First FO of 2012

Some dear friends of ours are having a baby in February, so of course it was time to bust out the baby knitting!  I started this cardigan in August, as soon as I found out it was baby time.  After hours of searching through baby patterns, I chose Puerperium because of the side buttons.  The sweater is designed for newborns, and the side buttons make dressing baby so much easier.  The sleeves were supposed to be knit using the magic loop method.  I didn't have the needles required to pull off magic loop, so I stashed the sweater in my works-in-progress box, thinking that I would buy the needles at a later date.  Then of course, it was baby shower time and I was without a finished sweater!  I took another look at the pattern and realized that I could easily complete the sleeves using two circulars. 

 I actually had 6 shank buttons that fit the button holes.  Amazing.

Now back to Iced!

Goals...Old & New

Just ignore our red eyes!

Wow.  2012.  Time for my annual New Year's goal setting post.  I set five goals last year, so I'll stick with five this year.

Goal #1: Knit myself a sweater.  I've already started this lovely sweater, so I think I could succeed at this in 2012.

Goal #2:  Be happier.  This will be a goal every year I think.

Goal #3:  Be a more patient mom, and a more patient partner.  This will also most likely reappear next year.

Goal #4:  Knit myself a lace shawl.  I already know which one!  This gorgeous piece from Jane Austen Knits 2011.  Perfect.

Goal #5:  Get fit.  Which for me means being able to do 5 pull-ups, 50 squats, 20 push-ups, and a 2 minute plank.  Phew!

Wondering how I did on last year's goals?  Well, I made two out of five.  I knit a pair of socks, and I knit Kev something (the aforementioned socks).  Two out of five....hmm... 

Here's to five out of five this year!  And I hope all of your goals and dreams come true in this new year :)

Something New...

Why is there a picture of jewelry here?

Let me explain.  The other day was my birthday, and I decided to do something I've thought about for about 3 years.  I opened an Etsy shop.  I'm taking Kev's advice and just having some fun (i.e., not stressing about it, or having expectations, etc).  I know you may be thinking that I'll be selling hand knits, but not so.  At least not right now.  I love, love, love knitting, but I've only dabbled in designing my own hand knits.  However, I do have another craft love but just don't blog about.  I've been making jewelry since I was in grade school. 

As previously stated, I celebrated a birthday recently.  My 29th to be exact.  So if you add up the years...you get a whole lot of jewelry.  Add to that the fact that my Little Miss still likes to grab and yank at any jewelry I wear (including earrings...ouch), and you get a whole lot of jewelry not being used.  Instead of letting it sit, or not making jewelry anymore, I thought I'd share it.  So that's my little story.  The shop will also be a place for me to share other crafty things that I love.  Right now, it's got some Christmas ornaments that I think are kinda neat.  So check it out if you feel like it.  It's called bhuey designs, and it's wee and fledgling.  But you never know...stranger things have happened.

After much debate, I decided on the Matinee Jacket for Evy's Fall sweater.  I actually finished this months ago, but I just couldn't get around to blogging about it.  So without further ado, the Matinee Jacket:

My friend Rachel gave me the glass buttons, which were here grandmother's (ok, maybe great-grandmother's - sorry, I can't remember!).  The buttons totally make the sweater!

The sweater is knit in Swish DK, because washable really is important at this age.  Evy's has worn this this down already!  I'm a little sad about the amount of pills on the sweater already, but she is pretty tough on her clothes.

I've also made her a had and a pair of mittens, but I probably won't get around to blogging about them.  Still to come are Kev's birthday socks and my cabled hat.  On my needles right now:  Kev's Christmas stocking and Christmas log cabin throw.  One's got cables and the other is nice and easy garter stitch!

Heartwarmer....for me?

Yep.  I found Heartwarmer on ravelry, and immediately wanted to make it for Evy.  It's such a wonderfully old-fashioned looking piece, and I thought it would be perfect for early Fall wear.  So I picked out a lovely pink color of Knit Picks Andean Silk, which is a blend of alpaca, merino wool, and silk (note: pretty sure this yarn has since been discontinued).

Ok so long story short, I knit the thing up in the bigger size, blocked it using my kookaburra wool wash, sewed the buttons on, and tried it on Evy.  Who promptly refused to wear it.  She emphatically told me, "No! No!" and then pointed to me, "Mommy, Mommy."  Which is Evy speak for, "You do it."  So after taking a deep breath and reminding myself that Evy is all of 18 months and cannot be expected to appreciate hand knits, I tried on the shawl.  And you know what?  It's itchy.  This yarn of merino wool, alpaca, and silk is itchy.  Maybe the girls in my little family are just uber-sensitive.  So I'm using it, as a scarf neck warmer type thing.

Here Comes The Sun

I knew I wanted to make sundress for Evy for the summer, so I searched ravelry to find the perfect one.  Very Pink had just the thing - the Fiona Baby Sundress.

I worked this in I Love This Yarn Cotton, from Hobby Lobby.  The yarn was pretty nice, although not my favorite cotton yarn.

It took me forever, but only because I could only work on it a row or two at a time.  Also, I couldn't seem to get the placement of the straps right.  They kept digging in the Evy's little arms.  But I did finally manage to place them correctly.

That's my little flower child.

I've started the Lore Hoodie now, in the hopes of being able to finish it by fall!  We shall see.

Better Late Than Never

I actually have been knitting since February, I just haven’t posted about it.  Can I take a moment to blame my computer?  It’s a wee bit out of memory right now, so uploading pictures takes for-ev-er.  And with Little Miss Evelyn walking/running/climbing everywhere all the time (I swear the girl does not stop), it’s hard to wait for pictures to load at the end of a long night.  More often than not I look at my computer, glance at my finished projects, and then flop into bed.  But enough complaining, let’s get to the point of this here post – the finished project!

Citron – finally!!  I started this just after Evy was born (in March of 2010), and it became my pick-up-when-I-have-a-moment project.  For an entire year…

I know the pictures are not the best, so bear with me here.  I live in the basement and it's been raining forever.  We've actually started work on our ark.  This project was a great first shawl.  It was also my first use of lace weight yarn.  I used Knit Picks Shadow – 100% merino wool.  And this shawl is for me, thank you very much ;-)

Although I do think it looks much better on Evy.

I'll update Ravelry and links sometime...maybe.