wrapping it up

With Christmas coming quicker each time I look at the calendar, I can now say that my Holiday knitting is DONE!

Last night I stitched the last special touches on the knitted gifts for my girls.

These are always the most fun & special gifts that I make.

Months ago, the girls looked through my patterns & chose what they wanted for me to make them... right down to the color.  A dark brown puppy with a blanket for one & a baby doll with yellow hair & a pink dress for the other.

Wanting to keep these gifts a surprise, the girls did not see me work on their projects.  I only brought them out while they were at school or sleeping.  I think the magic will pay off, because just the other night they asked when I would be making them their special toys.

Both patterns are written by Susan B. Anderson

The baby has a hat with braids that can be removed.

Not sure which is cuter... the belly button or the toes!

 Ruffled undies.

Big knits, little knits

Spinning Yarns, my local yarn store, runs a once a year special order opportunity for customers to order Madelinetosh, choosing your own colors by browsing the Madelinetosh website.  This year I entertained the idea of placing a special order, but I just couldn't get myself excited enough to order colors based on looking at them on a computer screen.  Margot (the owner) will always order extra yarn to stock her shelves, and trusting her judgement of color, I will usually come in soon after the prized shipment comes in to view them in real life.  

The colors are SPECTACULAR.

I didn't buy any yarn when it came in... I didn't have a project in mind & I don't buy yarn to just stash it.  It has to have a project attached to it.  

I would admire what was on the shelf & revel in the projects that a few of my students would be making out of their selections.  Eventually, as the Madelinetosh selection dwindled on the shelf, there was a lot of this red (tart) left over that nobody seemed to want.  It grew on me & before I knew it I was ready to knit something for myself.

I was in the mood for a cardigan & cables.  

I found the perfect pattern by Knitting Pure & Simple.  The Knitting Pure & Simple line of patterns are great.  Some of my first projects came from these patterns & are always comforting to knit up.  Written in the most simple way, they are easy to follow & are a cinch to adapt in order to add a little something different to make it your own.

I added a cable pattern to the back.

Next, I had a custom order for a blue bird hat with ear-flaps & tassels.  I knit this one up on the fly using a vibrant blue from Lambs Pride.  The black button eyes were stitched on tight & the tassel at the top of the head finished it off.

Using Berroco Vintage, here is a cute hat that will be given as a gift.  

Garter stitch ear-flaps, green on gray with a pom pom to finish.

Lastly, there is something soaking in the sink... for me.

Star Bud Hat

I have just added a new pattern to the pattern store here and on Ravelry for my newest hat... The Star Bud Hat.

















The hat pictured was knit using about 1/2 a skein of Swans Island organic merino wool (color: Early Thyme).  
This yarn is great!  It is super soft, hand dyed using natural dyes AND it is made in Maine!  The Swans Island company is actually in Northport, ME... quite a ways away from where I am in Southern Maine, making me oh so grateful that my local yarn store stocks this yarn on it's shelves.

addicted to shawlettes

Loving the latest shawlette that I have made for myself.  It took me about a week to complete (although I did get some good blocks of knitting time in).

I used Dream in Color Everlasting DK (color Shy).  If I hadn't read the label myself, I would have sworn that this was a cotton yarn at first glance.  It is actually a lovely 100% superwash merino wool.  This is about as variegated in color as I will go... a nice tonal variegation.

 I followed a pattern called Sugared Violets by Rose Beck.  A nice, clearly written & enjoyable pattern to follow!  This shawlette is written for two sizes (medium & large), I knitted the medium size, as I like to wear it wrapped as a cowl/scarf.  This pattern would be great in a lighter or heavier weight yarn as well.

Possibly my favorite part of this piece is how the ends spiral down.

Falling Leaves Cowl

The calendar has been flipped over to September & I have added a new fall pattern to the pattern store here & on Ravelry.  

It is called the Falling Leaves Cowl.

 I have already had a few leaves fall in my yard... have you?

A big thank you to Miranda Mulligan Photography for her work on these shots!

Summer knits

With only a few weeks left, our busy & fun summer is nearing an end.  We have been camping, to the beach, pool, playgrounds & even took our 1st trip on a plane as a family out to Wisconsin for my Grandmother's 80th birthday.  This trip was timed perfectly with the age of my children... they did wonderful!  I, on the other hand, was convinced that the plane was going down with each episode of turbulence.  I am not new to flying, I spent a bulk of my childhood flying several times per year from Boston to Tampa & back, independently navigating some of the busiest airports on the east coast by age 14.  Ignorance was bliss.  Now as an adult, my nerves are a bit more on edge.  Knitting kept me centered (or at least gave me something to focus on).

For our plane trip I packed a lightweight project that would keep my mind busy, yet rhythmic enough that I wouldn't mess it up.  I chose Susanna IC's Impasto Shawlette using Fresco by Classic Elite.  Fresco is a sport weight yarn made up of 60% wool/30% baby alpaca/10% angora.  It resulted in a light & airy, yet warm product for wearing in the fall.

Knitting a shawl is always a bit of a mystery to me.  While knitting, it is so hard to tell what my finished project will look like with all of those stitches bunched up on my needles.  321 sts on even 40" circulars won't spread out enough to give a glimpse of what they will look like once they are bound off & fall gracefully off of my needles.  This is my favorite thing about knitting shawls: the mystery.

 before & after

 Susann IC is a master designer of all things lace.  I have made a couple of her designs now and love them.  I am convinced that lacework designers were born with an additional section of brain that the rest of us do not have.  It is truly genius how their minds work.

Before the shawl, I finished the giraffe by Susan B. Anderson.  I gave this gift yesterday at a baby shower for a very special cousin who is due to have her baby in October.  This baby's mother is now a nurse, but her first love was animals.  In college she studied animals and then worked at a zoo after graduating with her first degree.

Our family is very excited about this baby... can't wait to meet him or her (and I will also have a real live baby model for all of my baby sized knits not far from home).

Honeycomb Headband added to Pattern Store page

I just added this pattern to the Pattern Store section of this blog... it's the latest & greatest Amy Grace Knits design.

I chose Spud & Chloë Fine as the yarn for this project for it's springiness, stitch definition, color, feel (80% superwash wool / 20% silk) & because I love it!

There are so many colors to choose from the Spud & Chloë color palate, but I narrowed it down the the fun Bumble Bee #7811 (yellow), Wildberries #7820 (purple) & Green Bean #7818 (green).  Such fun names!

The band section can be knit to any length, to fit any size head.  The flower & leaf are one size.
The pattern can be purchased on this blog or on Ravelry.  There is also fun to be had over on Facebook.

It is a fun knit & was fun to photograph.

Enjoy!