Don't Faint

I'm posting 2 days in a row after a month of but after seeing Carole's 10 on Tuesday I had to post again.
Here goes!

10 Things I’m Looking Forward to in the Month of May.

1. Warmer weather - it is slowly getting warmer here in MA and I'm so happy.

2. Lily of the Valley - my favorite flower blooms in May.  I carried them as my wedding bouquet.  I love their delicate stalks and flowers and the scent is divine (however, I will admit I don't like lily of the valley perfume or lotion and for some reason I am given it too often).

3. May Fair - our church in CT has an amazing fair the Saturday before Mother's Day.  It is an all day event and is the largest one day fair in the state of CT.  If you live in CT, it is worth the field trip.  In fact, I'm considering trekking back to CT for the day just because it has been part of our lives for years and I don't want to miss it.

4. My birthday is in May - often it falls on Mother's Day.  It did last year which was fitting as it was my 50th birthday and I was born on Mother's Day.  Here's a photo of my kids and me on my 50th.

5.  Mother's Day - I love sending my mom a special little gift on our shared special day.

6. Our anniversary is in May - okay this was the crazy trifecta...our anniversary is the day after my birthday as it was the only day the church was available.  I told my husband that he could easily have my birthday, mother's day and our anniversary right in a row or stacked up on each other.  He's handled it well in spite of breaking the "separate gifts, separate cards, separate wrapping paper" rule for all 3.  He sure can't forget our anniversary ever!

7. Memorial Day - we spend Memorial Day at my husband's family home at the Jersey shore (not the Snookie part) every year.  We open up the house, go for walks, barbecue and if it is warm enough don bathing suits and start the summer season.  This year, however, it is going to be different.  Our house had 3 1/2 ft of water in it during Hurricane Sandy.  We hope to be back in by Memorial Day but we probably won't have any furniture...heck, that's what beach chairs are for!  Here is a photo from the Memorial Day service at the local club - it is lovely and so patriotic.

8. Changing my wardrobe - it is so nice not to wear a heavy coat everywhere.  I love breaking out the spring colors, skirts and baring my toes to the world.  Which leads to:

9. Beginning of the season pedicure!  I love to have pretty toes in the spring and summer and a pedicure is the right way to start the open toe shoes and sandal season.

10. Sleeping with the windows open.  It is too cold to sleep with the windows wide open or even cracked during the winter...however, just in the past few days we've cracked them open.  The fresh air gives me a lovely night's sleep and I love hearing the birds in the morning.

Happy May everyone!

Oh My...What a Bad Blogger

I just noticed my last blog post was almost a month ago.  I am a bad blogger!  I apologize for going radio silent yet again.  I've had a crazy few weeks that have made it so my time is not my own.  Two plus weeks ago I got a call from the middle school - a teacher was about to go out on maternity leave and their coverage fell through.  I went in and interviewed for the job (some of the interview was in French as it was to teach her French classes).  After some back and forth and reswizzling of the job and the pay I was awarded the long term substitute position.  THEN the teacher started a false labor so one week after the interview I was starting the job.  I covered her classes for 3 days then the job started right after our vacation week.

My first week of work was this past week - as a result, my time is not my own.  This is something I full well learned last year when I subbed for a teacher on maternity leave - hence, the need to reswizzle the pay!

This explains yet another radio silence...I am out of the house by 7am (up at 5am) and not home til 2:30.  Then mom duty begins which I don't need to explain to any of you.

I've been too tired to knit much this past week but I did finish a lovely knit.  I had some Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool in my stash and I started this project at the end of March - it is by Bonne Marie Burns.  Vonica is a fun knit with an interesting pattern that is easy to follow.  I love the color, the cut, the weight of the yarn for a spring knit.  I quickly blocked it and wore it the next day.  I'm in love with this sweater.  Apologies for the photos - taken on the computer but better than no photos.

What am I knitting now?  I have a design idea in my head.  I've also ordered some yarn from the Webs sale - Cascade 220 of course.  I got enough to make a stocking for my nephew and a sweater for Miss America.

I'll try to post here and there - it is hard when my days are not my own.  Tell me, what are you knitting these days?

To answer Millie's questions in the comments section - this was our first winter in MA.  It sure was a doozy!  We live in a town that is known for not cancelling school often and we had to cancel I think 2 days due to snow/weather.  As for my subbing here, all I had to do was apply.  Substitute teachers surprisingly don't need any special degrees or training - just a college degree.  And as for new projects, I just cast on a stripey baby sweater that I'm making up as I go along.  More to come.  I love baby projects as you feel like you've accomplished so much in so little time.

Perfect for Easter

A while back, we went to the ordination of our youth minister.  His 4 year old daughter, Elana, reminded me I knit a sweater for her baby sister.  She had the color and buttons down cold and described it to a tee.

So, I said, "Would you like me to knit you a sweater and what color would you like...pink?" - knowing full well pink would be her choice.  She told me she wanted a sweater with buttons and yes, pink would be her choice.

So, when I went to Windsor Button I picked up some Plymouth Encore in a pink that borders on Pepto Bismol pink.  I got some white and then used some purple I had in my stash.  I combined two patterns to make the cardigan - I used Drive Thru for the sweater directions and Isabella for the yoke pattern.

Originally, I wanted to find flower buttons but nothing appealed to me so I ended up with matching pink buttons that actually let the flower yoke stand out better.

It went in the mail and should be her Easter surprise - what a perfect Easter sweater!

I won a prize!

Leslie, A Friend To Knit With, was having a contest for a Lilly lint removing brush.  I put my name into the hopper of comments and imagine my surprise when I saw her post saying I was one of 10 winners.

I love Leslie's blog and love her knitting - she's inspired me to make several items including my favorite Inca Marl Coat.  The small world thing we learned is both our parents live in the same small town in Florida.  One day I hope to meet her in person - virtual friendships are lovely but sometimes you just have to meet the person like I did with Major Knitter.

Here's my prize - now to get some sweaters out and give it a whirl!

Finished

Well, the friendship blanket is finished - we had so much fun doing this and the coordinator, Leslie, lovingly seamed it together.  Then a quick crochet border was added and voila, it is done.  The plan is to give it to the family on the Greek Orthodox Easter which is in May.  What a loving gift for a family that lost their mother.

My new knitting group

As most of you know, I participated in the most amazing knitting group when we lived in Connecticut.  In fact, when asked if I miss where we lived, I reply that I only miss our church and my knitting group.   They are the ones that lovingly made me my friendship blanket.

Thanks to my cousin, I have a new knitting group here in Massachusetts.  Shortly after I joined them, one of their members lost her battle with cancer.   The group decided to knit a blanket for her family. The lady organizing the effort, Leslie, asked for my help in selecting yarn.  We picked Cascade 128 Superwash which is bulky and knits up quickly.  Each skein easily made two 10" x 10" squares.  I took my swift to Leslie's house and I spent a morning winding 24 skeins into cakes.

Today we placed all the squares in order for seaming.  The wonderful thing is the center square has a heart.  So much love went into this.  Some of the women are novice knitters and this was a delightful challenge for them.  Funny thing is I never met the woman or her family but it doesn't matter...that's what we knitters do.

Here is how it looks...I know it will be loved and cherished.

Snowstorm Sweater

Just before the blizzard of 2013 hit, Webs had a sale on discontinued colors of Cascade 220.  So, my daughter picked out a color and a pattern - Bedford by Michele Wang.  The mailman made it in on a snowy Friday and I set to work.  I knit this in a day over 2 weeks - 2 snowstorms and a mini snow event for the finishing work...hence, Snowstorm Sweater.

As you can see, she loves it and is wearing it to school today!

While I was finishing this, she asked if she could start knitting.  Of course!  More on that in my next post.

Makes My Heart Beat Fast

Remember last year when I met Kate Gilbert's aunt?  Well, she's a dear and I saw her at church last month when we visited for an ordination.  She told me she had a bag of yarn for me that Kate had given her and she wanted to give to me.

Well, I can't refuse yarn and I must admit having yarn that Kate touched, knit with, was inspired by...well, it makes my heart beat fast.

The bag was no small bag - in fact it was huge!

I dumped it out on my bed and of course I had to sort it.

Blues, purples, greens

neutrals and greens

Reds, browns, greys

It is almost overwhelming - I'm envisioning some color work or a linen stitch scrappy scarf.  I want to be brilliant with it as it was once knit with by Kate Gilbert!  Oh, I do hope I can meet her via her lovely aunt.  I think I should knit something for the aunt, right?

Warmest of Warristons

I started this sweater, Warriston, on January 15th and finished it today.  I immediately put it on - no need to block and have decided it's the warmest sweater I've ever made.  I LOVE this pattern - knit seamlessly out of Cascade Eco +.  It took just under 3 skeins - Webs is having a sale on the yarn so I've purchased more and will be making a hot pink one next.

If I look a little worried, the photographer was grumpy and I'm trying to figure out why.

The pocket construction was fascinating!

My Kind of Farmer's Market

In case I haven't mentioned it, I LOVE our new hometown.  It is wonderful on so many levels and I never expected we would be this happy here.

Today was another reason why I love our town - we have a farmer's market.  When we first moved here we went on a hot summer day and it wasn't quite up to the farmer's market standards we had back in CT.  However, today it blew the CT market out of the water!  Today and one day next month, they have fiber vendors at the market!  Lots of fiber vendors.

Check out this gorgeous array of handspun.

More handspun from the same vendor...
stunning but quite costly...these skeins were $65.

Check out this bag made from a wool jacket.

This one is embroidered...too cool.

Our daughter wanted to take one of these home...not happening.

I fell in love with this "tree" of skeins.

As you can see it was very busy.

Lovely colors but sadly a bit scratchy for me.

See the blue horse/unicorn one near the center?
I will be knitting up a pair for our daughter.

I only purchased a pattern this time - fortunately, a lot of the vendors will be back in February.  Now I can reflect on what yarns I saw and then plan a purchase.  What a fun morning we had at the farmer's market - my kind of farmer's market with YARN!

Can You Feel The Love?

Sometimes when I'm knitting something, I just can't feel the love.  Sometimes I realize it quickly and sometimes I realize it too slowly.  Best thing though is to realize it before you finish knitting the entire item.

Case and point - I was knitting Tinder by Jared Flood out of some Cascade 220.  I really dislike seaming (even though I think I'm good at it because I sewed before I learned to knit)...so I converted the pattern to knit in one piece.  I got as far as the underarms and put it down for weeks.  Part of the reason was that I needed to have quiet time (not during the holidays) to do the math to convert the sleeves to seamless.  When I picked it up, I realized part of the reason was I wasn't in love with it at all. The pattern is interesting but it wasn't something I loved.

So I frogged 17 1/2 inches of an entire sweater body - 3 skeins of Cascade 220.  That's a lot of knitting but better to love what you knit than just live with it.  So, for now the yarn is in a time out while I do some stalking of patterns.  I think I'll find something else in my stash to work on for a while.

One of These Things Is Not Like The Other

One of these things is not the same...got to love a Sesame Street Song, right?  Not when it applies to your knitting though.

I had been finishing up my Cotton Reel Mittens which I realized why I don't knit mittens - they are like socks.  You have to make two of them.  I went into finishing frenzy - stupidly during a really exciting playoff game between the Broncos and the Ravens.

I bound off the thumb, wove in the ends and put on the mitten.  It looked great, right!?

So then I got out the first mitten and put it on and realized something was wrong - one of these things is not like the other...see?

Too many stitches on the left hand mitten...grrr.  It went into timeout overnight and the next morning I got to work.

Painful but necessary.  After carefully paying attention to picking up the right number of stitches, I finished the second mitten.  Two of these things are the SAME!

And I'm done with mittens for a while!

For My Husband

My husband won't let me knit for him - I constantly offer sweaters and he keeps saying no.  So while I was knitting this Cascade Eco Plus blanket, the kids would say "who is that for".  Until I received my lovely friendship blanket, I would say "it is for me because you keep stealing my blanket".  

The other day our daughter asked again and I replied "this is for dad".  She must have forgotten because when she saw it blocking she said "I hope you're not giving this one away!"  I agree - it is lovely, it is warm and my husband loved/loves it.

I couldn't get the color right -see the last photo for the true color.

This is the truer color.

How To Make A Knitter Smile

It's simple, it's easy - wear their knits and let them know you love them.  Within 24 hours I received this email from my friend who asked me to knit some cowls for her for Christmas gifts:

My sister was a lucky recipient!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Margaret
Date: Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 11:16 AM
Subject: blue neck wrap
To: Sarah

I’m loving this!  This is the second time this week I’ve worn it. It’s great with anything V neck or ‘regular’ neck – i.e. without a turtleneck.  Thank you!

And then I received this photo:

That is how to make a knitter happy!

Ornament Organization

Every year I decorate our wreath (and tree) with handknit ornaments.  The wreath is exclusively hand knits.  I always take everything down before New Years Eve as I want to start the year fresh and with house that is back to normal.

So, when I took all my handknit ornaments down, I gave them their own little storage unit.  Doesn't this look wonderful?  They are all packed up and waiting til next December.