She's Here!

Our new little granddaughter made her entrance into the world yesterday in the wee hours of the morning.  We weren't expecting her to arrive quite so soon, but we're delighted that she's here.  I'm also delighted that all of the ultrasounds were correct and that she is, in fact, a girl!!  A healthy girl at 7 lbs. 4 oz. with light brown hair.  Her name is Ruth Anne and you'll have to take my word that she's adorable.  My son and daughter-in-law are very protective of all the children and so we don't post pictures of them, however, I do have proof that she is here.



See those cute little feet?  I guess she didn't get the memo that she was supposed to wait to arrive until after I finished her blanket!  It doesn't matter though, since she did come home wrapped in the most beautiful lavender blanket made by her other grandma! 

I want you all to know that I did thoroughly check her hands and fingers and I'm positive she'll have no trouble holding a pair of knitting needles!

Sheep in the Meadow

I thought I would share a little soaker I made for the new little granddaughter (due date is this Thursday!!).  I used just a basic soaker pattern like the free Snapdragon one and did my own thing!

The yarn is some Cascade 220 that I had in my stash.  I'm not sure how I ended up with the pink but there it was!   As you can see, I knit part way down and then switched to a pretty green to finish it off.  The lambs were duplicate stitched after it was done.



I couldn't resist adding one black sheep, or in this case, gray sheep, going the opposite way on the backside.  I randomly embroidered the little flowers with lazy daisy stitches for the leaves and french knots for the blossoms.  I also embroidered french knots for the sheeps' bodies, just to make them look woolly.

I'll post the chart for the lambs in the sidebar under "Miscellaneous" for anyone who might like it.  The pattern repeats over 12 stitches, so you may have to add or subtract extra stitches to space the sheep out on your project.  I think they'd look really cute along the base of a sweater too!  Or you could knit some mittens and have a little lamb on each mitten facing each other.  Lots of possibilities.  Wish I had lots of time to explore them all!

A Marathon

Yay!  I did it.  I finished knitting the replacement blanket in record time.



It took me two and a half days of constant knitting, but I managed to finish it by last Sunday.  The whole family was gathering for a celebration of the three January birthdays in the family and I thought it would be so great to be able to hand it over to Mickey much sooner than he expected.  As a matter of fact, when I gave it to him, he just looked at me and asked if it was really done!  When he discovered that it was, it never left his side the whole day!  I don't know when I've ever seen so happy!  It made me want to cry just looking at him. 

So, for those who are interested in the details.  I used about 3 1/2 balls of Sirdar's Snowflake Chunky yarn.  I cast on 91 stitches with U.S. Size 11 needles and knit 18 rows.  Then I did a kind of checkerboard pattern.  I knit 14 stitches then 9 stitches in purl, 9 stitches in knit, etc. and ended with 14 knit stitches.  On the next row, I knit 14 stitches, then knit 9 stitches, purled 9 stitches, etc. and knitted the last 14 stitches.  I repeated this for 12 rows, then I alternated the blocks for the next 12 rows, until it was long enough, and finished with 18 knit rows.  Really simple.  You don't see much stitch definition with this yarn, so there wasn't really a point of doing anything fancy.  The blanket ended up being 40" by 38".  A perfect size to snuggle under your chin, especially if you're young!

Can you believe that I forgot my camera to record the moment??  It doesn't matter, because that grin will remain in my memory forever!

Good Bye and Good Riddance!

Thank goodness last year is over.  I'm so happy to move on.  With my husband's illness, my sister-in-law's unexpected death, Thanksgiving, Christmas and all it's stress, it's no wonder I ended up with bronchitis and pneumonia!  Happily, I'm back, but way behind both in blogging and projects.

I managed to finish knitting the new blanket for our soon-to-be granddaughter, but I haven't had a chance yet to block it or to run in all those ends, so you'll have to wait for that.  I'd like to share with you how I put it all together, but that's material for a later date.  Instead, I thought I would just share my three quick Christmas projects.  As a general rule, I don't knit for my family, but this year, I made an exception. 

First I made a pair of fingerless gloves for my daughter-in-law.  She has a new winter coat, and I thought she might like a new pair of mitts to go with it.  The pattern is Mitt Envy.  This is my go-to pattern when I want a quick pair that also looks really nice!  Unfortunately, they don't look quite as nice on my wide hands as they do on Emily's slender ones, but remember it was a gift so I had to be the model!

The yarn is by the former company, Sereknity, which is now called Mad Color Fiber Arts.  It's their Good Harbor yarn made up of wool and seacell.  I'm not sure exactly what seacell is, but I do know that the yarn was wonderful to work with and it has a very pretty sheen.  This color was "Dragonfly".  I made the cuff longer and I lengthened the start of the thumb gusset to accommodate her long fingers.  I also reversed the direction of the cable.  For some reason, the cables in the original pattern bother me!

I also knit a hat for my son out of Malabrigo worsted.  The pattern is a freebie on Ravelry called "One Row Hat".  The color is Cypress which is a beautiful dark green.  In this picture, which I took outside so I could get an accurate color, the hat looks like an old gray. Grrrr! 

Anyway, trust me that it was much nicer in person!  Wasn't it nice of husband to model it?  He didn't mind because he knew he wouldn't have to wear it!  He's strictly a baseball cap kind of guy!

Finally, I saved the best for last.  We took my two older grandsons to a Christmas tree shop before the holiday and they each picked out new ornaments for their tree.  Because my youngest couldn't come, his older brothers also picked out an ornament for him.  He loves pandas (as you long time readers know), however, all the ornaments were of blown glass.  Before Marty could even see what his brothers had bought, it slipped and broke into a million pieces!  I decided to replace it with something that wouldn't break.

This was a cute pattern that I found on Ravelry and it's also available here.  It was a very quick knit, however, I thought it really needed some arms, so I just did a couple of small I-cords and sewed them to the shoulders.  I also crocheted a little scarf.  

It's just some dk weight yarn scraps left over from the Nemo mittens I made him last January.

I'm now in a desperate knitting frenzy.  We had a major disaster in the family a couple of days ago.  I received a tearful call from my second grandson, Mickey.  Remember this past summer when I showed you a picture of this:

It's his security blanket that he's had since he was born.  Old, ratty, and full of holes.  I had offered to replace it as I still had tons of the yarn left, but he was content with it just as it was.  Well, his older brother and a friend were playing around and it ended up ripped in two.  Mickey was devastated and so, knowing that Grandma made the first one, would she now make a second one? 

Actually, the conversation was kind of funny.  It went "grandma, how long will it take?"  Me:  "I'm not sure, blankets take a long time to knit."  Mickey:  "Yeah, but how long?"  Me:  "Maybe seven days".  Mickey:  "Oh, so a week (he's smart)"  Me:  "Maybe, but it might take longer."  Mickey:  "So you'll bring it with you when I see you next week, okay?"  Even with big needles, this yarn is a pain to knit with.  It's Sirdar's Chunky Snowflake and it sticks to itself and it's tough to work with.  You can't really get a rhythm going.  Still, I keep hearing that teary little voice, so that will spur me on.  Sigh. (Don't expect to hear from me for at least "a week"!)

And the winner is. . .

I attended the New England Sheep and Wool Festival last month in West Springfield, MA.  This is the second year they've held it there and it was so much fun.  I like it even better than Rhinebeck.  It's just the right size and there are tons of wonderful vendors there.  One of the vendors was the Discontinued Brand Name Yarns (DBNY) booth.  I signed up for their free emails and free patterns.  You should definitely check them out as they literally have hundreds of free patterns for all yarn weights.  Oh and did I mention that they also have fantastic deals on brand name yarns?  For Black Friday they had a special event whereby one lucky shopper would receive all their purchases for the weekend free!  They put a special card in with one order and, as you might have guessed, I won it!!  I had spotted a sale on my beloved Tofutsies and so I snapped up four skeins at less than half price. If only I had known I was the winner, I would have picked up lots more!  LOL!!  You do have to keep a sharp eye out if you want a bargain, as their inventory does move out quickly!  Still, I'm just thrilled, especially since I felt so guilty buying something for myself this time of year.  (Well, only a little guilty!)

On the knitting front, the blanket is continuing to grow.  I've finished another row, but already I'm starting to think about another project.  I did cast on for some baby socks, but only because I might need a quick portable project. (yeah, right!)  I'm really trying to keep my focus on the blanket and get it done before it becomes a chore!  In the meantime, I'll show you some socks I finished up over the past few weeks.  You do want to look at something, right?

These green ones are the Lightly Textured pattern from Kathleen Taylor's Big Book of Socks. They're done in Tofutsies (what else) and I did an eye of partridge heel, just for a change.

This pattern is the Purl Bump pattern also from Kathleen's BBOS and again in Tofutsies.

Jack has decided that he likes rainbow yarn the best, so I made this pair out of Regia Ringle.  It's a fun pattern from Adrienne Fong called "Send in the Clowns."  I changed it up, just a little, to fit his small feet.  Lots of interesting stitches to keep you from being bored.

This is a little pair that I sneaked in for our little "Suzie" (not her name, but it's what we use until she makes an appearance and properly introduces herself!)  This is a free pattern on Ravelry called " Textured Tootsies.  Again with the Tofutsies! 

Since I'm talking about socks, I thought I would also share a couple of my sock "toys" with you as well.  These are my new stitch markers from Jeanette Jed on Etsy.  As I said before, I just love her markers.  They're so easy to use, lightweight and fairly inexpensive, especially, if you have to keep replacing the lost ones!  This new set is perfect for socks when you get to the decreases for the gussett.  Usually, I can just tell which row I'm on, but every once and awhile, if I'm watching something exciting on tv, or more likely . . .day dreaming, I tend to forget to do the decreases.  These are so easy to use and are a good reminder to pay attention!

She also sells this little set, although I find myself using the other ones most of the time! 

Now where was I?  Okay, two more for show and tell.  This pair I knit with Loops & Threads Luxury Sock yarn.  I picked it up at Michael's and thought I would just try it.  I have to say that I hated the colorway and I was ready to just pitch the whole project, but Mickey said he really liked it, so I decided to finish them up.  The pattern is called "Gluttony" and it's from the book Sock Club.  I really enjoyed the pattern, even if the yarn didn't thrill me, and I'm sure I'll knit it again.

Lastly, here are another pair of rainbow socks for Jack.  This pair is knit with Knit Picks Felici in the "Rainbow" colorway. (how appropriate!)  The pattern is called Fundamental Top Down Socks by Figheadh Yarnworks.  This was another fun pattern, although I did have to pay attention. 

So much for socks (for now) and for procrastinating.  I guess I better get back to the blanket.  I do like knitting it, I do like knitting it, I do like knitting it. . .

What blog?

I know I've been absent for quite awhile now.  Thank you for all the inquiries and the concern that several of you have extended.  November has not been an easy month. My sister-in-law, Marge, was killed in an automobile accident in Pennsylvania the week before Thanksgiving.  When someone knocked at my door at 10:30 at night, I didn't expect to see the police standing there with such terrible news.  She lived alone and her only relatives are my husband and his brother.  Needless to say, we had to spend the next day packing and planning for a 6 hour trip.  In just the matter of a few days, we had to talk to the coroner, the State Police, the towing company, the fire and rescue squad, the funeral home, the priest, the executor and the neighbors.  In between, we had to plan a funeral, hold calling hours and go through her entire house.  Usually, there's a slight bit of luxury of time to deal with the aftermath of a death, however, since we live so far away, everything had to be wrapped up in this one visit. My husband's brother was unable to make the trip, so all of the decisions fell on our shoulders. Fortunately, Marge was a very well organized person and left nine pages of instructions with the copy of her will!  We pretty much knew just want she wanted as she had even preplanned her funeral right down to the music.  The best thing she did, however, was to write her own obituary!  She was a very accomplished and educated woman.  There's no way that we would have been able to have known all her dates, accomplishments, awards, etc.  (I think there is a very good lesson there, even if you feel well, you should write your own obituary just for the sake of others!! ) We may never know what she was doing driving at night or what caused the accident on that dark country road, but we're grateful for all the kind and caring people that made this ordeal bearable.

On a lighter note, when I was going through her office, I discovered a bag of Cascade 220 Superwash yarn!  I knew that she used to knit and apparently, she must have decided to pick it up again.  I have no idea what project she was planning, but I think I'll make some mittens or hats for the grandsons out of it, as a final gift from their great-aunt.  She also had some really old knitting books and in one, there was a pattern for an adorable baby sweater.  My husband told me I should knit that for our new granddaughter!

So, in short, that's why I've been away, but I have been knitting.  I have lots of projects to show you, but let's start with my most recent first.  I've actually begun a blanket.  I've been planning it in my mind for months, but since time is starting to run short, I decided it was time to get my act together.  I'm using Plymouth Encore, an acrylic and wool blend.

It's a very pretty fern green. WEBS had a sale on it last April (I told you I've been planning this for awhile!) and I picked up an entire bag of it.  I wasn't sure how much I would need and I didn't want to run out!  I've used this yarn before and it's very easy care which is just what my daughter-in-law needs!

I decided to keep it on the small side.  I'm using twelve designs.  The outside borders are 13 stitches wide, each design is 27 stitches and the inside borders are 9 stitches.  That made a cast on of 125 stitches.  Here's a picture of what it looks like after 3 days of on and off again knitting:

You might recognize the horse and the puppy patterns.  See how carefully I avoided showing you the square on the left?  That's a new pattern that I haven't posted yet!  Actually, I think there are four brand new designs that I'll be using.  This blanket does have a theme so I needed to come up with a couple more animals to have it work out!  I'm not a fan of large projects, so I hope that by posting it, I'll have the incentive to stick with it.  If I start slacking off, you can hold my feet to the fire!

Better late than never!

Recently, i hosted another KAL for the Monthly Dishcloth Group on Yahoo.  I'm a little late in posting the pattern.  My husband is quite ill (he'll be fine, but it's going to take awhile), and I've had family staying with me waiting for power to be restored to their home.  As many of you might know, our area was devastated by a massive and unexpected snowstorm.  Personally, we were lucky and were spared the power outages, but my son and his family were without utilities for nine days!  Needless to say, life around here has been "fun" but hectic!  On top of all this, I had to remember to post rows for the KAL.  What's that expression?  "Timing is everything"?

In any event, here is the elusive pattern.  It's called "A Peacock for Tunie".  Tunie is a good friend who lives in Australia and raises peacocks.  She has been very patiently waiting for me to release this pattern so she can share her own projects.  Rumor has it that she's even knitted a reverse peacock.  She has them left and right.  Kind of like her home!