knitting
Before I get to the knitting, allow me to bitch about Wisconsin weather for a minute. For nine months out of the year, the weather here sucks. It's cold, wet, snowy and miserable for most of the fall, all of the winter, and most of the spring. Just when you think you can't stand it any more, you get about two weeks of glorious sunny days when everything is suddenly green and blooming and bursting with color. Then it gets oppressively muggy and warm (usually not hot - 90 degrees is rare here - I'll give you that) until October, when you get a week or two of nice fall weather with pretty leaves and then it's miserable again. We had a cool, wet spring here (again, though without the devastating floods like last year, thank heavens). Last weekend it was barely warm enough to go to the swimming pool (though we did anyway) and today I had to turn on the air conditioner because the air is so thick you could scoop it into a soup bowl and call it lunch. It's warm and sticky and stormy. Last night between the lightning and thunder waking me up, and scaring the kids, I hardly got any sleep at all. I have to admit, actually, that I like lying awake listening to a good thunderstorm; it gives me a chance to think. Of course, today I have a raging headache because it's not like I get to sleep in EVER (and I consider 7:00 to be sleeping in), and the kids were crabby and tired until they both fell asleep about a half hour ago, mercifully.
I know, I know. Life could be a lot worse.
Of course, I finished Anya's sweater just in time for summer weather. I'll get modeled shots of this when she grows into it (it's pretty roomy still - at least I was thinking ahead) and when it's cool enough. That might be a while, or it might be next week. you just never know up here.
Pattern: cabled raglan baby sweater (Rav link), the second one I've made in a row. I made the same modifications as the first with the slightly gathered sleeves, and improving (in my opinion) the cables pattern. I have a million baby/toddler sweater patterns, so I don't know why exactly I felt compelled to do this one twice. I like the seamless design, I guess, and the fact that it's so brainless. I think the sleeves are huge, a design flaw, but that probably won't bother Anya too much.
Yarn: Kona Bay cotton, about 5 skeins, which I bought for practically nothing at the cute little LYS in my home town. I don't know how durable this yarn is, but considering how fast kids grow, I don't that's too important. It's ultra-soft, though.
Check out the Peter Rabbit button I found at the Sow's Ear:
So what's next for me? We're going on vacation in a couple days. In fact, my parents-in-law are on their way here RIGHT NOW, so I'm a tiny bit stressed about getting the house clean and dinner ready (though not stressed enough to put this blog post on hold, apparently). Anyway, I'm almost done with the Classic 150 cardigan, but it's at a perfectly awkward stage. I won't get it finished before we leave, since it has to be blocked and dried before sewing up and knitting the button band and collar, and it's certainly too cumbersome to bring along on the trip. Stuart's brother and family are coming along, too, which means there will be 4 children under the age of 4 in one rental cabin...blocking pins, wet wool, 3 toddlers and a newly-crawling baby sounds like a disastrous combination.
This means I have no choice but to start a new project. I'm thinking sassymetrical, which I found on Ravelry, where I spend a lot of time as I nurse Anya to sleep. And I think I'll use this yarn:
Cashmere canapa by Hemp for Knitting. It's a little light for this pattern, but I think knitting at a slightly looser gauge than the ballband calls for will make it nice and drapey - hopefully not droopy, though.
Now I'm off to swatch before the kiddies wake up. I predict I won't get much farther than casting on.
I know, I know. Life could be a lot worse.
Of course, I finished Anya's sweater just in time for summer weather. I'll get modeled shots of this when she grows into it (it's pretty roomy still - at least I was thinking ahead) and when it's cool enough. That might be a while, or it might be next week. you just never know up here.
Pattern: cabled raglan baby sweater (Rav link), the second one I've made in a row. I made the same modifications as the first with the slightly gathered sleeves, and improving (in my opinion) the cables pattern. I have a million baby/toddler sweater patterns, so I don't know why exactly I felt compelled to do this one twice. I like the seamless design, I guess, and the fact that it's so brainless. I think the sleeves are huge, a design flaw, but that probably won't bother Anya too much.
Yarn: Kona Bay cotton, about 5 skeins, which I bought for practically nothing at the cute little LYS in my home town. I don't know how durable this yarn is, but considering how fast kids grow, I don't that's too important. It's ultra-soft, though.
Check out the Peter Rabbit button I found at the Sow's Ear:
So what's next for me? We're going on vacation in a couple days. In fact, my parents-in-law are on their way here RIGHT NOW, so I'm a tiny bit stressed about getting the house clean and dinner ready (though not stressed enough to put this blog post on hold, apparently). Anyway, I'm almost done with the Classic 150 cardigan, but it's at a perfectly awkward stage. I won't get it finished before we leave, since it has to be blocked and dried before sewing up and knitting the button band and collar, and it's certainly too cumbersome to bring along on the trip. Stuart's brother and family are coming along, too, which means there will be 4 children under the age of 4 in one rental cabin...blocking pins, wet wool, 3 toddlers and a newly-crawling baby sounds like a disastrous combination.
This means I have no choice but to start a new project. I'm thinking sassymetrical, which I found on Ravelry, where I spend a lot of time as I nurse Anya to sleep. And I think I'll use this yarn:
Cashmere canapa by Hemp for Knitting. It's a little light for this pattern, but I think knitting at a slightly looser gauge than the ballband calls for will make it nice and drapey - hopefully not droopy, though.
Now I'm off to swatch before the kiddies wake up. I predict I won't get much farther than casting on.
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