Snow Queen Bonnet

 Wanted to make a bonnet for Nuriel to wear as part of a Snow Queen costume for Krampusnacht.

 A quick knit on US 9 needles.

Soft blend of Alpaca & Wool. 

Ravelry Notebook

A Socking Hot Summer

Yarn & pattern details blogged here. 

Now I must go find some yarn to knit myself a pair as my mother would like to have this pair...

On My Needles...

 I'm knitting a pair of Lotus Heart Socks. I wanted to knit something in a color I normally wouldn't choose. Orange! I'm using a yarn that has 10% nylon in it, which is a stretch for my yarn-snobbish self. Alas. Durability matters when you invested this much time in knitting a pair of socks!

Leaf lace cuff. I really like this pattern as it is written for multiple sizes, not just the usual "woman's medium size 8." (I wear 11.)The yarn is from Zarzuela's Fibers. 

I'm often reading this lovely book to Nuriel. She loves books. It's sort of like the African version of "The House That Jack Built." The illustrations are so beautiful as well. 

Hester

 Hester by Susanna IC in Little Red Bicycle Tandem Sock

 Originally intended as a knit for myself... Alas.

"The Scarlett Letter" club was a gift to myself for Christmas. The kit arrived on my birthday. Two gifts in one. Very efficient. I might still block it & wear it myself!

Nuriel's Electric Ladyland Dress

Hine is... Nuriel's Electric Ladyland Dress. (She loves Jimi Hendrix music so much that I'm thinking she might be his reincarnation. Haha!) I started  it with my Koigu leftovers, but I purchased an additional skein when I ran out but hadn't gotten to the desired length yet. I love the colors. I used Kelly Broker's Hine pattern and increased 2 stitches underneath each arm every 6th row to achieve the A-line. I love, love the Hine pattern! The garments created are so versatile. It's quite baggy on Nuriel, but I wanted it that way. It should fit her for 2 years or so, eventually becoming a tunic.

I can now tell her to smile for pictures and most often she will do so. She's such a funny girl. 

Yup. My girl. More energy than both of her brothers combined!

I picked three random buttons from my Mom's collection. It seemed that something so colorful doesn't need three identical buttons.

Thanksgiving ~ Retro Rosie Shawl Giveaway

Just a tiny way to give thanks... from our house to yours!

This pattern has always had a Retro feel to me. The yarn is a 100%Merino in reds & purples. The shawl is 56" from tip-to-tip and 25" from top to bottom-tip. I had a very hard time taking a nice picture. I suppose it will remain a bit of a "mystery giveaway." (A Thanksgiving giveaway with a Halloween feel to it. How about that?)

The Giveaway will be open 'til
Thanksgiving Day, November 24th, 2011.

The usual Giveaway procedures: An entry for leaving a comment. An entry for following the blog. An entry for blogging about it. Please leave separate comments. Please make it easy for me to get in touch with you. Thanks. Good luck!

The Green Dress

What I really need to do is block all the shawls that have been coming off my needles these past few weeks & months, but this procrastinator has completed somethin' for Christmas in October! Voila...

 

Rasmilla's Elvira in Swan's Island.

One skein from my stash. 

I basically just knit til I ran out of yarn - or pretty close to it.

Nice dress for now - tunic for later.

I loved this pattern oh-so-very-much. She's such a funny girl!

October Already!

Hard to believe. I suppose time to give the blogging world a sign that we are indeed alive. It's Virginia State Fair Time & of course we had to make some entries given the success last year. I won two third place ribbons this year, one for the green Icarus Shawl & one for Nuriel's Boheme.

Nathan won a red ribbon (2nd place) at the Horse Art Competition. It's an awesome drawing. He is rather unhappy with 2nd place, though...

... which brings us to Zeus & Athena. This crayon/pencil drawing did get him a first place, blue ribbon. Yay!

I took a picture of this awesome cake from the Youth Baking Competition, also at the State Fair. What a great cake idea, huh? 

This was Nuriel's seond State Fair, and her first time in a stroller! (Yup, you read that right!) The girl is getting too heavy for the Ergo. She did enjoy the ride for the most part, especially when she had an Elephant Ear to munch on! 

She also likes to push her face against the hallway/dining-room French door. 

I'll try to have another update soon. I just wrapped up a 4th grade Norse Mythology block & I do need to blog about that! Life is just so busy - always...

Yarn Along Wednesday

I'm joining Yarn Along Wednesday today. 

I finished this, and then I went to some functional knitting yesterday and stitched up a Vanilla soaker. For some reason I totally got everything wrong. It turned out way too big. So big that (even after slightly felting it) it will not ever fit a child in diapering age! So, it's being felted in the washer now. It was a nice soft rosy hue and will make some nice heart-ornaments for the Christmas tree. :-) I did figure out why it got so big. I wasn't using the right version for the yarn I had. Duh, me. 

I'm also knitting a green shawl using some Malabrigo Sock from my stash. And I have 5 (gasp) shawls waiting to be blocked. I finished The Silver Lining, I have a Rosie Shawl, and I used the white Malabrigo to knit three Shetland Triangles varying in size: Mother. Daughter. Dollie. 

I'm reading Conception, Birth & Early Childhood by Norbert Glas. I'm enjoying the insights he offers about child development. It's so nice to see all of this unfold for Nuriel. If I get around to it sometime, I'll share more.

If you haven't entered yet, the Mother Earth Meltdown Monday Giveaway is still open to entries!

Half A Kiwi {HINE is a girl}

I had the honor of test-knitting this for Kelly over at knit.so.quaint. It's HINE is a girl, the extended version, which is due to be released soon. The pattern is one of those no-seams kind that I love so much. It's a top-down construction. It's a fairly easy knit, yet with the assymmetrical button-band & lace sleeves it has a quite sophisticated look. Since I would love for this to fit Nuriel for two cold seasons, I chose to knit the 18-24 months size.

I used Woolrae (8-ply). I was a bit hesitant at first to use a variegated yarn. I worried about pooling since part of Hine is knit back & forth and part of it in the round, but this yarn was a good choice for this project. I love how the colors blend & mend. I added Paua buttons. You must think I have an arsenal of Paua buttons. I don't. I put Paua buttons on a project for the time Nuriel wears it. When she outgrows the garment, I recycle the buttons for a new project and put some simple buttons on the outgrown garment before I pass it on to someone as a hand-me-down.

Kiwi pattern. Kiwi yarn. Kiwi buttons. On Ravelry the project is here. It looks lovely on my hine. It will make a nice 1st birthday gift.

Meet Greengirl

I finished something! Yay. Green is my favorite color & the color certainly suits my melancholic temperament as well. I bought this yarn last summer. Swans Island Certified Organic Merino - dyed naturally. Luxury! I was going to knit this shawl (and then 4 more shawls to meet the 10 in 2010 goal) during my maternity leave, but that never happened. So, here it is. I'm so glad I finished something!

80" (200cm - 2m, baby!) from tip to tip. 25" (63 cm) from neck to bottom tip. Fiercely blocked.

I'm loving the lace!

I usually give shawls away, but this one is for me!

Superbowl Sunday

I finished a Mini Chic in Kraemer Alpaca. That was, without doubt, the highlight of the day!
The Steelers lost. Sniff. We wanted them to win, because the Packers beat the Bears & we like the Bears & the Giants & the Eagles around here.
I enjoyed a bottle of German Kristallweizen beer with a sugary Cola. Yummy. Just the best!
- I can't believe I haven't blogged in two weeks. Life has been crazy-busy. More on that later...

The First Advent

It's the Sunday after Thanksgiving... Can't help but think back to this day last year. Sigh... Well, one picture says it all & it's not even staged! Nunu is snoozing while I'm crafting some wool roving angels right next to her with my feet under the warm blanket. It's c-c-cold. They are for two ornament swaps I signed up for as well as a Ravelry Secret Elf kinda thing. I have always loved making them. It's almost like each one has a unique personality of sorts. She's a pacifier & thumb-sucking kinda girl. I was reluctant about the pacifier, but given that she spends mornings away from me I thought she needs somethin'. She has also found her thumb, though. The bonnet was an experiment. I love the green Koigu, but a bonnet is probably best worked using a solid color. It looks a bit like one of those British lawyer wigs - in green. Working on one more thing, which will need to remain a surprise for now... Happy Sunday!

Autumn

Two posts today. Vintage weekend is here.

I'm plain ole drained from the emotional drama that's being hurled my way in these final days of the pregnancy. I'm trying to find peace within in the midst of it all. I'm also feeling tired & a bit under the weather. Lil' Bean is certainly on the way down, too. I can feel him on my bladder. We needed to make a quick trip to the grocery store. On my way I picked up the "A u t u m n" shawl at the local yarn shop where I like to block things. I just love how it turned out. And I'm looking forward to baked chicken, homemade mashed potatoes & buttery green beans for dinner. Happy Sunday!

Inspired by Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail. I did a plain stockinette section & make one increases along the spine rather than yarn overs. I had planned on doing an extra repeat of the border lace, but I didn't as I feared I'd run out of yarn. In retrospect, I would have probably had enough...

I love it. Not sure that I'll keep it, though. I like to knit shawls, but I truly have a hard time figuring out what to do with them.

A Pink Traveling Woman - It's A Swan!

Voila! I couldn't be more pleased, really. $30 of yarn & about 20 hours of knitting & here is my donation to The Liz Logelin Foundation, which I previously blogged about here and here. I hope someone with a big wallet will fall in love with it at the auction...

I can't believe how big it is. 72" (180cm) from left to right tip!

I decided to block the ends into little tips.

Lace detail. It looks so pretty & airy.

(The brown you can see in the background is Lil' Bean's crib I put together yesterday - without instructions. I'm a co-sleeping kinda Mom, but thought it would be good for him to have a place to nap downstairs during the day.)

Almost Done!

Normally, I don't post pictures of shawls on the blocking board. I think it's their "ugly duckling" stage. The beauty of them isn't revealed until they are all dry & unpinned. As I was blocking "A Pink Traveling Woman" at the fabulous local yarn shop today, I loved the symmetry that was unfolding before me, so I did snap a picture. I think it's going to be a pretty shawl. The "beautiful swan" stage shall be revealed tomorrow.

Lazy Sunday ♥

♥Making progress on "A Pink Traveling Woman." I love the pink hues & the lace repeats were easy to memorize. I can't wait to see this one finished & blocked. ♥An idea for a mobile for Lil' Bean. - A bunch of these hanging from a twisty branch. A nice way to use up my variegated sock-yarn leftovers. What do you think? ♥Nice conversations with lovely people dear to my heart. ♥And news of sweet friends planning a Blessingway for me. ♥Another box unpacked. Another item checked off the homebirth list. ♥Listening to that song over & over again... But you knew that already. ♥A baby kicking up a storm & a Mama enjoying the cooler temperatures. More knitting now... I hope you are having a nice, lazy Sunday, too. They are the best. And if it's already Monday where you are, I hope sweet memories of a lovely weekend will help you get through the week.

A Cause Dear To My Heart

I started reading Matt's blog over two years ago. Matt's wife, Liz, died the day after giving birth to their daughter, Madeline. In her memory The Liz Logelin Foundation was created to assist families who find themselves in the heartbreaking situation of having lost a spouse or partner.

If I remember correctly, I stumbled upon the blog one night through Jackie's blog.

I did not know then that one day I'd be on a similar path...

Through a comment I made on Jackie's blog a few months ago, Sarah found me. Her fiance died two weeks after they found out they were going to have another baby & she has been a tremendous help for me throughout this pregnancy.

On September 17th, 2010, there will be a "Celebration of Hope" Gala to benefit The Liz Logelin Foundation and I have decided to knit a shawl to donate to the silent auction.

Liz's favorite color was pink. I found a beautiful skein of MadelineTosh in Carnation. Liz & Matt traveled quite a bit. I remembered the Traveling Woman Shawl that had been in my Ravelry queue for a while. Liz Abinante, the designer of Traveling Woman (Ravelry link), has kindly given me permission to use her pattern to create a shawl for this auction. - "A Pink Traveling Woman." I shall keep you posted on my progress.

I want to encourage you to create something to donate as well. You can find more information here. If you scroll down a bit, you will also find a downloadable donation form. The Gala will take place in Minnesota where it gets r-r-really cold in winter. Let's keep the people up there warm while crafting for a good cause!

C i r c u s

It's 105 F (41 C) here today & humid as usual. I really didn't want to go anywhere in this heat. Alas, curiosity killed the cat. I wanted to pick up the lace shawl I had pinned at the local yarn shop yesterday. And I did.

I used the pattern Ishbel by Ysolda Teague. At one point I thought about inserting a lifeline to see if I could work more lace repeats because I had so much yarn left in the skein, but then I lazied out. The mirrored lace was driving me crazy at times, but in the end I couldn't find a mistake. - Phew! It looked a bit small to me when it came off the needles, so I blocked fiercely. So fiercely in fact that last night I wondered if I had overdone it. What if just one loop snapped? Yikes. Anyhoo. It paid off. I think it's oh, so very pretty & a very nice size. (60"/150cm from left to right tip.) (Ravelry link)

I just love the colors. Yes, they remind me of a colorful C i r c u s. So vibrant. The Malabrigo Sock yarn is so soft. Incredible. I haven't found a recipient yet. - I might just need to keep it. And, as hoped, I had enough to knit up a square for the Barn-Raising Quilt & I still have a sweet lil' "leftover" ball. From being a WIP on Wednesday to Finito! I like this productivity level. I'm going to start my next lace project on Friday... A very special shawl. Stay tuned. I'll say Au Revoir with a Southern Sunday Gratitude: P-r-a-i-s-e the LORD for Air Conditioning! A-men. (You gotta say that with a southern accent!)

WIP Wednesday

It's after midnight. I can't sleep. Time for WIP Wednesday!

Ishbel (Ravelry link) using Malabrigo Sock in Archangel.

I just love the colors & the yarn is so soft. I did the small stockinette section, but I'm planning on doing the number of lace repeats one would knit for the large version. I got that idea on Ravelry. And if all goes according to plan, I will have 20g of yarn left - enough to make a square for the Barn-Raising Quilt, which is a project that needs some attention as it's approaching its One-Year-WIP Anniversary. I'm also trying not to neglect Nathan's Wonderful Wallaby & I'm working on some special hens & chicks. More about that later this week.

I'm looking forward to seeing your WIP Wednesday projects!