I'm a very lucky gal :)

Will you look at this!  My friend, Jean, wants a pair of socks so I told her to buy me some sock yarn and I would knit her a pair.  Not only did she buy beautiful Fleece Artist hand dyed merino...  she bought two skeins so that I could have a pair too :)  So, I think we can all agree that Jean is a thoughtful generous friend with VERY good taste!  

Starting a new project...

I've wound the skeins and I'm ready to go.  I've even swatched a bit and learned a new stitch so I'm really ready to go ;)  As you can see I'm starting on May 29th and I need to be done by July 6th so I have just over a month which should be plenty of time.  I'm making a gift for my mother-in-law, the fabulous Jean, who is having her 80th birthday soon.  She may be turning 80 but you would never guess it if you met her.  She looks fabulous, acts fabulous, does fabulous things...  she is indeed fabulous!  I'll let you see what I've done after I give the gift.  The gorgeous yarn is Cascade Quatro in colors 5014 & 9438.

Mitts for Jenny K.

I knitted these beautiful fem mitts for my niece Jenny in February and according to Jenny they are loved :)  I found the pattern (and the stolen picture) at the Rainey Sisters (FREE pattern). They are a fun knit and I did get to learn a few skills.  I have to admit that I knit the right mitt 2 times.  I figured out the graphing and counting on the chart when I had to move the thumb gusset to the other side...  that's when I realized I had done it wrong on the right mitt :(  When I finished up the left and saw how much prettier it looked done the right way I started ripping and redid the right one so I could send Jenny a perfect set.  Now that I've figured it out I think it is an easy pattern.    I made them out of Baby Uhl which was the perfect weight and the perfect yarn for Jenny since she is laundry challenged ;)

A Knitting Adventure

When I went to Baltimore with my husband a few years ago I found a charming little yarn store named A New Yarn in the Fell's Point neighborhood.   I had called the store before I went for directions so I wouldn't get lost trying to find it.  Getting there was fun...  I walked to the waterfront from our hotel and caught a water taxi to Fell's Point and then walked a few blocks in the beautiful historic neighborhood.  For us west coast natives the history and charm of east coast cities is a revelation.  We think 50 years is old for a building ;)

 

I found the store and in the window was the cutest baby sweater.  I wanted to buy the pattern, but sweater had been knit by the store's owner, Lorraine, and she hadn't written up a pattern. She was kind enough to let me photograph the sweater and then she let me take notes while she explained what she had done.  She is a talented knitter and her store is a gem.  If you're in Baltimore you will enjoy looking her up.

 

The top picture is my take on her pattern.  The bottom picture is hers and the one that was hanging in her window (look closely at the picture of her shop and you will see it hanging there).  You can see from the picture of the outside of her shop what a charming neighborhood Fell's Point is.

  

Both sweaters are knit with Cascade Luna and because of the crimp the yarn has a great bouncy feel for cotton.  I really enjoyed knitting with it and will use it again.  I knitted the sweater for a patient of mine, also named Lorraine, for her granddaugher.

EZ's Baby Surprise is one of my favorite patterns...

Here are four of the many Baby Surprise Jackets I have knit over the past 4 years.  I love knitting this little jacket.  I think of it as a blank canvas that I can embellish and I've had a lot of fun with it over the years.  I look at other baby sweater patterns and, I've even knit a few, but I seem to keep coming back to this one.  Even though I've knit it so many times the cleverness of the pattern still charms me.  You can buy the pattern at: www.schoolhousepress.com  If you haven't read any of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books I think you're missing out.  I wish I could have met her...  I love her intelligence, wit and straight forward manner.  You can buy all her books at School House Press too.  

Sample Socks for Claudia

My knitting buddy, Claudia, is the manager of a delightful yarn store in north Seattle called A New Yarn.  To find out more about the store and the special work they are doing please click on the link and go visit their website.  I am knitting these socks as a sample for the store so knitters can see the Pagewood Farm sock yarn knit up.  I am using their Yukon blend that is 20% bamboo, 70% washable merino and 10% nylon.  I love knitting with this yarn; it feels really good and the picture really doesn't do the colorway justice.  I like this yarn so much that I am going to knit myself a couple of pairs with it...  I love to wear colorful handknit socks with my Dansko clogs :)

Kat's Birthday Socks

These socks are my first try at coming up with my own pattern.  I wanted to make some socks for my friend, Kat, for her birthday and I wanted them to be pretty.  I knitted my standard plain sock with Baby Uhl and used the Staggered Eyelets stitch from April 16th in my 365 Kniting Stitches A Year Perpetual Calendar on the leg and top of the foot.  I was soooooo proud of myself!  

Then I was browsing Ravelry and saw my sock :(  Turns out that Cat Bordhi's Rushing Rivulet Socks have the same eyelet stitch and look almost exactly like mine.  Hers are more elegant. Her Riverbed Architecture allows one to knit the stitch pattern on the whole sock except for the sole.  You can see hers on Ravelry or in her latest book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters which I highly recommend.  The pictures, illustrations, patterns and directions are all fantastic and easy to understand.

  

So I guess this less elegant one is still "my" pattern... 

Barbie's Blanket

Today is the first day of my knitting blog.  I will admit my successes, mistakes and frustrations here.  Of course there will be plenty of pictures since I am not really a writer.  

I’m starting with a success.  The above picture is one of my all time favorite projects:  a baby blanket for my friend, Barbie.  When her first granddaughter, Grace, was born I wanted to make something beautiful for her and this is what she got.  The blanket is my interpretation of a pattern I found in the book, Family Circle easy Baby Knits.  The name of the pattern is “Tickled Pink”.  I changed up the colors and added the crocheted shell border and pom pom centers.  I also crocheted all the squares together in my accent color because it seemed so much easier (not to mention more fun) than sewing them together.  I confess that it was VERY hard to give the blanket to Barbie...  I wanted to keep it for myself to fondle and gaze upon (you knitters know exactly what I mean).