10 On Tuesday

Can somebody please tell me where the month of April has gone?  I cannot believe that tomorrow is May 1st already.  May is a crazy month in our house.  There is lots going on.  So let's talk about 10 Things I'm Looking Forward to in the Month of May.

1.  My birthday.  It usually falls on Memorial Day Weekend.  My best friend's b-day is the day before mine so we always have something fun planned.
2.  My anniversary.  This is the beginning of the month.
3.  Mother's Day.  It's the one day a year where I feel no guilt about sitting outside and knitting all day.
4.  The fiber festivals. New Hampshire is the next one for me.  Followed by RI, of course.
5.  Nicole's final high school musical.  I can't believe she is a senior and this is the last one.
6.  Lilacs.  My favorite flower ever!  They are usually in full bloom by my birthday.
7.  More knitting on the deck - without being as bundled up as I was this past weekend.
8.  Baseball games.  I'm looking forward to my first Pawsox game but I refuse to go until I know I won't freeze.  Shall we talk about the year we went for our birthday and it was 30 degrees and raining?  On Memorial Day weekend?  Yeah - that left mental scars and a fear of being cold that didn't exist before.  And a nasty cold that wouldn't leave.
9.  Farmers Markets.  I love doing that on a Saturday morning.
10.  Nicole graduating.  She technically doesn't graduate till June 14th but most of the work and exams (and her stress) will be over in May.  She is ready to move onto college and start the next chapter of her life.

Weekending

We had a great weekend!  The weather was almost perfect (the breeze off the water is still chilly at this time of year so it's never really WARM), a lot of time was spent outside, and there was the CT Sheep and Wool Fesitval.

Pretty fleece, huh?  Nope - I didn't buy it. I still have one I bought there a couple of years ago that needs to be carded and spun.  That's my project this summer.

I just love this bunny.  I really wish I didn't have such an awful allergy to angora.  I would add  this little guy to the assortment of pets at home.

He would fit right in there, don't ya think?  We have been wanting to take a picture of Mowgli next to the little statue for a while because we thought it was so cool that one was black, the other white and they were the same size.  We waited too long because he's twice the size of the statue now.

And it's my first official knitting on the deck picture of 2013.  It only lasted a little while because it was too breezy.  It was fun while it lasted.  I brought the party inside though.

How was your weekend?

Yarn Along

Wow - I can't believe it's Wednesday already.  Where is the week going?  Since it's Wednesday it's time to join Ginny and see what everyone is up to - yarn-wise, that is.  And also get some good recommendations for books.  I am still on the same book Iv'e been on for months, which is the last 50 Shades series.  My goal is to finish before the end of June so I can load a new book on the Ipad before we go on the cruise.  If I thought I had limited reading time before, it has dwindled down to about nothing these days.  When I sit on the couch Mowgli is looking for some playtime so we do that for a while.  It gets hard to say no to this face.

His training is going well and there is some light at the end of the tunnel.  I remember when Magnum was a puppy it was a solid 3 months of dedication, then he became a dog and didn't need the constant attention.

Onto the knitting portion of the program....

Still working on the baby blanket.

It's hard to see much progress.  It's measuring about 24" in diameter.  I'm thinking I would like 36" total so we are nearing the end.  I love the yarn.  Nice and light.  I think it will be great for a summer baby.

I should be done this week then it's back to some crochet bags.  I still have this idea that I want to do this for Mother's Day.  How long till Mother's Day?

What's on your needles?

10 On Tuesday

First of all, everyone go and check out Carole's blog today.  Besides seeing one of my favorite blogs around, you can check out her interview with Amy Herzog and learn all about her exciting new book, Knit to Flatter. I have heard great things about this book already and I am going to sign up for the class.  You can also get a chance to win a copy of her book when you stop over at Carole's blog.  Win-Win!

Onto the 10.  It's 10 Favorite Sweater Patterns.

Let me preface this by saying - I really haven't knit that many sweaters.  I'll start out with the ones I have knit and move onto the ones I want to knit.

1.  February Baby Sweater.  I knit this once and I really liked how it came out.

I wanted to knit one for myself but haven't done it.

2.  The simple EZ seamless raglan.  I knit this for winter Olympics one year and got it done in less than three weeks.  I loved that I didn't have to think much.  And that it was a quickie!

Those are the ones that I have knit.  Here's the list of what I want to knit:

3.  Atelier.  I have been looking through the stash to see if I have enough yarn to knit this one soon.  I was hoping to use some hand spun but I'm not sure if it is going to work.

4.  Boxy.  I saw this on Rav the other day and fell in love with it.  I love a big draped sweater.

5.  Tea Leaves Cardigan. I have seen this on so many blogs and it looks great on every one.

6.  Klaralund.  I still love this sweater and even though it didn't work out the last time I tried it I will find a way!

7.  Simplest Sweater.  Need I say more?

8.  Baby Surprise Jacket.  I have never knit one and I'm not sure why.  Everyone I know who has done this pattern loves it.

9.  Speaking of babies, I am knitting Baby Sophisticate and I just love it.  I'm not thrilled with my yarn choice but it's for a baby so it has to be washable, etc...  I'm keeping it down here since I haven't technically finished it yet.

10.  Iced.  I'm envisioning this in handspun.  Chunky handspun!

Guess I better get knitting, huh....

Yarning Along and Other Things

I can't believe a whole week has gone by without  a post.  I have no particular reason for that.  It's school vacation week so I have been out of my routine a bit I guess.  There are lots of yarny things going on though.  I found a good project to get through my huge cotton yarn stash.

I'm working on a Crochet Bag , which I will turn into more of a basket and use as a project bag, so to speak.  It's taking me a little longer to work on than I thought it would.  And boy does it eat up yarn!   I may have to go and get some more.

My original thought was that I was going to destash a bunch and maybe make some smaller bags for Mother's Day but I'm not sure if that will work.  I need to take it easy with the crochet because it doesn't agree with my wrist.  Booo.  So of course I cast on something else in the meantime.

It's another baby blanket and it's going pretty fast.  Another no-thinking project which is what I'm all about these days.  You can see Mowgli has to be occupied with his own hobby while I knit.  We still love to chew yarn when nobody is looking.

Kinda tough to get mad at him though.

Yarn Along

Blanket is done but will be blogged about at a later date.  I still have the crochet bug and am looking for the next project to start.  Right now it's still all about babies so I cast on the Baby Sophisticate which is a free pattern on Ravelry.  So far so good.

This will be what my lunch time will look like today.

I'm not thrilled with the yarn.  I went with an acrylic for the usual reasons when knitting for babies.

It's going along fast, which is another reason I love to knit for babies.  I'm hoping to done if a few days.

So what's on your needles these days?  Join Ginny and see what we are all up to.

10 On Tuesday

I have to admit - the timing of this 10 On Tuesday  is perfect.  We were starting to plan our summer vacation and I started making a mental list of what I would need to bring.

1.  Cell phone and charger. Even on vacation I still need the ability to stay connected.
2.  Knitting.  No explanation needed.
3.  Ipad.  It will supply me with my knitting patterns, books, podcasts, music, etc....
4.  Passport.  It occurred to me this morning that we still need to get these.  I never had a need for one before, but even going to Canada you apparently need it now.
5.  Sunblock.  Even though I tan like a champ the suns rays are downright dangerous now and need to be limited.
6.  Camera.  I usually rely on my phone for photos but for vacation I step it up and bring the actual camera.
7.  In the olden days I would bring travelers cheques, but do they even use those anymore?
8.  Comfortable clothes and shoes.  No matter where we go there is usually a fair amount of walking.
9.  Meds. Besides my normal things I need to take, I bring the Tylenol, Benadryl, motion sickness meds, etc...
10.  My spindle.  If I'm in the mood to meet new people I break out the spindle.  It's a sure way to strike up a conversation with strangers.  People are amazed by yarn making.

Pei

I think it took me longer to get this thing blocked than it did to knit.  It was fun to knit and I think the color changes just make the project look that much better.

Like I said before, enough pattern to keep it interesting but then enough stockinette to give the brain a rest.

I love that neon colors seem to be in this season.  I am seeing them all over the store.  Amazing since I spun this Loop batt last summer.

As for the blocking - I ended up doing it on the kitchen table like I usually do.  And of course the cat sat on it and yes - she loosened the pins and we had to make sure none of them ended up on the floor so Mowgli wouldn't eat them.  Life is always interesting with these guys...

Wingspan

I did some Ravelry investigation to see what I could knit up with one skein of my Noro Taiyo.  I love Ravelry for that!  There were quite a few choices.  I knew I wanted some scarf/shawl sort of thing.  The yarn was so soft it needed to be next to my neck.  I started one shawl and it was too complicated to follow.  I wasn't looking for that much intensity at the moment.  So I started Wingspan.  What a fun little pattern!  Very simple.  And it worked well with the Noro color changes.

It stays on my neck nicely - it could use a little shawl pin to fasten it though.

I could have made it bigger but it was the type of scarf that didn't need to be very long.  It actually looked a bit better being shorter.

I would probably knit it again in a different color.  I love that it was done in a few days.  And no blocking necessary!  Speaking of blocking, Pei has an appointment with the blocking needles tonight.  I think I have a way for it to block and not be touched by the four legged creatures in my house.

Yarn Along

It's Wednesday and it's time for Yarn Along.  I actually finished the project I found for the Noro yarn I had in my stash and I'll show that tomorrow.  In the meantime I'm doing something very different for me.

Crochet.

I'm not a huge fan of crochet but I do love granny squares.  My first blanket as a baby was a crocheted granny square.  I carried that blanket around with my thumb in my mouth for years (yep - I was a thumb sucker.  And no - my teeth didn't come in crooked or any of the other horrible things they said would happen).  It eventually just wore out and my mom had to toss it.

So I thought my new nephew (who is on his way into the world as I type this) would enjoy a crochet granny square blanket too.

It's fun to do, but my wrists end up hurting if I don't take breaks.  I'm not sure why that motion bothers me yet knitting is fine.  But I know my limits and work within them.

What's on your needles?