"Leaving" is Coming

My "Leaving" cardigan by Anne Hanson is coming along.  Knit of Lisa Souza's Baby Alpaca Silk in the colorway "Cranilicious".

The back is finished, and I have started knitting the sleaves.  I've followed the pattern shaping up to the point where Custom Fit shaping takes over.  So fun to knit.  I love the lace design, and the yarn is a dream to work with.  It is a lace weight yarn, knit on size US 5 needles, so it is fine gauge, and does not knit up quickly.  But . . . I'm sure it will be worth it in the end, as I love wearing finer gauged sweaters.

 

You can easily see that I have trouble keeping my lace holes consistent.  When creating a yarn-over from purl to knit, I get a much smaller hole, that when creating a yarn-over from knit to purl, or purl to purl.  I guess I am consistent in the stitches always coming out the same.  I'm open to suggestions, if you have a method for keeping your lace holes consistently the same size, please let me know. 

I've found a home for my first "Lady Kina" sample.  It was the perfect fit for Ellie.  I'm sure she'll put it to good use.  Her Mom is purchasing a matching skirt, so I hope to have some better pictures of Ellie wearing her sweater soon. 

 My "Knit Night" Group is having some knitting successes.  Kathy and Jennifer finished their "Poor Baby" KAL sweaters.  They are just in-time for the arrival of Jennifer's new baby girl (Kathy's first grandchild).  They thought these were more boy colors, but I think they will be just darling on a baby girl!  They both did such a great job knitting these little sweaters.  You would never guess they were beginner knitters.  It won't be long, and they will be experts. 

 

Jill (Ellie's Mom), just finished this darling baby romper.  It is so cute with the matching pumpkin hat.  Just perfect for a baby to be born in mid-October.  Jill is quite the expert knitter.  I can't wait to knit this pattern myself.  I just need a new grandchild to give me purpose.  

Jennifer has been working hard, turning WIP's (works in progress) into FO's (finished objects).  Look at these darling little quilts, all hand-pieced.  Her baby in coming to a very talented Mother.



It is turning into a beautiful Fall.  The perfect season for knitting!  Happy Knitting!

Fall Knitting Begins

Congratulations to Audrey Allen, the WINNER of my latest "Poor Baby Sweater" Giveaway. All she had to do to win, was become a "follower" of this blog. Audrey is a newlywed, who has just become the Mother of 5 beautiful children. She is so happy, and hopes to add some additional children to her family soon. Perhaps this little sweater will be of more use to her, than most (that is if she has at least one girl, little boys don't generally like wearing bright pink).

Fall is definitely in the air. My garden is producing like gang-busters. I have spaghetti squash, eggplant, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers and green beans coming out of my ears. I'm quickly filling my freezer with green beans and sundried tomatoes. The mountains around us are turning a brilliant shade of orange, and night is arriving a little sooner each day.

I love this time of year! It's always so inspiring to start planning those cozy autumn sweaters. No concern about the weather, and if it will be much too hot to wear them. It's always fun to wear a snuggly sweater, when you are leasurely knitting another.

I've joined the "Custom Fit Fall Festival Knit-a-Long".  The sweater I am going to knit for this KAL is "Leaving" by Anne Hanson This will be my 2014 F2F #7.

I'm knitting it out of Lisa Souza - Baby Alpaca Silk in the color "Cranilicious".  This picture doesn't do the color justice.  It is a rich blend of rusts and grays.  The perfect Fall combination.

It is an A-line design, so I am following the pattern as written, up to where "Custom Fit" shaping starts.

This is what I have done on the back.  It is moving along quickly, since I just started yesterday.  The pattern is beautifully written.  The KAL runs from September 1 through November 15, so I should be able to finish, even though I'll be knitting with small sized needles (US4 to 6).

 

 

 

I've finished my "Lady Kina" sweater, which I knit in a "growing leaves" pattern.  It was knit of KnitPicks - Comfy Worsted, in the color "Doe".  I was afraid it wouldn't fit me, since I didn't read the pattern carefully to start, and later realized the sizing was in French.  Luckily some good blocking to stretch out the leaves, has made the sweater just my size.  I'm so excited to wear it.

This is the sweater to be knit by my "Knit Night" Group.  We started our KAL on September 4.  There were so many beautiful yarns of every color, there that night.  I just can't wait to see all of their progress at our "Witch Knit" on October 2.  I had missed seeing all of these ladies over the Summer, but we are right back "in the groove" again.  I had started my sweater in early September, so I had a head start.  Along with a sample version, which I knit for my Grand-daughter, I was hoping to work out the bugs in the pattern before everyone else started.  I'm so glad I did!  Otherwise, everyone would be knitting the wrong size.

In addition, the Salt Lake Knitting Guild has started a KAL too.  I have chosen the "Flowering Weeds Shawl" by Karalee Harding.  I'll be getting this started soon too.  You know me . . . never happy unless I have at least 5 wips (works in progress) at all times. 

In case you are wondering . . . my "Stella Pullover" is still on the needles.  I'm working on the sleeves, and this has become my perfect "take-a-long" project.  I'll continue to work on it, as time goes by.  Hopefully, it will be ready for next Summer.

Well, I've put up all of my Halloween decorations, and I'm planning costumes for several of the grandchildren, along with mine.  We'll all soon be taking trips to the pumpkin patch.  I hope your Fall is kicking off to a great start, like mine!  Happy Knitting!

Vacations & Knitting

Just when Summer was ending, we were able to squeeze in a few vacation days. We spent a week in San Antonio, cruising the River Walk, remembering the Alamo, visiting Gruene, Berne and Fredricksburg, taking pictures of the LDS Temple. It was really HOT there, but fun just the same. It was a great city to visit. Many thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for always generously sharing their time-share with us. We ate a lot of great Tex-Mex and BBQ. Kyle is the super-sleuth of finding little out-of-the-way eating establishments. They often look scary from the outside, but always end up being delicious!! We shopped at a HUGE outlet Mall, where we found some great deals, and at many eclectic boutiques in the small surrounding towns.

My take-along knitting project was my "Stella" sweater. The yarn came wrapped on a cone, so it was easy to slip into my carry-on bag. It knit up really fast, with a lace weight yarn and large needles. I've finished the body, and I'm currently working on the left sleeve. I may actually get to wear this Summer sweater before the weather cools. It is looking like my "Eva" sweater may be put "on-hold" until next Summer. Fall is coming and I'm itching to start knitting warmer sweaters.

The day after we returned, my husband went to work on an Elk Hunting Ranch for 2 months, and I traveled with my grandchildren to see Dinosaur Land in Vernal, Utah. School has begun again, and we wanted to squeeze one more fun trip in. It was a one-day whirlwind trip, but so much fun! I always forget how excited little boys get about dinosaurs. It was amazing to see the dinosaur bones of many different types of dinosaurs, still in the mountainside.

Dont's these two guys look alike? I couldn't resist taking these pictures. It guess it is an "Easton-asaurous"???

After this fun week, it was back to work and back to school. However, it was also time to start up "Knit Night" again. We had a great turn-out and we started our "Lady Kina" KAL. There were so many fun colors, chosen for these sweaters. We should have quite a fashion show of them at the end of the year. In addition, some brought their Summer Projects to share.

Tiffany took a quilt piecing class over the Summer. She made this beautiful sampler quilt. It is all ready for quilting, and just in time for the arrival of her fourth child.

This cute little guy was the recipient of one of Erica's "Poor Baby" Sweaters. Lucky guy. You'll remember that Erica knit 3 "Poor Baby" sweaters at our last "Knit Night" KAL.

Jennifer is expecting her first baby in December. She knit these two darling little elephants over the Summer. The original pattern produced the small one, and she figured out how to upsize it, but using bulkier yarn and larger needles. They are so cute! Jennifer's Mom is quite amazed at how quickly Jennifer is picking up knitting skills. She is a little concerned that she may be "left in the dust".

Along with my "Stella", I am frantically knitting to finish up "MY" "Lady Kina" sweater. It is coming along nicely, but will likely not fit "ME" in the end. I was a little late in figuring out the pattern was written for French sizing. Oh well . . . I already have some small sized volunteers to take it off my hands. You can see from the picture what a difference blocking makes. I can't wait to get this intertwined leaf pattern stretched out. It is working up just as I had hoped.

Well, now that Fall is in the air, I have a few KALs of my own, that I am hoping to participate in. I've joined Amy Herzog's Fall Festival Sweater KAL.  I've decided to knit "Leaving", designed by Anne Hanson.  I've chosen Lisa Souza Baby Alpaca Silk in the color "Cranaliscious.  I can't wait to get started.  I plan to swatch this weekend, so I can get my Custom Fit pattern ordered up and ready to go.

The nip of Fall is in the air, and the leaves are quickly changing.  Our garden is producing like crazy, and I'll be freezing lots of grean beans this weekend, along with trying some new cucumber and zucchini recipes.  It has been a great Summer!  Happy Knitting!