With the new Punta yarns Mericash Handpainted. I started a plain seed stitch scarf and there is no pattern or color pooling. The yarn feels amazing and I just love all the new colors stix got in to the shop. I am making a scarf for myself (I think).

I have a lot of button sewing to do tonight. sigh.

What I really need to do is organize my knitting room. A few friends gave me yarn and I have finished projects that seriously need to be mailed out so that plus cats chilling out equals a day of organizing my space and cleaning.

Other than that, I spent three hours shoveling rocks into barrels to get my fall planting ready. Can I just say that white rocks should be illegal on a lawn. All two tons of white rocks. If anybody wants white rocks email me they look lovely covering a backyard (yeah, right).

Well, I don't have finished pictures but here is work in progress.

This was how much I finished when I got back from Vermont.


This was a week later.

I finished the sweater but just need to weave in ends and sew buttons. Speaking of sewing buttons, I have a few baby sweaters that need buttons to be sewn on primarily because the babies are born.

Actually, there has been no knitting going on lately since I got a job. Yup, I graduated in May and got my certificate from NJ two months later, and yes, I have a job that starts in two weeks. I am very excited and also incredibly anxious.

I did start a seed stitch scarf today in the new Punta yarn we got at stix-n-stitches. OMG, I am so in love with this yarn. So far, no pooling. Tomorrow, I clean the house and read paperwork.

I did a tour of 10 (out of 18) colleges in Vermont. I loved the cat from University of Vermont. It was extremely interesting and informative. Although, I am very happy to be back in the Garden State where a bagel tastes like a bagel and coffee is strong and aromatic.

Of the 20 hours on the bus, I passed four yarn shops and did not make it inside the walls of any of them. Sigh.

I did make great progress on the Lady February Sweater and then realized I was not paying attention and spent one night ripping back ten or so rows. Here is the sweater the night I ripped.


Here is the progress on Saturday at the shop. I am now on the lace section which gets to be a little boring. I am loving Creme, the yarn is silk and wool and feels oh so nice. I always resisted buying because it doesn't feel so nice in the ball, but when you knit-it's all good.

Ok, I am getting back to Law & Order Criminal Intent.

Well, I am not, but I certainly hope this creme and the other skeins I picked up will be transformed into the Lady February Sweater.

I am really excited because this is not a color I commonly use or wear and thus stepping outside my color comfort zone.

It's Saturday night and I have my pattern, some Sprite, and the beginning of the sweater which I cast on at stix-n-stitches today.


Warning: Future Rant
Okay, so I rarely go to the movies but I caved and went to see Hellboy 2 with my husband. We got there early, we got our snacks, and we got a good seat. Perfect, until a woman came in with two young kids after the movie started and of course sat next to us. My inner monologue began wondering how much talking would take place. Oh man, way too much, and most of it by the mom. I think my tolerance reached its peak when in the middle of the movie she yelled at her daughter (who was too young to be in the movie) because the little girl had to go to the bathroom. When she returned she snapped at her son for not paying attention to the movie and explaining what happened. She wanted her son to explain what a "Forest God" was something I as an adult watching the movie could not explain. All of this further reinforces why I have a Netflix subscription and rarely go to the movie.

I am not broody, I am just determined to cut down on my stash. I have been de-stashing some of my yarn on Ravelry which makes me feel good that I am clearing space up in my office.

I made another Pretty Newborn Baby Sweater in Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in a teal.

I picked out some buttons and just need to sew them. The yarn is yummy. And it's a great stash-buster because now that yarn is gone and done.

This baby sweater will go to someone some day.

And this will become another Baby Surprise Jacket. I have been oogling and desiring this Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Yarn for months now and finally took the plunge to Baby Surprise it. I do have someone in mind for this project.

Next Saturday we start the Lady February Sweater KAL. I still have not formally decided on the yarn. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

One addiction of Ravelry is finding new patterns. When you friend someone you can totally check out all the things they add to their queue and thus find new projects. Thus, the Pretty Baby Sweater. I am under the impression this is a variation of the 5 hour baby sweater. I knit it in a few hours.

It's knit in Scoubidou in a pink variegated color and it only took two skeins. Granted this is for a newborn, I was impressed how quickly it knit as well as how little yarn. This will be someone's gift someday. I have two more skeins left which means another sweater for someone else but another day for the second one.

I have to admit I have a second one on the needles with leftover Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in teal. Hmmm...

Ok, so I finally added the buttons to the Baby Surprise Jacket. This is good because the baby boy was born recently and I love his name: Flyn Thomas. How cool! So, he gets a cool jacket.

I enjoyed the jacket so much I picked up the Socks That Rock in Harlotty and made a BSJ with a collar. This is not made with anyone in mind, but just because. Here's the thing: I picked up STR Mediumweight at Rhinebeck and I wasn't in love with it. I love the colors, but somehow the yarn never knits how I expect it, but it worked fabulous for this project. It just needs buttons. I cast on Wednesday and cast off today (Saturday) not bad in my opinion.

I also had this project hanging out in my home and I think it is time. If Flyn is getting a sweater and blanket (remember the Babe Blanket) then his sister Gracie should get a poncho. I think this should fit her (it goes over my head).
I am tempted to make all the straggling sock yarn into a baby surprise jacket, but I think I may have to experiment with some other projects.

Oh-so our July 4th was a blast. We visited my folks on the lake with Maya and Skye. Maya ended up chasing a gaggle of geese into the lake and then across it. When we realized she wasn't coming back, we jumped in my dad's electric boat chasing her with all the neighbors fishing watching the activities. A boat that was passing by turned around to chase her. So, picture this- a goose swimming across the lake with a mini black lab two feet behind with a boat of six people four feet behind and another boat of three people eight feet behind. Luckily, the other boat grabbed Maya and then commented what kind of dog she must be (the lab is the swimmer, the terrier is the overly focused). We then maneuvered the boats to load her on the boat to go back to the house with all the neighbors then asking, "Does she have lab in her?" Sadly, no photos documented this event.

Have a great weekend!

This is such a quick knit. It went super fast and only towards the end was I grinding my teeth because of the feather and fan part (which is much better because I usually do that in the middle of the project).

I used Cascade Eco-Wool in a lovely Chocolate color. It took two skeins and I have half of the second one in my bag.

I may make another one or two of these for family members.

I am debating who gets one though. It is so tempting to make this!

I blocked the hemlock ring this afternoon. Yeah!

Ok, other projects I am working on:

Juliet in Malabrigo. I am ripping the bind off and adding another repeat of the lace pattern and adding some sleeves.
Lady February Sweater KAL will start shortly so I am getting everything ready.
Hex Coat, I am working on the first sleeve.
Children's Cotton Hat, I just finished a store sample in Cotonade.
Flying V scarf, I just finished a store sample in the Great Adirondack yarn.

So, I am always shopping for ideas for fundraisers for PAWS and I came across the ice cream social held at St. Hubert's. What a great idea! Ice cream for humans and their four legged companions. They have kiddie pools set up for the dogs and everyone gets to enjoy the lovely weather!


Skye enjoyed the day, but not the Frosty Paws chicken flavored ice cream.


Maya, on the other hand, really loved the chicken flavored ice cream. Here she is focused on the ice cream that she pushed under the table.


Ok, I have much much knitting to post. For instance, I should post a picture of my hemlock ring blanket and my juliet sweater and the flying v scarf I am making, and the hex coat I picked up (again). We will just have to wait a few more days as I have many hours to work this week.

I graduated.  I didn't attend the graduation.  There's something about a stadium full of 20,000 people that doesn't interest me even if I have to wear a robe that makes me sweat with complete strangers.  I called the school and they are mailing my diploma (it should arrive eventually).

I have been working on the Hemlock Ring Blanket.  Yeah!  I love it.  Two skeins of Cascade Eco-wool and I haven't messed it up.  It's lace and I haven't messed it up.  The picture is the first night I started the project.  

This is Yarnahoy Yarn and it's nice.  

The socks are being mailed to my Titi Vicky (my aunt) who asked for a pair a long time ago.

Ok, so I owe more pictures.

Other than that, all is well.

Skye.


Maya.

The girls had a blast at the dog park (as usual).

We spent most of Saturday cleaning.

I just need to sew the buttons on the Baby Surprise Jacket and it is done. Yeah.

Saturday was a nice day.

I finished my last class on Tuesday. The last class of my master's program, which gets a big who-hoo!
Friday was the last day of my internship. The office organized the nicest most lovely breakfast for me and gave me a gift. I really am going to miss all of them.

Saturday did not follow the plan where I would sleep in late. At 9am, we made a donation to A Purrfect World's Tricky Tray, dropped Ben's car off at the garage. 10am-we visited Costco. 11am-We ate breakfast at the Rock n' Roll bistro. 12pm-we went to the dog park.

The dog park.


The collage of the girls running around.


I will be reading a book and working on Juliet.

I am knitting this single stranded on larger needles in Malabrigo, Apricot color, and I am on the lace pattern.

Tomorrow- road trip.

Although, I am breaking my silence, there will sadly be no knitting related material.

Here's the deal, I have literally one class left before I finish my master's program. I have my resume and cover letter (pretty much ready) and I have my last day of internship this Friday. I have had papers, logs, and assignments due in class and at my site, and well, that was a lot. I don't think I have knitted an hour in the past month which is really sad. I have so much stuff on the needles.

It was also my birthday which was celebrated at the lake with my folks, my husband, and our dogs.

Did I say dogs?

Did I mention we also adopted another dog?

In addition, to the hyperactive super excited chewing everything in site terrier known as Maya we adopted another one.

Yup, we did.

Yes, we are insane.

Meet Skye.

Skye was adopted in the beginning of April. She is part Husky (thus the blue eyes) and part Border Collie (thus her interesting stance when things move and her constant desire to herd).

You might notice a scar around her muzzle. Skye was brought into the shelter as a puppy with wire wrapped around her muzzle (probably some freak's idea of stopping her from barking) which left the scar.

She is not really a fan of water, but thinking about it, Husky dogs like snow, and Border Collies like sheep. Water doesn't fit this equation. She does love...

Maya. This is is Maya swimming like a fiend on my birthday. She likes to play fetch in the water (while Skye likes to bark at her). They get along really well together. They wrestle together and since they are the same size and temperament it works out pretty well.

Idiosyncracies? She barked at hay the other day.

Otherwise we are following the Cesar Milan philosophy that a tired dog is a happy dog and so these guys are getting walked twice a day and have visited the Watsessing Dog Park three times a week.

We are really happy (and tired).

My friend Katie gave me some Reynolds Cabana in a soft green. I don't typically knit with chunky yarn but this felt nice and went pretty quickly. I think inheriting a lot of yarn from Katie (who also taught me to knit) was fabulous because I tried new colors. I followed an online raglan calculator to figure out how many stitches to cast on and just made it up from there. It has a simple seed stitch collar which I kept for the cuffs. It is shorter than my other sweaters but it's a summer knit.

Thanks to Katie who gave me the yarn!

I still need to pick up the hex coat. But, let me tell you what happened. I wasn't feeling well today and ended up sitting on my bed with a stack of inherited Interweave Knits (and some purchased at Elly's) from 2004 to recently and came across the Waterlily Top knit in Colinette Giotto (Spring 2006). Well, I have a lot in Sunrise color (soft and shimmery pink) so I am leaning towards this project. Although, I don't wear tank tops, so I may add sleeves to the piece. And, the color may match my skin tone too much (that might be interesting).

Happy Easter!

The linen stitch baby blanket is done. It is 25" by 25" and is super soft. If you use linen stitch don't forget to go up several needles sizes. The stitch is very thick. The yarn is Fibre Company Babe which is super soft and is primarily Alpaca and then Merino wool. Now, all I need is the baby. I think the baby is due this Spring, so I just have to prepare the mailing.

On other news, I have been working on a top down cardigan in Reynolds Cabana. I will have pictures of that this weekend. It should be done shortly.

Netflix News: We still need to return Vicar of Dibley, Season 1. I love this show and I think it is fabulous. Dawn French is fabulous.

This is what we think the communist squirrels are doing in our backyard. Have I mentioned anything about the communist squirrels?

Well, short story. We have so many trees in our small backyard that there is a commune of squirrels that live in our yard. There's the super fat one (the size of cat) called Slim, there's the one without the tail called Stubby, there's the one who likes to look in our windows called Peeper, and the remaining twenty are called Oscar. My grandfather had a habit of calling every squirrel Oscar. When we moved in we saw a dozen of them from the back window twitching tails and communicating how they were going to steal the bird seed we left out.

Of course, this has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day until I found the photo. Our squirrels have been MIA today, probably down at the pub, sipping Guinness.

Obviously, stress translates into retail therapy and startitis. Granted my hex coat is floating somewhere in lala land, a baby blanket is almost done, I started a pair of socks a week ago, and last night cast on for a completely different pair.

Oh-so my retail therapy included purchasing two skeins of Claudia Handpainted in Just Plum.

This was a temptation purchase. I have never knit with Claudia and I am enjoying the yarn. I think that I will be purchasing more in some brighter colors (Limeade, Sherbet, Jungle, to name a few).

This is where I am now.

Don't think I am a super fast knitter, today I had a day off. I zoned out to a Clean House marathon (I love Niecy Nash) and then spent an hour at sbux with a Grande Caramel Macchiato (damn I love that drink!).

Back to knitting and Shaun of the Dead (I love Simon Pegg), then onto Project Runway!