EASTER EGGS! I saw some knitted eggs at the LYS, but didn't have a pattern. At knittinghelp.com a friend posted some knitted eggs from a pattern she found on the internet I can now make my own. I altered the pattern to suit my tastes and put a plastic egg inside instead of stuffing. I think they came out cute! Now I need more eggs and an Easter basket!

This hat was so much fun to make! I liked watching the pattern develop. It's sort of a colorful camouflage look..guess you could hide in a field of wildflowers. :) The yarn is Plymouth Jelli Beenz in color 208. I didn't use a pattern for the hat... I can make a basic one in my sleep now. LOL

Some more little booties, about 6 mos size I think. This was an easy pattern to follow although I'm not sure I like the way the instep was done. I'm not even sure what I'm going to do with these yet...just wanted to see if I could make them. :)

I finished a few more little things for the compassionate knitting project. These are made from less than one skein of Plymouth DK in a peachy color. The little "booties" are actually preemie tube socks, but they will work well for this project I think.

I've been wanting to make this Baby Ugg pattern for a long time. I think they are so cute! The recommended yarn is expensive though so I've been looking for alternatives and not having much luck. I decided to try it with some cr@ppy Red Heart I had and some Sensations Icee from Joanns. I figured I could at least see how the pattern was done. It's really easy, but I'm not thrilled with the fact that it has to be seamed. I don't like seaming and it doesn't seem right in footwear even if it is supposed to be for a baby.

So here is my attempt. The fluffy substitute for the recommended yarn isn't perfect, but it's not too bad. I like the overall look, but before I commit to doing this again I'm going to see what other seamless "boot type" bootie patterns I can find and of course some decent yarn.

I finished the sweater except for a few details like buttons or whatever I decide to do. I'm having some problems with the front edges wanting to curl inward so I'll have to deal with that, too. The knitting part is all done though! For those who asked the yarn is Bernat Denim Style. It's cotton and acrylic, machine wash and dry and easy to knit with. I bought it at Joanns.

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Here is the baby sweater I'm working on. It's a simple pattern, but I don't like the way the sleeves are done do I'm going to pick up the stitches from the underarm (as well as the sleeve stitches on holders) and knit them in the round. No seaming that way! Yeah!

I wasn't sure when I was going to get back here because my monitor died a few days ago. I have a Dell computer and I'd heard lots of people complaining that Dell didn't have good customer service anymore and about all the problems people had. Well, I'm here to say that in less than 48 hours I went from monitorless to having a new one! I don't know if I was just lucky, but I like to think that Dell really is a good company and those people were just unlucky. ;)

I have been working on "stash busting" the last week or so. So to that end I finished a cute little Sophie Bag a few days ago. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. I may donate to a charity. It's made with Cherry Blossom and Coal WOTA and then felted.

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I have some yarn left over from my sweater...enough to make a baby sweater so that is what I'm doing. It's going to be so cute! I think I'll do the sleeves in the round though rather than seam them. Picture later. Or tomorrow.

Here's a few things I've knitted in the last few months since I started knitting.

All three of these hats were knitted as chemo caps for children. The yarn for all of them is Lion Brand Jiffy. This hat pattern is one of my favorites. It knits up quickly and the decrease on top is nice and smooth. The little flower was knitted and sewn on separately.

The scarf was knitted with Plymouth Encore Colorspun in the Scrunchable Scarf pattern. It's really soft and was very easy. I did most of it on the airplane to and from vacation in January. I really like the color pattern in this yarn!

This little preemie hat is sitting over a small naval orange. I knit it for a preemie charity project.

This is my first sweater! I am so pleased with how it came out! I used Knitting Pure and Simple Pattern #9724 in Bernat Denim Style yarn.

I've also made a purse and several more hats that I'll post later. Right now I've got the Sophie Felted Bag on the needles. I'm making it as a stash buster so it's in Cherry Blossom and Coal Wool of the Andes (WOTA) yarn from KnitPicks. Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to run out of yarn right at the end. Maybe I can just make the straps shorter... Hmm...

The Journey Begins

So here I am in blogland finally! I've been thinking about doing this for awhile, but even coming up with a name was painful... There are just so many choices and with me being somewhat of a perfectionist and having a lifelong lack of self confidence it just made it all to complicated. But today I decided to just do it! The jury is still out at this first posting, but I think I'm going to like this. :)

I started knitting in October 2005 and now have something on the needles nearly all the time. It's become a passion and is incredibly enjoyable. I find I can't sit and watch TV without some project in my hands. The feel of the yarn slipping through your fingers as you slowly create something is just so much fun and so relaxing. Having something in your hands also has a bonus... I can't EAT while knitting! Not just because my hands are busy, but because I don't want to get the yarn all sticky. I haven't lost any weight because of it... but I haven't gained any either. :)

I also enjoy photography with my new Canon Digital Rebel XT. It's my first DSLR and I love it! So I will of course be sharing photos of my knitting, my yard, vacations, the beach...whatever.

Here's a couple photos of our furry friends!

This is Marshmallow. She's a Ragdoll Cat is 14.5 yrs old now. She's such a sweet, cuddly kitty! She was given to our youngest daughter on her 11th birthday. Daughter has moved out now, but the kitty lives with us since she's so old now.






This is Foofoo. She's a Coton de Tulear and is the most lovable, energetic dog I've ever met! She is actually our daughter's dog, but she is in graduate school in Michigan so we get to raise her. She's our grandpuppy!