I got a new camera - YIPPIEEEE!!

After about two weeks worth of research and reading through reviews online, I finally made the big decision today about my new camera! And I am stoked! I bought a Canon PowerShot S5 IS. I am in loooooove. It's my first "advanced" digital and I'm still learning, but she does all kinds of neat tricks. Best of all, I can take pictures of myself while looking at myself! No more guessing!

Since I have no brilliant recent FOs, I decided to revisit my Cropped Sweater Jacket shoot. Those old pics really did it no justice. I guess I had this sweater on the brain since my blogger buddy soknitpicky recently finished her version of this cute coat. She did such a great job too!

Yay! I still need to practice with it. I took these quickies using the self-timer. But I am definitely looking forward to many great pics with my new baby!

Mardi Gras and a little knitting

I have been neglecting most of my projects and housework lately while trying to recover from Mardi Gras (see link below). My husband's very large family comes to town and everything else gets put on the backburner. I usually don't participate in it very much on account of our children, but this year I decided to get out and take the kids. We all had a lot of fun!

Here is my sister in law and her husband and little girl dressed for Joe Cain Day:

Lots of people like to dress up and walk in a parade through downtown Mobile. Below, my father in law is holding my little girl. As you can see, she loves beads!

Oliver mostly snoozed in his stroller during the parades. He got his moonpies second-hand, if you know what I mean!

Mardi Gras was a lot of fun this year. I was definitely glad to see it end and have a chance to get back into the normal routine.

I have a couple of projects going on right now. When don't I??!? Much to my displeasure, I completely screwed up my Gallery Jacket. I have decided to set that one down indefintely. I was just knitting away watching House and forgot I was supposed to be doing twisted rib. I got so frustrated with myself that I realized it wasn't worth frogging and re-doing. Maybe I'd be more excited about it if I restart in a nicer yarn. I loved the color I was knitting, but I'm beginning to hate wool-ease.

I hate when that happens! I was really looking forward to this sweater. I guess it happens eventually to everyone.

Anyway, here is my progress on the Leaf Tee. This pattern is yet another reason why I truly love Ravelry. It has been a huge source of inspiration for me. I'm about halfway done, but I need to get with it if I want to be able to wear this one. Our summers here in Mobile make wearing anything wool downright impossible.

The yarn I chose for this sweater does not photograph well - Euro Yarns Peru Luxury DK. It either looks too violet or too brown. It's actually a plum/eggplant shade. It's very earthy and feels exquisite! It's probably one of the nicest yarns I have knit so far. I may pick up stitches around the neckband to eliminate the rolling. But I think I like it that way.

I am happy to say that I've recently added a few goodies to my stash, but I'm fearing a knitting slump as the season changes. I've been looking for more spring/summer pieces to try. It's a gamble though to order yarn sight-unseen. I miss having a real yarn store here. Business venture?!?!

Before I Learned to Knit

I have always loved making things. Ever since I can remember I have been called "crafty". My husband, bless his heart, has dealt quite nicely with having a house full of everything from paint and fabric to yarn and beads. Before I learned to knit (also before I became a mother of three) I was obsessed with jewelrymaking. One summer I even earned a pretty good bit of money making custom jewelry.


To be honest, I have been so into knitting lately that I had forgotten how much I loved my beads. They got relegated to the top of my closet (right beside a plethera of faux florals). Knitting became an easier, less cumbersome hobby for me and I just rolled with it.


I don't exactly recall why, but at some point in the last few days, I started jonesing for some new necklaces. So, tonight I decided to pull down those boxes and look through my stuff. Isn't it the greatest feeling to rediscover your treasures after long forgetting exactly what they are?!?! The hubby and two oldest kids went to Mardi Gras tonight so I had some peace and quiet around the house. Here's what I came up with:






That's the pendant anyway. The goal was to be able to match pretty much any color. Honestly, it had been so long since I'd looked at any of it that I wanted to use a little of everything. It's so hard to find good lighting in my house at night. So I whipped out the old "flip the book open" backdrop. It's a Webster's dictionary opened to a random page.


Here is the necklace on:

I wish I could've gotten a better shot. Maybe I will try during daylight to get the detail of it. I love it!

Okay, now I have to get dressed and go somewhere tomorrow so I can wear it!

Here's one more look:

Yay for rekindling an old relationship, and a little change of scenery!

Happy New Year!

A couple of projects later...





In true fashion, I'm only a couple of weeks late on that one! That's me though. Anyway, I'd like to share my first FO of 08 - Gretel. I was working on her right after Christmas, but I didn't officially draw up the last stitches until after the first of the year. This was quite monumental for me since I don't even wear hats. I've worn this one though! I love it.

















Yay! A hat for me. I knit it in Lion Brand Wool-Ease, Oxford Gray. Cheers to a few firsts: first project of the year, first hat for myself. Cool.

Now, on to the second FO of the year, Juliet.

Let me begin by saying that I have a rather large stash of yarn that for some reason I buy and have a hard time using because.....um.....God only knows why. Anyway, I have resolved to cleanse myself of it, so I am working or planning projects right now so it can serve its purpose. I mean, yarn is intended to be knit, so knit it!





Back to the subject at hand:


I did my research on this one. I searched every Juliet on Ravelry. I found a couple that I absolutely loved. For some reason, I had a feeling going into this that the bulkiness of the yarn would cause me to have a hard time with it. But in keeping with my stash-busting mentality, I had to do this. I casted on for the small, not sure whether to do the XS (still trying to lose baby weight). Then I had to decide whether to do the shorter yoke, or have it fall right under the bust. I chose the latter because it didn't do much for me at the shorter length. FAT!





I was so excited to finish that it only took 4 days total, which is pretty damn good for me. When I tried it on, I immediately decided to wash it in Woolite on gentle cycle to try to soften the yarn a bit. It was pretty stiff coming off of the needles and I wanted the lace to be more flowy. I suppose I can't really hope for "flowy" with a bulky yarn. The washing did help as well as a quickie tug or two during the drying process. Before adding the buttons, I tried this:






Cute, but I'm not sure if I pull it off well. I may go back to the buttonless look after its all said and done. Here it is with the buttons:




See that terrible look on my face? I'm thinking, "Why did I knit all those garter rows on the bottom hem?" That could be another reason that it's not draping the way I want it to. I'm going to rest on this for a couple of days then I may decide to frog a couple of the rows to see if that helps. If I decide to stick with buttons, I may move them over about 1/2 an inch to make the top fit tighter. You can't really tell from the pics, but its a little loose. Guess I should have done the XS!




I do have two other projects (stashbusting!) on the needles that I'm hoping to finish soon. First off, the Gallery Jacket that I started in November hoping to have done by Christmas. Needless to say that didn't happen. I am about halfway up to the armholes. Maybe I can get some of that done over the weekend.


Also, I am about halfway done with the Leaf Tee, a super-easy top-down raglan t-shirt with a lace panel down the middle of the front that adds just enough interest. I have about 9 balls of this really pretty wool/alpaca/silk blend that I got dirt cheap. Here's a peek:


I'm not sure what's going on with the coloring here. I was trying to take advantage of some natural light (hate the flash!). The yarn is not nearly this blue. It's more of an eggplant or plum color.

Hopefully I can post some more finshed goods before the end of the month. I guess I have been lazy about this blog since I post all the details of projects directly on Ravelry. I am so addicted to that site.

Cropped Sweater Jacket - FINALLY!

Oh my gosh, I am so so happy to be done with this. I have actually lost sleep over getting this thing done. It would have been finished a couple of weeks ago, but some last minute Christmas knitting slowed me down. Anyway, it's done and I am so happy with the results. This is the first time I have ever carried an idea through to completion and been so happy with what I came up with.

I won't lie, I used some help from Norah Gaughn's Tilted Duster. As a matter of fact, I used enough of her pattern that I feel like I would be violating copyright laws if I called it my own. The obvious mods are listed in a post below. The sleeves are the same.

I believe I have already posted the stats, but here they are again:

• Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun, in Antique, approximately 4 balls.


• Needles: US 8 (5 mm)

Please do excuse the crappy shots. I couldn't wait for a better opportunity to take some pics, so I settled for this morning in my bedroom.


Yay for being done. Yay for being empowered to dig out some more UFOs and get 'em done!