Spring is here!

My little brother Kevin directed me towards a super deal on the macro lens that I have been wanting since I first purchased my camera. I was able to get this lens for $280 and it included a $35 hood! Kevin found the ad on Craig's list and the guy had only used the lens three times so it is in mint condition. I am very happy with it and I look forward to taking some nice detailed shots of my knitting.



Some yarn came in the mail for me last week -Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmalabrigo lace in the violetas colorway. I hope to make the Featherweight Cardigan with it.



I love purple....

Braidy's favorite lookout spot

Braidy's favorite lookout spot, originally uploaded by andugger2003.

Just a fun pic and I wanted to share. I hope to update after Maryland Sheep and Wool. I am looking forward to a girl's weekend of fun! :)

On the needles:

Dani's sweater - Wonderful Wallaby Number 2
Socks

Happy Thursday!

Successful Spinning :)

1. Handpainted Falkland wool combed top 4oz, 2. Ready to be drafted , 3. Predraft, 4. Ready to be plied, 5. All wound up, 6. Ready to be set

I started all of this at 7:30am last Saturday and between doing laundry and cleaning the house, I had yarn by 3:30pm.

By Thursday, I had this:



(Picture courtesy of Mazhalai.)

Pattern: Thorpe
Yarn: My handspun - faulkland wool handdyed by FatCatKnits (Border is Cashmere)
Needles -US Size 7
Verdict - I still need to block and shrink this a bit. I also hope to get a better picture soon.

Full set from my spinning adventure can be viewed here.

Thanks for reading and visiting. Have a great week everyone!

First Sweater of 2009!

Pattern: Favorite Cardigan by Wendy Bernard
Book: Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Elsbeth Lavold Classic AL (50/50 Alpaca Wool blend)
Buttons: from MJ Trimmings
Time to knit - a little over a month
Ravelry link
Modifications: Lengthened sleeves, added length to the body and I did not do all of the instructed sleeve decreases.
Result: I am very happy with this sweater. :)

Here are a few more shots:


Braidy also wanted to get in the action:


Next up: Fireside Sweater which was designed after a sweater seen in the movie The Holiday. Here is my swatch :)



I think the $60 I spent on the yarn is going to be justified after seeing that one can actually purchase this cardigan from TSE Cashmere here. (Shop - Women - Classics - The Holiday Sweater)

Look at the price...


Happy Knitting everyone!

Also, thank you Beverly for nominated my blog for the kreativ blogger award. What an honor! :)

Mama's Birthday Celebration

Recipe: Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake by Cook's Illustrated
For: Mama's birthday party :)
Outcome: Delicious!

Here is Mama's piece:



Of course - desert first right? We also had yummy spinach dip and spaghetti for dinner.



Svetlana made my mother some Maine Morning Mitts (by Clara Parkes in the book The Knitter's Book of Yarn) with some Noro Kureyon. You can tell by my mother's expression that they were very well liked. :)



Here is another look at these beautiful mitts:





Svetlana coordinated the colors PERFECTLY. She is amazing. :)

Happy Birthday Mama!!

One ball down - three to go....

Just a quick post to update my progress on the Haven Scarf. I am enjoying knitting with this yarn. It is so fat and soft. I finished another Very Warm Hat with the leftover yarn but it is too small for my head. :( I am going to try to wet block it so hopefully it is not a total loss. I may have to give it to someone with a smaller head.

I have another project (secret) that I have to start and finish in about two weeks. I may have to put this scarf on hold once again. Happy Tuesday everyone.

Marshmallows

Ok - so I had promised myself that I was not going to buy anymore yarn this year. I guess I can still say that I have stuck to my promise (for the most part) because I had some gift certificates from Knit Happens that I had to use. Olga won me over with this amazing, soft, bulky, marshmallow-like scarf sample that was in the shop. It is Haven (rav link) from Kim Hargreaves. Here is the yarn in all its beauty:

And here is the start of the scarf:



I went to a birthday party this weekend so I made a Korknisse for my friend. It was a quick project but I didn't have a good felt marker for the face. I hope to get one soon so that I can make a few more for Christmas presents.



Tonight, I will be cooking:
Chicken Stew with Onions, Tomatoes, and Dijon.
It seems like the perfect dish for a cold fall evening. Happy Monday everyone!

Just in time for Stitches East

Pattern: Sally Sweater from Shelridge Farms
Yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra Solid Colors - Rust (8.3 skeins - 1585 yards)
Needle - US 4/3.5mm
Started: October 2007
Finished: November 7th, 2008
Ravelry link
Outcome: Love it! I am very happy with this sweater. I ended up using part of the ninth skein because I made the sleeves and body longer than the pattern called for. I was able to show this off to Buffy Taylor from Shelridge Farms and she loved it. She was wearing the same colorway in their DK version of a sweater that just came out recently. Here we are at Stitches:

She was very happy to see it completed. :)



Here is one last shot:



Next up - Baby Norgi for little Nicky and some kind of sweater from Cottage Craft yarn (pictured below.)


Also - inquiring minds can look below for the stash enhancement from my last Stitches East as they are moving to Hartford, CT next year and I would rather go to Rhinebeck.



1. Louet Riverstone, 2. Noro Kureyon, 3. Valley Yarns Hadley, 4. Cottage Craft 2-ply, 5. Miss Babs, 6. Smooshy Chinatown Apple, 7. Yarn for Fair Isle yoke sweater, 8. Cottage Craft 2-ply, 9. Noro silk garden

Surprise FO

Every good man needs a warm hat and it is getting COLD outside! I just HAD to take a break from the endless ruby red knitting. I love the color but after three projects in the same color I needed a bit of a distraction. May I present EZ's Very Warm Hat:





Pattern: EZ's Very Warm Hat (rav link for pattern)
Yarn: Koigu held double (took less than 2 balls)
Hunt Valley Cashmere (less than 1 ball)
Knit for: Carl
Needles: US 6
Size: 23" circumference
Time to knit: 2 days - fast! :)
Ravelry specs found here
I believe that I have enough yarn leftover (I have a third ball of koigu) to make a VWH for myself. I think I will change the pattern motif to snowflakes. I need to cast on for this second hat before tomorrow's voting lines (and also to prevent me from stealing Carl's hat.) :)

I will leave you with another pic of Ribby. We went to a couple of vineyards out in Virginia Wine country and the sunset was gorgous! Happy Monday everyone!

MCM 10K

After the MCM 10K

This past Sunday I completed the Marine Corps Marathon 10K race. This race is started about 20 minutes after the start of the marathon and we get to finish through the same finish line as the marathon. It was a fun race and I finished in 1:05:15. I was very happy with my time as I am not a very fast runner and I kept a faster pace than my norm. Everything was great until about 20 minutes after the end of the race. My sprained foot began to hurt. After two days of pain, I have come to face the fact that I somehow re-sprained my foot during the race. I am so sad and frustrated that I may now have to wait another 4 months to heal. I am signed up to run the MCM Turkey Trot on November 15th but we will just have to wait and see if I can acutally pull it off.

In the meantime, I have lots of knitting projects to complete! I am just a few rounds away from finishing my Sally Sweater. I hope to have this finished by next weekend in time for Stitches East. I really want to show it off to Buffy Taylor at Shelridge Farms.

These are my other projects that I am itching to cast on but I have promised myself to not start anything until I finish the Sally Sweater:

• Baby Norgi for Nicky (Svetlana's little boy)
• Very Warm Hat by EZ for Carl using koigu doubled and cashmere (yum!)
• Socks for my Nana
• a larger Wallaby for little Danika

I purchased the contrast colors from knit picks for Nicky's sweater and it has come in:

Should be fun! I am a little worried about this project simply because it is knit primarily on US 0 and 1....fun times. Wish me luck! :)