It Came!

My package from the International Swap ("Colors of Spring") arrived today from Germany. (*yeah!*)

It contained one very bright, very "springy" green scarf in fun fur!!

I don't believe I've ever seen this color in yarn before and I think it will look OUTSTANDING against my black coat!!!

Thank you Katja!

(p.s. The flowery card is her postcard to me!)

I Would Have Been Knitting...BUT

The weather had me imprisoned in a never-ending cycle of shoveling and scooping!

We got socked with a big winter storm over the weekend. It started with thunder and lightning on Friday which turned over to sleet/ice overnight. Woke up to about 1/4 inch of ice on Saturday morning and by noon it turned over to snow which continued until Sunday night. In the end we got about 10" of it! We kept going out to shovel every 2 inches or so in order to keep up and not kill our backs. (It was the wet, heavy stuff!)

I did actually finish the pair of KnitPicks socks I was doing in the s'mores colorway and I started a quick pair of slipper socks in 100% bamboo DK weight on US #5 dpns. Pictures later. I've got to get kids to school (we had a late start), finish scooping the driveway and front walk for the mailman and get to work on my project for the newspaper.

Getting the Knack of It

Here it is, sweater #2. This one is done top down following the Daisy Cardigan pattern from The Garter Belt. The pattern was done by Marie Grace Smith.

This one is a size 4T and should fit my niece beautifully! I still have to block it (hoping it will work with this acrylic yarn!!) and figure out closures (debating about what to use....I-cord loops and buttons....ribbons to tie??) and whether or not to embroider the flowers along the bottom.

I did switch up the pattern a bit and did 5 rows of garter stitch at the bottom before the picot bind off. I thought it would match the garter edging along the fronts and neck line and prevent the curling which you can see happened on the sleeves.

Also, you'll notice I completed a hat to match the first sweater for the yet-to-be-born nephew. (See post before this one!)

Now I must force myself to go back and finish the second sock in that lovely S'mores colorway. The Knit Picks yarn is really wonderful to work with. I've just had my worst case of SSS (second sock syndrome) EVER!!! [Dare I wonder if I knit too many pairs for Christmas!???! Eeegad!]

Well, I've got stitches to knit and photos to process for my magazine deadline at the end of the week.

Happy Knitting and Shooting!

She Shoots......She SCORES!!!

Ok, this phrase always reminds me of watching hockey (although admittedly the pronoun is usually "he" in that situation!) It happens, as you may know or guess, each time a player makes . . .

. . . what??? . . .


. . . oh yes.....ahem.....

A GOAL!!!!!!

(Drum roll please!)

I have made one of my 2007 knitting goals!

(cue rauckus applause!)

I completed a "5 Hour Baby Sweater" this morning, thus fulfilling my goal of making a sweater. It is intended for my yet-to-be-born nephew who is due end of March/beginning of April. (If you're reading this say a quick prayer for my SIL who is having very premature labor and is trying to have bed rest at home with a very active & sweet 3 year old dtr!!!)

Without further ado, here's the sweater!



Now we just hope the baby will hold out another month before insisting on joining us!
I will make a hat to match.

And something for big sister too!

Experienced Knitters Needed

Okay, I finished my first ever toe-up sock:




I generally happy with the way it turned out, I guess. (Still can't get past my cuff down prejudice though!) What I'm not so happy about, and quite sure I totally goofed up is the heel (never having done this sort of short row with wraps before.)
This is what one side of the heel looks like:



And here is the other side (which, I'm sure you'll notice, looks completely different from the other side!! argh!):



So my question to all you more experienced knitters it this: what the heck did I do wrong??? Or is it normal for heels to look like this??

In one pattern I looked at, it said your heel would look nicer if you lifted the wrap up and over the stitch before you knit them together. I gave it a try, but honestly I'm not quite sure I was doing it right. Plus then I discovered (much too late) that on the double wrapped stitches I was supposed to lift BOTH wraps--which I didn't do because I only noticed this little helpful tip at the very end of the pattern after I was done with the heel!!!

If anyone can offer me some wisdom before I get to the heel on sock number two (I'm just past the toe and working my way up the foot.....) I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks a bunch! & Happy Knitting!