February 26 , 2007
52 Years Ago Today

Thanks Mom and Dad!

I love this picture.....I was 2 hours old. (edit - my Mom corrected me in the comments....I was 19 hours old!) Look at my father - Doesn't he look 12?

We had a great pre-birthday trip to Portland, Maine where the boys spent most of the nights and days in the heated outdoor pool......

and I did very little knitting.....

This picture was taken with the self timer and I think the only thing in focus was one knee which I cropped off	I planned to make an Aran Watch Cap using double stranded alpaca, BUT after completing the ribbing, it was VERY obvious that there was not enough yarn to finish the hat.....frogged it.

I DID make a tentative sweater plan....will do a tiny swatch sometime today to see if it will work.

The snow is falling gently outside this morning and Connor and Cam are making my birthday cake .....a nice day!!

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February 22 , 2007
A Blue Tweed Cardigan for Me

It's amazing how quickly this sweater came together when I just dropped everything else (not an easy thing for me to do!) and put all my focus on finishing it. All I had left to do was finish the sleeves, add buttons, and weave in 4 ends - no sewing!
I know this will be a well worn sweater - It fits just the way I like it and is my favorite color too...

Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple V- Neck Down Cardigan Yarn: Tahki Donegal Tweed - color 0862 - 5 skeins (900 yards) an unusual yarn - It's almost like the yarn strand is felted. Needles: Various lengths of Denise # 7 circular needles Size: x-small (37") I followed the main shaping of the pattern, but made a few small changes. The directions have you pick up and knit the neckband separately from the front bands, which didn't make sense to me, so I picked it up all together and knit a single band all the way around. I also put on nice big garter ridge cuffs and bottom edge instead of ribbing.

Does it look suspiciously like that zippered cardi right over there on my sidebar under 2005 knitting?? Well that WAS one of my all time favorite sweaters and I lost it while on vacation less than a year after making it.....very sad !

A close up of the new and improved replacement

That leaves an opening for a sweater ( I never have more than one adult sweater going at a time).....We are heading to Maine today for a few days of R&R and I will bring my 3 ring binder filled with sweater patterns along with my sweater yarn inventory (oops go to cross off that Donegal Tweed) - I'm thinking I should lean toward spring/cotton since it seems to take me forever to complete a sweater!

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February 19 , 2007
Fun, Fast, Warm, and Comfy

The Mystery Socks are done.....I had forgotten how quickly worsted weight socks go!

Pattern: Susan's Mystery Socks (the name will be revealed soon....) Yarn: Almost 2 50 gm skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cranberry Needles: 2 socks on 1 US #5 40" circular Addi Turbo Gauge: 5 1/2 stitches/inch (40 stitches circumference) Susan gave out a section of the pattern every few days on her blog with detailed instructions and photos. I followed along, knitting both socks together, and finished with her on Friday. What a fun sock knitalong! I am wearing these socks as I write this and they are so warm and comfortable AND pretty too!

and on my VERY wide feet....

I also finished my square for the Blanket of Hope and sent it off to Rebekah, who is combining all the squares to make a blanket for Sonya's husband, Kevin. As I was knitting this, I kept thinking how pretty a whole blanket would be in this stitch with this yarn! ( Mountain Colors Bearfoot stranded with fingering cranberry wool in the slip-stitch honeycomb pattern from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns)

I have realized that I am just unable to throw yarn out.....How little is too little to keep?

4 grams	9 grams

In order to really use it all up, I basically have to run out of yarn while knitting or cut it very close...otherwise it stays - I can't throw it out.

Starting today it is All Tweed Sweater All the Time..... I want this done while it is still cold enough to wear it!

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February 15 , 2007
PS Socks and a Wee Flap Cap

Pattern: Basic cuff down on 64 stitches Yarn: Fortissima Colori Socka Color (#9095) ( stash yarn- I think DC'd color) Needles: 2 sock on 1 circular 2.25mm These are the perfect socks for Project Spectrum...gray, white and several shades of blue. Aren't they great with jeans?? I have found that most people (especially those who don't knit) are much more impressed with this type of self patterning yarn than any fancy sock stitch pattern!!

And then when I was just getting some projects under control I saw this adorable flap cap pattern designed by Tammy , who blogs at So Now What , and had to make one for Dulaan. Isn't it the cutest hat? I love that nice warm flap covering the ears AND neck and it only took one evening to make!

Pattern: In a Flap Cap by Tammy Wright Yarn: 1 skein sage (color 362) Silja sock yarn (Thank you Beth) and leftover Trekking XXL from these socks (one strand of each) Needles: 4.0 mm 16" circular The only change I made to the pattern was to increase the total stitch count to 70 because of my smaller gauge. My hat is still only 16" around, but it is quite stretchy and I'm sure will fit a little child. Thank you for writing up your wonderful pattern Tammy!

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February 12 , 2007
I Am All Over the Place

	Somehow, when I get to this point with a sweater....any sweater.... I find I get pulled toward other things and the sweater just sits. The only way to finish it is to decide that I will not do any other knitting until it is complete.....I guess I haven't decided that quite yet!

In addition to the spectrum socks, red hand dyed socks and Swallowtail (yes, I'm still plodding slowly on that - at least 1 row a day so I don't forget what to do) - Here are the brand new things have my attention ...

Susan's mystery socks - She is giving out part of the pattern every few days, which is so compelling to me. I took this picture yesterday - I am now finished with the heel and ready for the next installment. At 40 stitches around with worsted weight wool - they go quite quickly (Are you sure RED isn't part of Project Spectrum?)

Rebekah has started a project called Blanket of Hope for Sonya's husband. She is asking for other knitters to help her by knitting a square (actually any shape, size, color) ). I am making mine out of Mountain Colors Bearfoot and decided on a simple but beautiful slip stitch honeycomb pattern from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

I am actually doing some quilting too - look Cindy - it's a real quilt!! These pictures show the completed machine quilting and the beginning of sewing the binding on "Paducah 9 Patch" from Nickel Quilts by Pat Speth and Charlene Thode.

And to pull my attention away from my sweater even more, here is what came in the mail on Saturday... Beautiful Silja sock yarn along with treats (the Nerds were devoured in about 3 minutes by 2 excited boys and the Key Lime Chocolate bar I enjoyed all to myself)... all kindly given to me, by Beth, to use for some Dulaan projects. THANK YOU Beth!!

WAHOO!! One more thing JUST HAPPENED as I was getting ready to post this entry*******I won the bonus prize (from the group that had knit at least a pair/month) in the SAM2 KAL . I am so excited...I feel like I just won the lottery! I get to pick any sock kit from Chrissy's online store....Gardiner Yarn Works . I have chosen the Autumn Harvest Sock Kit - Go look ....Isn't it BEAUTIFUL??? Thank you Chrissy for all the time and effort you put in to making this a fun KAL.....Now on to making socks for SAM 3!!

February 8 , 2007
Norwegian Star Hat and Starting Red Socks

Pattern: Norwegian Star Hat from Hat's On by Charlene Schurch
Yarn:1 skein unknown brand beautiful blue wool and partial skein of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes color "cloud"
Needles: 16" circular US 4 for hem and US 6 for body - 2 circulars to finish off the top
Size: Medium - 19 1/2" circumference (112 stitches around)
Made in blue and white for Project Spectrum

I made no changes to the pattern - it was perfect! Stranded colorwork hats in worsted weight yarn knit up so quickly and this one was no exception....just a few days of intermittent knitting was all it took. The hem is secured as you knit, so there is no finishing either. This hat is SO warm around the ears with the facing AND the stranded knitting ...and I love the picot edge!

Originally, I saw this pattern way back, on the Six Sox KAL (of which I am a lazy member having only ever made 2 pair). Recently though, I saw Dave's and Deb's beautiful renditions of "Scale Skin Socks" and decided that I wanted a red pair!( which is why I started the whole dyeing process last weekend). I am thrilled with how they are knitting up - the little "YO, K2, pass YO these 2 stitches" looks beautiful in the different shades of red.

I mailed off my Fun Fur hats today - I want to be sure I don't miss the Feb. 28 deadline!

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February 4, 2007
Practical Mittens and Veering Off Course

	Pattern: Troubadour Mittens from Morehouse Farm Yarn: 2 skeins Morehouse Merino 3-strand Needles: 2 mitts on 2 circular US size 6 My first finished knit for Project Spectrum ....nice, grey, basic soft warm mittens with a flared cuff to keep out the snow and cold. These mittens are gently felted when finished to make an extra warm tight fabric. They will go into our mitten basket!

As soon as I finished the mittens, I started this hat. It is " Norwegian Star" from Hat's On by Charlene Schurch. This is my 2nd hat from her book and I know there will be many more in the future.

just turned up the hem	an inside look	cute little picot edge

And here is where I veer off of the grey, white, blue Project Spectrum path.... I decided that I want some "not solid" red socks and all I have in the stash is solid red sock yarn SO.....yesterday while Dave took the boys skating at the pond, I dug out my dye kit that I bought last fall from Adrian at Hello Yarn and with absolutely no experience (other than Kool Aid over dye) I went for it following her excellent directions.

I LOVE this yarn - some kind of beginner's luck because it turned out exactly as I dreamed it might be. I had 4 cups of dye (1 red, 1 red with extra water, 1 red with a bit of blue, 1 red with a bit of black). I just poured them on and squished it around and microwaved for 6 minutes!

I keep fondling it and showing it to anyone who will look.