Sad Endings, New Beginnings

I was so proud of myself. After my original Learn to Knit class at Ewe-nique Knits in Royal Oak, I joined the Wednesday night knitting circle and took on a big beautiful project -- a cardigan using 3 different colors of yarns.

Alas, I can't find the original pattern or the yarn information but here is a close-up of the pattern:

Beautiful right? Here's how it looks in pieces:

The problem? These are the pieces of a beautiful cardigan post-knitting, post-seaming and finishing. What happened? Well, I knitted up the medium size because I'm a medium size, right?
So I sewed everything up and what happened?
It was huge on me! Not just a little big -- it was BIG!
But after all that hard work and effort I wasn't going to let this go to waste --- so I pawned it off on my mother who is more of a large...
Her response... it will still too big!
So she has faithfully held on to the sweater, not wanting to hurt my feelings, but not really wanting to wear it either.
A couple of days ago, she gave it back.
We're going through a yarn shortage here -- my niece is living with us at the moment and she is a knitting FIEND! I've shared a good share of my stash to keep her busy, but the truth is... we're almost out of yarn!
So last night, giving up my cherished sweater that nobody was going to weart, we started frogging it in search of beautiful, yummy yarn that will someday take on a new life as something else.

Dreaming of summer....

It's February, it's still cold and I'm counting down the days to spring because it's the only thing that is going to get me through this month!

As a member of the Anny Blatt Lovers on Ravelry, I've been perusing their spring/summer catalog (you can find it here) and am just loving their offerings!

They've added a few new colors to their Victoria line that are just sumptuous...

I'm particularlly in love with the Cerise and Japonais and am thinking that this ribbon yarn would make a wonderful summer tank top!

I also fell for their Vianney pattern that looks just so soft and comfy....

-- and I definitely love the color.. It's made with Anny Blatt's Japonais - Victoria, Angora Super and Muguet.

What inspires you?

The Dropsies

So I took a break from Sylvi to work on this drop-stitch scarf for my sister-in-law and I discovered muscles I didn't know existed!



I'm not a wimp and not THAT out of shape, but this pattern calls for a ton of Yarn Overs and I'm using my arms in knitting in a whole new way. And slowly, but surely, my body cried "Ouch!"

Here's where it hurts:

When it comes to knitting I do it in the English style which means I'm a "thrower" and my right hand and arm do all the work! As the aches came on I've tried silly ways to modify my style, propping up pillows under both my arms and anything else you can think of, but it's just been getting worse and worse.

So now it's reversi time -- I took a break from the scarf to finish the second sleeve of my Sylvi coat -- it's knit mostly in seed stitch which seems to be easier on the body!

Drop Stitch Daze

I am just loving this pattern for the Easy Drop Stitch Scarf!

This is my first drop stitch project and it's a lot easier than I thought it would be.

Here's the project picture from Ravelry:

I decided to use this Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in the Tuscan colorway. Wound up it looks like this:

So I cast on two nights ago and after a brief hiccup, I knitted a good five inches last night. The pattern calls for repeats that are really easy to remember and after a few rows I was off and running!

The scarf looks a little unkempt, but I'm convinced that after I wash it and block it, it will really open up!

Inspiration Credit

I found it! I read about the Easy Drop Stitch Scarf in Melody's blog at http://www.knitphomaniacs.com/

Faces of February

I don't know what that groundhog saw today, but here in metro Detroit the first day of February has brought us the gift of warm weather... 45 degrees! woo hoo!

The snow is melting -- Rupert the dog can finally move around the backyard in less than stomach-high snow and the Bird Girl has lost her snow cap (see pictures below).

Something about the warm temps, not having to wear two layers and not even wearing socks has got my mind spinning (knitting?) with ideas...

Oh yes, Sylvi is still in progress. I've finished one sleeve and started the next (That is Nikita, a.k.a. 2 of 5) in the picture. Knitting Kitty... Kitty Knitting....




But my timeline on Sylvi is long... next fall is my goal.... so I need to break things up with little projects. Reading someone's blog, I can't remember whose (sorry :( ) I saw this great pattern for the Easy Drop Stitch Scarf... read the instructions and determined I could knit this up pretty easily in front of the TV without too many opportunities for errors.




So I went searching through my stash and decided up this Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Tuscany -- I'm excited to see how it will turn out!

Of course I can knit without a recipient in mind so I've settled on this for my sister-in-law Kelly. (Well, she's not REALLY my sister-in-law, but that's another story.) I'm always talking about my knitting and what I'm making for who, but I've never made anything for her so I figure this should make up for things!

Cowl'd & Frosty Morning

Well, I just loved Kelly's Cowl’d and Frosty Morning pattern!

I could have knitted this up in one night, but I got distracted so it took me two. I've put the cowl in a gift bag and left it for Julie the mail carrier.

Sorry for the quality of the pictures -- I decided to use my phone's camera just to get the pix really quick before I packaged it up!

Julie the Mail Carrier

Sometimes we don't realize how the smallest human connections can mean so much.

We've lived in our house in Royal Oak for 12 years now and we've always had the same mail carrier. Her name is Julie. Six days a week Julie would come bearing the fruits of the U.S. Postal Service -- sometimes good mail (magazine, personal letters & cards), sometimes bad mail (bills & junk mail). But there she was every day trudging along her route on my street no matter the weather.

When it was 95 degrees, I'd offer her some water. In the freezing temps, I'd offer her coffee or hot chocolate.

Over the years we shared our families goings on -- jobs found, jobs lost, her parents illness, my mother-in-laws passing.

Even Rupert, our dog, got attached to her. Rupert likes to lay on top of an arm chair in the bay window facing our yard. In the summer, she would pass by the window and say, "Hey, Rup!" She's the only stranger, actually, who he wouldn't bark insanely at. We always knew if Julie was on vacation or off sick because Rupert would go crazy barking. If I happened to be around when Julie came by, I'd let Rupert out the front so they could visit for a minute before she continued on her route.

The other day I was out shoveling snow when Julie came by and she gave me the bad news... well, bad news for us, good news for her. The post office finally reduced her route after 10 years of delivering mail and our route was one that she cut. Starting in February we'll have a new carrier. I'm sure he/she will be just fine, but we're going to miss Julie.

So I decided I wanted to make her a going away present -- a cowl to keep her warm on her new route.

After researching patterns on Ravelry, I settled upon Kelly's Cowl’d and Frosty Morning. It's a simple pattern that I know I can knit up in a couple of days in front of the telly, and it matches the Tahki Yarns Bunny
Print yarn that I was gifted this summer.

I hope she likes it... I'll let you know.

I forgot to mention....

This was my favorite Christmas gift from our friends Dean and Nancy

Crosspatch Hat

Made this hat for a friend of mine who has kidney cancer and has to go through chemo. I just love this pattern! It's easier then it looks and only took a couple of nights!
The pattern is by Elizabeth Morrison and published at Knitty.com -- it's called the Crosspatch Hat. I used Blue Sky Alpacas Olive and Dungaree Blue Worsted Hand Dyes. Next up is one for the hubby!

Extreme Knitting - How to Hand Knit a Mattress

This is just crazy!!

Bird Girl

Bird Girl in Summer.....

Bird Girl in Winter.....

What else is there to say?

I'm thinking babies!!!!

No, I'm not pregnant.

But my stepson and his wife (aka Boy and Girl) just may be thinking of trying to get pregnant this year and finally make us grandparents!

With that hope in mind, I've decided I'm going to start knitting baby clothes -- gender-neutral of course!

After researching patterns on Ravelry, I've come up with my first two projects.

The Baby Berry Hat

and

The Tomato Baby Beanie

Both patterns are available for free to all...

Yes, there are plenty of patterns out there for sweaters, hoodies, booties, etc. but these are just so darn cute (and gender-neutral) that I can't resist them!

Do you have any favorite baby patterns? Share them please!

OK, cold night. Time for comfort food.... Sloppy Joes. Here's my mom's recipe...


1 lb. hamburger
1 lrg onion
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 c. ketchup
1 c. water
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. paprika
1-2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
several dashes Tabasco
salt and sugar to taste

Brown burger, onion and celery in skillet.
Drain fat.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer at
least 20 minutes until celery and onion
are tender and sauce is thickened.

Brrrrrr.....

Okay, I grew up in northern Michigan where we went to school in the winter (when school was in) wearing layers upon layers... long johns (top & bottom), jeans, 2 pairs of socks, a turtleneck, a shirt and a sweater. Not great for showing off your figure, but definitely kept you warm!

I remember when we would have snow days for days on end, I would get cabin fever and actually walk into town to my girlfriend's house in the middle of snow storms and 4 ft. snow.

Well, after 25 years in metro Detroit ("The South"), I've lost my northernness, my thick blood, my ability to tolerate cold temperatures.

Woke up today and it was 3 degrees -- currently, midday, it is 14 -- woo hoo! I'm freezing my butt off and so are The Kids -- The Kids being 5 cats, a dog and a bird. Witness picture below. Sofia and EZ cuddling together which NEVER happens.

Sofia, right, EZ the Burmese, left ( aka "3-of-5" and "1-of-5", respectively for you Trekkies)

Rupert, the dog, won't even go out unless he really has too.

Meanwhile, Sylvi survives and cuff is done and the sleeve is actually in the making! No going back now!

Sylvi Obsession

Well, it's freakin' freezing here in metro Detroit! We're at our high of 14 degrees for the day with a forecast of a low of -9 -- yikes! We've had 37.5" of snowfall so far this season -- the most we've had in a longtime.
For those of you who don't get snow, don't want snow, don't remember what snow looks like -- I'm offering up this pic of my backyard taken this morning through a storm door window from the warm comfort of my kitchen! Enjoy, gloat, do whatever moves you!
So, after my requisite 3 hours of looking for a job on the Internet (found 1 to apply for, which makes it a productive day here in our island of economic depression called Michigan), I am finally free to ponder all things knitting and Nothing But Sylvi!

So this three-part tale....

Cuff #1

After much research and discussion with others on Ravelry, I decided to knit the small size but on 10 1/2" needles.
So I cast on and knitted the 14" according to the pattern and created finished the cuff with the 1" overlap.
Then I decided I didn't like the overlap.
So I ripped it out and started over.

Cuff #2

I cast on again and knitted to 13", stitched the ends together and happily picked up my 39 stitches, and I was off and running in seed stitch land.
Meanwhile, I was still obsessing about sizing. I definitely think (maybe) that the small is the right size for me. I'm 5' 4", 115 lbs and would like to wear this sweater in spring and fall, but wanted to make sure there was room for a turtlenect underneath. That's why I decided to go with the 10 1/2" needles instead of 10" needles -- to give me a little extra room.
And I kept monitoring the Sylvi KAL on Ravelry and with post I read this little voice kept nudging (screaming?) at me, "This sweater is going to be too big the way you're going!"
I put my arm through the cuff/sleeve -- it did seem pretty big around my wrist. I measured, tried on, obsessed some more and finally decided -- again, definitely, I'm committing to this and not changing my mind.
So I ripped it out and started over.

Cuff #3

Last night, I cast on... AGAIN!
I'm using size 10" needles, strictly following the pattern (except for the cuff overlap, of course). So I'm ready to stitch the ends in again, pick up my 39 stitches and humbly ask the gods for re-entry into seed stitch land and go forth....