January 31, 2012

A You're Adorable

When my son was born my godmother gave him the book "A You're Adorable" which goes on "B You're so Beautiful, C You're a Cutie Full of Charm"...all true about this sweater.  It is Baby Sophisticate and I used leftover Berocco Pure Merino. 

I made it for my cousin's second child which they knew was a boy - he was born yesterday and named a family name - Cornell.  Seems this grown up looking sweater will be perfect for such a grown up sounding name.  I mailed it off today and asked they take a picture of him when it fits him..

January 22, 2012

Looking Fantastic


Mom just sent me this - it really looks fantastic on her.  Perfect length, perfect color and a perfect necklace she's wearing with it.  LOVE this...in fact, I think I gave her the necklace.  Hmmmm...meant to be.


January 21, 2012

My Dad Always Said...

My dad has a lot of sayings - some will crack you up and some ring true. One he used a lot while we were growing up was "If you are going to do a job half-assed, then don't do it at all". Sort of along the lines of "do it once, do it right".

When I knit my Noisette this summer I just sewed on the buttons willy-nilly with the yarn I used to knit the sweater. I knew that wasn't the right way to do it but I was lazy and just wanted to get it done.

Well, in the end my laziness ended up getting the better of me...the buttons started stretching and pulling and I stopped wearing the sweater. Then I got to thinking about how the Knitmore Girls are always talking about the grosgrain buttonband method they use on their sweaters so I checked out their tutorial and their other tutorial for sewing on buttons.

I recently discovered a website called The Ribbon Retreat and I ordered a bunch of different ribbons and settled on using a matching fun one with little squirrels which really surprises me as my dad always called them "tree rats" (yup, another on of his phrases - other ones are far more colorful).

We had a snowy day today and I got to work - here is the result. I'm SO happy with how it turned out. The buttons have more stability now and I know the stretching of the yarn sewn buttons won't happen.














Isn't this just the cutest ribbon? I even have a turtleneck that matches the fuschia colored squirrel. I know I will be wearing this a lot more and while not everyone will see my button band I know it is there and just the thought of it will make me smile.



















Thanks Dad for reminding me without realizing it that I shouldn't do a job "half-assed".

January 20, 2012

It Fit!

I got a call from my mom yesterday and it only took 2 days for her sweater to get from Connecticut to Florida. She said it fit perfectly - the length was perfect too! My dad who gets a bit bossy when it comes to opening packages was the one who opened up the sweater and his first comment was on how wonderful the color is. I told my mom that every time I was working on it in the presence of anyone they would always admire the color...it is a winner.

I put a tag on it that I got from Knitterella. In the "made by" section I wrote: Estella. In the "for" section I wrote: her wonderful mother. My mom was so cute when she said that a friend saw the tag and said she should keep it on the sweater - like Minnie Pearl.

No pictures yet as it was a warm day in Florida and she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. She might get one today or tomorrow and I promise to post it.

Lots of knitting this weekend - track meet and the Giants game. GO GIANTS!

January 16, 2012

At Last!

At last, I'm done with this yarn, this project, this sweater! This is the Estelle Cardigan (without waist shaping) that I made for my mom after the terrible flop of the Elizabeth cardigan. Funny but i just realized that both sweaters are names she's familiar with - while my name is Estella not Estelle, my sister's name is Elizabeth. Huh, kind of funny.

I'm so much happier with this and can't wait to send it to her. I'll be sure to post a photo of her wearing it. I wove in all the ends during the Houston/Baltimore game which was a good call as the Giants game (GO GIANTS!) was so exciting I could barely knit let alone weave in ends!

January 13, 2012

One Down, Four To Go

I finished the first Corrugated Lace Capelet which my dentist's wife commissioned me to make. (Note for Millie - this is not the one I made at the beginning of summer it is the one I made in late fall). I used Valley Yarns Berkshire and had only planned on 3 skeins but due to their discount when you buy a lot I decided to buy 4 skeins. It was a good thing I did as I needed about 20 yards of the 4th skein to finish this.




















I love the color - it is called "Blue Ming" and this photo is pretty true. I'm working on a plum colored one right now and am already fighting the boredom of the same pattern...they aren't due until March but I want to get this off my plate.

My mom's sweater is about dry (Note to Millie - the color changed cause it was wet when I photographed it and I think the true color is somewhere between the two). I'm hoping to pick up the neck edge tomorrow and finish this sucker while watching lots of football.

January 11, 2012

In The Home Stretch

I'm winding down on the Estelle cardigan I'm knitting for my mom...I finished the body and have to block it before picking up the stitches around the fronts and neck to do some more feather and fan detail work. I'm SO much happier with this than the previous version. This is knit out of Classic Elite Premiere which has really held up to one blocking then a frogging and washing and then another blocking. It's 50% cotton/50% Tencel and it has really done well.

I'm in the home stretch - my mom said Florida was getting a cold front on Friday and asked if it could be to her by then - we both had a good laugh.



January 9, 2012

Yarn Diet Solution

Due to finances, I'm on a yarn diet. It is hard seeing yarn sales and not buying a deal...and it is hard going to fiber festivals and just looking (hence no Vogue Knitting Live for me this year). But I've found a way to feed the fiber beast...use someone else's money!

Our dentist's wife saw my Corrugated Lace Capelet and fell in love with it. She asked if I could knit one for each member of their staff and one for her too - 5 capelets in all. So, I got to go shopping with her money and got some Valley Yarns Berkshire and look at how many pretty skeins of yarn I get to play with!
















Here's the first one I'm working on - it is called Blue Ming and is far more teal than this picture shows...next I'm thinking purple or burgundy.
















Best of all, she's paying me for my time - I don't know if she decided to do this as she knows our life situation or not - she's that kind of sweet person. Doesn't matter...I get to shop for yarn and knit and she gets some lovely capelets.

January 4, 2012

One Sleeve Done

I spent New Year's Day watching football - almost 12 hours worth! What did I do? Knit of course. I finished one sleeve on my mom's Estelle cardigan and am halfway done with the second sleeve.
I put all the body stitches on my Try It On Tubing and am waiting to see how much yarn I have before doing the pretty feather and fan detail on the bottom edge - I want to make the sweater as long as I can for her and make sure I have enough to go around the neckline.



















As I told my mom when I emailed her this photo - the detail looks much prettier in person.