All right fellow knitters...Now I really like working on one project at a time but I have to confess...I've lost it. I think a little bit of Froggy is wearing off on me. I'm working on 2 knits at the moment...and will soon turn to 4. Number 1 is Olive. Olive is my mindless knitting with my knit buddies project. Number 2 is my Tweedy Aran Cardigan... I started this about 3 years ago. I love this cardigan. I don't know why I ever put it down. Well I picked her right back up from my UFO's. This is the back & was finished long ago. I've been steadily working on the front...which you can obviously see is now finished. I am so proud of myself...I remembered how to do the short row shaping without even looking in a book. The shoulders are nice and smooth. No choppy bind offs here & there. See...lots of knitting pays! Now I'm on the first sleeve... I am in love (I know you have heard that one before) with this sweater... This pattern is from the IK 01/02. This is the hardest knit that I have ever done. It has lots of very different stitches and you have to pay attention to increases, decreases, stitches, rows and shaping all at the same time. This is not a knit night project like Olive is. I need to be by myself...all alone. I'm loving how she is coming out so far and from the looks of her when I hold her up, she will fit perfectly...I hope! Number 3 will be my hubby's Cable Vest. I should probably get that done for his Birthday in November or even better...Father's day. Number 4 is Lara... Most of you know that this pattern is from Debbie Bliss' Alpaca Silk. I really like this sweater...but totally fell in love with it when I saw my Mom's finished Lara. She did it Karabella Aurora 8 in Burgundy. Not only is it gorgeous, it fits unbelievable (I should know...I tried her on!) It is shorter, like a bolero & fitted but so cute. I'm going to knit her up in Karabella Aurora 8 in this color... This is color 18. It is a deeper burgundy that what my Mom used but will go with so much. Well that's it for the projects for now...I hope! I picked up this little dodad... This is really cool. It automatically measures button placement without all the math. Now that's cool! Now...the best for last... Another fabulous knit night with my knitting buddies. We went to the new restaurant...Cheeseburger in Paradise in Pasedena. They have great drinks and the food was fab. The best part...the Chocolate Nachos(to die for) & theKey Lime pie. YUM!!!! Then off we went to the local Starbucks to knit. We met this girl Wendy and her hubby (it was his Birthday) there. She was nice enough to take this photo. Thanks Wendy & huddy. It was so nice to meet you! Well that's all folks...until next time...have a great week! P.S. I didn't mean to forget about Rogue. The problem is the zipper...I don't have one yet. I've had some problems finding a 2-way zipper. Zippestop doesn't have any in the right color. They said that the season is over and they won't be getting the one I need (a 2-way in the color I need) until next season. :-( If anyone knows where I can get a 2-way zipper, please let me know! There is one place about 45 minutes away that I'm going to check out shortly. Otherwise Rogue is all finished...minus the zipper! And she's looking damn good! P.S.S. I replaced the pictures of my Aran Cardi so you can actually see the stitches more clearly!

It's sunny and 53 degrees F...Life is good!

Knitting News...
I have been knitting somewhat on Olive...

Her back is finished and that tiny thing to the right is her left front. I know ribbing stretches...but this is unbelievably small. It's funny how I'm always worried about my knits being too big. Not this one. Since I'll be putting in a 2-way zipper, I hope it will be OK. I can always unzip this baby up to my waist.

Did I mention that I have a wonderful hubby? He took me last Saturday to Manning's in PA. It took about 1 hr 45 min to get there. I asked him why he was so willing to drive there and you know what he said? "It's an adventure" I cracked up. I thought it was too cute. Anyway...I LOVE Manning's. It is the BEST knitting store I have ever been to. Here are a couple things that I bought...

Do you know what this is? Here it is open...

Bamboo Interchangeable Needles. This cute little kit only measures about 3"by 5". Perfect for travel. I love it! Very Cool!
Now since my DH was so good to me...I let him pick out what vest he wants me to knit him...

This vest is from The Best of Knitters Arans & Celtics. It is called Wall Street Cables...but I'm going to call it "Labor of Love". Isn't it a beaut? This baby is knit on small needles (US 4...which means 3 for me) and with all the cables...like I said...Labor of Love. I love ya babe!
This is the yarn I picked out to use...

This is Dalegarn Tiur. It is 60% mohair 40%wool. He wants a burgundy...he's getting burgundy. I think the vest will be gorgeous in this color.

I also bought 1200 yards of this...
This is Tahki Donagel Tweed Homespun in a charcoal gray. I love, love, love this yarn. This is the same yarn that I'm using for my Tweedy Aran Cardigan (speaking of which...I'm going to resume working on that cardi today). I love how this yarn knits up.

One more thing...

This concludes my shopping spree that I am allowing you to view. Actually I don't have any more room!    

Take care, enjoy all the beautiful weather you can absorb into that body and have a great rest of the day!

                         

Oh...and one more thing...innocently taken because it is so neat from Emma...

Happy Spring Everyone!!!!

A little closer to the warmth of the sun.

Have a great one & see you tomorrow.

I’m getting a total website redesign

Amy from Quixotic Musings is going to design this web page. I am so excited. It should be done in about a week. Now if I can only learn how to work with Expression Engine.
I am so used to Typepad which is a very easy blogging system.

EE

is much more difficult. It is more for people who want to completely customize their site. I’m going to keep at it though!

Photo of the Day...

This is a pastel drawing I did. It is called Mother and Child.

First of all...I'm working on a new web site. I have been totally obsessed with trying to figure everything out. It is so hard. I guess I'm just used to TypePad. Typepad has everything set up for you to make posting extremely easy. I do not know HTML or php. I want to learn though. I'm thinking about taking an online training class to learn Web Design I think it is all very interesting. I hired Amy at Quixotic Musings to design my new site. She is so talented. I am proud to have her design my new web site. I am so excited. I gave her some ideas of how I would like it and sent her some pictures that I would like to use. I'm going to let her decide on the picture and surprise me with which one she will use.

When I can tear myself away from the computer, I've been working on Olive...

What a fast knit compared to Rogue and all the cables. I can actually knit and talk while knitting Olive. That's a good thing sometimes. I need something easy to knit on my knit nights. Speaking of Knit nights, here's a couple of photos of our last one...



Donna, Heather and I went to Pasta Blitz for dinner and then we came back to my house for some knittin' and grinnin'. I really look forward to my knit nights. Lauren couldn't make it as she has classes on Thursdays. We missed you L! Donna went to a weekend knitting retreat and brought back with her a present for each of her knitting pals. This is the beautiful yarn that she gifted me with...

I love these colors. I am so into the greens lately (thanks to dear Froggy!) Donna picked out great color choices for each of us. Thank you soooo much Donna!! I am going to make a scarf to wear with Olive. The colors are perfect for that sweater.

I also got another present...

This one came in the mail from Karen. She is one of the girls that I sent the Artist's Glove pattern to. She sent me beautiful Orchid stationary with 4 varieties in the pack. She also made me a beaded necklace or book marker or whatever I can think of using it for. It's really beautiful. She is very talented. Thank you very much Karen. I love everything!!!

Have a fantastic evening!!!

 

Powered by Expression Engine

Now I’m just going to have to play with it for awhile to figure it all out.

I got to run…see you in a few!

Forget what I told you in my last post about the next project I was going to start. There's a new girl in town and her name is Olive...

I have been craving a plain ribbed zip up cardigan and Olive fits the bill. This sweater is from the Jane Ellison book Laines Du Nord...

I have decided to knit her up in the luxurious Karabella Aurora 8 in this color...

Parsley #716. this color is gorgeous in person with a few different shades of green in the mix. I LOVE how this yarn feels in the hand. It's so soft and not at all itchy. I wanted something different...well this is different for me. I just cast on tonight for her so I will post a picture the next time I post.

My DH wants me to knit him a sleeveless vest in Burgundy. There are a couple I have in mind, so I'll post them when I decide which one and get the yarn. He never asks me to knit him anything...so I think I should do this. I just hope he will wear it.

Rogue Update...
I'm still waiting for the zipper to arrive in the very slooooow snail mail. When it does come though, I'll be ready to install that baby. I can't wait to wear Rogue!

Last Thursday lovely Lauren invited us over for knit night...

I agree with Lauren on this one...this photo is a classic!

I know it's been a week since I posted but Oh Well!!! We had Chinese food brought in, talked and laughed. Kris...her DH even hung out with us all night. What a great time!! Tomorrow night Heather and Donna are coming over to my house for knit night. We are going to Pasta Blitz for dinner and then back to Breir Manor for some knitting and talking fun! Those pics will go up next time I post also.

Roses of the Week...

Beeeauutifulll!!!! I love my orchids but my Rose bowl filled with fresh roses is stunning! Even prettier in person.

Workout News...
This week was the first time Linda was able to fit me in for a private lesson in Pilate's. She has been super busy and hired a new Pilate's instructor that trained in New York. Her name is Victoria & she is awesome. All I can say is HELP! I never realized how much control you need in the abdominal muscles to perform these exercises the right way. I am very, very sore at the moment. I have also been doing my cardio 3 times a week and one day of weights for the upper body.

RAOK News...
I got a wonderful RAOK from Kate from Amazon.com. Thank you so much Kate. That was a much needed surprise to brighten my day!

Bye for now and make it great night!!

 

 

 

I agree with Lauren...I love knitting challenging projects that take some time to finish. I feel a great sense of accomplishment from them. But I also need from time to time a quick knit for the sake of instant gratification. Here is where Sophie fits in...

Sophie took me one day to knit. She is a quick one...that Sophie girl. Not only that, when I put her in my front loader (not supposed to be good for felting) she felted in one cycle. I was shocked. I customized the heavy wash cycle to the hottest water temperature and highest spin cycle speed. Not only did she survive like a champ, but she came out better than I expected. I decided to try this pin on her that I bought in Vegas in November. I love it!! I will definitely be felting many more purses.

Rogue News...

Well let's see now...all I need to do is sew in the sleeves and install her zipper. I'm awaiting for her zipper to arrive from Zipper Stop. I am going to attempt my first zipper, but if I get really frustrated, I will have someone put it in for me. I am really happy with how she fits so far. I have to give credit where credit is due. Thanks to Claudia for posting all the info on the finishing touches (provisional cast on for the grafting, Binding off the Applied i-Cord to the hem to make it look like it belongs there...truly amazing, if I say so myself!) for the cardiganized Rogue. She manes the books and even the page numbers that all the information is on. I would never have been able to do this without her informative posts. Thanks Claudia!!
I can't wait to finish and wear her!

Future Project...
I have some ideas in mind. For some reason I'm still in cardi mode...I guess it's because it's WINDY and COLD with SNOW all over the place here in Maryland.
Here's what I'm thinking...from the newest Rowan...Butterfly...

only in the Camisole version using one of these 2 colors...

Rowan's Kid silk Haze in Pearl or Smoke
The pattern calls for lots of beads sewn in but I'm not sure I'm going to do that. I'm thinking about it.
The other one I'm thinking about is Sam from the Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora book...

using Debbie Bliss's Cashmerino Aran...

in Brown or Red. I have been craving a plain ribbed zippered Cardigan for awhile now.

Well take care and make it a relaxing evening!!!