This New Year

It is that time of year again.  Everyone you know is reflecting on the past twelve months and projecting into the void in front of them.  I suppose I am too.  This morning I went for a walk in the sunshine to look at the frost. 

It was beautiful, but it was also sad.  It reminded me of home, and of friends too far away to reach.  I used to have such lovely walkie talkies with my girls back in Cali, and I miss them.  But, I have made some wonderful new friends here in the PNW, and I am thankful for them. 

It was indeed a happy new year at my house yesterday, even though we were ALL very tired from our revels.

So heading into this new year I am wishing you love and joy, go soak them up!

Some Autumn Things

Well summer has finally come to an end.  I am actually glad to see it go, I am ready for a new season and new things.  I love the fall, I enjoy leaves changing, pumpkins fattening, apples falling, and boots!  I adore sweaters and hot beverages by the bonfire.  I even enjoy all the rain I know is headed my way.  But I am getting ahead of myself, for now I will enjoy the early autumn activities of picking blackberries, making pies, and nestling in to my cozy home.

I have been so busy this summer that these first few days of back-to-school feel like just the thing to rejuvenate this mommy.  I have started the final deep cleaning before the cold sets in (it is hard to do this when it gets wet here in Washington, so winter isn't the time to clean).  I rearranged my living space yesterday.  The light is terrible this morning, but here are some pictures anyway.

Last night I lit all the candles and we ate dinner by their light, it was so lovely we decided to let them burn for another hour after we finished our meal.  Perfect way to spend an evening with my boys.

Before I moved to Washington 2 years ago my son attended a Waldorf school.  I try to incorporate ideas from that tradition into our home life because he attends a public school now.  One thing I have been wanting to do is a nature table, but it took reading this great blog post from Tinker Lab to get my butt in gear!  Thank you ladies.  My son is nine, so we can have a wonderful variety of items on our table, including things he has collected (he is really big on rocks).  And underneath I can store some of our games, which seem to have expanded beyond the cabinets ability to hold them recently.
 

 

 Along the same lines I also try to keep my son interested in the fiber arts.  He learned to knit and crochet a couple years ago, but it is difficult to keep him interested in these activities.  A few days ago he discovered the Coco the Cat series in Crochet Today magazine, he thought she was the cutest thing ever.  He wanted one so bad I made her up while he was in school Tuesday.  He crocheted her scarf that evening (with much complaining about the difficulty, he was very rusty).  He is very excited about her and wants her to have 100 dresses!  The boy even had the audacity to tell me I should make her a dress a week since I wasn't working on my sweater a month anymore!  From the mouths of babes... so be on the look out for my next sweater, I have a couple that need to be written up, and then I better get back on track for the one a month, I'm being watched!

Happy Valentine's Day?

Well some people love this day, others hate it.  I am personally on the fence this year.  In general I revel in holidays, I enjoy making and giving gifts, I like to decorate, and I love to eat.  But this year St. Valentine just hasn't done it for me.  I am trying to get into the spirit before the munchkin returns from school, so hopefully there will be something fun for dinner, and maybe heart shaped, we shall see.  I think the problem is the head cold I am rockin' it is hard to feel full of love when you are really just full of snot!  I did manage a little token for the hubby.  Nothing says "romance" like chocolates and origami! 

(I would link you to the origami rose instructions, but the site was horrible and crashed at least 15 times while I was making the rose, I will not be recommending them)

Now on with the knitting progress report.  My February Sweater prototype (size Large) is almost done!  I need to add buttons and button holes and that is it, woohooo.  I plan to machine sew the holes so it should be really quick, but I haven't chosen buttons yet, so that could take a few days.  I always have a really hard time finding the right buttons.  I felted the sweater yesterday, and now I need to make some adjustments to the pattern to account for the insane amount it shrank vertically.  But I like it.  Tell me what you think.

Sneak Peek @ February Sweater

Well I have been working hard on my February sweater pattern.  I wanted something sweet and romantic, maybe even a little bit sappy in honor of St. Valentine's Day.  I came up with an idea for a cut-out back with a lace panel in a boxy, boyfriend sweatery cardigan with lots of buttons down the front.  I think I am on the right track, in my head... 

I had no trouble drawing up a design in the first couple of days this month, I had been thinking about it since mid-January.  I swatched up a cut-out heart and thought I had it under control, but the first prototype didn't go well.  I had some trouble with my ease, the first go was half way done when I realized it was a XXL, not a Large.  Lame... but my own fault, I should have seen it coming sooner, I planned for way too much ease.  I like a fitted sweater, but wanted to make this one roomy, I had trouble finding the balance between tent and boyfriend sweater, but I've think I got it right this time.  Here are a couple pictures of the body of the sweater.

I am working on sleeves now, and will be adding the edges and the back panel next week.  Can you see where I am heading?  I will likely tweak the center of the heart a little, I don't like the CO, it draws too much attention to itself.  I think it will be very cute once it is done.  Then I just have to figure out my notes so I can draft the pattern... easy peasy, right?

Goodbye January

Well, it is the last day of January.  I am excited to begin a new month of my sweater challenge, and I am glad I made it to the end of the January Sweater today.  I have a few last minute changes I will be adding to the pattern tonight.  Little things, like the buttons seemed too small at 5/8" so I think I will list 7/8" as an option, and I think 6-7 buttons may be a better choice than 5.  But all in all, I am very happy with my pattern and my three samples.  I do regret getting behind on sample number three, the size small, because I lost my model yesterday and didn't complete the sweater until this evening, but c'est la vie.  It is done and I've learned a lot.

I want to thank my gorgeous friend Joell for posing for these lovely pics of my sample the other day.  I am so lucky to know such beautiful and generous people! 


The sweater knits up beautifully in a size small, medium, or large.  Sadly my mannequin can't vamp, but here is a photo of the small sample.  I am still looking for more test knitters, so let me know if you would like to make this free pattern.

Now on to February!  I am thinking hearts and lace...

Snow Day!

I knew it, no school today, it is officially a snow day here in Everett, WA.  I was awakened at 5:45 am to the automated phone call alerting me to the fact that I could sleep in, oh wait they woke me up. **sigh**  But being the sleep hungry girl I am I managed to go back to sleep after only an hour of staring at the ceiling.

Fast forward to 8:45 am when my panic stricken child comes bolting into the room with a look of utter horror on his little face.  He thought he missed the bus and it was the end of the world.  Luckily those four little words (it's a snow day) reassured him and bought me another 30 minutes in bed while my husband brewed the coffee.  Beautiful.  Just in case you think I am lucky to sleep so late I should mention I didn't get to bed until 2 am, so I am very happy with my interrupted 8 hours.

It is still snowing steadily.  We are looking forward to building a snowman if it ever let's up.  I thought we should buy a snow shovel the other day, but then I forgot when we went to Lowe's.  I guess we will have to make due with the tools on hand.  I am thinking there could be some frost bitten fingers by the time Frosty is born.  Oh well, live and learn, this is only my second winter living in snow country.  At least we bought an ice scraper this year.

I started back to work on my January Sweater yesterday.  The changes I made in my pattern are looking good, and I am double checking the grading for size medium as I go.  I went with a nice golden yellow, I think this one will be for me.  I still need test knitters so I have joined a local group on Ravelry.  Hopefully I will be able to find some willing knitter's in my area so I can see the results in person.  If you want to get a cute (free) pattern feel free to comment here or over @ Ravelry I would love to know you!

My January Sweater

I have completed the first January sweater.  I didn't block it yet, so I suppose it isn't technically complete, but it is really close.  I am still waiting for my book to arrive so I can get the promised tricks that make blocking worth it.  I am really lazy about finishing projects so I never block them, but I am going to start. 

It is freezing today, literally, there is ice in all the outdoor water bowls.  Don't worry my dog likes to eat the ice so he won't go thirsty.  But I digress, the cold made it hard to get any decent pictures of the sweater.  I was impatient and my feet were freezing!  So here are some crappy pictures instead. Yay!

 

Now I need to type up the pattern and make two more samples.  I have one minor change to make in the cable pattern, but other than that it is all pretty good.  I like it.  If this were actually my size I would keep it.  I will photograph the next size down when I complete it, that one will be mine.  I need to decide on a color...  Maybe red, I don't have a red cardigan.  

Please let me know what you think about the sweater, or what color I need, or cold feet, whatever.  And remember this is my first attempt at writing a sweater pattern, so be gentle with me.

365, 52, 12, hmmmmm...

It is the beginning of a new year and many of us are considering some sort of daily, weekly, or monthly project.  I have been trying to decide on something that isn't insane, which is hard for me, since I tend toward the crazy.  I am pretty sure I want a knit/crochet project.  Obviously a 365 wouldn't work well, I knit a lot, but a project a day would be impossible since I do not use a knitting machine, and I do not make small projects.  That leaves me a choice between a 52 weeks project, or a 12 months project... tough choice.

A 52 sweater project is really tempting, but as I said I am trying to steer away from insane, and this is borderline.  I know I could complete a sweater every week, but I may not be able to get anything else done, and my family might suffer.  Not to mention the expense of the yarn involved in this one, oh wait, I mentioned it.  I could easily do a 12 sweater project, but that doesn't seem inspiring enough to keep me interested. 

The sweater I am currently working on is my own design, and I want to do more of that in the future.  If I am going to design some sweaters I need to learn how to grade a pattern and get myself some test knitters.  If I do 12 months of sweater design I will force myself to get those two things done.  It sounds logical, right?  So that is the project: 12 months of sweaters, designed by me, graded to at least S, M, and L, and test knit if possible (I will be flexible on this part since I can't control anybody else).

My sweater for January is a 3/4 sleeve cropped cardigan with cables down the front.  I am half way through the pattern, knitting as I go.  Today I will complete the ribbed hem and neckline, then it is on to the sleeves.  Wish me luck, and let me know if you want to test knit anything!