Busy . . . Busy . . . Busy

October has brought a lot of fun events.

We took the whole family to DisneyLand for a fun vacation.  We stayed in Palm Dessert at a great resort, and travelled on two separate days to DisneyLand and LegoLand.

 

 

 

We had a fun and relaxing week. The drive there and back was long and tiring, but the rest was lots of fun!

We returned, just in time for our annual Family Halloween Party.

Mario and Luigi were there.

There was a "Big Bang".

Cinderella and Prince Charming arrived.

We had Salt and Pepper with our dinner.

A cute little "Candy Corn" witch.

A Zombie Doctor . . . I don't think I'll be booking an appointment with her, any time soon.

Some cute little "sister" bugs.

Some Bank Robbers and their Bag of Stolen Money.

And a scary zombie hunter. It was a really fun party, with lots more adorable costumes, a great dinner, and fun games and prizes.

The next day we were off to the Pumpkin Patch, to collect some pumkins for carving.

Hayden wore her new "Poor Baby" sweater. She was warm, and looked so festive riding in the wheel barrow with the pumpkins. I have knit so many of these little, backzip sweaters, and they are always a hit. So easy to slip them into, with the zipper up the back.

Now that the requests for "Poor Baby" sweaters are all finished, I'm back to knitting on my Drew Sweater.  I've had some confusion with the pattern, and have done a lot of ripping back.  I am finally working on the back collar.

You can't tell from the picture, but I think I've knit the collar so it turns to the wrong side. However, the shell pattern is turned correctly, so I'm just going to go with it.

I currently have 6 weeks into the knitting of this sweater, and I still need to design and knit sleeves for it, as the original pattern was a vest. Hmmmm . . . I'm starting to wonder if it will ever be finished. My fingers are just itching to start a new project. Hopefully, it will be finished by my next post. Happy Knitting . . .

Plugging Away

My "Drew Sweater", is coming along

I have both front pieces on the needles and I'm nearing the point where the shall collar is knit.  I'm really excited to get working on the collar, as it is the very thing that really attracted me to the pattern.

However, just like always happens, I've had to set my "Drew Sweater" aside, to work on other requested projects.

Back to knitting "Poor Baby Sweaters".  I've knit so many of these, I should be able to knit them in my sleep. When I announced to my family that 2014 was going to be a year devoted to knitting only for me, and trying to learn how to perfectly fit my strange body, everyone went into a frenzy! Many requests were made, and this was the result. This one, with my favorite baby booties, was knit for a customer at my daughter's hair salon.

These two, shown on the needles together, will be shower gifts. One for my son's friends, and the other for a friend of mine. Not pictured here, is the mustard colored sweater I am making for my grand-daughter. She is only 5 months old, but her newborn sweater was quickly outgrown. Her mother requested the color, and it should be completed by the end of the week. She made me laugh, when she said the hood of the first sweater no longer fit my grand-daughter's "melon". So funny . . . I'm sure she will grow into her head soon.

I'm so excited! This is the swatch for my first "Fit to Flatter", custom fit pattern. I swatched in the yarn from my "Drew Sweater", as I had it on hand, and I loved the feel and drape it produced. My measurements and swatch information have been run through the "Fit to Flatter" software, and I just received my first pattern. I've ordered the yarn in a "Garnet Red", and I can't wait for it to arrive.

However, I must complete my "Drew Sweater" before I can get started. In addition, I have the yarn all wound in balls for another Christmas gift sweater that must be started too. I know that I have announced to my family that I will be spending all of 2014 knitting only for myself, so there will likely still be some last minute knitting requests. I'm only accepting requests for small projects that can be completed in a week or less, but it is going to be really hard not to cast on for this new pattern, as soon as the yarn arrives.

I'll be going on a fun, family vacation soon, so perhaps I can whip out a lot of knitting. Long car rides are always great for knitting projects.

Please sign up as a "Follower". I am planning some fun give-aways, and the winners will be selected from a drawing of all "Followers", new and old. Have a great Autumn Season, and Happy Knitting . . . . .

2013 Witch Knit

We had our annual "Witch Knit" last night.  What a fun time!  The costumes were very funny, and even those who did not wear witch's garb, cast their spell for a fabulous evening.

Emery was a "candy corn" witch. She tied for first place in the costume contest.

My adopted grand-daughter, Sierra was quite styling with her beautiful red hair and these crazy striped socks.

My Mom, like always, was the elegant witch.

. . . and my Sister looked quite beautiful with purple hair! She was tied with Emery for the best witch costume.

Holly was the only witch to show up on a "Swiffer". She is such a modern-day witch . . . I mean, really, who uses a broom anymore? She was the second place winner of the costume contest. The "sexy witch". Every party needs one!

Marlene was the "Federal Worker" witch, who was out on furlough. Check out her sign. It says "The Witch is In", but it could quickly be turned to say, "The Witch is Out". I hope all of those poor Federal Workers can return to work and a paycheck soon.

Tiffany was a Harry Potter type "Magical Witch". Much too pretty to be categorized with the rest of us. She was the third place winner of the costume contest. Too bad there were only three prizes.

Laura and Hayden were my favorite little witches. Hayden's Father said her hair bow looked like a satelite dish, but I think it just made her even more darling!

Here we have three generations of witches.  Ilene joins the group.  It was so fun to have Laura's Mom there.  She crochets such beautiful things.

These glasses I'm wearing, although quite stylish, were giving me a headache!  Like always, I was too wrapped up in taking photos and getting the food ready, to remember to take some pictures of the food.  We had yummy Navajo Tacos (see the recipes on the tab above), Eyeball Punch (made by Emery), Cupcakes (made by Joan), and Doughnuts (provided by Carolyn). The food was great.  We did a lot of laughing, and even some knitting.  Everyone brought projects to work on.  Holly is making these fabulous bracelets out of old baseballs.  It was so fun to see how she puts them together.  I should have taken some pictures, but perhaps I'll have to post that next month.  Thanks to everyone who attended, and made the night a great success!  We missed those few of you who could not come, and we look forward to seeing you in November.  Happy Knitting . . . . .

The Drew Sweater

October has arrived, and my Christmas knitting projects are well underway.

It took me 3 weeks (much longer than usual), but the back of my Drew Sweater is finally finished.  The stitch pattern seems to be biasing, but I'm hoping a good soak and some careful blocking will soften it up and straighten it out.

The sweater front panels are currently on my needles, and after 1 week, they are 1/2 way finished. I guess I'm getting faster at executing the modified rib pattern, and the fronts include a fan design. I can usually knit any sweater in 4 weeks, but this one is going to take longer. I already have 4 weeks invested in it, and I still have to design and knit sleeves, since the pattern is written as a vest, and no sleeves are included.

It is amazing how just when your flowers are at their most beautiful, the weather turns and threatens to freeze them. These are the flower pots on my deck. They have never been so full and lush. I hope they last a few more weeks, but the weather reports are for a possible freeze tonight.

I only purchased 1 small flat of marigolds this past Spring. I quickly harvested the seeds and planted the remaining pots and flower bed borders in my front yard. It took a lot of seeds to do this, but the results have been beautiful. You would never know which were the original flowers. As the Summer has progressed, I have continued to harvest and dry the seeds from all of these flowers, and I now have plenty for next year. Even though it isn't a fragrant flower, the marigold keeps the bugs away, and it is always so bright and cheery.

I will be hosting my annual "Witch Knit" tonight. I am so excited as I am expecting quite a crowd. It is always so fun to gather with friends and spend a relaxing evening, eating, knitting, and laughing. If you are reading this post, and you would like to join us, please come . . . witch garb or not.

I hope to have some pictures of all the witches in my next post. In the meantime, check out the cute costumes I purchased for two of my granddaughters. These won't be worn until our family Halloween Party, but I just couldn't resist sharing them with you. Such cute little "bugs". I am sewing away on my costume too. I should have some pictures to share soon.

Well . . . this is where I should be posting the picture of me wearing the new cardigan I just purchased, but the picture was just too embarrassing. It is a darling sweater, half lacy crochet and half knit in a turquoise yarn. The front is long and ruffled in an all-around tunic length. The front ruffle can easily be tied to close the front, and that is how I had hoped to wear it. BUT . . . it looks terrible on me!! I am tall, but the length shortens my legs to stumps and makes me look square. Not a good look, and one that has made me desparate to figure out the best possible sillhouette for my body type and shape.

I've searched high and low, and quickly discovered "Knit to Flatter" by Amy Herzog.  What a fabulous book!  It is filled with methods for determining your basic body type, and best possible sweater types to knit for yourself.  Further searching brought me to Amy's website, and the knowledge that she was developing software, which would design a knitting pattern to meet your exact body measurements.  The software is still in the development stages, and is currently going through test phases, but I cannot wait for it to be made available.  I wish I had been earlier in the process, and could have been one of her "beta testers".  However, it looks like I will be one of the first to actually get one of her custom written patterns.

Christmas gift knitting is still looming out there, but I have made the decision that I need to devote a year of knitting, learning and designing, to me.  So . . . 2014 will be the "Year of Knitting for Lori".  I am one of those people who hates their body, so I am going to devote a whole year to knitting sweaters that I can be proud to stand in front of the camera in.  I don't think my body will be changing, but I certaining hope my knowledge of creating sweaters that fit and flatter will be accomplished.  I should be starting my blog posts in January, with sweater #1, and we'll see how many I can knit in a year's time.  I plan to knit patterns from my favorite designers, and I hope to design a few of my own (which will be sized for general use).

I hope there aren't friends and family who are hoping to put in some knitting requests, anytime soon.  It is going to be hard for me, but this is the time when I will have to learn to say "no", or "it will have to wait until 2015".  Christmas should be interesting next year too.  How will I possibly get through a season without knitting gifts?  The ladies in  my Book Club will certainly be disappointed when "felted slippers" aren't one of the gifts.  I'm hoping most of them have already received a pair, since I've been making them for at least 6 years.  Anyway . . . here's to me!  Hopefully, I will be able to come to terms with my body type, and I'll learn to live with it. Being a cancer survivor has certainly taught me how wonderful it is to be alive. I just need to quit feeling depressed about my size.

Happy Knitting . . . . . . .Amy's website