learn something new every day

beatrices take me home set 

Karen has scoped out my blog for me and informs me that all looks well except the beatrice pic which requires a password the way i have it set up in the previous post. i'm a little relieved that it didn't work because it was possible to view all of my albums on the site and that is a little more than i care to divulge here.

so, enjoy the pic above, that's all i wanted you to see. the sweater is reynolds pattern # 82245 for their blossom yarn, i obviously chose to knit it in pink, a little peptobismol-y but a pretty and soft article nonetheless. i adapted the pattern to make short sleeves, and i added an extra button so that both sides sport a pretty flower; one decorative, one a working button (you only see one in the pic). the hat was some free pattern i got off the net, i have no idea where, with the name jennifer brown associated with it. there was a pretty little eyelet row with a ribbon pulled through is just above the rib edge border, i chose to forgo the eyelet and embroider a flower to match the sweater buttons instead. the only thing i would add is that the blossom yarn was quite slippery and i had to use bamboo to keep my work on the needles particularly at those tricky beginnings and ends of rows. for a newbie knitter, this was the first experience with 'tricky' yarn, it never occurred to me that some yarns could be easier or harder to work with and that needle choice could ameliorate or aggravate a problem until this project, which by the way was project number 2.

all the knitting for aidan's guernsey is completed, all that remains is to stitch it together and do a couple of rows to complete the collar. i am very excited to see this so near completion. it will be thrilling for him to wear it on our trip out west to see his meme and all the other relations. i wonder if i can get duo finished in time for the same trip?
we'll see...

still fooling around trying to familiarize myself with blog use. i managed to set the little picture in my profile. it's the candy heart with 'corine' in it. i found it kicking around in the folder i have on my husband's computer. i don't remember ever seeing it before, maybe my spouse put it there for me? anyway, i thought it was a sweet little surprise, as if i had come across it between the couch cushions. it is apropos because my middle name is valentine; you see how it is 'just the thing' i needed.

a couple of rows more progress on sleeves of guernsey. i so want to have all the pieces done to sew together at snb next week. not likely to happen, especially if the blog thing continues to distract.

i'm visiting the west coast in july and hope to visit at least one yarn store at some point. my mom will be into that little adventure with me. it might also be fun to crash someone else's snb or meetup.

by then i hope to be finishing desmonds's duo and starting aline for myself. big plans for a small summer. for duo, i need to do some math to make sure the alterations i made on each piece will match up once i go to stitch the pieces together. i think it will involve ripping a little of the back and adding some rows before the ribbing for the collar. it's been so long since i worked on it that it will be quite a puzzle to sort out. i'm just within a couple of inches of finishing the sleeves too. :[ as for aline, i have swatched her. what i have learned there is that knitting the raffia is hard on the hand muscles and i'll need another little something to work at the same time to give my hands a break from her.

and that as they say is that.

still experimenting

i'm experimenting with getting pictures on my blog.

testing 
how do i get this one to fill the slot for the picture of me in my blogger profile? hmm. more experimentation required...

unknown territory

so, i have this blog, i have these other sites and blogs i like to visit, i have these pictures i want to share; how does it all come together? i wanted to pick the brains of fellow bloggers at snb last night, but Karen was the only one who showed up and we talked about other stuff. she showed me her cabled ribbon sweater and i must say it is even more fabulous in person than on her pics. --testing, if all went well there should be a usable link in this just written paragraph; did i do it?--
we had a very nice family of two grade school girls and their mother visit us as we knit under the freezing current of starbucks airconditioning vents. karen and i agree we won't be going back there to knit 1)miserable parking
2)poor lighting. back to the nice family. the girls asked great questions about our projects and we showed them how we were making our cables and designs, i showed them my chart for the anchor. a very nice chat was had by all, and perhaps some young ladies will be inspired to knit in their future. karen is cute, she tries to get 'converts' for knitting whenever she can.
i am emboldened by the link i embedded in the first paragraph, let me try to show you a pic of beatrice's 'take me home' sweater set. I think that worked too! how exciting! perhaps enough unknown territory for one day. i have to break up the fights between the rivaling toddlers and put the binkies back in the snoozing babes' mouths now.

i have made some knitting progress! i'm well into the first sleeve of aidan's debbie bliss simple child's guernsey. it is so exciting to have all this coming together. this sweater has taken me a long time as i am stretching it out because i can't afford new yarn and because i actually choose sleep over knitting now that beatrice has arrived( turned 5 weeks yesterday) and she can keep me up plus or minus 45 minutes a nite, once or twice a nite, nursing.
we have snb tonight, i hope at least one other person shows up to make it worth my having left the house. getting away from the melee is always a relief but getting some knitting done is even better. starbucks is the venue tonight, that might actually be a spot where i would stay and knit by myself for a bit... but i want to hear about karen's guild meeting, and i want to gain experience at sock knitting vicariously through candace.
for now this blog business couldn't be more personal as i have to digital camera to take and post pics with, i have not clue how to link up to others. i really would like to make this a homepage for myself to keep all my favorite links together, it's getting the point where there are too many i like for me to keep track of them all. i'll pick the stitchers' brains on all of this tonight, there are at least three there that blog. no rush, no one would be interested in this prattle for now anyway.
i'm thinking of the title knitatnite since i do most of my stitching after the bambinos are in bed.
debbie bliss pattern of aidan's sleeve needed a little adjustment, the first row of increases didn't match of with the desired number of stitches upon completion of that row so i changed it to increase every 3rd then 4th stitch, alternating, to the end. this added 10 stitches to the row bringing the total to 48 (not 46 like the pattern stated, and not 47 like the directions followed would have created) i figured that was nice and round and the increases were nice and evenly spaced. i'll just have one less increase row in the length of the sleeve.
a bientot...

you start by one step

here is my newly created blog, supposedly to motivate me, but more realistically to distract me and sidetrack me from all the things i should really be doing. it will be up to me each day; should i use this for good or evil? i'm feeling like the mere act of writing is a good thing as my intellect has been turning to mush over the past twelve months with almost exclusively child-centered interaction. at the very least, this should serve to diminish the rapid rate at which my vocabulary has been deteriorating.
i did say something about this pertaining to knitting somewhere? here's the scoop. i've completed 2 baby sweaters, a baby hat, and a crocheted baby hat since i started this knitting thing in march. i am currently working on two toddler sweaters and annie modessits aline purse. the sweater i work most on has the back completed. the challenging, learn something part was the moss stitch anchor i added to the front of this debbie bliss simple child guernsey design. the anchor is complete, it should be smooth sailing for the remainder of the front, the sleeves and the finishing.
until some other time...