Two Birds in Hand

I finally finished my Bird in Hand mittens. I started these back in February, but due to my fickle knitting nature - they were put aside for a bit.

Thanks to Sarah for finishing her beautiful pair - she inspired me to dig mine out and get back to work!




Stats:
Pattern: Bird in Hand mittens by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia - 100% Peruvian Highland Wool - 174 yds / 160 m - I had EXACTLY enough yarn in the main color to complete these mitts. I literally had about six inches left after I kichenered the second mitten.
Needles: Size 3 DPNs
Alterations: I changed nothing about the colorwork pattern, but I didn't knit all the "braids" that the pattern called for. I knit the first one, but it took so long and you couldn't even see it with the yarn I used - that I cheated and just knit Purl bands for the rest :)



My hands can't wait for it to get cold now!

Sketch'n Part II

I just finished another round of the Sketchbook swap I'm participating in. I am really enjoying this swap!

This time I had Aurora's sketchbook. She had some wonderful pen and ink drawings in her sketchbook. I was definitely inspired to do some pen and ink of my own!


May I introduce Otto the Octopus...



"Tweety" bird...


Sea of Flowers...



Spiney...



And becuase I didn't want to do all pen and ink - a pencil sketch of my favorite apples from the farmer's market...



I can't wait for the next book to arrive! There's nothing better than getting wonderful art in the mail every month.

If you want to see more of this awesome group's work - check out the flickr group here:
Sketchbook Exchange Program

When in Doubt - Choose C

The votes are in!
As of the time of this post - button C is the landslide winner!



I sewed the winning buttons on and now I have a finished Liesl:



Stats:

Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk - 10 balls or 700 yards
Size: Between L XL
Needles: Size US 11
Alterations: I think I actually knit between a L and an XL as I just knit until the sweater fit over my shoulders. Gotta love top down raglans for a custom fit!

The large gauge of this yarn really made this a quick knit.





You guys were totally right about these buttons! I love them!



I cast off with a picot edge to give it a little more pizazz....


All in all it was a great knit - simple and quick and beautiful.

Button Vote!

I finished knitting my Liesl!!

Right now she is naked (aka buttonless)



Help me decide what buttons to use. I got three different ones in Philly on Sunday at Fabric on the Hill. I love them all - please help me decide!

Option A:


Option B:



Option C:


Review of the choices:



Vote!


I'll have the buttons that win sewn on next time!

A day in Chestnut Hill

On Sunday I went up to Philly to visit with Sarah! She has meetings in Philly this week so I took this opportunity to drive only 2 hours to see her instead of 8 to get to Rhode Island. Her sister Jen drove up with me and we also met up with Sarah's friend Staci.

It was a perfect day - sunny and gorgeous and a perfect for walking around the Chestnut Hill area in Philly. We agreed to meet here since there were two yarn shops, two bead shops and a fabric shop - not to mention all the other cute little shops in between. So after a yummy lunch at Roller's we headed out for the craft shops...

We hit The Tangled Web, Bumble Beads, and Fabrics on the Hill:



The Tangled Web had a lot of great stuff - Sarah and I fell down near the Lorna's Laces roving and some just accidentally fell into our baskets. I got 10 ounces of gorgeous green and brown roving :) I also got a cool pattern for a kimono style jacket and some sock yarn.

At the bead store - I got some cute leaf beads for earrings and a piece of red coral for a necklace.

At the fabric shop - I was all about the buttons. They had an awesome collection! I am almost done with my Liesl and I had it with me to see what buttons would work. I found three different ones that I love, so I may have to ask for your help deciding! I'll post the options tomorrow. Stay tuned!

The entire neighborhood of Chestnut Hill is so cute! It is full of gorgeous architectural details and lovely gardens:





Staci and I were dragged into Cake kicking and screaming... and came out with a scrumptious cupcake each. I had a peanut butter chocolate cupcake and she had a Boston creme....



A fashion show was also in order! Sarah brought all her recent finished projects!

Here is her lovely sister Jen modeling them:



This is her Adamas shawl and two weaving projects.

It was such a great day! I will post pics of my purchases soon!

Handspun Friday

A few weeks ago I spun up 4 ounces of 100% merino roving by Cyberfiber. It reminds me of the beach - so I'm calling it Tidewater.



I am very happy with how this roving came out. I was actually trying for a lace weight, but after plying and soaking - it's fluffed up to be about a fingering weight.

I have over 400 yards of it so I think it's destined to be a shawl of some kind. Maybe something I design? I've been thinking about trying to design a shawl.





I just love the subtle colors!


Have a great weekend!

Tigerwalkers

I forgot to post pics of my latest sock! I knit another pair of Jaywalkers.

I started these for the "Air" months of Project Spectrum, but was a little late completing them and even later in showing them off!



Stats:
Pattern: Jaywalkers by Grumperina
Yarn: Lisa Souza superfine merino superwash sock yarn in the Mombassa colorway - purchased at Stitches East
Needles: Size US 2 DPNs


I love this yarn - it striped perfectly and there is so much yardage in this skein I think I have enough for a second pair!



I love how the toes pooled!


Roar!

Fair Fun!

I went to the fair with Larissa yesterday:



It was a beautiful day - not too hot and not too humid with plenty of blue sky and sunshine. We walked around and saw all the animals, arts and crafts and garden stuff and we ate lots of good old fashioned fair food (candy apples, cotton candy and gyros!)

The highlight of the day for me - was tasting all these different kinds of honey! There was clover honey, blueberry honey, thistle honey, and tons more flavors. There were even jars of cystalized honey! This stuff was so amazing! It's thick like peanut butter and tastes amazing! We of course bought some and went back to Larissa's place and tried some on toast. Yum! I can't wait to try some on corn on the cob like they suggested.



I wanted to go to the fair to see my entries in the knitting competition. I entered my Charlotte's web shawl and won a special prize from Ewenique Yarns.



And my friend Jolene surprised me and entered my Merletto mitts! They were a gift to her last Christmas - so she was sneaky! They won 3rd place.



Jolene won some ribbons too! And my friend Coleen cleaned up with three blue ribbons and a red! She then went on to win the grand prize of best of the best for her baby sweater set. Definitely go give her some props!

After the fair and the awesome honey - we hung out at Larissa's place for a bit. I was happy to finally get to meet Elrick - Larissa's dog. Isn't he just precious!



That boy can howl! We had quite a trio going on! He's such a cutie!

I hope you all had a great Labor Weekend!