Oh, Deer

I took that picture last Saturday. This little doe decided to spend the morning in our yard nestled under the dogwood tree in my "deer resistant" plants. It wasn't until K needed to cut the grass that she decided to head out and find someplace quiter to rest. She was not afraid of us taking the dogs out, but I made sure to keep our distance so that we didn't spook her. The reason I decided to post about her is because she is back again this morning. I think she needs a name. We already have the groundhog family- Gilberta (started out Gilbert until she had babies) and her two kids Gill and Bertie. Then there are the two rabbits, Bernard and Purl. (Yes, I really am THAT crazy. It is hereditary). So much wildlife so close to the city. I used to have to go camping to see deer, and now they are in my backyard.

The third skein

I just added the third skein of yarn to my February Lady Sweater.


I am considering blocking it soon, while on a longer needle to get a better idea of how much further I should knit to get the length I want. Maybe after the knitting get together.

And to answer your question, WIP stands for work in progress!

Gifted

We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. EJ received two darling gifts over the past few weeks, and had an opertunity to wear them together this past Sunday. She even tolerated an extensive photo shoot.
First, RD knit this darling cotton hat and after letting EJ try it on we had a Cinderella moment. It was a perfect fit, and was obviously made for EJ. RD had finishing to do however and we received it in the mail. Such a nice surprise.

The tie is fabric sewn into a strip. What a clever idea!
Then our Favorite Aunt Julie (FAJ, to those who love her) surprised us with this dress on Fathers day

Don't they make a great set? We thought so.

WIP:February Lady Sweater

Just wanted to share some pictures of my sweater in progress. This is about after two weeks since I cast on.

As you can see I have divided for the sleeves and put them onto my two shortest KnitPicks options cords. I started a second hank of Cascade 220, and because it is 100% wool I spit spliced the yarn so that there are no extra ends to weeve in. Continuing with this technique will leave me with only six ends to weave in and no seaming! That is my kind of finishing. I have maybe 5 repeats of the lace pattern done in the photo, but have done another three since then. It should go smoothly from here! I am starting to wonder how long I should make it. Where it should hit on my body for the best look. And how long I will want the sleeves. The sample has 3/4 sleeves and looks very cute but I might want full sleeves. However, will the sleeves be too baggy at my wrist? Maybe someone else will finish before me and provide some full sleeve photos so I can decide before knitting all the way down my long arms!
I also might have knit too many rows in the yolk. There may be sweater surgery in my future. Amy, you may have to assist. I am not sure I have the guts to cut my knitting alone!

All that Glitters

I got a small gift on Father's day this year. My parents and Aunt and Uncle are emptying out my grandparents home so that it can be sold, and my dad grabbed a few handbags of my Grandmothers for Eleni to play dress up with one day. Among these bags was this curious little gem.

In the origonal box marked with pencil with the price of $10.00.

It is just a small little gold mesh pouch, that could barely hold a cell phone, lipstick and a few credit cards... well maybe not my cell phone (it is a bit of an antique itself!)

This is the top of the bag, a small disk a bit bigger than a quarter. This cap flips up and allows you to open the bag up.

Isn't that just the most clever thing? I am totally in love with it.

It won't make it into EJ's dress up box. I think it is going into mine. Now I just need someplace to go!

IOU- Finished Object Parade

So flickr started working soon after it didn't work, but I still didn't feel like taking the time to post. Especially after making a couple of froggable mistakes in my current project. Knitting time became a higher priority because I felt as though I was behind. I am now back on track and figured now is as good of a time as any to get this wrapped up.

Everlasting Bagstopper
I knit my Bagstopper in two shades of Euroflax sportweight linen. Both leftover from other projects. I am about out of purple but I think I still have enough of the champagne color to make another bag should the mood strike.

I love how the fabric changed with a quick ride in the washing machine. All of the yarn overs opened up and the knit stitches tightened and became defined.

I was unable to find any good ribbon that matched at my local JoAnne's, it is a smaller store, but I did find this woven strap stuff that I thought matched pretty well. I was pleased that I found it because I was not up for a big hunt for the perfect handles. A few days after my shopping trip I found a few minutes to attach the handles. I have to confess this was the first time Taylor my sewing machine has been used since the day I went into labor and I had finished our Tree Skirt.

So I folded down the edge of the strap and stitched it in place and then folded it again before attaching it onto the finished bag. When I sewed it onto the bag I sewed a square to help increase the strength of my join.

I had enough strap left over (I bought 2 yards) that I decided to use the extra to line the upper edge. I think it gives it a nice finished look.

And here is the finished bag, holding my current projects yarn!


Second February Sweater
I also finished up this little sweater, and it is going into the mail today.


And finially for those of you who have not already figured it out, I am knitting the February Lady Sweater. I have never jumped onto any knitting bandwagons like this before. I must be excited about this sweater in order to be so excited to knit wool in the heat of summer! I am further along than this, but have not taken any recent photos due to the frogging I had mentioned earlier.

It is a sign

Baby is in bed. The night is young, and I have 10 knitting related pictures to share. Two finished objects to show off, and something new. But flickr is sending me a clear message. Don't blog about finishing details. Not now, there is knitting to be done. My flickr uploader is acting up. Without getting all techie, it is just being grumpy. So I suppose you will have to wait for that. And I have a perfect excuse to dive into some knitting for the next two (or three?!?!).

Hope that you find a good excuse to do what you love too!

Hot Dog

Hope you are keeping cool! Weather like this makes me thankful for air conditioning!

Six months

I cannot believe that six months have passed since EJ has entered our lives. With each passing day she changes so much. She is able to get on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. But no crawling yet, truth be told I am not sure I am ready for that! She is a proficient roller, and loves to have help standing up. To commerate the event we tried cereal for the first time. The initial reaction was not captured on film, but it can be best described as a "what you talking about Willis?" look. Overall the event was successful.

She thought she should learn to use a spoon too.


I will update later to include her six month stats, but that appointment isn't for another week.