This Was So Cool

Peoria Areas Stitchers Guild had the Spring Luncheon and Judged Show today. Normally, I attend and don't put anything in, but this year I had a couple that I thought would be fun to enter just for giggles.

In the knitting traditonal pattern category I submitted my recently completed Collared Jacket that I test knitted for Cheryl Oberle.



One more round for the Knitting the Coral Reef for the theme category of Nature.

I was simply amazed that I won something.

I Admit It!

I was up at 3am this morning tuned into the Royal Wedding. My first alarm usually goes off at 4 so it wasn't a real big deal. I did get a little snooze in when the choir was singing....

And I taped the rest of the morning so I can watch it at my leisure this weekend.

What can I say, I am a romantic....oh and I did get some knitting done while watching.

Wednesday Website

http://knitpurlhunter.com/blog/

Taking It Easy

My normal Saturday is to go out to the shop and knit with friends. But they are closed today. Huh? So, I'm going to just sit and knit in my jammies for as long as I want today. I don't have to go anywhere or do anything I don't want to.

Our normal Easter Sunday would be to get together with family. But they are in Minnesota, so the three of us are going to have a nice day tomorrow just staying home and doing what we want to. Me - I'll be knitting and doing laundry and maybe I'll clean a bit.

A nice relaxing weekend.

To my friend Karen - thank you for the card! Hope you are having a good fishing trip. We'll talk when you get back. I've got a new battery for my phone so we should be able to solve some of the world's problems when you get back

Happy Birthday Baby Boy B and Baby Boy A

Having Some Fun

aka my shawl phase~


For sometime now, I've wanted a shawl that I could take with me wherever, that could be thrown over the shoulders when I get a chilled and double as as blankie when the body/feet get cold. In a color that would go with everything and take a little kicking around and not get dirty easily. Enter the Stonington and Cheryl's Alpaca.

Last night, being a little chilled I threw on my tried and true simple shawl and it kept me quite warm.



I now have a shawl bag that has several in progress.


I've kicked this yarn around in several different garments this Spring. It is the Gulf of Mexico colorway from Three Irish Girls. I think I finally found what I want to do with it. The Simple Garter Prairie Shawl is a nice mindless knit and I can knit it as big as I want. I think it'll be the one to take with me everywhere to knit on.

Although

the weather would seem to disagree with me, it is Spring. A week ago in Central IL, it was in the 80's, today, it is windy, rainy and 39 at noon. But, it gives me one more reason to haul the turtleneck, sweater and boots out one more time!


Last weekend when I was under the weather, I did a little plotting out of the course of my Spring knitting. This is one of the bags I am going to work out of. The other bag is yarn shop specific so that when I am there, I have their yarn to knit on. I am kind of particular about that. Knit at a shop, knit their yarns.

The plan is to knit stash whenever possible.
The plan is to get some things off of needles that have been on for awhile.

Either, knit them or rethink them.

Wednesday Websites

http://sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Decorah_Bald_Eagle_Nest.html
I'm obsessed with this one. Wait til the ad gets done playing and then watch. It's really something to watch. It's live!

http://unveiled.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/06/knit-your-own-royal-wedding/
This one is in case you have absolutely nothing to knit!

It Feels So Good

to have this finished.


It took me a few weeks to sew it together. I hate seaming and that is why I love knitting in the round or knitting top down.


I love the little treatment of cable at the waist. It is a way of defining the waist which I usually get with decreases and increases through the waist area.

On the Veronica Pullover from Nashua Isabella book I was able to eliminate seaming to the armhole, by combining the fronts and backs and knitting in the round. I do that quite a bit to eliminate at least part of the ugly seaming detail.


I was surprised how well the Berroco Remix yarn held up during seaming the long sleeve. I thought sure it was going to be difficult and it pleasantly surprised me.

Although, I love the 80 degree weather we had yesterday, I am hoping for at least one more day of a cool 60 so I can wear this one at least once.

I Gotta Get A Handle On This

This morning I didn't get to go to Saturday knitting at Knit 4 Together. I'm bummed. I did, however, get to make a trip to Urgent Care. Nothing serious, but a first ever for me.

Before going though, all kinds of things were going through my head...what if I have to have tests and they take a while? What if they admit me? What if I have to have emergency surgery and stay for a few days????? Will my family know what to bring out to me to knit while I am there? OY! Can you say over the edge?

I packed my bag for immediate knitting while waiting. Ask me if I even got into the bag? Oh, heck, you don't have to ask -- Nope.



And then I started winding balls of yarn and sticking them in my bag with some patterns for just in case knitting. Pleeeeeeeeeease. This would be the bag that the family could grab and bring out to me IF I knitted everything in my emergency bag.

Oy, I say OY! I think I am my mother's daughter! Don't tell anyone, ok!

Using Stash


I needed a baby boy present for Monday....went to the stash and am using this Cascade Cherub Collection DK out of the stash to knit a little sweater. The sweater looks to be a little big, but thats good, the baby will be able to wear it in the early Fall. At least I am hoping.

This is one of those that I really didn't do a gauge swatch. Just picked a semi middle of the road size needle and started knitting. Pattern is Jennifer Hoel's Garter Yoke Baby Cardi.

There is enough for a hat, so I'll work on it tonight and see if I can get it done and wrapped.

One yarn eliminated from the Stash. Ahhh.

Collared by Cheryl Oberle On A Decent Model

Wednesday Websites

Kristen asked me if I had any favorite video podcasts. Honestly, I am just getting into watching them, but here are a couple that are becoming favorites:

http://www.dramaticknits.blogspot.com/
http://letsknit2gether.com/
http://www.theknitgirllls.com/wordpress/

When I get a chance, dramaticknits has several listed on his side bar that I would like to take a look at. For me, when I knit, I like to have some background noise, and what better background noise than a fellow knitter. Sometimes I learn things too.

Collared by Cheryl Oberle

I can't tell you how excited I was when Cheryl asked me to test knit her new jacket pattern for her! I knitted the medium size just as written. The whole time I am knitting on it, I am wondering where she is going with it.

It was so much fun and I am pleased with how it turned out.


Cheryl's Dancing Colors yarn is lush to work with!


What became obvious after I finished it is that I need to get serious about the walking/running and lose some of these hips so it fits me better! Cause this jacket is too cool to let anyone else have it.

But tomorrow, I am going to get a friend of mine to try on so we can get some really good pictures of it. It's hard to get Baby Boy B to understand what I want the pictures to look like when he takes them.

Colors Anyone Can Wear

I wish I could remember where I read this, but over at Pantone you can get the low down.

Basically, four colors that anyone can wear whether you are a Spring or Summer or etc...
Eggplant
Classic Red
Rosy Pink (cross between true pink and peach)
Indian Teal (but of course)

Spring Colors 2011
Honeysuckle
Coral Rose
Beeswax
Regatta Blue
Lavender
Blue Curacao
Peapod
Silver Peony
Russet
Silver Cloud

It Feels So Good


Just finished a project that I have been working on for a month. The entire sweater only took me 3 weeks, cause I actually took a week off to knit what I wanted.

This is a close up of Cheryl Oberle's new jacket pattern "Collared" Cheryl asked me to test knit it for her out of her Dancing Colors yarn. This colorway is Iris. I have some Dancing Colors in another colorway, but actually have not knit it up. But, after this one, I am anxious to find a project for mine.

The yarn is so soft. Can I say love it!

The jacket at first try on (before blocking) does not fit me too well in the hips...but I knew that as that is where all my weight is at. I'm hoping with the start of Building Steam next week and warmer weather that we can rectify that little problem.

The jacket still needs to be blocked severly which I will do later tonight and post pictures later next week. Love this one!! Yarn and pattern.

Happy Birthday Jenny!

Can You Say

This is the life. Watching video podcasts and knitting. Thats how I am going to spend today off. It's suppose to rain today and I am looking forward to it. Sitting, knitting, drinking some coffee and enjoying a Friday to myself.

Ahhhhh.