Think Pink!

Last night I cast on for a cute little girl dress for my older niece Charly. Since Maddie's sweater was a bust I am trying to be optimistic.

The pattern is in this month's Knit Simple, it is shown in a cute turquoise color, but that color was unavailable online, so I went with a shocking shade of pink any 6 year old girl would love:


It is even (unbelievably) brighter in person, but Charly loves pink!

The pattern is interesting, you create the waistband in this cool and complicated cable pattern and seam it together. Then you pick up stitches for the smock and the skirt and knit in the round.

The yarn is 93% cotton and 7 % elastic so it has a cool feel to it and makes a nice fabric when knit. Keep an eye out for updates on this fun new project!

So Organized

Last week I cleaned out my closet to begin the New England tradition of seasonal wardrobe revolution and piled all my yarn in the living room. Last night, I boxed/bagged and tagged all of it and listed it on my Ravelry stash.

It is now stacked neatly on my closet shelf with weight/color/yardage visible.

So encouraged was I by this progress that I then took all my knitting magazines and books and updated my Ravelry library and took the pile of circular needles off my desk, sized them and listed them on my Ravelry needles page and put them neatly in their case.

I feel very organized. Tonight I cast on for sock #2 of either the Ivy Sock or the Waterfall Rib, we'll have to see what I am in the mood for...

Baby Blanket Finished!

And the baby hasn't even arrived yet! I am very happy with how it came out. I improvised a 5 sc shell border and it is a little uneven in places, but it isn't very noticeable.



I have some extra yarn and extra time since baby is not here yet, so I think I will do a little pair of socks and possibly a hat too.

Second Sock Syndrome

So Ivy Sock #1 is done, ends sewn in and everything. It fits!

In an effort to avoid second sock syndrome I am going to cast on for sock #2 tonight and get it moving. Sock #1 is so pretty and lovely I really would like to have a pair.

I also need to make some serious progress on the baby blanket, I would like to get that project done before my May travel schedule begins.

Ivy Sock Update

Things are progressing nicely with my first color work project. Ivy Sock #1 is almost done. With just a few inches of foot left before the toe decreases I am very pleased with this project so far:


I particularly like the heel flap construction which you can't really see very well here. I have tried for a close up, but I'm not sure that does it justice either:

Instead of a standard Sl1, K1 RS row on the heel flap this is a 4 row repeat with Row 1 the regular Sl1, K1 and Row 3 is Sl1, K2 *Sl1, K1* to last 3 stitches K2, Sl1, so the K stitches are offset giving it a kind of diamond pattern.

I know I am a true knit sock aficionado when I am totally entranced by a heel flap!

The Baby Blanket Groweth

In just 1 week I have made some pretty sizable progress on the baby blanket for my assistant.



I continue to be very happy with the project and am now convinced I can get it to her around the birth of her child and not as a high school graduation gift for the kid.

I have 2 concerns left. First, running out of yarn. I have enough yardage and my gauge is correct, but I am nervous about running out of yarn. Mostly because I have no idea how much I will need for the edging and the pattern does not break it down.

The second concern is all the ends being woven in neatly. The pattern calls for these large skeins of yarn, so you only use 2 total. I am using little 50 g balls, so I will use 12 by the time I am done. I hate weaving in ends. Hopefully the edging will provided a good camouflage for the weaving.

Hopefully by this time next week I will be ready to start the edging!

Ivy Socks

So I have done some color work this week. I cast on for the Ivy Socks on Sunday and got through the color work band by the end of Monday evening. Alas, the sock looked and proved to be -- too small.

So I tore out on Wednesday and cast on again in a larger size. And here we are:


Pretty, huh?

I love everything about this project. The pattern is written very well, the yarn is lovely, the whole thing is a joy so far.