Yummy yarn

I do apologize to all of you non-knitters who are bored by yarn, but I just finished my first ever pair of socks! I am really proud of myself, even though they are wonky, have a few holes and one is wider than the other. But hey, at least they fit! (And yes I do have large feet!)

I used Noro Kureyon sock yarn in color S233 lot C. It is beautiful yarn but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to beginners because the fiber is so varied it is tough to get your gauge right. The pattern I used came from the book "How to Knit socks: Three methods made easy" which was very straightforward with clear directions. 

I learned to knit on double pointed needles at some knitting classes I took a year ago when I was pregnant with Lu. She is modeling here my first project, Baby Leg Warmies (which is a great free pattern  by Alana Dakos from Never not Knitting). I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in light pink and carnation. I think these will be super cute this spring with her little denim dress.

 

It's becoming more and more clear to me how much I love a good rainbow.....isn't this pretty? This will soon become my guinea pig for my new crochet project. The Rowan Handknit DK cotton was recommended by my crochet muse Lucy at Attic 24 . It comes in such a pretty variety of colors, I want to order more! Just playing around with these skeins gave me the idea for the blanket I am going to make, now if only I can find some time. I'm off to drop Lucia off to visit with her wonderful Grandma and then I think I may just sneak back home to get in some uninterrupted stitching!

Weekend Get Away

I'm signing off for the rest of the weekend for a little much-needed girls weekend to the coast. I am lucky enough to have some wonderful women in my life who have been great friends since the seventh grade and we all still keep in touch. 

But, since I will be leaving my new BFF (Bernina!) behind I am bringing lots of other crafty goodness to occupy myself with. Here are a couple of WIPs I have been working on:

The colorful stripe is just a mindless one-rib knit scarf of two beautiful Noro Silk Garden colorways which I'm almost done with. Just about everyone on Ravelry has already made this but I couldn't resist and will probably be making another one soon. You can find the original free pattern by Jared Flood here. A great beginner project. The other is the Sunrise Circle jacket which I have been working on since I was pregnant. It is a gorgeous design I am knitting up in some luxurious Jo Sharp Aran Tweed. I hope to make a little headway this weekend, I finally feel like I have gotten my knitting mojo back! Whispering Pine on Flickr has an awesome version which inspired me.

As if I didn't have enough projects going on I just couldn't resist trying crochet. It was really Lucy's work at Attic 24 which got me so excited. Check it out, she whips up some absolutely gorgeous work and offers some fab tutorials, too. This is my first ever completed granny square - pretty wonky but I am excited I picked up the concept and feel like I'm making progress. A lot of people feel that crochet is easier than knitting. I have been a bit frustrated so far but I am determined to keep with it. The yarns I have been using are Cash Vero DK and Debbie Bliss Cashmerino.

I'm also packing a pad and my set of beloved Copic markers. Why, you ask? Well am trying to coerce the husband into letting me sign up for Heather Ross's fabric design workshop, and I figure all the doodling I can get in between now and January will help (that and proficiency in Photoshop, which is the real obstacle).

I'm leaving these two miscreants alone for their first overnight together. I will miss them dearly, but two days minus Yo Gabba Gabba, 5 AM waking and piles of laundry will be a great break. They probably won't even miss me:)