Vest, dishtowel, new projects

So, I finished Andy's vest (finally).

He says he likes it a lot. I wish I had divided for the v-neck a few rows lower, and I'm not crazy about how the left seam turned out, but otherwise, I'm satisfied with it.

(There's wee Jamie playing with cups in his crib.)

Look what else I did!

My mom is teaching me to use a sewing machine, and how to prep and measure and cut and press cloth and follow a pattern. This was my first project, a cute dishtowel. It only took six hours. :\ But I like it, and surely I'll get better and faster at all the prep work. I hope.

I also started the Audrey Hoodie (Ravelry link)from Vintage Baby Knits. My cousin is due in April. I'm hoping to be done with this by the time she has her shower in March.

But! I have to put it on hold starting tomorrow night, because I've decided to challenge myself in the Knitting Olympics!

My event will be a hooded cardigan for Rose, modeled after A Cardigan for Arwen and A Cardigan for Merry. She's too small for the one and too big for the other, so I'm going to use my Ann Budd book and the cable chart as a jumping-off point and see how it goes!

This is the yarn I'm going to use.

I bought it at Zeilinger's Wool in Frankenmuth. It had no label, but I think it's a wool/alpaca blend. Pretty bulky, 4 stitches per inch, so it should work up quickly enough for me to finish by the time the torch is extinguished.

Whoo hoo! Let's hear that John Williams theme!

Nuala's commentary on my WIP

Yarn, what yarn? Oh, were you working on something? I'll help you. Ooh, soft... What do you mean, you can't knit if I'm pressing on the ball like this? Well, goodnight, then...

7 Quick Takes, 1/23

-1-

I've been awfully weepy this past week. Probably just a combination of hormones and the season, but still tough.

-2-

One of my comforts in this cold spell has been to wear my flannel nightgown with a pair of handknit socks and this wrap I knit. It's so Louisa May Alcott/Laura Ingalls Wilder that I want to bake bread or something. Oh wait, I did!

-3-

Today I will treat myself to a massage after I play the school Mass. It's something I like to do every other month or so. I'm so grateful I have the time and the extra money to do it.

-4-

What is it with cats and paper? Nuala has never been a lap-sitting kitty, but put a piece of paper down and that's where she wants to be. Even if it's on a lap.

-5-

Since I read The Green Beauty Guide and learned how the terrible stuff we put on our skin gets into our bodies and into our environment, I've been slowly replacing the old stuff I use up with greener options, and trying some of the easier "recipes" from the book. The first thing I replaced was the kids' shampoo and soap. Then I bought cleanser and moisturizer for myself from Aubrey Organics. Because I'm a cheapskate at heart, I really wanted to finish up my old cleanser and moisturizer. So I used the old stuff in the evening and the new stuff in the morning. Well, the difference in how the Aubrey products smell, and feel going on, and make my face feel throughout the day compared to how the other products do got clearer and clearer over the last couple of weeks, until last night I couldn't take it anymore and I just tossed the old product. The miserly part of me was groaning, but the rest of me is very glad.

-6-

James has graduated to Rose's old car seat. And as much of a pain as getting Jamie in a snowsuit and putting him in a regular car seat is, I'm so very happy that Rose has moved up to her booster. It's so much easier than buckling her into a harness, and she loves being a big girl who can use the car's seat belt.

-7-

Real Simple magazine's question of the month was "How do you alleviate stress?" and not one, but two of the readers' answers included knitting! There was even a lovely photograph of a basket of red yarn. Nice.

More 7 Quick Takes can be found at Jen's place!

Going for a new look

I'm going to be trying out a few new things here at the Fiber Cafe. Last night I experimented with a new header (that's my Mason-Dixon neverending log cabin baby blanket up there) and soon I'm going to adjust other pieces of the blog. So if the place seems a little different soon, don't worry, it's still me; I'm just playing around with the look.Here's a photo of Nuala to make up for no knitting content. :)

Love,

Kim

Dermot

Dermot Michael Moody. (Andy felt Dermie needed his own Irish last name.)

Dermie Germie. Stripey Boy.

His pal Nuala.

He was the cuddliest, most lap-sitting cat we ever knew.

Rest in peace, sweet kitty.

Love,

Kim

Cats, sweater, and needles

Dear Rachel,

Dermot's been home for a couple of days now, and he's pretty pitiful. They sent him home with pain medication and antibiotics, and you know how fun it is to give cats medicine. But I manage to get him to swallow most of it, so he's all doped up now and lies around even more than he ever did. The vet told us to keep him from running around too much or jumping. I just laughed. Nuala doesn't even know who he is anymore (apparently he still smells like hospital) and hisses at him whenever she gets within a yard of where he is currently sleeping. He just lies there.

I managed to get a couple shots of the green ribbed sweater.


I used the sleeve as my swatch and I work on it here and there when I want a portable project. I'm a little puzzled by how some of my stitches are turning out -- I don't know if it's the yarn, the transition from knit to purl, or my technique, but I usually have fairly even stitches.

It's not easy to see in this picture -- though you can click to enlarge -- but some of the stitches in the very left of the knit ribs (last knit stitch before switching to purl) are wonky. They seem bigger, loopier, than the others. I'm hoping this can be worked out in the blocking (famous last words, I know).

In other knit news, Yarn Harlot recently wrote about how much she is enjoying the new Knit Picks Options. You and I had talked about these, and how tempting they are. Now with The Harlot endorsing them, as well as Knitter's Review, well, let me just say I don't know how long I can hold out.

I read in AAA Michgan Living that there will be a Sheep and Wool Festival in Romeo on September 23 and 24. Does that sound like an adventure to you? I'd also love to drive up to your neck of the woods soon and visit Have You Any Wool for that Regia Bamboo sock yarn as well as The Knitting Room (I heard KR stocks Koigu. Must find out if it's true). Let me know what you think (not that you don't have anything else going on).

Love,

Kim

Log Cabin is growing

Dear Rachel,

I'm moving along on this log cabin blanket, but not much else. The Cozy wrap is languishing on row 8 (11 if you count the garter stitch border), and I'm not posting any pictures until it actually looks like something other than an unwound ball of twine. I've come to a screeching halt on the green ribbed sweater, after really cranking along for a good 8 or 9 inches. I just can't make myself pick it up.

I took Dermot to the vet this morning to have surgery. His bladder stones had not shrunk at all on the new diet, so in order to avoid the possibility of the stones shifting and blocking his urethra, he had to have them out. Poor kitty. He came through it well, though, and we'll be able to bring him home tomorrow.

Anyhow, back to the knitting, my hope is that starting this blog does give me a bit of motivation to show progress, like you said the other day. In the meantime, a completely gratuitous picture of Rose on the train at Greenfield Village:


Love,

Kim