Whisper Cardigan : Finished!

I have had so many things lately that I have wanted to blog about, but haven’t got around to, so I still have some catching up to do!  Hopefully I can post a few more things and pictures before the baby comes.

Remember this pattern and yarn I showed you a long time ago?  I FINALLY finished it!  It was a victorious moment once it was knitted, hand-washed, blocked, and all dry and ready to wear.  Especially because a cardigan knit up in fingering weight yarn is not my typical knitting project. I am always more of a project knitter rather than a process knitter- I enjoy the end product more than the whole (sometimes long) process.  I’m just a sucker for more of a quick fix.  But at last, now I have a stylish, lightweight cardigan to wear!

I really like the design and construction of this cardigan.  It’s easy and doesn’t require a lot of counting and thinking, so it would be a great project to have around and work on continually, in between other projects.  Once I started this over the summer though, I was very determined to get it done before the baby comes.  I know this will get a lot of wear, especially next spring and summer, but it’ll even be great to wear indoors this winter.

I am so glad I finished this project, and am now onto making another cute little number for the baby boy on the way.  That little work in progress will show up here soon.  …Both of those works-in-progress, that is!  =)

Whisper Cardigan project page on Ravelry here.

Happy Saturday and a Photo of the Week

Just wanted to pop in real quick since I’ve been MIA for the last couple of weeks.  I’ve had the most horrible chest cold/bronchitis this last week that has been a really hard one to kick.  I have been doing a little cooking, and have made several wonderful things that I would love to post so hopefully I’ll get one of them up soon.  It’s just been feeling like a lot of work to blog, and I haven’t had the energy to do much of anything.

My February WIP is coming along slowly but surely.  Yes it’s March and it’s not done yet.  But I think there’s a good chance it would have been finished by now if I wouldn’t have been totally wiped off my feet with the cold this entire last week, does that count for anything?   I feel like I’m turning in my homework late or something. 😉  I do need to finish this project asap though, so I can start my knit for March!

I’ve been making the Stockholm Scarf, pattern by Julie Crawford at Knitted Bliss. I just love this scarf, it’s an infinity scarf/big lacy cowl and it’s going to be so cushy and luscious I can’t wait to wear it.  I’m knitting it in Malabrigo Rios, which is a kettle-dyed, worsted weight, superwash merino wool and it is just gorgeous.  My color of choice is Teal Feather, and it has a touch more of a teal/green-ish tint to it in real life than how it’s shown in the picture.  I’ve really, really been loving so many shades of blues and greens lately, particularly teals, turquoise, and emerald.  So the rich color of the scarf makes this project very enjoyable, although the repetitive stitch pattern is getting tedious by now and is going very sloooowly.

Oh, and yes that is a little peak at the finished Will-built coffee table that I showed you a while ago.  The DIY coffee table, sofa console, and two side tables have been finished and in the house for quite a while now so I’ll hurry and get pictures up soon!  They turned out great and are very well put to use. =)

Finished Knits

The last of my Christmas gift knits was just finished over the weekend.  What, did you expect me to have them all done by Christmas Day??  😉  It’s just like me to have one or two lingering gifts to finish up after the holidays.

My mom’s mitts were actually finished just in the nick of time, so she did get to open them on Christmas Day.  I made her a pair of Grammy’s Mitts to go with her Grammy’s Hat that I made for her Birthday.  She loves them!  They fit just right, not too big and bulky, but perfectly snug and warm.

I obviously love TFA‘s Grammy’s Hat pattern, as I ended up making nine of them.  Kind of crazy, but hey I always say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it!  The pattern makes a great hat, and is just a simple and kind of a mindless knit to hurry up and do for all the family.

Soon after the holidays I finished two more Grammy’s Hats, one for my husband…

He loves it!  It’s soft, warm, comfortable, and the fit is just right.  This was made with Cascade Eco Cloud, on Ravelry here.

And one for my brother, made in Cascade Cloud but I chose colors that coordinate with his ski coat.  (Modeled by my hubby, on Ravelry here)…

I’m sure glad I’m done with all those projects.  Now, onto some cute accessories and such for moi!  =)

Gift Knitting

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!  Now that the exciting day is over and my knits aren’t such a secret, I can finally share them with you.  Right around Thanksgiving I decided that a bunch of my family needs a nice warm and comfy hat for winter.  It all started when I made one of TFA’s Grammy’s Hats for myself…

I then had to make one for my mom’s Birthday gift, which I’m counting as part of my Christmas knitting since it was only a month beforehand, and the beginning of my hat kick…

Then I realized a couple of these would make great Christmas gifts for our niece and nephew…

While I was on a roll, how could I forget that my aunt and my cousin had put in a request for a red one and a grey one?  Being the great cousin and niece that I am, I didn’t forget, and wanted to surprise them with a little holiday cheer…

Turned out I loved that yarn, I picked up this Universal Yarn Classic Shades while on Thanksgiving vacation and it’s so soft, such a great deal, and packed with a lot of yardage.  197 yards for 8.50, and did I mention really soft?

Next I decided that my dad, brother, and husband need a new comfy hat…

And with the completion of dad’s hat, the clock ticked to Christmas Day.  So I am now working on my hubby’s, then will make my brother’s, THEN the Christmas knitting will be done!  I’m making their hats with the same yarn (different colors) as in my dad’s, Cascade Yarns Eco Cloud, and I love it!  It’s 70% undyed merino wool and 30% undyed baby alpaca, so it is really soft, comfortable, and I love the natural color.

Actually there is one more knitted gift that is missing here, and I will have to get a picture and share that later.  I made a simple but lovely pair of Grammy’s Mitts for my mom, to go with her hat of course.

I think I am Tanis‘ biggest fan of her Grammy’s Hat pattern!  It is simple and quick, but the 2×2 and 2×6 rib provide a little texture and gives you a very comfy, one-size-fits-all hat.  Perfect for gifts.

Eight and a half gifts down, one and a half to go!  And yes, I’m counting my own, because every knitter has to make a gift for their self every once in a while!  =)

Grammy’s Hats

I hope all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving!   We had a great time with a lot of family and lots of good food.  During the wonderful long weekend I was able to finish up a couple more of the Grammy’s Hats that I love so much.  I really can’t get enough of these and am on a huge hat kick lately.

These two are for a couple of special little people in our family, and I just can’t wait to see them on the kids!!  Over the big turkey day I had to see how they fit on my cousin’s kids, and they were so kind to model them for me (cutest twin brother and sister ever).  The hats fit them just right and were so cute!

I think they’ll be great for the kids and with the ribbing, they might just last two or three years for them.

And here’s one more that I made for myself.  I had this Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica sitting in my stash for years now, waiting for me to make a hat with it.

All I can say is I love TFA’s Grammy’s Hats, and am just wanting to make a whole arm-full of them.  =)

A Hat for Mom

I’ve been having a bit of a dry spell lately with my knitting, especially over the summer, but now I’m back into it with all the chilly blustery weather we have been having at home.  Over the summer I did pick out a new exciting project, enthusiastically went to the yarn shop, picked out some yummy yarn, and immediately got to work on it… um, well we got a new puppy.  And there was work, the puppy, gardening, the puppy, and the nice summery weather that really doesn’t inspire and motivate me to get knitting.  So that Whisper Cardigan, that I still really can’t wait to make, is hibernating while I am on a roll with hats and Christmas gifts.

And there are birthday gifts too.  My mom just had her birthday last week so I made this hat for her.  I made a Grammy’s Hat for myself a couple weeks ago with some yarn from my stash, and had to do the same pattern for my mom.  She loves the hat, I love the pattern!  It’s so simple and easy, and has some good texture and style.  The ribbing in it works perfectly for making hats for gifts, since the hat gathers and fits snug on a smaller adult sized head, and stretches to fit a larger size.  And like Tanis mentions on her blog post, the bottom rim is folded up so your ears have double the warmth!  The one I made for myself even fits my husband how he likes them to fit, and that wouldn’t usually happen with just a stockinette stitch style beanie that I usually make.

So far I’ve made a Grammy’s Hat for me, my mom, my nephew, and am now almost done with one for my niece.  I’ll get around to posting pics of them soon, and a pic of mom modeling her hat rather than me!  But for now, I’m just glad that a great hat pattern came around to get me back in the knitting spirit.  =)

::Pattern:: Grammy’s Hat by Tanis Lavallée

::On Ravelry:: here