dino is done, blue beret begun

The felted dino jacket is complete & ready to gift.  I tried it on my 3 yr old for a couple of pics before we say goodbye to it.  I used a set of 40" circular needles to pick up stitches along the entire right front, hood & left front for the edging & button hole band.  It was a lot of stitches, but only for a few rows of garter stitch.



I always like to add a little something to the gift box.



New on my 16" US #4's is a blue beret.  I am using Reynolds Soft Sea Wool yarn & following Rose Window Beret by Anne Kuo Lukito.  This pattern begins on only 9 stitches cast on to double pointed needles & quickly grows until it can be placed on circulars.  I feel like a cobweb is growing from the center of my needles.  It is shaping up nicely and I can't wait to see it after blocking.

blast from the past!

So, while preparing for this summers annual family camping trip I decided to change things up a bit.  Instead of packing each person their own duffel bag of clothing, I thought that it would be a huge space saver if I packed everybodys clothes in one big suitcase.  Up I went to the 'above the garage' space in search of our only large suitcase, and once it was opened I discovered this little gem!  I was most likely in high school when I knit this purse.  Knit completely in garter stitch, the side seams were sewn together using thread & needle with no regards to the mattress stitch what so ever.  There is a wooden bead for closure & decorative beads adorning the purse strap.  Just lovely ; )

Next I have a snapshot of what is currently on my needles (well, my US #5's anyway).  I am knitting up one more childs size honeycomb hat before I send this pattern off to be test knitted.  I have used a test knitting group on Ravelry before, and one thing that I learned is how important it is to dedicate ample computer time once your pattern has been sent out to it's test knitters.  When these knitters get moving on your pattern & find themselves needing further explanation, it is nice to give it in a timely fashion (especially when you have already given them a deadline to complete the pattern).