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.

Little Coffee Bean

I have been wanting to share some of the little numbers out of the ‘Knitted by Mommy’ collection that our baby boy has waiting for him.  I’ve shared pictures with friends so far but haven’t kept up on the blog… so thought it would be fun to post a picture a day of what I have made thus far.

At the beginning of my pregnancy I had thought I’d have a heaping pile of these cute little baby knits made by now.  But sadly, that is not the case.  I hope to still whip out a few more and catch up a little with my heaping pile of patterns.

Earlier this summer I made this Little Coffee Bean Cardigan.  I just love how little and boyish it is.  Made out of Berroco Vintage, which is a machine-washable worsted weight that I got at my LYS, the cardigan is so practical to keep him warm this winter.  The top-down, raglan style pattern is super easy and fun.

If you click on the picture you can see the cute little polkadot buttons that I think are great with the stripes.

I just love how small and precious it looks in my husband’s hands.

And the cute little baby hat to go with it…

The pattern is Bobbles for the Whole Family, and it’s a great one for a quick, cute hat in all sizes.  I’m going to have to make a few more in some other colors and yarns to keep him warm this winter.  =)

Sweater and hat on Ravelry here, and here.

A Little Spring Break

So I haven’t posted here in so long, I almost forget how.  I have been taking a little unannounced break from blogging lately.  I am in kind of a creative/knitting ‘funk’ these days, and even though I have cooked up some yummy dishes lately that are definitely post-worthy, I’ve been having a bit of a dry spell with blogging and such.  I will start posting again soon, but for now it’s nice to have a little break.

One more little thing to announce and share, there is a fun give-away happening today over on my absolute favorite knitting blog, Tanis Fiber Arts.  Tanis has an amazing blog and her very own line of quality, hand-dyed yarns in the most gorgeous colours.  Her knits and blog posts are always impressive and inspiring too.  So if you are a knitter and love to get your hands on all the beautiful yarn you can, check out her Giveaway today!

Hope you’re having a great week!

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. =)

Pretty Off Piste

My creamy cabled Off Piste hat is done.  It is very soft, comfy, and cute, what more could you want in a hat?  Aimee, owner of Knit N’ Needle Yarn Shoppe, really did an awesome job designing this.  The pattern is super fun and pretty easy.  I made this with Malabrigo Twist in Natural and just love that yarn.

So I had to settle for the self portrait thing for now.  I might add on a better picture later, but couldn’t wait to share…

Lately I have really developed a love for cream + cables.  I love them together, so soft and winter-y and the natural color makes the cables really stand out.

My thing for white/cream combined with cables started earlier this winter when I was watching the movie The Holiday.  There is a beautiful cabled cardigan (cashmere of course) that Cameron Diaz wears when she’s in the little (oh so perfect) English cottage and meets Jude Law’s character.  I instantly fell in love with it and googled it for a pattern to make one just like it.  I was surprised and so happy to find the Fireside Sweater that mimics Cameron’s cardigan.  There’s a beautiful Fireside Sweater on Posh Knits.  Mine will look just like that.  =)  Isn’t it the perfect winter cardigan?  Maybe I’ll be super ambitious and tackle that for my March project.  Heck, I better start on that now if I want to finish by the end of March.

Even though I finished this in February, I’m still calling it my January knit for my Knit 12 in 2012 project, along with the cowls.  I have three weeks for a February project, and I’m still stuck on hats!  I almost want to make another Off Piste but somehow make it a little chunkier.  So I have a fetish for hats.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure I’ve made up my mind on what to make this month, I’ll be back soon to show you the work in progress. =)

::Ravelry:: project page here.

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.  =)