More glovies + YH!

Well after making that first pair of gauntlets, I learned of a package being sent to a friend and was asked to contribute. Not wanting to give up the cranberry colored gloves I was hoping to keep for myself, I took up the challenge to knit ANOTHER pair before the "due date"!!!!

I win!

I used the leftover yarn from my sweater. I think they turned out nicely!

Also, tomorrow Designated Knitter and I are going to see the Yarn Harlot in Indy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am super pumped. I am bringing my copy of her book, my pair of first socks (maybe ill make it on the website) and hopefully a sock in progress (gotta get on that tonight, lol)

Hope everyone else had a good weekend... I got to play with my nephews. It rocked. :-)


<3 baby boy <3

Hugs from the big brother!

Gauntlets

Whipped these out not long after the sweater was done... I guess I just needed a small project to "take the edge off"... hahaha



Pattern is Symmetrical Braided Gauntlets, used Rowan Cashsoft Aran on US7's. Love that yarn!

Still a little damp...

But I had to put it on. :-D



Yay :)


Sleeves were a little big, but besides that it fits great! I consider that a huge success for my first sweater. Now the whole world of sweater knitting has opened before me.... ;-)

ITS A MIRACLE

THE HOURGLASS. IS. DONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



(Blocking)

OMG ITS DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Start Date: Like Feb of 2007?!?? Or earlier? WHO KNOWS?
End Date: April 12, 2008
Yarn: 7 skeins of Knit one Crochet Too Parfait Solids in "Dusty Lilac"

YAY!



Yes. It is off the needles. I spend the whole day weaving in ends and kitchenering the armpit holes shut and tacking down the hems and ALL THAT JAZZ. Whew.



But: its BLOCKING. its DONE. I could WEAR IT TO WORK MONDAY OMG!!!!!!!!!!

<3 My First Sweater <3

I am proud.

Oh, and I made this little bear lovie/toy for a friend's little boy:



Yarn: 1 skein of Crystal Palace Puffin in "Dotty Blues" and some scrap black wool for the face.
Pattern: Lion Brand's Bunny Blanket Buddy



Only mod was I didn't knit bunny ears, but fashioned bear ears by just knitting a few rows and then doing a few decreases. It was well received by the little guy (he started chewing on it). Lol.

Not quite ready yet

So I have my hourglass in the yoke, and am decreasing merrily around the shoulders.

Today, while knitting at lunch with my knitting guru/coworker Cynthia, I got the bright idea to "try" my sweater on.

I put the rubber stoppers on my circular, and proceeded to try and wiggle into the sweater. First, cynthia had to come help me pull it on. Second, when cynthia was going to get her camera, the rubber stopper popped off one end of the circular and i lost a few stitches. Third, I couldn't really put my arms down because I need to knit a lot more in the yoke LOL.

But all that aside, I got to try it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


(I am holding one end of the circular cuz that darned stopper flew off)

And more importantly, from the halfway try on I feel that the sweater is going to fit around my middle. The sleeves are a smidge baggy (I even added a decrease and ommitted a few increases) but they will be more comfortable this way.

Now I am even MORE excited to get it done! WOOT!

Also, when is spring coming? Because I am tired of still having to warm my car up in the mornings. Sheesh!

30th

Happy Birthday Greg :)



The present you gave me for my last birthday will forever top anything I could get you! (He got me an engagement ring!)

Hourglass

PROGRESS!

ITS ALL CONNECTED! IN THE YOKE!


(do you SEE the excitement in my eyes??? DO YOU?)

Zomg people, i MIGHT ACTUALLY finish an ADULT SIZED REAL LIFE SWEATER in my LIFETIME.

Knitting gods be praised!

CAKE!

Good thing my nephew was born last week, because next week is my Fiance's birthday!!!!!

I won't post his age online, although I will say it starts with a 3 and ends with a 0. Hahahaha!!! OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well to help celebrate with his family tomorrow, I baked him the bday cake of his choice:

Lemon Cake with Raspberry Mousse.



IT TURNED OUT GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I baked 2 additional "mini cakes" so we each could taste the cake before its debut tomorrow.



I was a bit put off at first, since it uses a store bought cake mix, but it was so easy and had several mix ins that personalized the cake and made it DEELISH! The tart lemon cake is offset by the lightly sweet whipped raspberry cream frosting - and then a layer of raspberry filling in the middle. Just the right amount of texture and flavor.

I was excited to whip actual whipping cream. I believe I achieved "soft peaks" with success, although I really didn't know what I was doing. :-)



I am adding this to my repertoire for SURE!

Auntie x 2!!!!

Guess what! I have a new nephew!!!

Holden was born on Tuesday and he was 7lbs 11oz!!!!!


Isn't he so cute??? Look at that hair!!!!!

I spent a lot of the day helping play with his older brother Cash(who turns 2 in May):

(we were looking at the birds flying outside)

He wasn't really interested in his new brother ;-)

Hope everyone else had a great week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dress Shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went on my first outing to look for a wedding dress yesterday. I took my mom and my future MIL and it was a lot of fun!!!!!!!!!! They are both great helpers/note takers/photographers!!!!!

I really can't post any pics though, can't let the DF see anything yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just thought i would share. It was definitely an exhausting afternoon though, some of those dresses felt like they were made out of drapes! Whew!

Never forget the noro!!!

I forgot... I knit a silk garden beanie on Sunday...


A quick pattern that uses up one skein of Noro silk garden.

I loves it!!!!

It's a miracle!

Yes people, hell hath frozen over...

I have picked up my hourglass sweater.

Originally started in Feb of 2007 or so, it has been ripped out once and restarted, and now I am finally back on it making progress.

The body is knit up to the armpits.


I have started a sleeve!


It is all very exciting around here folks... I might even get to wear it this year! (ha)

I also finished a cute little baby boy hat to go with my blue booties with ties:


It will be a gift set for my fiancee's coworker.

Hope everyone else has nice weather... I am sick of snow!!!!

Time for an intervention...

because I am addicted to booties.

Green pair? done.


Another pair, this time sky blue and with the ties? done.


Sheesh! :-)

Houston, we have a bootie

Isn't it so cute?!????? I want to make 20 of these! lol :-)

Done!

Next baby hat done! Lol... it was pretty easy, I mean I am knitting for newborns so these hats aren't that big!


Made from scraps of DIC leftover from my Rocketry cardigan!

Have a good wednesday everyone!

Baby Knitting Roundup

Welcome y'all to the baby knitting roundup! Yee haw!

Ok... country moment over.

I got a lot of baby knitting done over the past week or so, and good thing... there are lots of little baby boys being born this year!

First up, the easter hat for baby H... who should be born sometime around easter! (Pattern from Itty Bitty Hats)


Next, a bright cotton hat for those summer babies.


Finally, my first pair of booties... super easy and quick!


I have another baby hat on the needles, pics coming soon!

Now im a cooking blog!

Just kidding. I do occasionally post about things I have baked on here. I enjoy baking things a lot. Cooking, I haven't gotten into quite as much.... YET! Lately I have been bored with the usual hamburger helper or whatever I make from a box, so I have been venturing out of my shell.

First concoction I'd like to share is a chicken fried rice:


Precooked white rice, precooked chicken, a frozen veggie blend of carrots and peas, soy sauce, water chestnuts, and some scallions. DELISH!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope it helps me be more adventurous at just throwing things in a pan and learning what combinations taste good together. This dinner was one of the few times where I didn't have an exact recipe I followed. That might not sound very adventurous, but I sure am one to write down recipes exactly and follow them to a T. (Which is more important in baking)

Second creation happened today. On the way home I stopped at Panera on a whim and picked up some pretty foccacia bread. Then went to the grocery store for actual fresh ingredients. The result?


Beautiful and delicious fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomato sandwiches!!!!! I mean, seriously people, look at this sandwich.


Are you drooling yet?

I didnt have a panini grill, so they don't have the trademark "grill lines", but they crisped up nicely in a regular pan with a little olive oil brushed on them, and I tried to squish them down a bit to compress them.

I'd like to specify how FRESH all the ingredients were. I bought real fresh basil leaves, which I now need to somehow eat a pound of that is leftover in my fridge. Smelling the basil, I thought wow! that is powerful, i might not like it much. Boy was I wrong! Lightly chopped and put on the sandwich, MMMM awesome flavor!

The mozzarella was fresh too. As in, little disks of soft mozzarella that came floating in a water or brine or something. They were so pretty!

Here's a shot of the delicious innards:


Woot! This is also a success in my plan to try and incorporate vegetarian meals into my diet. Not that I would ever EVER give up meat (ummmm bacon!) but it is quite healthy and Lord knows I don't eat enough vegetables anyway!

And just so that this doesn't stray too far away from knitting...

I cast off my scarf today at lunch. :-)


Hooray!

PILLOW!!!!!!

Look!!!!! I made a pillow!!! :-D


Its cool to make something I've never made before!


I likes it :-)

Oh!!!! Almost forgot....

I finished my half of my nephew's blanket and my future SIL finished hers...

so I had my own mini sewing up party and TADAAAAAAA...


Blankie! I am gifting it to the little guy this weekend :-)

(Yes I need to work on my sewing up skills, but hey... i'm happy the darn thing is staying together!

Catchup!

So time to catch up on my projects... since I keep updating my ravelry but forgetting to post here!

I finished a hat for greg, one that matches the scarf I made him:


Just a simple hat with a ribbed brim, but he loves it!!! :-D


Also making a scarf for a friend, using the pattern Rainy Day Scarf and some Patons classic wool merino. It is a nice yarn!


I am liking it a lot, but the 32 row repeat is a bit tricky to keep track of (I might have messed up a few parts but heck if I am ripping back LOL)

Also I am making a pillow for my couch! I have always wanted to make a pillow, and finally decided to dig through the stash and knit something up. I am very happy with how it is turning out:


One side is plain grey and the other is whatever yarns i liked together from my stash :-)

I am knitting it in one long strip and sewing up the three sides, and I also did a turning row at the switching point:


Nifty eh??

Also yesterday I got to go to IKEA for the 2nd time this year (Wow... what a year!) and Greg and I picked up this really awesome shelving unit/sofa table:


Woot!!! Storage rocks.

Hope everyone has a good week!