Two Knits and a BobCat

This bobcat and baby were right outside the fence the other day! Ella was very curious. The link here: bobcat, shows a better picture of one. These two roam the wash behind the house and sometimes are where I walk Ella in the morning. Quite scary up close! Not too bad with a fence in between!

The Oldest's new Winter hat. He picked out the yarn himself. {sorry it's sideways, didn't realize until ituploaded} I did follow the pattern as written, but when he tried it on, it was way too big, as it lenght-wise. So...I did what any knitter would do, I ripped back to where it would fit him, and re-did the decreases for the top. Fits him better and works great under his bike helmet in the mornings when he rides to school.

And my Owl sweater! I love this. It looks more pink here, but it's actually red. I did make the s/m size, I wanted it not as fitted and the sleeves, of course, are longer. I tried to put a hood on it, but didn't like the way it was looking, so I made it per the pattern.
More pictures to follow (most likely tomorrow)!

Fabulous Fall Finished Objects No. 1

TaDa!!!
It's finished! Hot off the needles! (Last night I went out and bought the buttons! Got to do it quick or it will never get done!)
Took me almost two months (according to my Rav. dates), and that was knitting with wool/mohair mix yarn in the middle of the summer and the lingering heat we had in Sept.

Love the way this fits!
I used about 4 1/4 skeins of Brown Sheep worsted in the color -- tormented teal.
I picked this up while on vacation this summer and I'm glad I bought 5 of them, so I could work my modifications.
Pattern: Favorite Cardigan (rav link) from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard (knitandtonic).
Size knit: small.
Yarn: Brown Sheep worsted.
Needles: US #8
Notions: 9 buttons (see modifications).





Modifications: When I knit the fronts, I started with a 2x2 rib, and then when I got the end of the row, I did a p2,k2 so that I would end with a k2 on the end. That's why there's more purl stitches at the ends. I like the detail though. Makes the cables stand out. I did not do as much waist shaping, only did 3 decrease rows and then made it longer (I used two full skeins on just the body of the sweater-from the top to the bottom). For the sleeves, I sort of custom fit them to my arms. I have long arms and didn't want the sleeves to fit tight, so I just tried it on as I went and decreased where I thought I needed to, ie at the elbow area and through the bottom of the arm.





This is my glorious self-timer shot! Came out pretty good I think. I did not block this, and don't think I'm going to.

Overall this is a relatively easy pattern. I do like that the sleeves are done in the round so you really don't have to seam anything but the small hole under the arm. I wanted this not as close fitting as my Central Park Hoodie (which I love but fits snug), so that I could layer a long sleeve tee over it.

I did finish...

...the Garter Edge Fingerless Gloves.

Pattern: Garter Cuff Fingerless Mittens from the book Weekend Knitting (ravelry link).

Yarn: I think it's a Cascade 220 superwash in a deep purple (the ball band was not attached to the yarn).

Modifications: None to the specific pattern, but I custom fit the fingers for my hand.

And...my Canopy Cardigan:

The front edge detail.

This is the fronts and back seamed together and pre-blocked. (I seamed it, blocked it, added the sleeves and then re-blocked [these picts to follow once I take them!]). This was an easy sweater to knit, I did have a little bit of trouble setting in the sleeves, but after I re-blocked, it was fine.

From the previous posting, I've completed two out of the five. The gray hat was frogged, the headband is in my bag going everywhere with me and waiting for the i-cord finishing tie. The skater top...haven't picked it up in a while. That yarn is...well...sort of sticky and the lace takes more concentration than I have right now!

I've also finished a hat for my hubby (again, pictures to come). He liked this version of the Irish Hiking hat (ravelry link).

There might be some other things once I get around to taking some pictures.

Happy October!

On the Needles

From left to right [all links are Ravelry links]: grey yarn (yes, it's recovered from it's rude treatment) to be this hat: here; purple yarn (top left corner) fingerless garter gloves (picture here), have two fingers and a thumb left, then weaving in ends; green yarn in middle a headband that was originally for me, but now will be for the LittleOne; orange/rust (looks red) yarn is the Canopy Cardigan, have just the sleeves left, the other bit is the fronts and back; and the bottom purple is the skater's overtop.

Goal: Now is just to finish something! (Then I'll probably immediately cast on for something else!)
Hope all have had a great weekend and great week last week! (I was out of touch there for a while, don't know why, I just was. It happens sometimes!)

Purple, Purple, and More Purple

It seems like everything I'm knitting these days is purple. And the yarn I'm using is all from my stash, so I guess I went through a purple phase a while back! Now I can't get enough of orange and red! But I really, really need to use up some of my stash before I go buy more. I've had a trip to the LYS planned for a couple of weeks, but every time I plan to go, something else comes up!
Right now I'm still working on the skater's over top (ravelry link) and then on Friday (last week...I had to stop and think for a minute) I checked out from the library Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick and just had to start the garter-cuff gloves and mittens (ravelry link). I'm doing the mittens (fingerless) and in some mystery purple yarn that I think is Cascade 220 super wash because deep down I know, especially now that September is here, that I'm going to need them soon!
Sorry I don't have any in-progress pictures, maybe I'll be enthused to get the camera out and show you later on!
Hope everyone had a great weekend and welcome September!

Two For Tuesday

Well, it's about time! Pictures of finished projects!
Project number one:
The Razor Cami!
Project number two:
Cabled Rangoli Hat!



Project: Razor Cami. The Ravelry link is here.
Yarn: Paton's Grace. Hot pink. 3 1/2 skeins.
Needles: #6 circular.
Modifications: I think I made this a little longer. Decreased some on the front armhole, and then did three rows of garter stitch. Picked up 12 stitches for the strap and decreased down to 6 stitches, knit in stst and then increased back to 12 on the back.

The back modifications I decreased heavily from the armhole split to pull the back in a little bit. The fit is really great on this. (And, yes, that's me modeling!)

A close-up of the pattern. It's very, very easy to memorize. And for me that's saying a lot as I like to write and mark off each row. This was super easy! Just took longer than I thought! (Thin yarn, small needles!)

Pattern: Cabled Rangoli Hat (pdf link to pattern here) from Adventures of a Desi Knitter.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in chestnut heather. One skein (with leftovers).

Needles: #7 for the ribbing and #8 for the body of the hat.

Modifications: One. Decreased down to 8 stitches on the top. Since this is a gift, for me, I would definitely make the ribbing a little longer. Very easy knit and a good looking hat! And it's very warm! (Try modeling a wool mix hat on a 100 plus degree afternoon!)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Fab FO Friday!!!!! (Finally)

Okay...okay. You can give me forty lashes with a wet noodle! Finally the CPH pictures. Sorry it took sooooooooo...ooooooo long!

From a bag of yarn...

...to a fabulous finished CPH!!!!

Here's the back detail.

And the sleeve.

Pattern: Central Park Hoodie from KnitScene Fall '06. This KAL is a good source of info. And the info on Raverly is great, too!

Yarn: Cascade 220, about four and a little bit of a fifth. Color is Lemon.

Needles: #6 and #9

Modifications: I made the bottom ribbing longer, about 5 inches, and made the sleeve ribbing about 2-2 1/2 inches. I might have to go back and re-do the front bands as I didn't pick up the 150 sts and it sort of shows, but right now I'm enjoying it as is.

I have worn it a couple of times for the late evening baseball games. It's been cool here once the sun goes down.

I like your sleeves...

They're finished!!!!


Two different pictures of the sleeves. One with the flash on, which blurs the cables and the one without where you can clearly, if not darkly, see the cabling detail.


I joined the shoulders and then started the hood. Almost there!

Take care! Hopefully by midw-week I'll have this almost finished (at least that's my goal).

WIP Wednesday

I'm slowly working on my CPH. The sleeves of anything seem to take me a long, long, long, long, long time. When I've made some better progress on them I'll take a picture, but for now, you'll just have to picture it in your mind!
My socks are going just as slow. I thought I'd have plenty of time at all these baseball games and practices, but...I seem to get too involved and can't focus on the knitting! The Munchkin (the oldest) has got a great team this year. They're 4-0! He got to pitch last night and did a great job! Didn't let up any hits, and only let up 3 runs toward the end of his second inning! It's such a boost to his self confidence when he pitches well. The LittleOne has back-to-back games this weekend, so we'll see how she does! (I found out last night that she's the only girl in her whole division! Wow! Girl power there!)

Cactus? YooHoo! Cactus!!!! Where Ya' Been?

Here I am! Ever since I made those cowgirl outfits (which looked wonderful on those two lil' cowgirls), I've been seduced by this:

Yes. A sewing machine.

I made this skirt (with material enough to make like four more).

This great tote bag.

And this bag for my MIL's birthday!

But...I've still done some knitting!The back of my CPH! Hopefully by the end of today I'll be at the shoulders and can start the fronts tomorrow! (That's my goal anyway!)

The skirt pattern is from Butterick #B4461.

The bags are both from New Look #6467.

The sewing machine was my mom's! Still works great!

Check out this contest at knittingal's blog!

Tuesday Update

Oh my! I just now realized that I haven't posted for a week! It's just been sort of hectic around here, it's taking me until now to get back into the swing of things. I don't know why, but I feel as if I've been a little, hmm, how should I say, lazy! I have been knitting, but a little slower, I hurt my wrist a couple of weeks back doing something stupid (picking up my tote bag off the floor of the car) and that's slowed me down a bit. I never realized how much we use our wrists/hands for things! I have been working on this hat, in a nice red, Cascade 220 wool. It's slow going because of the small needles, and I'm still not sure if it's going to fit my head! And then last night I decided that I would cast on a sweater for me from the Vogue Knitting Fall 2007 issue -- pattern #8 for those who want to dig into their magazine stash and see. I haven't knitted a sweater for me in a long, long time (see here), or so it seems, but that one was all one piece and pretty basic. A new year, time to expand my knitting! (I'm planning a Central Park Hoodie, too! But I need to find/buy the right yarn!)

Ella's Sweater

Here is the lovely Ella modeling her warm new sweater.

"I like it Mom! Thanks!" (now when is it going to get cold enough to wear it?)

Ella's Sweater: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in forest green heather (2 balls); #7, 8, 9 needles.

Pattern: My own. (If anyone wants it, let me know and I'll write it up, but it is sized for Ella specifically.) Calling it Ella's Cable Neck Sweater.

Now, to the finish the hubby's socks...

Dogs and WIP Thursday

Sad, sad puppy...waiting for Mom to finish her sweater...

The start of Ella's sweater.

(I like how my geranium is blooming right now.)

I know it doesn't look like much right now, and you're asking yourself, how is that little strip of cable going to cover Ella and keep her warm on those cold, dark, bleak winter days? But you'll have to wait, 'cause I've got a plan (at least I think I do).
So, right now, Ella's sweater is one of the three WIP-- dare I tell you the others that are still hanging out in the basket? Okay, you twisted my arm, still working on the hubby's second Eesti sock. I did cast on for it, but all the stitches are still sitting on the one dpn, very lonely and waiting to be worked on (no picture as it's very, very sad).
Also still working on the yoga mat bag, haven't gotten very far with that one (again no picture as it's, again, very, very sad). (You could go here to see the sock who's waiting for a companion, and here to see the yoga mat--it's that dejected little strip of maroon at the top of the picture.)
Hmm...is there anything else WIP? (I'm asking myself here at this point because I'm too lazy to go upstairs to look.) No, I don't think so. But I am planning on starting a hat soon...

October Already!

Wow! I can't believe it's October. It seems like just yesterday we were going on vacation, coming home and school started. Time sure does fly when you're busy!
Since I finished the Fetching gloves, I decided it's time Ella had a sweater. When I get a little further into it, I'll take a picture and show you, but I am using up some stash yarn (but I only had one ball, so I'm going to have to compliment it with a trip to the yarn store).
Now, if you've seen the pictures of Ella, she has a rather long coat, but she still gets cold. She does like to snuggle up on the couch or bed in the blankets. So maybe if she has her own sweater, she won't lie on my fresh from the dryer towels that I fold and put on the couch...nah, she still will.

Hope all have a great day! Happy knitting and happy fall!

The Leaf Tee

Just to show you that pumpkins (at least the plants) will grow in the desert. I tried them in the container this year as I usually get someone (most likely with big ears and a fluffy cotton tail) who likes to munch on the baby sproutlings. If you look back here, you can compare the two pictures.

And, ta da...


...the leaf tee. You can obviously see where I ran out of the lighter color yarn and switched over to a slightly darker hue. I had to crochet around the bottom, I thought I wouldn't mind the curled edge just binding off did, but I didn't like it (and I am not the world's best crocheter by any rate). The idea I got from my Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti. I love this book, it helped me so much when I re-taught myself how to knit when the Munchkin was born.

Pattern: leaf tee from Knitting School Dropout

Needles: US #6 (circular)

Yarn: top part, Brown Sheep Company (I have no idea the color number-- it's turquoise/teal); bottom part, Lion Brand Wool, color dark teal (#178).

Snakey Sunday...

He's sort of hard to see (the Munchkin's camera has a better picture, but I can't find the cord), but that dark shadow right above the bicycle handle was our Sunday visitor! Ella found him slithering across the patio in the backyard Sunday, and then my Hubby found him curled up underneath a table and behind the water guns on the side of the house. The Fire Department came, just a bull snake they said. But still...it was a snake!!! Ewww!!!!

The finished soccer banner -- they won 2-1 on a very, very hot Saturday afternoon!

The LittleOne "won" her game, too. (The won is in quotes, because they "don't" keep score at her age, but they know!) She scored two goals in her first ever game!!!!

And the Hubby's Eesti sock-- I did finish the toe yesterday -- I was having sock remorse, so I finished it. It's a really, really tall sock, I think he's going to wear them as house socks (when I get the other one started and finished)!

I added the darker band of yarn at the bottom of the leaf tee, and I think it will work. I want to do a few inches so that it's not too short on me. I'm going to add a boarder on the neckline of the darker yarn so that it will look like it was intended to have the dark at the bottom (does that make sense?).

And that wraps up my busy weekend in a nutshell. Happy knitting all!!

WIP Wednesday Week Two (Sept)

My WIP's from last week have stalled a bit. I've been working non-stop on the leaf tee, and realized I'm going to run out of yarn, but never fear, I have a plan in mind (see those skeins at the corner of the pict?). I found some Lion Brand Wool in dark teal that will compliment the tee -- it'll have a band of this darker color at the bottom, I just have to figure out if I want to make a stripe to blend them together or just jump right in with the new color...maybe by this weekend I'll have figured it out.
I haven't touched the socks or the yoga bag all week...

Those neon green letters that you see are for the Munchkin's soccer team. Each team makes up a name for themselves, and then a banner is made for the sideline -- this is the third year I've done it, and it's a lot easier this year than it's ever been (thank goodness for the free coloring book pages on the Internet!). The LittleOne is playing, too, but another mom is in charge of that team's banner.

When I've sewed and glued everything on it, I'll show you all! The first game is this Saturday, so it'll have to be done by then!

Saturday Update--WIP Wednesday

A Saturday update on the WIP's, wait until I show the WNC's (works not completed)!

Finished sewing the I-cord trim on the hat last night. Rib and Cable Hat; Sugar 'n' Cream cotton yarn, summer splash. I used one full ball, plus a little bit of another. I like the way the color pooled on this, it looks like it's a self-striping yarn.

A close-up of the lace panel in the leaf tee. I did get to finish the sleeves and am working on the body. It's a quick knit. The picture doesn't do the color justice, it's a deep, turquoisey (is that a word?) teal color. I love it. This pattern is just what the yarn was waiting for!

And now, poor, poor Ella. She's waiting and watching me take the above picts, wanting her walk. Please check out Dogs On Thursday (my button link isn't working yet).

I hope all have a productive and great weekend! Happy knitting (work on those WIP's)!

WIP Wednesday

From right to left: rib and cable hat, sock for husband, yoga bag and leaf tee shirt.

These are my WIP's. I'm starting off September with some different things. Another rib and cable hat for my friend in Colorado (she wanted summer hats, by the time she gets this one, it will be winter, oh, well there's always next summer). But all I have to do is finish the i-cord trim, ie, sew it on. It's from the Knit.1 (spring 2007) issue.

The sock for my husband from Favorite Socks. (Yes, the one I had a problem with last week.) It's the Eesti Trail Hiking Sock (pg 97). But I've tried it on him and it fits rather well, so my revisions worked okay.

The lacy yoga bag from Interweave Knits (summer 2007). My yoga mat needs a home to live in.

And the leaf tee shirt that I saw at aquaknits, but she got the pattern from knitting school dropout. Both are new blogs to me that I've added to my sidebar. Check them out when you've got the time. When I saw this, I just had to knit it and I had the yarn in my stash -- Brown Sheep and Co., turquoise I think. I'll have to dig up the tag later. It's been in my stash for about three years or so, I had bought two skeins and finally just wound them into balls last Friday. I rarely make sweaters for myself, hats, socks and hats seem to be what I do, but I wanted to try this one -- it's going really fast.

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend, and a great football kick off! I love the college football, fall is just around the corner! (I may be able to start baking again, it's been too hot!)

Have a great one!!!!

{Ella wanted me to tell everyone that Mom sewed the Grinch's nose back on and thanks all the dogs whose moms left comments for her! Whine, moan, small woof!} (Ella doesn't really bark, she sort of whine/talks to me.)