Distractions...

I really need to get focused on my knitting and designing!! Lately, I've been helping my boyfriend (Tom) with his business (tomsrareplants.com). I've created a website for him, and we've been selling his plants at the Apex Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

I've been knitting some small-ish projects: socks, dishclothes, and pieces to a nativity set. I've completed my back and white Bramble Bag, but I've been procrastinating about adding the lining. I'm also thinking about publishing my design for the "Learn To Knit" pillow top, but first I need to do some research on formatting the pattern and setting up a payment method.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Ok, I know this sounds crazy, but today I'm wishing myself a happy birthday!! My life over the past few months has been slightly less than happy. No, wait, I really can't say that. What I mean is that I've been in a bit of a funk. Today, I'm starting to fix what's messed up - from the inside out!!! I started my day in prayer and meditation. I picked up my bible again, and spent some time with God. I fed my spirit, and then I fed my body with a decent breakfast. Next, I fed my creativity by finishing up the socks I've been knitting for forever. Now, I'm messing around on the PC - not quite sure how that fits into fixing a mess. But, hey, it's my birthday, and I'll do whatever I want!! Next on my list is to get a nice, hot shower, and spend a litte time outside before it gets too hot. Maybe I'll even take a nap this afternoon. It's going to be a very happy day!

Busy, Busy!

The flower facecloth made it through the wash in great shape! Since my last post, I've been busy with designing and knitting an argyle sweater for my daughter. I decided to use Lion Brand Cotton Ease because she gets hot easily, and has a tendency to throw her clothes into the wash without looking at the care label. This trait is inherited from her father, who has been known to wash leather jackets, among other things! But I digress.... She picked out grey as the main color, with pink diamonds and green lines. This would not have been my first choice, but my daughter would probably not wear the sweater unless she could choose the colors. I completed all the pieces as of last weekend. I used short row shaping for the shoulders, and tried my hand at the three needle bind-off at the shoulders. I have to say that I am VERY pleased with the results! I've knitted up the v-neck band, and will assemble the rest of the sweater this weekend.

Following my usual MO, I've started a new project before the sweater is done: I'm knitting the Berroro Bramble Bag using Love-It instead of the recommended Peruvia because a wool bag is just too darn hot in North Carolina in the summer! I chose to use black and white as the colors, and it's looking fabulous already!

Pretty!

I just could not resist..... I've been reading about the flower-shaped washcloth knit in Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille, and I kept wondering about how a washcloth made in hand-wash yarn will hold up to machine washing. So, last week, I made a trip to Great Yarns in Raleigh, and bought a skein of this yarn. My first impression of it was ahhhhh.... feels just like a cotton ball! I just finished up the project this morning, and I'll run it through the wash later today. Stayed tuned for the results!

My Knitting Group

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Pics As Promised!

Here's the green monster... ur, sweater!!

Here are the slipper socks:

And here is the hat:

A Quick Update

I think I've actually caught up on some of my UFOs!

I finished the green sweater this past weekend. It's very boxy and bulky (as I expected), so it will be my casual sweatshirt sweater.

In preparation for teaching a class on DPNs, I knit up the "Dizzy" hat from Berocco, and "Cozy" slipper socks from Lion Brand. Both turned out very nice. The slippers came out a little short for my big ol size 10's, but very soft and cozy. My daughter loves Dizzy, but wants me to knit up another one in a lighter color (I used black) for her. I've added pics for both projects on ravelry, and I'll upload the pics here in the next couple of days (I'm creating this post on my lunch break at work - bad me!!). Oh, and I'll get the links to the patterns in here too....