And Another Thing...

WIP Wednesday

A balaclava for Braidon.  Hopefully it will get done before Old Man Winter leaves us.  (Shamrock yarn from Knitpicks in Dougherty, my own pattern made up on the fly)

Koolhaas hat for Oliver.  This will match his new parka and the mitts I made him for Christmas.  If I can ever remember to take a picture of the mitts while he's at home, I'll make sure to post them here.  (Wool of the Andes yarn from Knitpicks in Coblestone Heather and Coal, Koolhaas pattern from Brooklyn Tweed)

Rainbow socks for Saragh.  I love knitting socks for her because they go oh so fast.  These are so soft and luxurious that I'm a bit jealous they're not for me! (Felici self striping yarn from Knitpicks in Rainbow, my own sock pattern made up on the fly)

Birthday present for Mama

My mother has recently started knitting again and has been lamenting that I'm loaning her all the stuff she needs, so I decided to put together a little knitting kit for her birthday.  Olivia and I went to the fabric store and picked out two different fat quarters to sew up into this little project bag.

(I know this picture is super blurry inside the bag and I am realy sorry for that!) 

I filled the bag with some yarn, circular needles, a tiny pair of scissors, a needle/knitting gauge/ruler thing and some stitch markers.  Now she's all set to knit with her own stuff! 

 

 

A Beautiful Butterfly...er...Wallaby...

Ta-da!  Olivia's new wallaby sweater in a custom dyed colorway called "A Beautiful Butterfly".  I originally found this yarn at a Yarn Harlot event in Detroit last year, in a fingering/lace weight.  After some deliberation, I messaged the dyer and asked her to do a custom dye in worsted weight for this sweater.   I had her dye it using a superwash merino so that it would last through all three girls, because this yarn did not come cheap.  I knit a 10 and added a little bit of length because Olivia has a long torso and long arms.  This will fit her for at least 2 years and then the other girls should get plenty of wear out of it.

  I'm so happy about how beautiful this turned out!  It has all the colors of the butterfly at the end of The Hungry Little Caterpillar and it is indeed beautiful.  Thar yarn is absolutely wonderful to work with and I enjoyed just about every minute of this project (I admit that the sleeves and the hood were daunting, but that had nothing to do with the yarn, only my impatience).  In fact, there are two colors in this yarn that I am thinking of asking Ann to dye for a sweater for Saragh. 

Christmas Crafting :: Anna's Sugarplum Socks

Simple, cozy wool socks in the perfect colors for Anna.  Raveled here.

FO :: Ezra's Ella Funt

Such a fun knit!  And Ez looks so handsome in his new sweater!

Raveled here

On the Needles

In addition to my Socktoberfest Mystery socks (which will be revealed at the beginning of November), I have been working on Olivia's new Wallaby sweater.  This is one of my all time favorite yarns!  I found the colorway at a Yarn Harlot event in Detroit this past spring and I bought a sock weight skein of it.  After loving that skein for a while, I decided that it would be perfect for Olivia's much needed new sweater.  So I asked Ann of Color Bug Yarns to dye 1000 yards of it for me.   The colorway is called A Beautiful Butterfly because it is all the colors of the butterfly at the end of A Hungry Little Caterpillar.  I love this yarn, not only for the colorway, but because the feel of it is so wonderful.  Not to mention that the colors are great for all three girls which will help justify the cost of the yarn.  I can't wait to see how this sweater turns out and I'll be sure to post pictures when it's all done!

Maker Faire Fun :: The Purl Street Scarf Project

We were so excited when we happened on to the Purl St. Scarf Project booth!  I had not heard of this porject before, but once we knew what was going on, we just had to participate.  Olivia, Anna and I all knit a little bit for the scarf.  The ladies manning the booth were so happy to have the girls help out, they thought it was really neat that they just grabbed some yarn and needles and got to work.  Anna picked a scarf peice that had rather long rows, but she was determined to finishe the row, and she did!  She sat there for a good 20 minutes repeating her little knitting poem over and over again until she had finished her row.  Of course, Olivia snatched up the first pink fuzzy yarn she laid eyes on and got through about 3 rows.  I am so happy that the girls got to take part in this project.  Soon, we'll be able to go visit it and they will be able to see that they helped create something that made the world a little more beautiful and fun.

Swift

This has to be my all time favorite Mother's Day present I have ever gotten.  I am so blessed to have such a talented husband! 

This swift turns like a dream!  It was super easy to use, the movable pegs make it totally customizable for each hank of yarn.  And can you believe it, he's hard at work on a handmade ball winder to go with the swift!  I am such a lucky girl.

FO :: Kai Mei

Here is the April installment of my self imposed sock club. 

The pattern is Kai Mei b the fabulous Cookie A found in Sock Innovation.  The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy, colorway Lipstick Lava.  As I began knitting the lace portion of this, I could not wrap by brain around how this was going to turn out like the picture at all.  Then once I finished the first lace repeat, it all clicked and I marveled at the genius that is Cookie A.  I loved knitting these socks!

Raveled here.

FO :: Mama's Lady Sweater

I made this sweater for my mother's 60th birthday which was in January.  I got it done just in the nick of time on Mother's Day, so I'm calling it a joint present :o) 

I really like this pattern and this is the 3rd sweater I've made like this.  I used Knit Picks Palette in Clematis Heather, doubled.  It worked really well and resulted in a very cushy, warm sweater.  Since my mother is a Director of Religious Education, she spends a lot of time running back and forth between buildings and sitting in the foyer of a school so this will help her keep warm during the cold Michigan winters. 

Raveled here.