Pumpkin Sunrise

I promptly cast on this little dress when I arrived home with the yarn.  The pattern is from Purl Soho and was released a few weeks ago (maybe months...my time perception is warped).  The little girl I baby sit wears 12-18 months size for length (she's a wee one).  The largest size in the pattern is 12-18 months.  So I went up from sport to dk weight to make the dress slightly bigger. As you can imagine, I'll think 'this is too big' then I'll think maybe it's 'just right'.  I wish I could try it on her!  But surprises are for keeping secrets and the mom doesn't know I'm knitting this. This secret is killing me.  I want to send in progress photos!  Share size measurements!  Measure that little chest! Instead, I'm telling all of you.  Anyways, I think this will fit her for late summer, fall and probably into winter.  So all is good, right? The yarn is mostly acrylic with some cotton and it's machine washable.  My hands hurt

This weekend was all about some retail therapy, and it was NOT in a bike shop!  My endless hours in bike shop after bike shop with my husband was rewarded with a day trip out to eastern Pa doing my stores.  I shopped two yarn shops and of course, bought something at each one. While my husband has yet to buy a bike (window shopping forever?), I managed to buy a 'bike' on a cute project bag.  I've been wanting a new one for quite some time.  I love that I now have the best bike that will make me happy. berroco weekend dk The delicate pink dk weight cotton blend is for a sweet little dress for the little girl I watch.  Super excited about this and hopefully I will have some progress and photos later this week. fyberspates vivacious 4 ply  The silver bronze sock yarn really looks like forest green to me, and those three skeins will be another sweater for me.  I wish you could see the tonal colors in person, beautiful. freia fine handpaints in lace weight

Good morning!  As you can tell by my photos, this morning is cloudy and bleak.  I guess it's going to rain?  Maybe.  Every day cannot be sunny, but it's nice when it is :) Anyways, my top down cardigan is swimming along after a tiny hiccup of dropping an end stitch and ripping out four rows to fix the dropped stitch.  The yarn is squishy and the stitches 'stay' in place making the ripping out easy.  I am two thirds of the way through with the raglan shaping.  Then we get to the fun stuff, separating sleeves and body knitting. My white out shawl is making steady progress.  I am still contemplating whether I like the fabric with the size four needles.  I keep returning to the idea of dropping a size.  However, when I pull the fabric out for a fake pre-look blocking, I love how it looks.  So I keep on knitting.  Dropping a needle size would make the finished shawl smaller and I definitely don't want that. Our local library had a used book sale, usually th

Well now, I finished another shawl this week.  I am on fire - so hopefully I can keep up this momentum.  This shawl is a Christmas gift and I hope the recipient will love it.  Instead of wool, this shawl is 100% cotton, perfect for summer evenings with a light breeze or in transitional weather. Even though this was cotton, I did not have any hand aches from the plant fiber.  Whenever I'm working with lace weight or fingering weight, I am okay no matter what the content. I will be knitting this pattern again, the beginnings were memorizable as well as the lace eyelets.  All in all, this pattern would make a great beginning shawl if you know how to increase and decrease and basic knit stitches. I am not a fan of a picot edge (cannot explain why) but I thought my intended recipient would enjoy the delicate edging. Ravelry notes are here Now to cast on something else :)

My husband and I seem to be going to neighborhood garage sales whenever one is held on the weekends.  Around here in May and June, almost every weekend has one.  Sometimes the neighborhoods do it 'big' and have food vendors.  Every time we are out, I am reminded at how nice most people are and how lucky I am to live in a friendly area. We saw the chifforobe and fell in love with it.  Do I need a chifforobe? nope.  Do I have a place to put a chifforobe?  nope.  So we bought it.  The piece is in excellent condition and yes, I've already replaced that ugly knob with a pretty metal one. While contemplating on the purchase, I dreamed of placing all of my shawls, scarves, mitts, hats and cowls neatly inside and organized.  Originally my knits were stacked high up in the tiny hall closet.  That system was okay but this, well this is like a special place now! I spent the better part of this morning hanging up my knits.  That makes this weekend one of the best

Ah, June.  June is the month that welcomes lots of blooms.  Jackets are tucked away in the closet and instead, sandals are dusted off.  I love that the mornings are chilly and the afternoons are warm and toasty.  June is beautiful. I know, you're saying 'wait a minute, she likes winter'.  Yes, you are correct - winter is my favorite season of all.  Going through all the seasons makes my love of winter that much better.  While I'm in my glory during the winter months, my summer loving husband is sad and grumpy.  It's only fair in this marriage that he be happy rejoicing in the longer days and the warm weather. Don't be fooled, I complain way more than he does.  He has endless patience waiting in a yarn store than I do waiting in a bike store.  I admire that.  The truth is, everyone knows yarn is better than bikes. Yesterday, I walked around the property with my camera and Frodo documenting this wonderful month.  The spirea are my favorite wit

Over the weekend, I finished this delightful shawl, then came the job of waiting for a semi nice day to take photos.  These cloudy days are a challenge since my house is on the dark side.  Yesterday, I went outside for a few shots - the first of the season. I'm please with how this shawl turned out.  The surf shawl  is a fun pattern that has some memorizable repeats. A great pattern for an intermediate to advanced knitter who is knowledgeable in chart reading.  The pattern is in three sizes for versatility of yardage needs (mine is large). Lately, I gravitate to shawls that are knit from tip to tip instead of the traditional top down triangle shape increasing from the middle.  The tip to tip design adds a bit of excitement to the knitting.  Also the shawl tends to be shallow in depth and easier to wear wrapped around my neck like a scarf. I received the artyarns milano fade kit  as Christmas gift (yay!).  I loved the sheen of the wool and the beautiful hand while