Wednesday, October 10, 2012

More Knitting

I have been doing a lot of knitting lately.  The cooler weather is a welcome relief after such a long, hot summer.  I have many, many projects ahead of me but I am seriously trying to knit one or two at a time and not have bags of uncompleted projects.   Wish me luck on that one, it has been a challenge in the past. 

Last Fall I went to the Black Water Abbey trunk show at Shuttles.  Marilyn King had many sample sweaters to try on and the yarn and patterns to complete the project.  I love her yarn and I have become a big fan of the designer, Bonnie Marie Burns.  She sells her patterns under the brand, Chic Knits.  I have knitted more than a few of her patterns and they are well written and the fit seems to work for me.  I was itching to get started on the pattern, Derica Kane.  I purchased the DK Black Water Abbey yarn in the colorway, Autumn.  I really thought the color would be great for Fall and it would get me out of the blue/green phase I have been stuck in forever.  The pattern was a simple lace pattern and although I HATE LACE, I did manage to complete the sweater if I removed myself from any obvious distraction.  Television, Phone calls and most importantly a retired and bored husband who wants to chat........ Love the DK weight of the sweater and the neckline. 

A few weeks ago we made another of our Nebraska road trips.  Went to see Coventry to celebrate her 6th birthday.  I had knitted her a sweater from a Plymouth yarn that self stripes and mimics a fair isle design.  I used the neckdown children's pullover pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple.  It was so easy and it fit her perfectly with a bit of room to grow.  I love knitting these patterns.  They are so easy and a great project to take to group knitting. 





Also posting a photo of the Balloon Fiesta held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that we just got back from.  The early mornings and late nights were totally worth it to see over five hundred balloons ascend the early dawn sky.  What fun.  So glad we went. 












Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Coventry's new knits and Surprise Package from Craftsy

Oh how I love having a grandaughter to knit for.  She is five going on six years old and I know maybe very soon she won't be interested in wearing Grandma's handiwork.  But for now, she seems to enjoy seeing what I have knitted for her since my last visit. 
I knit the blue and white sundress with Cotton Ease yarn.  It is a great yarn for knitting clothes for kids.  Washes and wears nicely and is priced reasonably.  The pattern for the sundress was found in Knit Simple magazine, spring/summer issue.  I made the size 4 for her and it just fits, but not for long as she has grown a bit taller than the last time I saw her. 
The orange top I knitted from the Cotton Ease yarn as well.  It is called the Tea Party Top and was found on the Lion Brand website.  This is the second time I have knit this pattern.  The first top she wore for three years, so I decided to make a larger size this time.  I knit the size four.  She is almost six but she is tiny for her age.

The surprise package I ordered from Craftsy. Com.  It was the June one and it was purely an impulse buy.  I needed some yarn that had no specific purpose.....and I need the fun of the unknown,  I have plenty of yarn in my stash but I thought I would give it a try.  For forty dollars you were promised a value of over a hundred dollars in yarn or needles.   Well.......now I see the same yarn for clearance prices on their website sales.  Like I said, it was an impulse decision and I may wait awhile before I try it again.  The brown yarn is Rustic, a Cascade worsted weight.  The pink is a dk weight, also from Cascade yarns, called Kaleidoscope.  The turquoise yarn is a fingering weight from Wolf Creek Wools, 2 skeins of 434 yards of superwash merino and cashmere.  (this I love)....then the size 15, 14 " needles from Lantern Moon.  Very nice, but a size I probably won't use much, if at all.  So there.  Not bad, but not great. 

By the way, Paul seems to be doing better.  The long screw is finally out of his ankle and he is walking in a Cam boot for awhile.  Then hopefully in a few weeks he can walk without it.  It has been a long, hot and exhausting summer so far.  Looking ahead to things lightening up some and more knitting.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

It started out with our trip to Nebraska. We were going to attend our son-in-law's graduation from Creighton University, he was getting his MBA. The trip did not exactly go as planned. We attended the hooding ceremony, ( my first experience seeing that ), and then a lovely reception was held afterwards. The next afternoon my husband Paul, was kindly asked by my daughter, Jennifer, if he could install 3 light fixtures. Well, the first two light fixtures were installed without a hitch, but you know the saying, "the third one"s a charm", well not so charming. Hubby took a misstep on a six foot ladder and broke his ankle in two places and fractured his fibula as well. A quick trip to the local ER in Papillion, NB, revealed a rather gruesome exray. The orthopedist there told us he would need surgery but most likely back in Colorado, as he was much too swollen to do it there. So a few days later we made the long trip home with hubby in the back seat of the car, equipped with ice, 4 pillows and a urinal (quite handy)..... Well, what is a knitter to do but knit him a lovely cast sock to keep his purple toes warm. I thought the shade of purple I chose was quite lovely and it could go quite nicely with his Rockies shirts. While in Nebraska I gave Coventry her little shrug to try on and it fit perfectly. I love knitting for her. When we arrived home, our precious neighbor in back of us, Teri, came over with a wonderful dinner for us. The desserts were too pretty to eat, but we did anyway. Had to take a photo of them before the disappeared in our tummies. It will be a very loooooooooong summer. The hubby needed surgery on his ankle and leg. It will be a good ten weeks before he has another surgery to remove the long screw that goes through both the tibia and fibula. After that who knows? I assume we are in for PT and rehab. My house looks like a hospital ward with wheelchair, walker and crutches. He adorns the couch in the family room and baths in the powder room as he cannot tackle stairs yet. I think I will be getting a lot of knitting done........

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Color Affection Shawl, and Family

Started the Color Affection Shawl at our knitting retreat in Buena Vista.  Good friend and fellow knitter, Christie Ott, showed me the design and I thought it would be a good one to knit as it was pretty mindless but yet fun enough to keep my interest.  Used three different colorways of Madeline Tosh fingering yarn.  Loved the results and will probably cast on a second one. 
Also finished another Coventry sweater at the retreat.  It is a pattern called Chloe by Alana Dakos.  The original pattern was knitted in three different yarns and striped but I decided to go more neutral and added the crocheted flowers that I purchased at Colorful Yarns.  It is a shrug that she can wear for the summer.  Hope to get some photos of her wearing it when we attend my son-in-law, John's, graduation from Creighton.  He is getting his masters degree in business.  Yea! 




The family photos were taken at White Fence Farm at Easter.  The older young man in the photo sitting next to me is my grandson Andrew.  Andrew is a junior this year at CSU, majoring in engineering and computer programming.   The little guy with his face painted as Spider Man is my great grandson, Jackson.  Jackson is majoring in preschool......and is four years old last month.  Love them both.  Boy, how time flies.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Collage































Here are a few photos of what has been going on in my life the last few months. Included are photos from my daughter, son in law and grandchildren, Coventry and Cameron. Also included are a few photos from my Mom's 90th birthday party in California last December. And one little snowman hat I knitted and a onesie I found to match to give to my neighbor who had a baby this Fall.

Pagoda Sweater



It has been awhile since my last post. Life gets busy and between funerals, 90th birthday party for my Mom and holidays, I have not had a chance to post anything. I have been knitting though. Sweaters for Coventry, socks for my Sis, preemie baby clothes for the wee ones at Good Samaritan nursery, and a sweater for me.



I purchased the pattern and yarn at Shuttles last Fall when they had a trunk show for Black Water Abbey. I tried on their model and decided I needed to knit this one. The sweater pattern can be purchased at Black Water Abbey as well as the yarn. The color is called Iris, I believe. I am pleased with the finished sweater although I could of probably knit the very smallest size. It took quite a bit of knitting time as the sleeves are quite full.