On The Needles

Sometimes I think the Rival Cardigan will never be finished! I had such good intentions last Friday and had planned to have these sleeves ready to sew in. Nope, did not happen. I got caught up stitching on my Grandmother's Flower Garden instead and only spent a couple evenings knitting.

These are the longest short sleeves. I've only knit a couple rows past the decrease for the cap, these will go right at the elbow. My plan for this morning is to stay in my jammies and watch a couple of my DVR'd shows and knit. That's all I'm planning for this sweater this week. Just this morning....... Maybe that will cause some magic to happen. With my luck all that will happen is someone will show up in an hour or two and catch me in my jammies.  LOL

See other great On The Needles projects at Patchwork Times.

On The Needles

I haven't had much working on sock time-my go project. That is until I spent several hours in the waiting room while Ernie chatted it up with Doctors and Nurses in the ER. He is fine now, but it was a little scary for me (and him) because the man never complains about anything so when he did, I knew it was serious.

I've started the bust shaping on the Rivel Cardigan. I've been working a little bit on this most evenings this week. Maybe next week there will be shoulder shaping or better yet, there will be sleeves on the needles.

To see what other fabulous projects are on the needles, check out Patchwork Times.  I love what Judy L is working on but I am starting any more projects, although the shawl in is my Ravelry favorites!

On The Needles

I've been spending most evenings working on the Rivel Cardigan. I am ready to attach ball #3. I love the V cables that go up the center back. The yarn is so soft and is really nice to work with.

I've also knit a few more rows on Hitchhiker. If you look look at last week's OTN post, the shawl looks the same, the cardigan, not so much. Progress is very noticeable.

These will be put on the back burner for a bit while Dreambird gets going. Today I am going to make a chart like Denise did here. I am a mark off row by row and clicker user. Denise shows a fabulous chart that will be perfect for me. Or confuse me beyond belief! LOL

See other fabulous needle projects at Patchwork Times.

On The Needles

I love this Hitchhiker scarf! 

Love it!! 

I know I will be making this pattern again.

I am at tooth 33 and

will knit until I run out of yarn,

then call this finished.
(Afternoon change of mind, I ordered another skein.
I'll work on it until I run out, then wait for the mail.)

And I'm calling it mine!!

The yarn for the Rivel Cardigan came a couple days ago.

I'm using City Tweed DK Yarn from KnitPicks.

The color is called Orca. 

It is yummy!

55% Merino wool, 25% Superfine alpaca, @20% Donegal tweed.

It's so soft, I couldn't resist starting the gauge swatch.

It's a multi sized pattern so I need to take some measurements before I can start.

That's a good thing,

maybe Hitchhiker will get done sooner rather than later. 

See other fabulous On The Needles projects at

Patchwork Times.

I'm hoping to see what's happening at Camp Loopy.

Mae's Sweater

This is my super model, Mae,

showing off her Flower Sweater.

Isn't she just adorable!

Big Dog, DJ had to be right there with her.

On The Needles

I was so excited to start my socks for Judy L's Pooling Sock Yarn Challenge.

I'm so disappointed.....

there is little to no pooling.

I LOVE this yarn though!

Maybe it will pool after the heel.

I should knit all day to find out for sure. 

I made myself sew the zipper in Ernie's vest.

He is happy he can wear it now. 

I'm happy is finished!

He teased about wearing it to work.

Silly Man! That's NOT gonna happen!

Now he wants one with sleeves!

Sweetie, we call that a sweater

and no, that's not gonna happen either.

Unless I can make him a sweater like this one. 

The Flower Sweater is sooooo close to being done.

All it needs is buttons.

I'm making a special trip to town today to shop for buttons.

She tried it on the other night and is trilled.

You'll have to wait to see the whole thing until she can model it for you.

It will be worth the wait. 

This sweater is so darn cute, it makes me giddy!

See other great on the needles projects at Patchwork Times.

On The Needles

Today's project is on just one needle/hook.  I'm crocheting 5 year old granddaughter Mae a special sweater. It's called Flower Sweater-probably because of the awesome flowers.  I had great plans to use the fingering yarn that the designer suggested but my local JoAnn's didn't have anything that made me happy so I went with Caron Simply Soft. It is so soft!  That means a larger crochet hook-size 5.00mm/G and pattern modifications.

The pattern is designed for a 3 year old and 5 year old.   I started out with the 3 year old numbers. After the 3rd start, I got my increases where they lined up like they are supposed to. I don't know if it was me or the pattern and really now it doesn't matter. This is a really fun sweater to make. And my little girl is thrilled.

I tried it on her yesterday after the 2nd green yoke stripe and it was a nice fit with a little grow room. I measured her and know how long to make the body and the sleeves. She asked if it would be done so she could wear it today. Sorry, Sweetie, it will be done soon if your Poppy doesn't mess with Gramma's plan of sitting and stitching all weekend.

Today is my Baby Girl's birthday and I finished her 3S Shawl just in time. I hope she likes it.  It was a super easy pattern and I'l like to make one for myself using bigger needles and worsted weight yarn.  I know I have enough Wool-Ease in my stash to do that!  This is finish number 6 for the Sticks 'n Strings Challenge 2013. 

What's on your needles? I'll be linking up with Judy L at Patchwork Times.  See her post on the Pooling Sock Yarn Challenge????  Oh yeah, I'll be starting that as soon as my box of fun gets here!!!

On The Needles

Not much yarn fondling this week.  

I spent most of my recliner time napping under a quilt. 

Crazy, nasty cold!

I did knit a few rows on the Baby Beanie.

I did not touch my Jeck socks.

I did order this book from Amazon.

I have not given up on making myself a sweater.

I made myself a sweater once.  

It was big enough to cover the house.

I took it all apart.

I made myself a shawl instead.

I love my shawl.

I am wearing it right now.

What's on your needles?

Check out Judy's socks and other needled projects here.

Tuesday Knitting Report

Yes, I know it isn't Tuesday any more, I can't even come up with a good excuse for not posting yesterday. :0)

Remember (here) when I was so excited about my sweater? And then a week later when I was heart sick because it was so ginormous?

Well here it is now! I am in the process of un-knitting it and it is almost making me sick to my stomach! But that darn thing was starting to nag at me. So I am going to finish un-knitting the sweater and turn it into a scarf or two or twelve!

Good news to report though, my socks are finished! Even after that darn Mr. Tony dog tried to un-knit one of them for me. I only had a couple rows left to do and had to take a quick break.

When I came out of the bathroom, I saw a line of pink yarn. I followed it and found my sock with only one needle in it and no dog to be found. I had a melt down! A temper tantrum like I haven't had in a long time! That darn dog is 2 1/2 years old! He is too old to be packing my things off just to get attention. So after I calmed down, I found some new needles without teeth marks in them and carefully picked up the stitches--that was intense for me--and finished the socks.

So just in case he does this again and I have to start over, I enhanced my sock yarn stash. Oh yes I did! Really I did it before the unraveling incident. Knit Picks was having a fabulous sale on my favorite yarn, Felici. And now there are new colors that I don't have and a new sale. I cannot wait to play/work with the colors that I have and I am not tempted to buy any more for a while. Which one do I pick for my next pair of socks?? Hmmmmmm

Tuesday Knitting Report

The front and back of Maemae's sweater is complete. I was ready to cast on the sleeves but I got sidetracked (again!) by hats.

I have a little knitting bag that I keep in my purse with a project of some kind. This time it was a hat for Maemae (aka The Hat Model) and while in the car the other day, I got to the almost finished stage so I decided to finish it. I really wish I would have made it longer but she loves it!


Not wanting the brothers to be left out, I cast on the Thorpe hat (on the right) for Leland. This was done in a couple days. It is a top down pattern-my first and my first time making i cord which is very fun to make. Here's the short video where I learned how to make it. Then on the left is Elliot's hat in progress using my favorite Gotcha Covered pattern. (Here's a great post I just found about the Thorpe hat with some modifications. )

All 3 hats were made using stash yarn.....I think I have enough yarn for 47 more hats! But I think when Elliot's hat and Maemae's sweater are finished, I'm going back to socks......I'm still ignoring my sweater.

Tuesday Knitting Report

There is some progress on Maemae's sweater. I knit a few evenings this week but several were spent in the sewing room. Ernie was watching stuff I didn't care to watch. Just a few more rows and I can start the sleeves. Although I am a bit nervous about sleeves now.

I was so excited last week to be putting my sweater together only to have been brought to tears when I tried it on. Look at how ginormous that sleeve is! I can't bear to look at it! I was ready to throw the whole thing in the garbage until Ernie says why don't I just take the sleeves off and make them again. I hate it when he gets all practical and reasonable! So I folded it up and put it back in the bag.

Today when I got it out to take a picture to share my misery with you all, I decided to take the sleeves off and take them apart and do them again! In previous years, this would have already been gone with the garbage man but now I am determined. So I will finish Maemae's sweater and hat first then I will tackle this again.

Tuesday Knitting Report

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

Sorry, didn't mean to yell but really, I am very excited. I finished the sleeves Sunday night and now I am ready to sew my sweater together. And then I can do the collar and the front bands. I need to find some buttons so that side might be put on hold until I go to JoAnn's again. But...I think I might have some in my button stash.......I have buttons from both of my Grandmothers so there might be something super fabulous in those tins.

One night I canned baked beans like Judy L does. Let me tell you, if you are a canner and you haven't made these, you must. You will never buy baked beans in a can again! Again, thanks Judy L for the support while I had my issue-I learned that when you pressure cook, the 3" of water is measured AFTER the jars are in the cooker, not before. But all is good with my beans and they are delicious.

So while I am watching the pressure gauge, I decided to get off the computer and cast on this sweater for Maemae. So far, quite simple and fast but I learned I do not like long stiff knitting needles. I have several sizes of circular needles but not a size 7. You know what is on my list for JoAnn's next time. Yes indeed. Every size of circulars that I don't have........which isn't many. I should just break down and buy that fancy kit with the interchangeable needles but I probably won't.

Tuesday Knitting Report

It's not quite Tuesday in my part of the world but I have huge plans for tomorrow so I thought I would post my knitting report before I head off to dreamland. I am working on the sleeves now. So far there have been no big mistakes or start overs on them. Yeah!

I keep wrapping them around my wrist.....this is going to be so very toasty! I haven't spent alot of time knitting this week but I hope to change that now that Christmas is over and there is no pressure to do stuff.

Now I wonder if I will dream of my sweater or of the quilt I am so excited to quilt tomorrow. Can't wait to show you what Ashlee and I decided to do with this one.

Tuesday Knitting Report

After my big booboo, I am making progress on my sweater. On my decrease row, I purled instead of knitted and didn't notice until I'd worked 3 rows. I'm not brave enough to just pull the needle out so I unknitted one stitch at a time. And it took some time! But I'm well on my way again.

Tuesday Knitting Report

Since I finished Ernie's socks last week (which by the way he loves and has worn several times even though they are huge, they keep his feet warm), I have gotten out the sweater that I started last year. I decided to take it off the needles and start over. Well, you know there had to be a problem~why must there always be a problem???~the pattern is no where to be found. I have no clue what happened to it.

I looked and looked online and at the library but did not find the book the pattern came from (mostly because I can't remember which book it came from). After looking online for a similar pattern and starting over, I quit that one too. Yesterday we went to town and I did a quick stop at JoAnn's thinking they might have the darn book I have been obsessing about but no they didn't. They did have the one in the photo. Paton's Next Step Three, Create Your Own Cardigan. After another customer raved about this book and having a coupon, I bought it.

Last night I sat down and started reading and then I started on my sweater~the one shown on the cover (I think I will call it Third Time's A Charm). I made some serious (for me) progress and can't wait to work on it again tonight. I am so slow at the purl stitch though but maybe by the time this is finished, I'll be a speedy purler. Or maybe not.