April FO's Bring May Sweaters?

It certainly looks that way!  For the first time this year I met my knitting deadline and finished my April projects!

Pattern: Baby Dots by Kay Meadors

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby in "white", "prettiest pink", "pink" and "rose rumba"
Needle: US 6
Notes: So easy to knit, but also suffers from "OMG-I-am-so-bored-with-this" syndrome.  I carried up the three yarns along the inside of the borders so that I didn't have to weave in the ends after every row.  It was a VERY good idea... all of those ends would have made me cray-zee!  Also, I had to rely on MiL's stash to have enough white yarn.  Since our dye-lot's didn't match I alternated every other row to blend the two.

I was VERY worried that this wasn't going to block properly, being acrylic and all.  But, I think the knit gods decided to smile down on me or something, because after some time with the blocking board- the whole thing doesn't seem as rolly polly and lies reasonably flat.  Maybe this does have a Stampede destiny afterall?

Finishing a blanket is in itself VERY satisfying... finishing a blanket AND a pair of socks is downright heroic!

Pattern: Spring Fling by Pam Gordnier (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Madelintosh Tosh Sock in Logwood
Needles: US 0
Notes: Great pattern if you read the whole thing through (ahem... me)!  I'd highly recommend going down at least a needle size... I went down TWO and they fit "just right" on my calves.  This was my first time doing an "eye of the partridge heel" and I really liked it.  Caution though, it eats up more yarn than a standard heel, so you need to be sure you'll have enough.

These are just a delightful "springy" sock and the yarn is absolutely dreamy to knit with.  Madelintosh lends itself beautifully to socks and these are no exception.

With both projects off my needles I hinted at a little cheat... until the very end of April.  I'm just smitten with these mittens!  (Emma's Mittens)

And so- with the socks and the blanket finished on time, it's time I pull out the sweater and work on it.  I'll be heading over to MiL's on Wed with Parker so that grandma can play with Parker and mommy can have some uninterrupted "figure out where exactly I am" on this project so that I can forge ahead on finishing it up.  Because let's face it, with a dude like that this....

... it's easy to get distracted.

Smitten Knittin'

Well... boo boo fixed and progress made!  Guess what's off the needles and ready to block?

This project is gorgeous.  G O R G E O U S, I love the little pink dots in the white knitting and it's perfect for a perfect little girl someday.  But here is where I get real nervous.  This project is acrylic.  Acrylic is not a natural fiber- I'm not sure it's going to block.  Even if I can get it lie a little bit flatter, I'll breathe a sigh of relief- but otherwise- YIKES.  I might crochet up the edges on the inside of the blanket to try and give the sides a little more "girth" in the hopes of keeping them from curling, but I won't lie- I'm greatly concerned about this pretty pretty project and well... it may not have a greater purpose this summer if I can't get things to lie flatter.  (This makes me so sad because I really love this project and it's so lovely and I think it would show well... just it laid flat.)

Keeping me from entirely freaking out is the Maui Fling sock- which is seeing progress too and this is just such a pretty pair of socks.

For the first time this year I'm actually AHEAD of the finishing project.  And so, I've allowed myself a mini reward.  If Baby Dots is blocked or blocking, and Maui's are done, I can spend the rest of April casting on a small "quickie" project and knitting it until May.  May 1- the sweater comes out of hiding (and well, it might be used for a greater purpose if Baby Dots can't "shape up") and I work to finishing that.

So Spring is "springing" along beautifully for me... things are finishing up and my brain is beginning to daydream all of the exciting projects I can work on once the UFO pile dwindles down to nothing.  Spring is making me so excited for SUMMER knitting!

Eggs-cellent

Things were looking pretty dire earlier this week.  While on the phone chatting with my husband, I was admiring the work I'd accomplished on Baby Dots when something wasn't right.

 

Do you see it?

How about now?

The problem with being a perfectionist knitter is that this error, while small, WOULD NOT BE OKAY with me.  I would look at the overall project and only ever see where I screwed it up.  I love this blanket, an error was just unacceptable as far as I was concerned.  And so I frogged back... days of work, nap times, utterly wasted.  It breaks my heart to rip out work, it's just so demoralizing!

The best thing to do when you have to frog work is immediately try and regain some ground... get your self back on the horse so to speak.  And so I got back to work and over various nap times I was able to get past where I had made the mistake.

Today when I was looking at the blanket I got to wondering just how much progress I had made since my last post.

 

OH HELLO 29 inches!  5 inches of progress from last time.  YEAH.  I will try not to think about how much further I would have been without screwing up, (or I just obsessed about it for 20 minutes... whatever) and keep the course steady.

I love this pattern and the results are lovely, but I'll be honest- I'm ready for something new.  The pattern is easy (although apparently not idiot proof....) and I'm ready for something new and bit more challenging.  I won't think about the next challenge though.... time to just focus on the task at hand and get that done first.

Happy Easter hope you're seeing some "eggs-cellent" progress on your needles too.

Spring Knitting

The weather is mildly warmer, (having said this I apologize as I'm sure I've just jinxed us for a major snow dump) and there are buds (!!!) on the bushes.  Spring is in the AIR!  And, how timely, spring seems to also be on my needles.

With Nebula good and finished, I allowed myself a week indulgence to play with the Maui Spring Fling socks.  And lo and behold... I actually finished one of them!  I even had a chance to cast on the second sock and knit through to the first pattern repeat.  Once these are blocked you'll really be able to see the lace pattern but they are just so... SPRINGY and lovely.  The yarn is also helping this feeling because a) I LOVE the colorway and b) those people over at Madelintosh make themselves some really delightful sock yarns!

I didn't forget my early promise to myself to finish up a bunch of outstanding items, lest you worry, because I also brought Pink Baby Dots out of hibernation.

 

When last we left this project I had knit approximately 22" on it, and in just this weekend have managed to add another 2 inches already!  The pattern on this is painfully simple, but simple seems to be what I do best right now, so it's been a pleasure to get back into this project.  Not to mention the colors, (more springy-ness!) which just makes this project gorgeous.  I know... I know... it's acrylic and as a "serious knitter" I should shun all acrylics, but I just can't, because this is SO. PRETTY.  I love the little pink dots with the white yarn, it's just so delicate and feminine!

 

The only downside to the Dots is that, as you can see, it's not a "take away" project.  This will sit in this spot on my couch until the last stitch is knit and cast off.  I had two different dyelots of white, which meant I have to alternate rows in order to blend the whites, and hence add even more yarn to an already big pile sitting on the couch.  (I couldn't bring myself to cut the yarns after each color, I would have been weaving yarns in FOREVER so instead I have been carefully stringing them up the side.)  The upside to this lack of portability is that means Maui Fling will see progress when I get to knit outside my house.

So yes spring is in the air, AND on my needles and I continue to chug away for progress.  The April goal is simple- FINISH BOTH of these projects so that I can tackle the remaining list.  I'd still like to make summer about SOCKS- but that means getting some of these big projects out of the unfinished box!

Let's all hope this little monkey (who honest to God gets cuter and cuter everyday) keeps letting mommy pick up her needles!



 *Trying something new with the picture sizing as it seems to me that my pics look ill sized and disproportionate recently.