Leaves in the Pool...

It's amazing how different bases take the dye differently! This was the first colorway I created because I love yellow, blue and green :-) I was surprised how much variation there was between the bases. Two totally different looks :-) 

Left: Anna's Sock

Right: Wild Rose Sock

 

I was super excited to get some pictures of how Leaves in the Pool was knitting up :-) Lauren used the Anna's Sock base for her Baby Surprise a Jacket and I have to say it looks FABULOUS!!

I'm sure this beautiful baby sweater will be well received by both mommy and baby :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

Shawl Giveaway :-)

Hello Everyone :-)

I've been cleaning out my spare room (AKA: the stash room) and came across this shawl I knit over 2 years ago. I'm not sure what I was thinking knitting a pink shawl. I am not a pink person but this color was begging to be knitted up :-) 

Yarn : Knit it up Squishy in Prim

Pattern : Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl 2012 by Wendy Johnson

So I've decided to pass it along to a loving home :-) If you love this shawl leave a comment below. Don't forget to leave your Ravelry user name so I an get in contact with you :-) 

Want a second and a third entry? Leave a comment for my Instagram for this giveaway and retweet this tweet from my Twitter :-)

Everyone has until Sunday February 1 at midnight to enter the giveaway :-)

Good Luck to Everyone & Happy Knitting :-)

6 cookies GONE...

It feels like I've been working on this sweater forever but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! 

Pattern: Etching by Linda Wilgus

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Charcoal

It still looks like a giant puddle, but I'm working on the second sleeve. The sleeve is halfway done and I'm so happy I got the decreases figured out on this sweater. The original pattern is a short sleeve sweater and I've got some mods going on on this sweater. I've ripped out the sleeves twice to get them right so it appears that third time is the charm :-) Once this sleeve is done I can get going on the shawl collar. I'm hoping that that will be easier. 

On a positive super yummy note, I found my Baba's Coconut Oatmeal Cookies recipe at my parents house when we had coffee this morning. These were my ultimate favourite cookies as a child and they came out super well! 

I've already eaten 6 out of the 12 from the first batch from the oven. Since I want to spread the love, here's the recipe :-) :

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies:

1 cup margarine

2 1/2 cups of brown sugar

Pinch of salt

3 eggs

2 cups of flour

2 cups of oats

1 cup of unsweetened coconut

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of baking soda

Mix all the ingredients together. Chill for about an hour. Roll 1 tsp of dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Then bake at 325 degrees in the oven for 10 minutes. Cool. Enjoy :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

Hopefully this newborn likes PINK!!! ...

My last yarn dyeing day I had was pretty epic! I mixed up a variety of dyes and went a little crazy (I've already shown my enthusiasm for Material Girl being purchased and knit up!!). But I haven't really went over any of the other colorways. 

Recently one of my cousins had a baby girl! So I was pretty excited to knit something up for her little princess. I had to pulled out a skein of DayLily on Sparkle Sock. It's definatley PINK!!! 

There's enough hot pink in there for any little girl ;-) I got knitting a baby sweater! It took a little while. Which is code for: it got put on the backburner while I cranked out the rest of the Christmas knitting but no worries, I got going on it again. 

Here it is in it's completed AWESOME-NESS! 

Pattern: Baby Sunnyside by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn: Day Lily on Sparkle Sock by Prairie Knitting Yarns

I was very careful of where the yarn was pooling while knitting. Some peeps worry about pooling and how the sweater will look once knit. I'm here to spread the word; I've come up with a solution! It's a little extra work in the end but the overall esthetic is worth it :-) Plus it will help you use up that super variegated yarn that's been lingering in your stash for a while, and your just not sure what to do with it!

While knitting the sweater all was looking good through the yoke of the sweater but eventually it started to pool a bit. I solved this  by working the yarn from the center of the ball  and the outside for a few rows, then it started to pool again. So I decided to pull some yarn and do a quick over handed knot to change up the dye sequence. I only had to do this every inche or so while knitting the body.

More so while working the sleeves but overall it helped keep the knitted yarn variegated in an esthetically pleasing way! 

When I was done knitting it was time to undo the over handed knots, double knot it, and weave in the ends.

It's definatley MORE work but I love the overall effect and the final look :-)

I also had a bit of extra yarn left over, so I knit a part of booties.

Pattern: Oh Baby! Baby Booties by Double Diamond Knits

Yarns: Day Lily on Sparkle Sock by Prairie Knitting Yarns & Debbie Bliss Party Angel

Since I was using a fingering yarn I had to add another yarn of some sort to get it close to DK weight. I tossed my remants stash and pulled out some Debbie Bliss Party Angel. It's so soft :-) I loved the final effect!

This made a wonderful set for a newborn baby girl! I hope mom and baby love it!

Happy Knitting :-)

One Done... :-)

Just a quick post on WoolDork's Material Girl Socks :-) and how beyond excited I am to see the first socks done!!!'

She has one sock done and is working on the next one! 

I'm so excited to see this Colorway knit up :-)

Happy Knitting!

Do I Have to...

I've had this project in my WIP pile for about 2 years. I would knit a bit, then rip it out, then cast on again. It was always there, constantly casting on, then ripping out. It was very frustrating for me. The frustrating part isn't the pattern! Somehow I was messing up the super simple pattern and then the stitch count was off. PLUS.... I had just had my little girl so my mind probally wasnt it's sharpest being a new mom and all ;-)

So when the Tanis Fiber Arts Group on Ravelry were having another KAL for accessories I decided that this project had to be completed. I dug it out from the corner in my spare bed room and decided to cast it on again. This time I was super careful the first couple repeats to make sure that I wasn't messing up the pattern again :-) I was super excited that everything went smoothly! It turned out exactly as I wanted.

Pattern: Stockholm Scarf by KnittedBlissJC 

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Yellow Label in Velvet

I'm so pleased with how it came out. When I blocked it I was super excited with how it looked and I fell even more in love with it when I placed it on the bust form for photos :-) 

It was super difficult to give this to my sister. I so badly wanted to keep it for myself. It's a good thing I have enough of velvet to make another one but I'm not sure when I'll be able to get going on knitting it. I have so many projects on the go and I'm currently bouncing from one project to another. My knitting ADHD seems to have kicked in this year. 

On a plus note: my sister LOVED the scarf! She's constantly wearing it and sending me photos of her wearing it. So it was a huge hit :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

Knitting for New Future Family...

Since Christmas I've been busy doing a lot of non knitterly things. My husband had some time off so we did some family outings and had some down time to just enjoy our toddler playing with her new toys :-) She was beyond spoiled by everyone this Christmas. I had a bit of time to do some knitting but it wasn't a priority. I had a chance to finish up this pair of socks.

Pattern: Smokestack Socks by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn: The Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! in Black Witch Moth

 

I wasn't sure these socks would fit. My sister told me what size of shoes her fiancé wore and it was around the same size as my husband so I knit the first sock as if it was for my hubby. Then I figured if it fit, I would knit the second one. So on Christmas Day he tried it on and it fit. So I casted on the second sock and I worked on it here and there throughout the holidays and into the New Year. 

He was quite excited to get the second sock today :-) He'll be heading up north to work for a bit and I'm sure he'll be using them. 

I'm a fairly tight knitter so I made a couple minor mods to the pattern. I like the cables mirroring each other from each side of the sock, so I kept the ribbing portion for the front and back of the sock. Then the  cables were on the sides. I also added 8 more stitches to the largest size for the foot and an extra 16 for the leg. My pattern notes can be found HERE on Ravelry.

Time will tell if he likes hand knitted socks. I'm sure my sister will tell me if he's wearing them. Then maybe he'll get another pair for Christmas next year :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

New Year Etsy Shop Sale :-)

Happy New Year :-) !!!

I'm welcoming in 2015 by having a New Year's Day Sale in my Etsy Shop :-) Save 25% on all purchases by using Coupon Code : NEWYEAR2015 and if your spending $100 or more on yarn (before shipping) I'll refund the shipping charges after purchase. So.... FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE :-)

Happy Shopping :-)