I'm a BAD, VERY BAD BLOGGER!

Yes, I know you thought I had fallen into the endless depths of my yarn stash but no, I have just been LAZY! Yes, I said it!

I have taken a couple of side journeys (see below) in the last couple weeks and have not gotten much knitting done.
BUT.....here are some new things. I have completed the back of the baby dress (except for the finishing which has to be done at the very end). I think the skirt is going to be a little long but it's turned out okay.

In this picture you can see the placket opening in the back. A button will be at the top when the finishing happens. And the 'holes' you see are where I will thread the satin ribbon through and which will gather it up some. I'm hoping when I block it some of the 'unevenness' of the stitches will go away.
Remember the Red Vest Diaries? Of course you do! You have the misadventures of this knitter memorized! I finished it and I am less than satisfied. The finishing around the neck looks TERRIBLE! Thanks to me really. I have a difficult time with 'pickup then knit' which is what this pattern called for. What I did instead was pick up all the stitches put them on a needle then went back and knit and it's way too loose! I am going to rip it out since it is separate from the body and retry. I am going to try to just do a crochet finish around the edge which I think will work. Any advise on picking up and knitting? I can't seem to get the hang of that.

I think too if I made this vest again I would make the 'straps' longer so the scoop in the neck is deeper. It looks like that in the pictures but somehow mine didn't come out that way.

So here is one of my side journeys........don't laugh, it's not very good but I have been trying to give myself 'permission' to try and not be so judgmental about how it looks. I'm not done with it yet but am working on it slowly so I don't get too overwhelmed. If you remember (yes, I know you do!) I talked about my Grandmother and how she was an artist and how I wish that I could draw and paint. I keep going back to trying to make it happen.

I will try hard to be better about posting more. I know you wait with baited breath to see my next post!!! I have a couple scarfs I am going to start tonight!

Happy Day!

Long Time, No Knit

It has been crazy lately so I have not done a ton of knitting! I have been traveling for about a week with work so I haven't had a lot of time to post or knit.

Here's an update on my latest project.......it's just round and round with the pink yarn. Love it though because there's not a lot of thinking involved just to relaxing motion of knitting. I am a little worried that it will be a dress that she will wear when she is 12! It's looking awfully big around but when I checked my gauge it was 'right on' so I am having to trust the pattern once again!

One of my travels allowed my husband and son to go along since it was over the weekend so we stopped at Harry Truman's Library and Museum. My son who is 8 was less than enthused most of the time but my husband and I really enjoyed it. I had read the David McCullough book about Truman a couple years ago which I thought was fascinating too. He really wasn't that excited about being President but really felt a sense of duty and was going to do his very best. He was faced with very difficult decisions during his time!

Next post........another chapter in the Red Vest Diaries!

Happy Day!

Photos as Promised

Here are the photos I was going to post yesterday but there were problems on Blogger uploading.

The blanket heading to Nurses for Newborns.

The new knitting project.....baby dress.

Pretty in Pink

Tomorrow I will say bye to my baby quilt. I am donating it to Nurses For Newborns, a great charity here in St. Louis. Hopefully it will bring joy and comfort to a child. I remember when my son was born he was briefly in the NICU and we were given a 'beanie baby' snake. I thought that was the sweetest thing for some kid to donate that! We still have it!

On to my next project........it's a baby dress that I am going to give to a friend who is going to be a grandmother again for her to give to her daughter in law. I got the pattern out of Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss.

It's fun working with the smaller needles....and seeing the stitches so much smaller and perfect. It does not call for the skirt to be knitted on circulars but it was just begging to be done like that....why sew a seam in a skirt when I could just do it in the round??!! My plan is to work the skirt in the round till I get to the armholes then I will do front and back separately. I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work....it better after all the knitting I will do. If worst came to worst I could bind off the skirt and then sew it to the top portion. I'll keep you posted.

As I was trying to upload the images blogger was experiencing problems so I couldn't add any additional pictures. I will load them tomorrow.

Happy Day!!

The Red Vest Diaries

Here's my latest project!

I love this vest and it is going so quickly! This pattern can be found in YarnPlay by Lisa Shobhana Mason. The large needles are really making this fly. I have finished the back and am now working on the front. Hoping to have this done in the next couple days...maybe even today. This is a great pattern.....clear directions and simple to follow. I can't wait to be able to try it on. I am thinking this will be really cute with a white blouse and black skirt or pants! This would be a great 'last minute' kind of gift since it knits up so quickly!

Can you see those nasty blue needles? Those are older and they are aluminum....they click, click, click as I knit which makes me crazy and are hard to hold the stitches on. But rather than go out and spend the money (remember I'm the thrifty knitter!) to buy the same size in bamboo/circular I just used them. It reminds me just how much I don't like working on straight needles.....I love my circulars!

Happy Day!

No Steroids Involved!

Poke me with a fork, I'm done!

And I beat my deadline of Sunday! "I did not take performance enhancing drugs" to complete this masterpiece in record time. Just old fashioned hard work and diligence!

As for the blanket......I am only somewhat satisfied with the result.

1. Stitching together blocks of all different colors make it difficult to not show the seam.

2. The yarn I used (remember, I am cheap...but it was very soft!) made it hard to seam it together. When I do it again, I will chose a different yarn.

3. I did a single crochet around the outside for a border. Just did one row of yellow then added another and another. That looked good but I thought, what if I use the other colors too. So I added a row of green then orange. It just doesn't look quite as good as I was hoping.

4. It is VERY SOFT! and will be easy for someone to launder since it has some acrylic in it.

5. I love the bright, happy colors!

So now, it's back to working on the shrug.........but am thinking about what to do next too. More on that later!

I'm off to work....my other motivation for getting it done because I have to work tomorrow all day too!

Happy Day!

Knitting Challenge #2

What can I say, I'm a girl that needs a deadline to finish a knitting project. I do fine in the work world, being the person that has my stuff done early, but when it comes to crafting, I need a reason to finish it! Since my last knitting challenge went so well (remember the one sock challenge?) I have set myself a new goal! When I first started knitting again about a year ago, I started knitting these blocks for a baby blanket. My intention was to knit it for the Linus Project. It was super soft and fun, stimulating colors. In true ADD knitting form, I lost interest when it came time for the finishing. It will be sewn together and maybe even a crocheted border by Sunday evening!!!! There, I have done it........I have thrown down the gauntlet! We have ourselves a full blown challenge! So now in order not to look like a fool to my millions of readers (right...said with much sarcasm!) I have no choice but to complete this project!

Talk to you Sunday night! I have to get busy!

Knit Away!