time and really making it look how I wanted it to.

I have been dreaming of a lot of knitting... I really want to cast on ALL the little sweaters. I have yarn to knit prairie fire for tater tot which I hope to cast on soon.  I also am hoping to knit the camilla babe sweater.  I went to my LYS yesterday to try and pick out yarn, but they didn't have the exact color I wanted, so I am going to dig through my stash and see if I have anything that will work.  And, no, we don't know if tater tot is a boy or a girl, but I love these sweaters and babies are sweet and little and can wear whatever they want. 

I also have a skein of yarn that I bought while in Washington that I want to knit a new hat for myself out of.  I think I have finally found the pattern I am going to use... the for good hat is simple enough to show off the yarn, but interesting enough to keep me knitting.  Plus, it has a placket to show off some fun buttons, which will be a fun touch. 

Alright, off to keep knitting and enjoying the sun!

Crazy month

It's May. How did that happen?? It has been a crazy month.  I was busy sewing, knitting, and getting ready for a trip to Anchorage. It was really great to be back in town, see some friends, and spend time with my family.  I also got a lot of knitting done!

I finished this handspun sweater for tater tot before I left.  I love it! I have had this handspun for a long time.  I bought it from a friend and love the colors.  I tried to knit it into a vest when I was pregnant with Lucy, but it wasn't the right combination of yarn and pattern so it got ripped out.  I was excited to find something that would work for the yarn! And it will be the perfect little sweater for this new fall baby. 

I used the left overs to make this little bonnet to go with the hat! I still have a skein of the rust color, so I am trying to decide if I want to make a pair of pants or another little sweater. I'll probably go with a sweater as I don't think I will be very likely to put knit pants on the baby. 

I got a TON of work finished on Lucy's dress. I just have to pick up and knit the facings for the armholes and the neckline.  I feel like the arm holes are a bit big, but hopefully with the facings it fits ok. 

I have also made a lot of progress on Sawyer's tiger. I now only have to sew on the face and knit the mask! I decided we are going to sew the cape instead of knitting it for various reasons...one is that Sawyer can help me sew it which I think will be great. I promised him it would be finished for show and tell next week, so I need to get cracking!

Hopefully I can keep this momentum going and get a lot more knitting done in the coming months. I should also have some quilts to share next time as I got the fabric to put borders on two tops that I have finished. Lots of finishing!!

April Showers

It has been a wet month so far! Which means there is a lot of time for me to be inside knitting. :) I am looking forward to warmer days knitting at the park with the kids, but I have gotten quite a bit done in the mean time. I finally finished Sawyer's Brochan sweater (designed by Kate Oates of Tot Toppers) and it is probably my favorite thing I have ever knit for him.  He looks pretty sharp in it!

I have started knitting a super hero tiger for Sawyer. I am to the top of the head, so I might be able to finish that up this weekend.  I am planning on sewing the cape instead of knitting it. It seems like an awful lot of knitting for a cape...it is done in garter stitch, and well, no. I can sew a cape in about an hour is Sawyer helps, so that is the plan.

Still plugging away at Weston's sweater. I am going to be getting to the patterning soon, which might make it less portable.  I am thinking that I might only do the pattern on the front of the sweater and leave the back plain, but I am not sure on that yet. I am crunched for time, but I do want to be happy with it when I am finished.  Weston wanted a simple sweater, so the patterning is pretty simple, but any time I have to think and look at a chart I will knit slower.

I did finish my secret swap knit and it is wonderful (if I do say so myself. ;) ).  I probably will knit myself one as it is quite wearable and warm, which are both things I could use. I will share pictures of it soon as I plan on getting it in the mail today.  I am hoping to cast on a little hand spun baby sweater this weekend. I need to get cracking with baby knitting!

Digging through stash

Last Saturday was the local quilt guild's sewing event, which I love to attend! Since moving to Cordova I have been able to finish a number of quilts that I had started by attending these monthly events. It gives me time and space to sew, which is always nice! Friday I spent the morning going through my fabric stash and pairing fabric I had with patterns so I could get some new things started...and hopefully finished! Lucy found some fabric that she just loved so I got started on a quilt for her.

I have fabric for a quilt for Sawyer as well that has dogs flying airplanes...ha! The hope is that I can have two twin sized quilts finished by winter for their bunk bed. Not that we are lacking any blankets, but it is nice to have a quilt that was made specifically for you. 

I am also still knitting away on a few things. Sawyer's sweater actually has just the last 1/3 of a sleeve and the collar left to knit. Man, I forget how much I dislike knitting sleeves. On a top down sweater they are such a chore! I have the whole sweater to haul around to knit these small sleeves. I know Sawyer is really looking forward to it though as he keeps asking when his new sweater will be finished. 

I have quite a bit finished on Weston's sweater (probably should get a picture of that)...I think it is over 12" long now! It lives in my purse and I work on it while the kids are playing. I started a new project that I can't share yet as it is a swap gift but it is working up quickly and I am happy with it.  I might knit myself one I like it so much! It was also my birthday last week which was fun.  One of the gifts I received was an awesome new book (and a generous gift card!) from my parents which I was really excited about! The kids each picked an animal for me to knit for them and I can not wait to get started. 

Finished Objects!

March is the month of my favorite sporting event, the Iditarod... and with it comes a knitting event called the Iknitarod! It is a fun way to challenge yourself to knit something as you follow the mushers along the trail.  This year I had big plans to knit a baby blanket, but after cleaning the house one day and finding a few too many (cough, cough) unfinished objects I decided to change plans and finish some of those up.  First up was a pair of mittens for Sawyer.  He had asked for Spider-Man mittens a while back and I jumped at the chance to knit them.  Color work is my favorite thing to knit, and I know the time that he will ask for knitted things might be coming to a close...I finished one mitten quite quickly but the other one just sat in the bag waiting to be cast on.  The Iknitarod gave me the push I needed and I finished the pair in three days.

Sawyer is happy with them. He has been wearing them to school (the first day he tried to even wear them during school) and the play ground. I wish I would have made them a bit longer (I could have repeated the chart that is in the blue one time in the red section before starting the spider) but Sawyer doesn't seem to mind at all and they will work this year at least. The nice thing about Alaska is even in the summer there are days where we can get wear out of our hand knits. 

The next thing I decided to tackle was my Lilli Pilli shawl that I started last May.  Knitting that is for me always gets pushed to the bottom of the queue. I enjoy knitting just about anything, but I really love getting to see my knitted things get appreciated by the people I gift it to. The other thing that slowed me down a lot with this shawl is the beaded lace. It was tough to work on that with the kids awake and I didn't often have the energy to work on it once they were in bed.  This shawl traveled with me to Washington and Hawaii and it is finally finished.  

It needs to be blocked still, and I need to figure out how to wear it. I wore it like a scarf yesterday but it is a bit too wide to be comfortable around my neck. The pattern is written for three colors, but I didn't have the yarn for that in my stash...I was able to pull all of this (minus the beads) from my stash! Plus, I love rainbows, so it worked out great. 

I am now feverishly working on Sawyer's latest sweater. It needs 1.25 sleeves and a collar and it should be finished.  The winner of the Iditarod has crossed the finish line, but I am going to keep on knitting until the last musher captures the red lantern. (And beyond...)

With all the finishing going on, I was cleaning up my Ravelry project page and I only have four active WIPs. I feel so monogamous! Ha. I really think I can finish Sawyer's sweater in the next week or so and then I have a dress for Lucy that is almost finished as well.  I might be casting on a number of new projects then! With summer time coming up I will be needing a few smaller projects to take to the park with me...a few hats, maybe some baby things...casting on soon!!

Pet Peeves

It's been a stormy week here. I have been doing a child swap with a few preschool moms who have younger girls, so that means two afternoons a week I have no kids! It is so nice to have some time alone to rest, knit, or run errands. This week I was able to get my hair cut for the first time in quite a while. I am really happy with it!

I have also recently been watching the show New Girl on Netflix.  It's entertaining, but I have one pet peeve about it.  The main character wears glasses without lenses. That is something that makes me crazy! Having bad eye sight is a disability.  People aren't using crutches ironically.  And I realize it is probably for lighting reasons, but there are characters on the show that actually do wear glasses and they have ones with lenses and things are fine. It is obviously something that most people won't notice, but it drives me crazy. 

And while we are on the topic of things that make me crazy, another huge pet peeve of mine is people saying they "don't have time" for things.  Everyone has the same 24 hrs in a day. Most people I talk to in the course of the day have small children and similar things to juggle. It's fine if you don't want to make time to do something, but just admit that. If it isn't a priority for you, you won't make time for it. But, there is time. I just get irrationally annoyed by people not saying what they mean.

In knitting news, things have been cruising along on Weston's Gansey.  I have it joined in the round and about three inches of stockinette completed.  I even tried it on him yesterday and IT FIT. HUGE news.  It was such a relief to see that. I still have about a million inches to knit and quite a few things to figure out (shoulder straps for example...) but I am starting to see progress and I think it will come together.  

I haven't been knitting on anything else this week... I have been dreaming of casting on new things. I am obsessing over knitting a pair of baby overalls and other little things. Everything I seem to stumble across that I want to knit is fingering weight. I probably should mix it up a bit with some other weight of yarn just to give my hands a rest. 

Next weekend the Iditarod starts, and with that the Iknitarod! I will be participating in the challenge this year with a baby blanket, the zagaround blanket by Kate Oates. I have had a rainbow yarn for it for a while and am finally ready to get to knitting. I think the pattern is simple enough that I should be able to work on it with the kids up, but finishing such a large project will still be a challenge for me. 

Have a great weekend and happy knitting!

Sewing and stripes

I am through the garter stitch stripes on my Lilli Pilli shawl! The rainbow is there...and now there are only forty rows of beaded lace left to go. Ha! Checking my Ravelry page I saw that I started it in May of last year so there is potential that it will be finished within a year. That would be a pretty good record for me for things that I have knitted for myself.

I had sewing day yesterday and I was able to accomplish quite a bit! I put the borders on a small baby quilt and pieced the back so it is ready to be quilted. I am really happy with it! The fabric is very cute without being baby-ish and girly without being pink.

I also finished this quilt top. It needs a border, which means a shopping trip, but I am happy with it.  I had the patterned charm squares in my stash for a long time and I thought this simple quilt would be a good use for them. I am hoping to find something orange or green for the border which means Lucy will have to stay at home. She was already quite disappointed that the blue squares weren't pink...apparently everything should be pink if you ask her.

I have quite a few projects on the needles but nothing that is in a grab and go state.  I am hoping to remedy that tonight so I have something to knit while out and about with the kids this week. Hopefully everyone had a great weekend!

Needles and hooks

I have been knitting quite a bit! I am almost through the stockinette stripes on my lilli pilli shawl and I am very happy with how it is turning out. It is going to be quite large and I am not sure what I will do with it when it is finished, but the garter stitch stripes are making me happy. 

I have also made some forward progress on Weston's gansey. I am about to join the welts and start working in the round. The other day Sawyer was helping me vacuum and I heard a noise. I asked him to shut off the vacuum and came to investigate. What I found was not pretty. My knitting had been left on the floor and got sucked into the rollers. 

My new addi sock rocket needle was shaped like a hook! Sawyer was upset and thought he was in trouble. I assured him he did nothing wrong and it was my own fault for leaving my things out. It also proved a good lesson for why things shouldn't be left on the floor. I was able to get a new needle from my LYS that night and got everything fixed. 

Hopefully I continue to make progress and can remember to put my things away!

Happy knitting!

A long January

Whew! Finally getting around to updating again after a long break. We had a wonderful trip to Hawaii. It was amazing to just relax and hang out with Weston for six days. Not having to take anyone else to the bathroom or feed anyone else was just simply delightful.  I didn't get as much knitting done as I thought I would, but I enjoyed doing nothing. That isn't something I am normally good at, but it was nice.  I made a lot of progress on my Lilli Pilli shawl, I am now half way through the 100-row garter stripe section.  After that I have another small lace section, which I am sure will slow me down, but I am excited to have this finished! It will probably be the fanciest thing I have ever knitted for myself.

We also did a few tourist-y things.  We went and played mini-golf, visited a goat farm, and a vodka farm.  The tour of the vodka farm was very interesting and I learned a lot! If you are ever in Maui, be sure to stop by the Ocean Vodka farm as it is a fun little outing.

I have finally started on Weston's Gansey again. Nothing like knitting on a deadline! I really hope it works out this time because I am not sure I have it in me to knit it a third time. (Not that I knit the whole sweater the first time, but I knit enough to be quite annoyed at myself for having to reknit it.)

Hopefully I will have more beautiful knitting to share with you soon! Keep those needles clicking!

Making progress

I have been knitting quite a bit.  Mostly on Sawyer's sweater, as every time he sees it he asks if it will be done "tomorrow" because "I love sweaters Mom!". I am almost ready to attach the bottom of the pocket, then I have about 3 inches of knitting left. Then the collar and the sleeves. So, still a lot...but less than there was last month!

The other knitting project that has been occupying my time is a test knit for my friend, Brittany (bohoknitterchic on Revelry, check out her designs here).  It is a bias knit shawl and the pattern should be published soon. I am loving my color combo! It is a fun knit, easy enough to do while the kids are up, interesting enough to want to work on when they are asleep...I keep finding myself thinking "just four more rows" so I can change colors again. 

I am struggling with trying to decide what knitting to take on my trip. We are going to Hawaii at the end of the month (just Weston and I!) and I will need plenty to keep me busy. It's a long flight, and then six days without kids....ahhhh, the luxury! 

I have also been doing some sewing, although I have no pictures to show. One weekend Weston took Sawyer and the dogs out camping, so Lucy and I had the run of the house. I had her help me sew a charm square quilt.  We were able to finish all of the blocks, but I still need to do a bit more before I sew the top together. It is a cute quilt, lots of pinks and flowers. 

Hopefully I can continue to make good progress on everything!

Happy Knitting

Year end round up

I had a great knitting year. I finished 32 (!) projects. If you are on Ravelry, here is a link to see my projects.

Here is a quick round up of what I knit:

14 hats
5 cowls
2 blankets (one was crocheted)
4 pairs of mittens
1 shawl
2 toys
1 doll blanket
1 pair of slippers
2 sweaters

So, clearly hats are still my favorite thing to knit.  I actually wound yarn to knit two hats today. HA! I am really hoping to finish 16 projects this year (last years goal was 15) but I know I have some bigger projects on the needles that I need to finish.  Weston's sweater (an adult sweater in fingering weight yarn...), a few sweaters for Sawyer (that kid is getting bigger), and at least one blanket. I have the yarn for three I think....so one of them should get finished.

Not only did I wind yarn to knit two hats, I also bought yarn to knit Sawyer some Spider-Man mittens.  Hopefully those go quickly and he gets to wear them this winter. The weather here has been terrible. We had a white Christmas but a few days later it started raining and it basically hasn't stopped. Between the wind and the rain, the kids still need hand knits to stay warm, so hopefully I can whip out these cool new mittens quickly.

I should have some quilts to share soon.  I am almost finished with the top for a baby quilt for my SIL.  And Lucy and I spent the day working on sewing a charm square quilt.  That should go together quickly.  I also fell victim to the recent Craftsy sale and bought a kit for a fox quilt and a quilt for Sawyer.  That should be here soon! Yea!

One last thing to share. I did spend the week before Christmas sewing the kids pjs for Christmas Eve. It was a few late nights, but it was totally worth it.