the blahs

I guess we all have our blah days.

 cooking (and eating) simple, delicious food... 

knitting stripes... (Just Knit It pattern...FREE for the duration of the Olympics!)

...with stash yarn...

...and cuddles...

that's how we beat the blahs around here!

What's your favorite way(s) to chase the blahs away?

WIP Wednesday - cables and lace

WIP report - sleeves separated. And oh yeah, it fits. Hurray!

The pattern is pretty clear and (very smartly) has the knitter marking off both the raglan increase sections AND the cable and lace panels. Very helpful for keeping track of where you are. 

cables everywhere! Even on the sleeves!

 Babies love soft Malabrigo too! Great for cuddles.

If you are a mom you may recognize these project bags. Yes, they are free formula bags the hospital sent home with us when the girls were born! They may not be the most glamorous, but they are waterproof and sturdy and the perfect size for projects! I definitely want to sew my own but haven't even unpacked my sewing machine yet. Maybe when I grow that second pair of arms...What would you do if you had extra hand/arms? Oh, the possibilities!

Knitting for the Little

I've been a very selfish knitter recently and finally decided to make something for Noelle as she has been begging me to make her a sweater:

I'm going to make the shirt version using mods I found on different project pages using this Berroco Vintage.

Knitting for the littles also entails whipping up clothes and accessories for their various "babies". Latest fashion item: 

tiny little vest made of scrap yarn. took less than an hour.

As you can see, it was much appreciated!

Meet Julissa

The frogging had to be done, and knowing it really wasn't the right yarn for the job for that pullover minimized any emotional damage. And lo and behold, the perfect project popped into my head shortly after I'd rewound my skeins.

Meet Julissa:

You can't tell yet, but she is a beauty! This is what she'll look like when she's all knit up:

Julissa Patten (boatneck) 

by Vanessa Smith 

Sigh. Lace, cables, deep ribbing, so much to love! Knit from the top down also means that I'll be able to try it on as I go, which is great. And I WILL be trying it on. Learn from your mistakes!

WIP Wednesday - roadblock

Knitting goal for the week reached: 1st half of lace pattern. 

Except...when I tried it on using my nifty Knitpicks cable connectors...

knitpicks.com

alas, I discovered the fit was way off.

The neckline is so loose that unless I pose like this the sweater almost drops off my shoulders entirely. It's baggy, but not in a flattering way. Hats off to all you gauge gurus out there...apparently being off by 1/2 a stitch makes a huge difference. Sigh. 

I feel like if I knit with a smaller needle it would make the resulting fabric too dense and heavy for this particular pattern. I think I have to declare "mismatch" and rip back. Double sigh. 

These certainly make me feel better:

Aren't the colors just awesome? They really make me smile every time i look at this sock.

That's the beauty of having multiple projects OTN! I'm slo loving all the projects that I'm seeing so far in this KAL. Lots of awesome FO's that are being queued on the daily! Fun fun fun! 

Good Distractions

Job searching is a bummer. Knitting therapy - yes please. In what form? Socks. That's right, my FIRST EVER pair of socks. I figured it was time. 

knitpicks Felici sock yarn in Building Blocks Colorway

pattern: Beginner Socks for Magic Loop

The pattern is clear and well-written and is one of many cool patterns offered by KNITFreedom. 

It provides links to Judy's Magic Cast-On and "Fleegle Heel". 

I'll admit, even though I've just begun, I'm super excited and can't wait to see how these socks develop! 

I'm officially on the sock train! WOotwOot!

Of course, I'm still working on my KAL project (the size 7 needles feel like clubs after working with size 1's) and also this: 

Oh yeah, I started a Little Colonnade shawl and yes, that is the super-yum Sweet Georgia TLS. This started off as a Rae, then a slip-stitch bandana, then finally the yarn said, hey man, I want to be a Little Colonnade. So I listened, and we are all happy now. Ha. I know I'm  not the only one who talks to my yarn. 

Happy Monday everyone! 

The Separation

As in separated sleeves. The goal for my week of knitting was to get the sleeves separated by today, and I did it.

Up next is the lace pattern. Yay.

However, I'm going to put off knitting at least until tomorrow so I can get ready for my interview, which is tomorrow for a teaching position at Montessori pre-school. It's close to home and would really be a great thing for our little family. Change is good. I'm excited. 

Grateful to have such a happy girl. She chose this picture herself after directing the "photo shoot". 

She ran to get her tutu out and pulled out her sweet moves!

stickemup!

Bound off this beauty today:

pattern: Age of Brass and Steam

yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock

 close-up of the self-striping goodness...

difficult to capture the vibrancy of the color on camera

me thinking about how much I love my new kerchief.

The yarn isn't the softest, I'll admit, but I'm confident that a nice soak and blocking should help. 

The pattern is one of those great patterns that truly would work with any gauge of yarn. It's written for DK weight and I used fingering weight and I love the result just fine. The pattern is explained very clearly, right down to the number of increases, stitch counts, etc. Highly recommend it. 

Happy weekend wishes from our house to yours!

Works In Progress

Work In Progress: Castle Pullover

Isn't it so fab? It's such a smart pattern, well written and I can't wait to wear it. 

I cast on the top using Malabrigo worsted in Red Mahogany. I've nearly finished the raglan increases at the top, the arrangement of which is what creates that shapely sleeve. 

I love the subtle color changes that give such depth to the yarn, and it is quite soft and lovely to work with.

It's really difficult for me once I've started a project to resist the urge to work on it 24/7. But I'm learning how to balance things a bit better, especially since Daniel's now returned to work and the girls and I need to develop our new routine.

As Alma mentioned on her blog, her daughter being able to rest in their new home was a comforting sign, and it's the same for me. The children are young, yes, but I'm so grateful to God that they are adapting so well to their new environment. 

 Ellie sleeping in our new home

keeping house

Noelle watching her sister sleep. Love her furry little brows.

gemini musings

Finally finished the Gemini. Had a little trouble finding a good spot in our new digs to take a proper photo. I wanted to take a pic before washing just because I didn't wash my swatch (I know, so bad) so I have no idea whether it will retain its shape or not. 

love the lace...makes me feel so ladylike. harhar

pattern: Gemini by Jane Richmond

The top really does knit up fast once you've conquered the (simple) lace. I was just moving across the country so it hit the back burner for a while. Such a fun pattern, it's no wonder there are over 500 projects already on Ravelry!

Joining in the luvinthemommyhood KAL fun once again with the Castle Pullover. Cast on in lovely Malabrigo...can't wait to see how it turns out. Will post progress photos tomorrow (official WIP Wednesday).

happy together.