Raglan from the top down is done!

OK so I didn't finish it in in March and I didn't finish it in a month either. But I did finish it! I started this sweater for the March Sweater Madness - knit a sweater in a month challenge. I came close! I cast on March 16 and finished it up April 19th. (Thank you Ravelry - I never would have remembered the exact dates - what did we do without you!)

So - here is my "almost knit in a month" sweater!

I'm calling it my Lucky sweater!



Stats:
Pattern: Raglan from the top down by Stephanie Japel a.k.a. Lucky!
Yarn: My handspun for the yoke and Elann Peruvian Highland Wool for the body in Peridot
Needles: Size US9 (I knit tight!)
Mods: I did my raglan increases with Yarn overs for some decorative details and added handspun trim on the cuffs and bottom of the sweater. I also did a turned hem on the bottom and cuffs.

Here is the handspun I used - I had about 100 yards of this awesome merino tencel from Cyberfiber:



It knit up like a dream and was just enough for the yoke...




with a bit left over for the cuffs and bottom hem...






It's also perfect for Project Spectrum!

Project Spectrum red!

February and March are the Project Spectrum Fire months. I wish that the Fire theme could help heat up the freezing cold temps, but alas - I had to take matters into my own hands:

I knit these awesome mittens to help warm my freezing fingers. And let me tell ya - they are warm!



The pattern is the "Bird in Hand Mitts" by Kate Gilbert and the pattern is truly a work of art. I love how the leaves and flowers unfold as you knit. And who doesn't love the little bird that peeks out from the thumb. The yarn is Berrocco's Peruvia . It's a soft single ply yarn that reminds me a bit of Malabrigo. Very soft and fuzzy and very warm! I have only knit one of them so far - and I do plan to knit the second - but it may be a bit before I start. I tend to get easily distracted by other things like....

Sewing these!



I made up a little wristlet pattern. I made three so far and they are so fast and easy - that I see myself makeing a bunch more. I recently bought some fabric "Javajem" labels here and these are my first finished objects that got to try them out.

I got the idea for these little wristlets after making this makeup bag for my mom. She requested a new makeup bag that she could smoosh in her suitcase and yet be large enough to hold her hairbrushes and makeup. So I came up with this:



I added a little zipper pull and tried out one of my new "special" stitches on the fabric zipper fob.


I also had made this bag to hold all my WW books:



It's just a simple zipper bag that I made with left over Alexander Henry fabric from Jolene's Nappy bag.

I combined the two pattern ideas and ended up with the wristlets. I'm going to try to put together another tutorial if anyone is interested in the wristlet pattern - let me know!

Slacker blogger

I've been a bad blogger this week! My mind has definitely been elsewhere.

I am in now in week two of a passport renewing drama and my time has been eaten away while on hold with the passport agency! To make a VERY long story short - I am leaving for a (much needed) cruise on Sunday and realized my passport expired a little too late to just mail it in... so 1 bazillion phone calls to the passport agency later - I finally got an appointment this morning. I still need to go back tomorrow and pick up the completed passport - but hopefully it will be OVER!!! You gotta love government workers though - really... I mean how else can they have fun except to play with people's nerves when they really need something.

Case in point... I need a passport... I need it now... I need it or I can't go on a trip... They have the power and know it... One *nice* lady told she made me an appointment and would email me the details and confirmation number later that day.

OK - this is the 21st century - emailed info - cool! Or so I thought....

Later that day... no email... next day... no email. Phoned them again... New *nice* lady on the phone say, "Email?... we don't email appointments. Someone told you the wrong information." (A.K.A. - you were the butt of some government worker's joke!)

So - I finally got an appointment for today thinking I'd actually get the new passport in my hot little hands immediately... wrong.

I feel like curling up in the fetal position and crying for my mommy to make it all better. (Nah - I'd rather just complain to you all!)

Oh a position note - I did get to have Cosi this morning... Mmmmm Cranberry Orange square bagels with butter.... heaven! They are one of the things I miss about working in DC.

Anyway - sorry I turned my short story into a long one after all - sometimes you just need to vent!

In other news... last Friday - I was in Virginia for the annual PeopleSoft Mid-Atlantic Regional Users Group (MARUG for those in the 'biz) and also got a chance to meet a fellow blogger! Since I was in the area - I shot Jinann a line and asked her if she was free for a visit! It's always cool to actually get to meet online friends in person - isn't it?

We met at Capital yarns and I bought some yummy Mountain Colors sock yarn and I finally got the Favorite Socks book I've been lusting after.


After that we ate some yummy BBQ at a local joint next door to the yarn shop... you could smell the BBQ in the shop too!

Here we are after our BBQ feast!




It was cool to get a chance to meet up!

Before I met Jinann - I had some time to kill and was driving around - looking for something to do when I spotted a sign for Sully Plantation. A plantation!? I had to check it out...

It was the home of Richard Bland Lee, Northern Virginia's first congressman, and was built in 1794. I didn't take an official tour or anything - but I did walk around the grounds a little and took some pics:







There were plenty of pretty yellow goodness around to suit the new Project Spectrum colors too :)



Definitely worth a quick stop if you're ever in the Herndon area!