Frog Pond

Night before last I was working on my b-day present for Cat and I tried it on. I was at the point where I could put the back stitches on stitch holders and work the front. I had a sneaky suspicion that it was too big...and it was. I had knit 13.5 inches of torso (front and back on circulars) only to find I needed to frog the whole f-ing thing. No pictures...but it is done and sitting in the bag and I just can't pick it up again (I'll tell you over the phone the other reason why I can't work on it). I looked again at the directions as I've made this for myself and realized that I had made the smaller size and never noted it on the pattern except for at the armhole decreases where I underlined how many I needed to do. NOTE TO SELF FOR FUTURE: When knitting a pattern be sure and write down what size you made so when you make it again you know your frame of reference for sizing.

So now I'm on to this pattern for Miss America...of course I got the yarn at the LYS closing...got it when I had to go back and get a refund on the mischarged book. Maybe I can finish it before Florida?

When you get your computer back, let me know what you've been up to! I miss hearing from you. I'm also looking in the mailbox every day for me to test your hat pattern...xoxo

Poppy is now an FO

It's finished and I think it turned out beautifully. I'm sure the torso part would have looked smoother with the Noro Cash Iroha as recommended. The Manos I chose is a little nubbly.

Instead of doing a 3 needle bindoff seam on the torso I did the kitchener stitch...makes the whole piece seamless and no bulky seam. The pattern called for the seam in the back but I chose to put the kitchener seam on the side...you can't even really see it.

I got the sleeves to match up by choosing 2 skeins at the very beginning which started with the same segment of colorway. I put those aside and used the other skeins to match up both sides of the front V. The back doesn't match too closely to the front but I did make sure that the color at the shoulder was the same.

If you are wondering how I got this done so quickly...a few days where I got the Desperate Housewives Second Season DVD's out of the library...great to watch while knitting and trying to complete. Maybe I'll call it my Desperate Poppy!













We're going to Anna's for dinner tonight...I think I'll wear this with some winter white corduroy pants.

Snow Days can be Productive

As you know, we had a snow day yesterday...so when the kids watched a movie (or two) I joined them and finished my fingerless gloves. I used this pattern but changed it as I didn't like it all cabled...I did one row of cables alternating with one row straight knit (I did all cables at the bottom edge). I used Steadfast Fibers Worsted Weight Yarn in Athena colorway. The good thing is now my hands are nice and warm as it is 10 degrees and very windy today.

I also used the snow day to make these yummy shortbread cookies and then dipped them in chocolate. Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Knitting Class Inspiration

My knitting class I'm teaching has inspired Nina to knit even more...so I present her first FO...a wrist warmer. She's very proud of it and has even worn it to bed. We've cast on another project already...a headband. I must admit that she knits very neatly...she works slowly and carefully and is very proud of her handiwork.

Feeling Guilty

I haven't done a post in ages. Last week I knit an adorable sachet. It was a gift, and I had to throw it in the mail before photographing it. I couldn't find either of our cameras, and I'm too stupid to figure out how to download a picture from my phone.

The next best thing was to show you my knitting needles in all their glory. They were laid out so that I could see what I need to complete my collection. Scarily enough, it was only one circular & one pair of dpn's.
The needles live in that blue Levis bag, which I got for my 10th birthday. Found the circular needle cases at Tuesday Morning. They're fabulous.



I just finished a hat for Pierson, but he's not home to model it, so a photo will have to wait. I am working on my hat pattern. It's just on the back burner at the moment.

I guess I'm a Joiner!

I signed up for the Poppy Knitalong...what I love about these knitalongs is you can glean information BEFORE you start. So, I'm making a few changes and doing a provisional cast-on and I'll keep monitoring as I go along to learn new things. I cast on and have started the body with its striping. When I have something to show I'll post a picture.

Also while surfing the other day I found a few patterns I wanted to show you which will help us use some of new larger stash busting efforts...first this felted basket would be nice next to my knitting seat on the sofa. I also noticed this scarf...I know you've sworn them off for a while but wanted to show you anyway. Both are designed by Lucia Tedesco who has a clever blog and even some Italian knitting sites...wish my Italian was better as I saw a lovely pattern.

Back to my Poppy...every time I say "Poppy" I think of the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West saying "Poppies! Poppies".

So close to meeting Jodi of Knit & Plenty

Okay, we were there at the same time...she took pictures and I'm in one of them! Barely...on the right side of the photo you can see my turquoise fleece behind the lady in the purple/black shirt. At that point I may have been on the phone with you asking what color Cascade 220 you wanted as I'm at that section. Too funny.