Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas
Originally uploaded by ramblingroses

And then some more....

The Licorne just keeps on going folks....

This is the Eyelet Vest from "Special Knits" by Debbie Bliss. I used the left over yarn from the lace top to work on this project. I'm a real sucker for pink:)

The licorne keeps on going...

Lace Top
Originally uploaded by ramblingroses

And here's another finished Lace Top from an old Phildar magazine for babies. Quick knit, I heart Phildar Licorne yarn

Knitting with Licorne

Blossom
Originally uploaded by ramblingroses

I finished "Blossom" from MagKnits but still have to attach the ties to finish off the dress. It's still a bit big for Baby K, so no modelling shots for now.

Happenings!!

Our precious "Baby K" was born on November 5, 2007 – my best FO of the year!!! She is beautiful and we love her to bits.

Big bro is so proud of his baby sister and we’re thrilled that she’s here because we’ve waited so long for her:)

Blogging has been almost nil because of baby and also because of this…I’m on Ravelry…yay!!!!

How to knit in the Arabian Desert

How to knit in the Arabian Desert…. knit one, sip one, knit one, sip one. I think I may have overdone it with the sipping yesterday because I ended up having to rip it, rip it, rip it!!!

New Threads!

Bo Peep

Yarn: Phildar Canasta – Color “Pistache”
Needles: 3.5 mm
Size: To fit 18” BabyBorn Doll

BACK
Skirt
Using 3.5 mm needles cast on 63 sts.
Rows 1-4: Garter stitch beginning with a knit row
Row 5 and following odd rows until waist shaping: k2, *yo, sl2tog knitwise, k1, psso, yo, k4. Repeat from * until last 2 sts, k2
Row 6 and all even rows: Purl
Work until 30 rows completed from beginning.

Waist shaping
Row 31: Work as row 5 and omit all yarn overs
Row 33: K2, *k2tog, k3. Repeat from * until last 3 sts, k2tog, k1
Rows 34-54: Work in straight stockinette

Armhole shaping
Row 55: Bind off first 5 stitches. Knit to end
Row 56: Bind off first 5 stitches. Purl to end
Row 57: K2, k2tog, knit to last 4 sts, sl1k1psso, k2
Work 2 more rows of this decrease on Rows 59 and 61

Neck shaping
Row 63: K2, k2tog, k3, bind of center 6 sts, k3, sl1k1psso, k2
Row 64: Purl till last stitch, turn work
Row 65: With the stitch on the right needle from the previous row, K1, psso, knit to end.
Repeat these two rows until there are 3 sts on the needle and bind off completely leaving a long tail to make crochet tie
Join yarn to other side of neck and repeat decreases.

FRONT
Work exactly as for back.

FINISHING
Seam sides of dress and weave in all ends.
Using a crochet hook, work a chain on the four long yarn ends that were left over from the shoulder bind off.
Use the crochet chains to tie front of dress to back as pictured.

Waiting, nesting, waiting some more

Who knew that this baby thing would overtake my life and that getting everyday stuff accomplished would end up in bed rest!!! I think that I have gone into nesting mode which has made me feel run down. Baby K is due November 11th and I am exhausted.

But we just can’t wait to see her and to hold her and I have been getting some knitting done for her and I can’t wait for her to wear the little knits her Mama made for her.

There’s tons more knitting stuff I want to get done before she arrives, but I guess that I will just have to ease up and take things slow.

In the meantime, how about a doll’s dress…
I used 1.5 hanks of Phildar Canasta yarn to make this cute sundress for an 18” doll. The yarn is super splity but has a lovely sheen to it. I think that it turned out cute. I used my own pattern to work this dress and called this pattern “Bo Peep” The pattern will be posted on my blog for anyone interested!

Projects on the go

"Blossom" from Magknits is all knitted and seamed and turned out really cute. No picture of this knit yet until I attach the ribbon ties. I am thinking that black velvet ties will look good against the bright orange yarn.

Heart Scarf from knitty.com using the Japanese Tussah Silk I got from Hand-Art in Zurich

Baby Cardi worked with Lana Grossa Merino Print yarn using a pattern I made up as I went along . This was a quick knit and the yarn is so soft. The varigated green and pink go together although you can't really tell by looking at the picture. This sweater is crying...block me!!!

Swiss vacation pictures

Here are a few of my favorite pictures that we took on our vacation. I loved, loved, loved Switzerland and it was so nice to have this “babymoon” with the hubster before Baby K arrives.

Awwww...

Of course, I had to go yarn shopping and bought a few goodies back. I especially love the pink Japanese Tussah Silk that I bought at Hand-Art in Neumarkt, Zurich. I have been knitting the heart scarf from knitty.com using this yarn and size 6mm needles. It’s turning out loooooovely:)

Thoughts

We’ve been waiting to see your sweet little face
To hold you in our arms in a tight embrace
A cute little nose
And ten tiny toes
Two twinkly, fluttering eyes
As you dream and sigh
Your baby fingers that grasp and hold
So small your frame we want to enfold
The curls that frame your sweet baby brow
We’re excited to watch you learn to talk and grow
You’re our sweet little angel sent to us from above
We will care for you, be there for you and nurture you with our love
God keep you safe and warm our sweet little pearl
Come soon and meet us our precious baby girl

Babymoon

Hubby and I are leaving for Switzerland for two weeks. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry…just mountains and waterfalls and lakes and green, green grass. Can’t wait to relax and soak it all in. Vacation knitting will include "Blossom" from MagKnits using some bright orange Phildar Licorne yarn for a fun knit:)

It’s a girl!

I had my 22 week anatomy ultrasound done today and we found out that we’re having a little girl. We’re so thrilled and cannot wait to meet her!!!

Done done done!!!

The blue baby sweater for my friend's baby is all done!! Seamed, blocked, ends weaved in and ready to be gifted. The size turned out bigger than I expected but I hope that the wee recipient will be able to get lots of use out of it. I love the little orange detail of the ties at the neck which was crocheted. The pattern is from a Phildar magazine and uses Phildar Lambswool yarn which is soft and squishy. I used size 3.5 mm needles and it was a relatively quick knit. The collar is knit separately and uses a bit of short row shaping at the end to get it to curve slighty.

A Debbie Bliss Blue Ribbed Jacket using some no-name yarn is also D-O-N-E!! The construction of this sweater was really easy and it knitted up really quickly. I may knit up another sweater using this pattern and better yarn for my lil Bean. I have not decided what toggle or tie is to be used at the front of the sweater.But that does not mean that there aren’t any UFOs laying around….

I have been working pretty steadily on my Clapotis scarf and I am almost done with one skein of Koigu and ready to begin with the second skein. I don’t think that I will use the whole second skein because I don't really want a long scarf that I can wind round and around my neck but more so an accessory piece. I love how it is turning out!
I have also been working up a Crossed Cardigan for my lil Bean and since we don’t know yet if it’s a boy or a girl, I am working this up in Peter Pan yarn in white and will add some pink or blue trim later. I’ve been taking this sweater to work at my knitting group and it’s been going really fast. I’m done with the back and ready to begin the right front.

The hubster took me to the book store/LYS last week for me to pick out some yarn as a belated Mothers Day present. I got 6 hanks of Sirdar Wash N Wear Double Crepe yarn in a deep moss green. I am using this yarn to knit Ariann and I am loving the pattern and construction. I had to go up a needle size to get stitch guage but my row guage was off a tiny bit so I worked an extra repeat before the waist shaping decreases and will work an extra repeat between each of the decreases and increases. I think that this will compensate nicely for the row guage thingy being off.

Love the stitch pattern...

Bonne Marie is a genius pattern writer and although I have not worked much on my CeCe much lately, her patterns are fun and quick to knit up and have minimum seaming – we all love that!!!! I have been using Cascade 220 for my CeCe and I love the heathered green color of the yarn - the color in this picture is totally off though.

On my knitting wishlist are A Cardigan for Arwen, Shedir and a kid sized Cardigan for Arwen for my 8 year old son and of course many, many more knits. One at a time….

News!!

It’s been ages since I updated my blog and with good reason. I was too sick to think about typing anything coherent or uploading pictures. All this feeling sick is because…..insert drum roll here….there’s a bun in the oven!!!!

Yipee, we are expecting baby #2 and I am 15 weeks pregnant. I was pretty nauseous and exhausted during the first trimester, but things have been looking up (sort of) the past couple weeks and so I am hoping that this will continue. I have not done any baby knitting yet because we don’t know yet if this baby is a boy or a girl…needless to say, we can’t wait to find out.

However, I have been doing some baby knitting for a friend who is expecting her baby boy in June. Here is a picture of seaming in progress. I blocked the pieces but that did not help because the edges are still curling. Could be because of all the stockinette. It was a fun, quick knit. I will make sure to post pictures once I finish seaming, attaching the collar and inserting the funky crochet cord ties at the neck.

I've also been working on a clapotis scarf using some wonderful Koiguuuuuuu that I bought from Three Bags Full in Vancouver. This yarn is so lovely to work with and I love the colors.
I am using the skinnier scarf version of the pattern and I hope that two skeins will give a decent sized scarf. I guess I just have to keep knitting until I run out of yarn:)

Crazy Knitter

The thing about knitting is that you just can’t seem to put it down. Last evening I kept thinking that after I knit this row I will begin making dinner. Then I got to the end of the row and the next row was a pattern row. Can’t mess with the pattern row because that’s the best part of the project right? So I work that row and a couple more so that I can see how the pattern row turned out. Well, what do we have here, the next pattern row? No problem, I thought that I would throw a frozen pizza into the oven, but I just had to finish the next row.

Sigh…I put my knitting down and went into the kitchen and I actually had a great time cooking some killer meatballs for my family. They deserve plenty-O loving because they put up with my knitting crazies.

My LYS is not a LYS

That’s right, my LYS is my local bookstore. But I was so happy when I visited recently and saw some gorgeous Sublime yarn on the two almost empty yarn shelves.

I grabbed 4 skeins in the color "Girlie" immediately with no pattern in mind but I knew that I just had to have this yarn in my favorite color. I love working with this yarn, the knitted fabric is turning out to be really soft and at the same time there is clear stitch definition. All I can say right now is - yum!

I have been trying to work with a vague pattern in mind for a tank and some scribbled out instructions and so far, I am loving how this is working up but I don’t know how it will turn out. I guess I will just keep knitting and eventually find out…

What’s in a swatch?

The skipping of checking gauge is NOT an option according to the knitting police and I am a firm believer of this rule. It is the essential ingredient towards the completion of a finished object that looks right in dimension, texture and finishing.

A swatch made up of stitch and row counts usually never come out as mentioned in the ball band for me. This is frustrating because I end up having to make two or sometimes even three swatches to come up with the accurate needle size to begin my knitting and I am so tempted to just finish the swatch and skip washing and blocking it.

But what with the knitting police watching over my shoulder and knowing in the back of my mind that if not washed and blocked, this garment will probably be better as a dishrag rather than the intended finished object, I swatch, re-swatch and sometimes swatch again and in the end, it pays off!!!

I think that I really like working with thinner yarns at a finer gauge, because the texture or the pattern really stands out with this yarn as opposed to thicker yarns. Also, I think that I prefer finer yarns because of the hot and humid climate we live in which makes knitting with heavy yarns a laborious task and gives me sweaty palms.

Pass the ice tea wudja?

Making...Creating...

The joy experienced when I make things with my hands has always been with me since I was a little girl. The whole creative process is so intriguing and I still feel this way even though I am older now and thrust with the responsibilities of life.

I think about this so often when I am alone and my hands are going through the repeated motions of working with yarn and needles. The answer is always the same...I love the whole process the picking and choosing of a project, getting the yarn to work right in the swatch, working on the project and making entries in my journal about my progress and then finally putting all the pieces together.

I stand back and look at this garment, or this toy, or this whimsy and think with joy, “I made this” and my heart fills up with a feeling of blue skies and daisies and blades of green grass and snowflakes and velvety sand. The finished object goes into the closet surrounded by sweet smelling sachets of lavender and rose to be treasured, and to be brought out and rubbed against my face just to remember how I felt when I was making.