Its button time

These are the sleeves of my little cardi.  I didn't like the way it was turning out - see the one on the right.  I hadn't counted on my gauge for garter stitch being so different in the round, versus flat.  The second sleeve cuff (on the left) I knit flat and seamed it shut.  I liked it much better.  So I frogged the first cuff and knit it flat as well.  The whole thing is now finished.  Pretty cute eh?

Well, except its missing button.  I'm still not 100% sure who I'll be giving this to.  Maybe Heather's baby - who will be a boy.  Or maybe a former coworker - who will be having a girl.  I really like these green buttons.  What do you think?

I think they would be perfect for either a boy or girl.  I'm still debating doing a little embroider or needle felting too.  In anycase, I'm super happy with it.  I'm also in love with this yarn.  I bought this yarn with the intentions of finally making a sweater for Kev.  Its 50% acrylic/50% wool, so I thought it would be warm enough, but also easy care.  But I love the colour and I love the way it knits up.   Great stitch definition and just so nice to knit with.  I'm thinking about making myself a Lady Kina.  This sweater looks so much like me.  Its so wearable.  And I'm thinking that the acrylic might make it cool enough to make this garment a nice transitional cover up.  And then I can use a nice yellow/green button too.

Baby Sweater Jag

We all get on knitting jags.  The Yarn Harlot is going through a leaf thing right now.  I've gone on sock binges before, and even a scarf kick, but I do believe this is the first time I've gotten on a baby sweater jag.  Heather is the only person that I know who is expecting.  I knit the striped placket pullover from a few posts back for her baby to be.  He is set to arrive sometime this summer.  Her due date is early August but I'm doubtful she'll last that long.  Essentially her baby sweater is done.  I'm not sure why I feel the urge to keep knitting baby sweaters other than they are so freakin' cute and fast. The grey one is from a free pattern found here.  I wish I could photograph the garter stitch better.  Maybe I'll try again in the morning in better light.  The yarn is new to me.  Its Berroco's Vintage - which is wool/acrylic blend.  I'm normally a bit of yarn snob especially when it comes to natural fibers.  I'm not a fan of acrylics as a rule, but I must admit to really liking this yarn so far.  I'm not sure how it'll hold up to washing or if it pills or not, but based on feel and how it knits up alone, I really, really like it!  

The second photo is also a free pattern.  I wasn't so happy with this one.  In fact I ended up frogging it.  The pattern called for bulky yarn knit on size 11s.  The resulting fabric was way too open.  I went down several needle sizes to get a fabric that I was happy with but then the pattern was more doll size.  I think I may double up on the bulky yarn on size 11s to see if I get something I'm happy with.  I haven' totally ruled this one out yet.

Self Striping Yarn - My True Love

The yarn is Zauberball Crazy and it is just that.  There is no repeating of any colours.  If you knit socks from this yarn, they would definitely be fraternal twins as there is no way to make the colours line up.  Up close, the yarn is like a barber poled handspun.  I love the result.  I would have kept crocheting but I ran out of the contrasting black yarn.  It took two skeins of Knitpicks Palette.  

I have countless other images that I wanted to put up as well, but I chose these.  I love the close ups.  This is from a free pattern that can be gotten here.

In other news, I cast on for a baby sweater four days ago, and finished it.  I used Spud and Chloe Sweater yarn.  Its a blend of wool and cotton and is supposed to be easy care.  I really enjoyed the yarn.  This sweater is for Heather's new baby, not yet born, and it had to be easy care.  No care would be great, but I'll settle for easy care.  I bought this yarn from A Good Yarn.  Its a new yarn shop that opened up in St John's.   While I've never been there in person, I can attest to the great customer service.  I hope to visit it real soon.

The Joys of Blocking

Pattern is Abrazo from the most recent Twist Collective.  Its knit in knitpicks new tonal lace yarn, and I love it.  Its one of the first (if not the absolute first) attempts at lace knitting in a lace weight yarn.  I did find it difficult to get used to.  Its not like knitting with nose hairs, as its been suggested by other knitters opposed to knitting with lace weight, but it is a little tricky.  The results are stunning though, and definitely worth it. 

This pattern actually called for knitting in beads, which I omitted because I hadn't done that before either, but I might contemplate it at sometime.  This designer has a new pattern in knitty called Annis which is very similar to this one, except it uses nupps instead of beads.  I might try this one too. 


Can you believe that some people never block their work?  I'm sure that its not lace knitters.  Blocking this was a real joy, seeing how the pattern opened up. 

A sewing post - and a craft by Kev!

I swear,  Kev made something!!  But first, I wanted to show off the little bingo caddy that I made.  It actually turned out to be not so little.  I've sewn this project before, and I found it ran a little small, especially on the base.  This time I wanted it a little larger, so I just kind of made it up as I went along, using the pattern more as a recipe.  The pattern can be found here by the way.   I used some more of the fabric that I got from the 99 cent dress from Old Navy.  I love it, and I still have enough for another bingo caddy, maybe two, if I don't make it so friggin huge. Its hard to tell from the photos, but trust me...huge.  And here is a close up of the cute little needle felted beads that I put on the ends of the ties. 


This past week, I had to give a little talk about spinning to my Trefoil Guild members.  I brought my wheel in to show the ladies, and I also brought along my spindle.  I showed off  my handspun yarns and all my fibers.  And.....I had Kev make them each a spindle for them to take home and try themselves.  Here he is holding them all.  I am so proud of his work.  Each spindle is well balanced, and seems to spin great.  The girls seemed to enjoy the talk and demonstrations.  I'm not sure that I convinced any of them to take spinning up as a hobby, but I really tried. 

Still loving the Crochet

I finished the little dress, which turned out to be adorable.  I donated to the Girl Guides fundraiser silent auction.  I know the lady that bought it, so I will be secretly watching her child this summer to see if she wears it.  This was such a cute design, and the designer couldn't be sweeter.  She contacted me on Ravelry to let me know that she liked my rendition of her design.  I did use a heavier gauged yarn than recommended and consequently ended up with a size to fit a 2 year old even though I crocheted the smallest size.


And here is my progress on the rhubard scarf.  What a great pairing of stitch pattern and yarn!  I'm loving the result, though I'm getting a little tired of scarves.  I just finished knitting Summit from the most recent issue of Knitty.   I modified mine to make a more narrow version because I didn't have enough of the yarn to make a full sized version.  I used Knitpick's Stroll kettle dyed in the auburn colourway.  Overall, I'm happy with this as it resulted in a nice spring scarf.  Blocking was tricky though!

What I've been up to.

Its been a while since I've blogged.  So much for my resolution to blog more, but in my defence, I was ill.  Strep throat to be precise.  And at the worse possible time.  I went to visit Amy last week.  I had all of these plans to go yarn shopping.  I even had Kev convinced to go wheel shopping with me.  He even knew that I was talking about a spinning wheel, not actual tires or a vehicle.   All that I managed to do (in the fibre realm) was to buy some books and magazines.  I did get to take in some amazing performances by the students of Bishop's University.  Other than that, I slept.  And took medication. 

Prior to our trip, I got on a crochet jag.  Brought about by National Crochet month and our little CAL on Ravelry.  So here is a look at some crochet projects that I've been working on.

This is the Bella Dress from the most recent issue of Interweave Crochet.  I finally broke down and bought a subscription.  This was my first issue and I was not dissappointed.  This little dress features a fabric skirt sewn in after.  I just love the coordinating fabric.  It came from a tent dress that I bought from Old Navy on sale for 99cents!!  I guess I'm still in denial that Heather is having another boy.  I really wanted this dress to be for her new baby.  Maybe she'll still let me put it on him.





This is the Noro Catherine Wheel Scarf.  I'm making mine out of a ball of Zauberbal Crazy and one ball of Knit Pick Palette.  I love how its working up.  This was my go to project on our little trip.  Normally, I knit or crochet like a bandit while travelling.  Sadly, I hardly worked on it at all.  That just goes to show you, how sick I really felt.