February Baby Sweater # 2 ...

Yes, another one ... I'm loving this pattern! Made with 'Donna' by Scheepjes, a lovely merino/acrylic blend that has a little sheen to it and washes up beautifully.

See specs. in previous post, if interested. One modification that I should have mentioned in the previous post, is that I omitted the decreases at the bottom of the cardi and just knit it straight down, instead. I much prefer it this way.

Life has been tres hectic at our house over the past month. We had to have hubby's parent's place cleared out by the end of April, so his sister, brother-in-law and great niece came out for a week over Easter to help out.

The day prior to their arrival, our dog was scheduled for surgery. See the lump on his back, right hip? Larger than a softball! That's him begging for a bit of hubby's lunch -- he's such a mooch!

Head's up ... if you don't do post surgery pics, skip the rest of this post and I'll see ya next time :)

Look at the poor thing! A six inch incision, complete with a drain, where the largest lump site was, and a 3 inch incision on the top of his spine, at the back of his neck. Nearly broke my heart! The drain was a real nuisance and after needing to mop up the floor every time the dog shook, I got smart.

I jury rigged an XL men's t-shirt for him to wear and it absorbed the drippings from the drain, for the next 7 days. Pretty clever, huh? He had a wardrobe of at least 3, so that when one was in the wash, he had a fresh one on, plus a back up.

He was confined to the kitchen, as it's tiled and easy to clean. We came home with one of those 'dog lampshades' that they're supposed to wear, to ensure that they don't chew on anything, or heaven forbid, pull the drain out. That would just cause him more stress, so we decided to 'pass' on the lampshade. Instead, we put on the t-shirt and decided that I'd sleep in the kitchen with him, so I could monitor if any attempts at chewing were made. Not the comfiest sleep, but the peace of mind was worth it.

The next night the company arrived and the bed was required elsewhere, so I spent that night on the couch in the family room adjacent. What we don't do for our pets, huh?

I used to work at our vet's, so they let me bring him home the same day -- I was confident that I could cope, plus it was the long weekend and the thought of leaving him there wasn't appealing.

Sometimes the tough part about having worked at the vet's is that I know too much ...

The pathology report came back and told us that along with the fatty tissue we already knew about from the needle biopsy, there was also a soft tissue sarcoma underneath it all. Knife through the heart! On the plus side, it was completely encapsulated, so it hadn't spread and they took a whack of tissue out surrounding it, just in case. The vet tells me that there's a 10% chance that it will grow back, but for now, he's healing well and back to his perky, lovable self!

February Baby Sweater

Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Lana Grossa 'Big' 100% Merino - 3 balls in stash
Needles: I used 4mm 24" circulars
Buttons: 3 , 1/2" mother of pearl
Size: I'm guessing, but I would say it would fit a 0-3+ month old
Adjust: I chose to only do 3 button holes

This is my first shot at an "EZ" pattern ... can you say 'vague'??? There was an awful lot 'assumed' which left me feeling like I wished someone would fill in the blanks for me.

After a couple of false starts (including nearly finishing the yoke when suddenly it told me I should have been putting in buttonholes) everything finally 'clicked'.

I loved that it's knit 'top down', as you know that I detest the sewing up at the end. All I had to sew was 5" up each sleeve and then of course, the buttons.

It's really quite an ingenious construction, however, it does require concentration and some sorting out in your mind. Until now, I've been mindlessly following patterns, with adjustments to suit my taste, but this one blew me away! I finished this one and immediately cast on for a second, so I could cement the construction of it in my brain.

Irish Hiking Cable Cowl, + Fingerless Mitts

Pattern: Irish Hiking Cable Cowl
Yarn: 'Dolly' by Laines du Nord (140 m/ball x 2) Stash Buster!
Needles: 3.75 mm

Note: as I used DK weight instead of Aran, I added 2 extra repeats to the pattern, making it about 10" across when it was finished.

My hubby works from home and has been feeling quite a chill in his office, likely due to the fact that he has a large, outside wall and it has been freezing cold and even snowing. "Can't you make me something I can wear around my neck to keep me warm", he queried? I have NEVER had a request from him for something knitted. He's not a 'cable guy', so I was a bit hesitant to show him this pattern, but he seemed to 'warm' up to the idea when I pointed out the ribbed portion, which he loves. I have been wanting to knit a cowl for some time, but knew I would never wear one that didn't have a button -- you know, the whole hair-do thing! Anyway, this one fits perfectly!

Pattern: My own
Yarn: 'Dolly' by Laines du Nord (140 m/ball x 2)
Needles: 3.75 mm

Then, "my fingers are so cold I can hardly type" was the next cry. To the rescue with my own pattern for fingerless mitts, featuring his beloved ribbing. He also requested that they come up to his second knuckle, which is a bit longer than I would normally have made them. I kept having him slip them on so we could get the length to his liking. These are perfect, as they give him the warmth he needs, without impeding his typing or 'blackberrying' capability.

Such an accommodating model! You're probably sick of seeing all the patterns lately for mitts, but if anyone is interested in the pattern for these mitts, let me know and I'll try to remember what I did and put it in a future post.

Here's what we woke up to last Tuesday ... freak snowfall! We had about 3-4" which was totally gone 2 days later, when things warmed up again.


And here I am today, 1 week later, in my finished Garter Yoke Cardi, outside in the beautiful warm sunshine -- hence the squinting :)

Working it ...

Trying not to smile lopsidedly, considering my mouth was still frozen from having had a new crown installed an hour prior -- that's another story, for another day :P***
Photos courtesy of hubby ...

Wanted to know if he should get a shot of the cool 'bumpy' stuff at the top ... I'm assuming he was referring to the garter stitch yoke ... :) !

Pretty darn pleased with myself! It's been a long time since I finished something that actually fit me! The colour is perfect, the yarn is fabulous -- too bad they've discontinued it :P***

Details:

Pattern: The Garter Rib Cardi from Fall/Winter 2008 Knit 1 magazine
Yarn: Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran Shade #557 (Aubergine) 13+ balls @ 87 m each
Buttons: 11, pewter coloured/carved (purchased from Ram Wools in Winnipeg)

Because I'm a 'curvy pear' with small shoulders, this style works really well for me -- I especially loved the top down styling, as I detest finishing. All that sewing and weaving in of ends is simply not my favorite thing to do! I made a smaller size for the top, and then after the shaping, where the increasing begins for the hips, I simply kept increasing until I had the next size up. If I had known it would block out bigger, I would have started with an even smaller top and then increased as before on the hip portion. It was quite snug, as I wanted a fitted look, so I was a bit concerned that it might be too small, but it grew a bit in the blocking process.

I made the sleeves the length called for (15.5") which ends up full length for me on my short, Scottish arms. Bracelet length makes my arms look even shorter, so I opted for full length. The sleeves naturally 'bell', so no shaping was required from the armhole down. Easy, peasy!

Another change I made, was to go a bit longer so therefore needed 11 buttons, rather than the 10 called for in the pattern. I made a buttonhole every 16 row (8 garter ridges), but when I got to the bottom, I knew that I wanted the button in the middle of the edging, rather than above it, as shown in the pattern. I didn't want it to split open after the last button. After the 10th button hole, I did 12 more rows of garter stitch on the button band. Then the pattern goes into the garter edging. I simply did 4 rows of the edging, then made a button hole, and then did 4 more rows of edging and cast off. Worked out perfectly!

A new technique for me, that I have read extensively about in other blogs, is the 'spit splice'. Previously, if I knew I was going to run out of yarn, instead of making a join in the middle of my project, I would simply join in a new ball at the beginning of a row. This time I decided to try the splice. While I didn't enjoy hauling excess bits of fluff out of my mouth for several minutes after, I must admit, it was a very effective and invisible way to join in yarn. I was concerned that everything would come undone in the wet blocking process, but it held up well. I know others have tried it on various yarns, but I would have to say that I would be a little leery about doing this procedure with anything but 100% wool.

I would definitely make this pattern again, although not for awhile -- it was a LOT of knitting. Just an aside ... have you ever noticed that the bloggers who manage to pump out a pullover or cardi every other week, are all size XS ?????

Garter Yoke Cardi

Although you haven't heard from me for awhile, I have been getting some knitting done! The above is the Garter Yoke Cardi from the Fall/Winter 2008 knit.1 magazine. The yarn is the now discontinued (grrr!) Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran, which I heart, big time, mainly because it's wool and it doesn't give me the itchy, sneezies. The stitch definition is to die for! The colour is most accurate in the above photo -- a deep, rich plum.

As you can see, I've finished the body and have begun one of the sleeves. There seems to be a line of demarcation where I had the stitches on 'hold' -- I'm really hoping it disappears in the blocking process.

Love the curvy shaping! All in all, this has been an easy knit thus far -- and even better, it fits!!!
I ordered some buttons from Ram Wools in Winnipeg in an antique silver colour, which I think will be the perfect finishing touch.

Here's one of the yarns I bought at Ram Wools when I was out visiting my BFF in Winnipeg. 'Tussah' silk, by Hand Maiden! I was actually going with the express purpose of buying seasilk, but wasn't thrilled with the colour choices -- then, I spotted this rich, autumny lovely and was hooked! It's aran weight and about 300 yards, so I'm thinking a lace scarf. It's actually a HUGE skein when it's wound up -- almost 8" across! I'm forcing myself to finish the cardigan first, before I embark on this project and yes, it's killing me!

It's been a tough start to '09, with my m-i-l passing away on December 31st and now, my f-i-l on January 30th. He had been feeling so much better and was looking forward to getting out of the hospital and starting over in a beautiful, new assisted living residence. However, the pneumonia returned and sadly, he succumbed to congestive heart failure. I am so thankful for all of the photos I insisted on taking of reluctant parties, as now they are so meaningful for those of us who remain and remember.

For a Princess to be ...

Sorry these are so dark ... I tried it with a flash, but it literally 'whited out' the pink.

A client friend from work is having a little girl next month, so finally, after all the baby boy knitting I've been doing, I got to make something 'girly'!!

These are my very favorite, standard baby shower gift, "Christine's Booties" along with the Pumpkin Hat from 'Itty Bitty Hats'. As you know from previous posts, the booties are my faves because moms tell me that they are the only ones that stay on the baby's feet, plus they grow a bit with the baby.

I love the hat pattern for a similar reason. In the photos, I've rolled the brim up quite deeply. This allows the hat to be worn as a newborn, but it then unrolls to fit again, as the baby grows. This hat should fit up to 5 or 6 months, depending on the size of the baby's head. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (under 2 balls) for both the booties and the hat. I made the 3rd size for the hat, as the pattern calls for DK weight, and I was using a lighter weight of wool. I then made it the length of the 2nd size, to compensate. Size 4mm 12" circular addi's for the hat and size 3mm dpn's for the booties.

The floral embellishments were discovered in my scrapbooking stash and I believe were originally purchased at Michael's. Perfect touch, huh? They're stitched on very tightly and as they are for a newborn, I'm not concerned that they'll get pulled off and swallowed!

... and life goes on

This is my BFF, Connie, shoveling snow in Winnipeg -- she thinks it's hilarious that we have more snow than they do! I'm thankful we don't have their -42C temperature to go with it -- I can't begin to imagine!


I am on a creative roll (work wise) at the moment. The scrapbooking pages are rolling from my mind's eye, to a layout design, in record time. I've been doing at least one layout a day, and while I'm doing it, I'm planning the next one! This is of my cousin Hannah, her daughter Niamh (say 'Neve') and myself, on the beach in Scotland, this past September. Such a cutie!

We needed some fresh, new displays for the store, so I volunteered! The boss was so delighted with this one, that she put it on the store blog -- scroll down to take a look!

A little knitting has been happening, although (I admit), not much. I've completed about 8" on the Woodland Shawl and am still loving it. This is the "Fading Cables" hat pattern. I made two of these, one for each of our girls. Both were made of 'Malabrigo' -- this one is 'Cognac' and the other one was 'Lettuce', which disappeared so quickly, I didn't get a chance to take a photo! The only mod I made to the pattern, was to the 2nd hat -- I lengthened the first portion by about 1/2", so now it covers the top 1" of the ear. I really like this pattern and will likely make it again. It's very stretchy and would be suitable be for either a man or woman -- there's even a child size, if you like.


We said 'good-bye' to Eileen (hubby's mom) on December 31, 2008. We'd been going over to her place, daily, for the past 2 months, bringing her dinner and keeping her company, as hubby's dad is still in ICU, recovering. Went over NY day, to discover that she had passed, peacefully, in her sleep. We were concerned that this may set back his dad, but he seems to be even stronger. Last week he was removed from the respirator, and this week, they took the trach tube out, so he's breathing on his own, and talking for the first time in 2 months. He's even taken a few steps! He is so motivated to get out of the hospital and continue living ... we'll wait to have a service until he is able to attend.