Grumpy...

Knitting is a fickle friend liz.... you invest all this money in the most fabulous yarns, you spend HOURS doing and re-doing (because you can't seem to follow a darn pattern) the pattern and you end up with a sweater that looks awesome but fits TERRIBLY.

I can't bring myself frog it... yet... and I dont want to block it because I'm afraid of the outcome...  The top is loose and the bottom is snug... dang it.  My boobs look enormous.  All the buttons pull...  

I think I'm going to bring it to my mom and see how it fits her...  She likes things loose...

But regardless here are some pics: 

Detail on the neckline...

Front

Back...

But as you know, this isn't the only thing happening in Vermont these days....  We had a wee bit of snow arrive yesterday and I got a for-real-snow-day!!!  

Well I had more to share but we are out of our storage for photos??  So I'm off to take a shower.  Have a safe trip!  See you next week!!

Tidelines Socks

I finished my first pair of socks of 2011! Just in time for our trip :)

Pattern: Tidelines by Anne Hanson

Yarn: Three Irish Girls Kells Sport in "Kate"

Modifications: I made the leg shorter and only did 4 less repeats than the pattern called for. I also decreased more stitches on the toe than called for in the pattern (mostly because I probably should have done an extra pattern repeat or two on the foot). 

I love how bright and obnoxious they are :) 

Fun stripes on the bottom of the foot.

Well, that's all for now! I'm off to try and get some sleep before we head up to the airport in the wee hours of the morning!

Love,

liz :)

The Sweater is Complete. Let the Celebrating Commence!

It's done! It's done! It's done!

Pattern: Beau by Kim Hargreaves from "Rowan Vintage Knits"

Yarn: Peace Fleece Worsted in Father's Grey

Modifications: I knit the smallest size and the only modification I made was to knit the body longer than the pattern called for. The sweater was knit in pieces and then seamed, which worked out really well for a large sweater!  

The buttons are from Button Boy on etsy, and they are made from maple tree branches! So cool. 

I'm really pleased with the way it came out, it's a very handsome man sweater! 

Seth striking a pose.

Phew. I'm so glad it was done in plenty of time to give to Seth's Dad next weekend! I'll definitely be taking a break from big man sweaters for a while!

I haven't worked on any other knitting recently, since my priority was to finish that sweater!

I have been spinning a bit, though. 

Superwash BFL dyed by Two if by Hand in the colorway "Whiz Bangs" 

I love the way this spun up! There are so many different colors, yet it's not too loud and obnoxious. 

I'm working on a whole list of custom spinning orders, and I'll share those as they're done. I should have one to share before we head back east next week! 

Hmm, I think that's it for now!

Love,

liz :)

Handspun Milo Vest

I took a small break from working on the sweater for Seth's Dad (I just have part of a sleeve, seaming, and the collar left!) to whip up a quick baby gift for an old co-worker of mine from Maine. Her baby is due in early March and since she received tons of newborn stuff at her shower, I decided to make something for the fall/winter.

There was a skein of handspun in the shop that had been sitting there for quite a while, and I thought it would be perfect as a little girl gift.

It started as this handspun:

And was knit into this:

Pattern: Milo by Georgie Hallam 

Yarn: Handspun Rambouillet Wool dyed by Two if by Hand

Modifications: None. I followed the directions for the 9 month size. It was a really well written, easy to follow pattern with several different options for the cable. It knit up really quick (I finished in a day) and only used about 200 yards for the 9 month size. 

I will definitely be making more of these as baby gifts. So quick and so cute!

Seth and I took a drive up into the mountains today to do a little bit of XC skiing. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time...and of course Sailor had a great time romping through the snow.

Please excuse my terrible XC skiing form....it's really quite atrocious.  

 Sailor spent the first 1/2 mile running around like a madman...until we ran into a 1 year old goldendoodle. They practically knocked me over and then had a good time wrestling and playing. Unfortunately we didn't think to snap any pics of the madness. Sailor slowed down quite a bit after that!

 crazy dog.

We had to stop at the store to pick up some essentials that we were completely out of on our way home. I was fully intending to just have soup and sandwiches for dinner tonight since we ate out last night and had a HUGE meal complete with appetizers and dessert (flourless chocolate torte....soooo good).  But then I was walking through the baked goods aisle and a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread was begging to come home with us and become french toast for dinner. It was a loaf from some local place and it made for some crazy good french toast:

This is Seth's french toast with bananas and walnuts. There was maple syrup added after the photo was taken! 

Well, I should start thinking about bed...

Miss you!

Love,

liz :)

Sailor's BFF

Thought I'd take a few minutes to introduce Sailor's BFF to the blog world. Her name is Diamond, and she is a very energetic 2 year-old Border Collie.

I walk with her owner, Valerie, at least once a week and the dogs just adore each other. She has far more energy than any other dog I've met!

Sailor and Diamond running crazily through the woods

We actually ran into a couple of ladies yesterday who had 2 black standard poodles and a newfoundland with them! Unfortunately the only picture I got was completely blurry and I had to stop snapping pictures for fear that I was going to get knocked over by the 5 dogs. The dogs were hysterical...all three of the poodles were bouncing all over the place and I think Diamond was a little bit scared of the huge newfoundland, who was also running and playing! 

Really, I'm writing about the dogs because I have NO knitting to show off. I did finish a sleeve of the sweater for Seth's Dad. One more sleeve to go and then I have to sew it all together (grumble grumble) and do the collar and button bands. I'm hoping to be done with it this weekend so I can knit a couple of baby gifts and then start a sweater for me (Blair from Winter 2010 Twist Collective). 

I did just spin up some yarn for myself, though. I'm really pleased with the way it came out and I have enough to do a few projects. 

There are actually 2 skeins (plus a mini skein of about 30 yards), a total of 7 ounces. I think I'll have around 500 yards to work with. My plan is to knit up a pair of basic mittens and then maybe a hat or a pair of Toasts for my swap partner (I'm doing another swap!). 

And just 'cause they're pretty...let's have another look at the skeins of Silky Cashmerino I spun up:

I honestly think these are my favorite skeins of handspun EVER.  

The person I spun them for was really, really happy with them...which makes me happy! 

Yum. 

Okay, well our landlord should be here any minute...our heat wasn't working this morning, but miraculously it fixed itself and started working a little while ago. At least it wasn't too cold out, and the house warmed up quickly once the heat came back on!

Love,

Liz :)

A New Project Bag...and some more handspun, of course.

I had an idea for a new project bag a couple of weeks ago, and finally got around to making one! I wanted a flat bottomed zip bag with a patchwork design on the outside. I made a prototype and decided it was too small:

It just fits a yarn cake and sock in progress. 

I had enough squares cut for another one like the small one, and I cut a bunch more matching fabric to make it bigger. Then I decided I needed to use some really cute owl fabric I had picked up and found some coordinating prints to go with it. I finished the owl bag earlier today and will finish up the second one tonight or tomorrow.

This one is much roomier and comfortably fits 2 skeins of yarn. And it has a handy dandy handle. 

 Pretty, pretty yarn sitting in the bag.

I've finished 2 more skeins of yarn for the shop, but the lighting has been terrible so the pictures aren't totally accurate:

Organic Merino dyed by Two if by Hand in colorway Exhausted

I'm going to rename it "Caribbean Cruise" for the shop. 

Merino/Cashmere/Nylon dyed by Two if by Hand

This skein is much more forest green in real life...hopefully the light will be better tomorrow so I can take better pictures!

In knitting news, I'm still working on the sweater for Seth's dad. I started a sleeve today and I'm hoping to make some good progress on it tonight. I also finished the first sock that I posted a picture of in my last post. And I'm almost to the heel flap on the second. I'm confident they'll be done by the end of the month. 

Your sweater is looking great (again)....I can't wait to see the finished product! 

Love,

Liz :)

A snow day... or two!

First off, you are so out of control with your spinning, I'm so impressed!  How you manage to stay so focused on all of the projects you have going is beyond me.  I loved the grey custom spinning job you did- it's just gorgeous!  The sock project is also ambitious, but fun and I'm sure for you, quite doable!  I've never made socks- but perhaps I'll try a pair this year!  

(that's our christmas tree in the back, i think it looks so sweet covered in snow!)

So, Wednesday brought us our first big snow of the season... dare I say it, a nor'easter!  It started snowing on Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning we had roughly 6 inches on the ground and it was coming down hard!  It snowed all day- I went over early to the boys house as they had a snow day (and poor dad was trying to still get work done) and it was snowing so hard the boys didn't want to play outside for more than half an hour, which meant lots of lego time inside.  I love legos.  I completely forgot how awesome they are until this fall when we were reacquainted.  The boys have lots of sets- the Harry Potter ones, including the borough, Hogwarts express and the quidditch match... but what I really love is when they get excited to create something new with the pieces they have!  The oldest and I have created a town of sorts over the past few weeks that includes a general store, a bank, a jail, post office and we are starting a school!  He gets so excited when we start a new project.  He of course, is very concrete in his thinking, looking at his pieces as exactly what they "are supposed to be," I of course imagine them completely differently which gets us moving!

But back to the snow.... The lego party happened for the afternoon and I left at dusk to head home... and we probably had 12 inches... by the time we woke up we had an additional 2 inches!  Awesome!!

Outside of the lego adventures, I've been knitting and finishing up a few projects in between playing with the wee ones...

There was some painting...

(I finished all the trim and replaced some switch plates too!)

Some knitting.....

(I'm really happy I started over for the THIRD time.  It looks great and the button edges make so much more sense... Hopefully now that I've pretty much memorized the dang pattern it will go more quickly!)

Some cooking.....

(This is a "lazy" lasagna- which I made with farfalle instead of lasagna noodles, mushrooms and spinach... it was delicious and honestly it was very easy.  F made philly cheese steaks at home last night- I had never had one and it was honestly really good!!)

....And some watching of movies on the couch!  F and I watched the A-Team last night and The Town the night before.  If you haven't seen The Town, rent it, it was really intense, but good.  It made me love Ben Affleck again...  The A-Team was funny, very entertaining, but sill at the same time.  Oh and suddenly I'm obsessed with NCIS.  I've gotten F into it too- lucky me, there have been a few marathons over the past few weekends, which with the help of DVR and some knitting, I've beginning to get the back story! Haha...

Hope you enjoy the weekend- I'm going to try out a yoga class tonight I think (please let my ankles survive!) and take the pup for a seriously long walk today (he's been really antsy this week and I think that lack of serious exercise is a large part of it!).

Miss you!
cb