One Glove done...one to go...

Here's the finished glove. Now, remember, these are for my son...so it doesn't exactly fit me! LOL He's already asked if the mate will be done for school tomorrow...NO!! I'm not that fast! :)

Billy's Fingerless Gloves...the left glove

OK...looking good. The numbers aren't working out exactly like the pattern...but I'm increasing the size a bit to find his man-hand...so I'm winging that part! This is the left glove, but it's upside down...you are looking at the palm...notice the thumb gusset on the left? He's trying to be patient but he's already asked if they will be done in time for school on Monday! SCHOOL???? KIDS!

Spring!

Just a few odd pics from a walk around the yard. Honey Mutt, the dog, tried to get in the act...took five pictures and two Jerky Treats to get her to sit still and stop barking long enough to take her picture! She's a lab-terrier mutt adopted from the Humane Society 12 years ago.

Then there is the small garden by the back porch. It consists of a hops vine, spearmint, lemon balm, 8 echinacea plants and two huge comfrey plants.

And finally...my lilac bush. My sister's lilac is huge and just starting to bloom. I stole a branch on my way home...get home and looked at mine. Hmmm, it's gonna be a couple weeks before mine is anywhere near blooming! :)

Billy's Fingerless Gloves

Well, it has taken me three days to figure out how to cast these buggers onto the two circs...but with some help from two knitting lists, I figured it out! I'm doing these one at at time, mainly because my 24 inch circs are holding a pair of unfinished socks! And, naturally the kid wants these *now*!

Three Harrisburg Knitting Stores -- Purchases

Oh what a fun weekend! I went to my sister's house Friday night...and Saturday morning she took me yarn store hopping. I think we were in every possible corner of Harrisburg...in the pouring rain and fog! :) Lots of good food, great company...my BIL cooked me the bestest NY Strip steak. These are my purchases! Three different stores...each carrying different merchandise...and great selections! I controlled myself a bit...I did come home with some money left over... I'm planning on finishing up what's on the needles and then starting turning that Fortissima 1776 into socks for the Fourth of July!


And speaking about purchases....this is what SHE bought...and she doesn't even knit! Yes, I'm making her a shell from these balls of yarn. I'm going to have to improvise a bit...and use it double stranded to match the gauge of the pattern, but the yarn was on clearnace for $2.50 a skien...so even double stranded, it's a bargin! :)

I'm getting very humble!

LOL...I got carried away knitting those cables...I knit 22 inches before it dawned on me that it was looking a little long...found the directions... Yup, too long...I was supposta knit 15 inches! Had to tear all that out. Then I had a bugger of a time getting it back on the needles...but I did! Sooo, now I have it back on the needels, one row knit and it divided up for the yoke... Off to my sister's house for a personal fitting! :)

Humbling Experience

Remember those cables??? I tore out four rows today...and not because of the cables! LOL I goofed up on the stupid moss stitch! But, they are tore out...and reknitted. Guess this is a good lesson...do not babysit AND try to knit!

whose afraid..

of the...big bad cable? Boy, this is easier than I thought...for now! I've read and reread the directions, and I'm not sure about the yoke...

THE sweater

This is going faster than expected! I'm up to the part where the desgin starts. I have four more rows before I need to do my first cable. You can see the white thread through the stitches...I'm sooo confident in my cableing abilities...that I put in a lifeline to help me rip back to the no desgin part! Hopefully I won't need it! And I'm a little worried about picking up all the stitches for the sleeves...but I won't obsess over that now, I'll worry about that when I get there. I'm hoping it gets the approval of it's owner...my sister will be seeing it this weekend...and trying it on! Mom loves it and says Sis will too...

Monday...

...I hate Monday's...and the Monday after a holiday is even worse! But I'm here...household jobs are caught up...the Easter decorations are in the basement...and I even had time to knit!

Speaking of knitting...here's the progress on my sister's sweater:










And...while I was outside I noticed my hops vine! Boy, did that thing ever grow in the past week! I swear you can literally *see* it grow! Here it is...it's almost ready for the trellis!

Progress

I'm making progress on that sweater...the "body" is about half finished. 8 more inches and I get to start on the cabels!







AC found a new sleeping/hiding place. Billy had a friend spend the night and they trashed the basement...destroying her usual catnap place...so she found another! She goes down the cellar stairs and walks inbetween two of them and plops herself down on a pile of stuff that the boys unearthed. She's never too happy with me when I get the camera out...so forgive her glare.

The Next Big Project

Well, here it is! The much awaited sweater for my sister. She's been hinting at cables until she's blue in the face. Mostly, I've been adamantly refusing to learn. Although secretely I've been planning this sweater since November. Let's see...three attempts at casting on 142 stitches (all I'm saying is that, apparently, I can't count!); one completely knotted skein of yarn (let's say that I wasn't impressed!)...and I've got four rows of k1, p1 ribbing done. Ahhh, takes about 10 minutes to knit one round... I'm hoping to have it far enough along by next weekend to hopefully have an informal "fitting". And I suppose I outta do something about the knotted mess that should be a neatly rolled ball of Knitpick's Sierra. Hmmm, maybe Clare will help! She's got the most patiences of anyone I know! Trust me...this knotted skein is *way* beyond me! Hey, I could always take it to my sister next weekend...and say, "if you want your sweater finished, you unknot this mess...otherwise, it'll only have one sleeve!" LOL

Thursday...an intersting Day

OI, what a day! What weather! Here is a picture of the hail we got this afteroon. I was trying to steal a nap on the couch...until the thunder started...then the hail started. The cat was glad her butt was in the house! She paced around a bit and looked worried. I opened the door so she could see the hail...she hid under the kitchen table for a half hour before she came back out! Bet she was wondering what I was doing out in it...why, taking pictures!


Here she is after coming out from under the table! She's still looking a bit concerned!








I finished my friend's vest on Wednesday night. I still need to block it and get it all nice and presentable. But it's finished BEFORE her May Birthday! So, that's good!

Ever have one of those days???

Maybe I shouldn't be knitting today...I've torn out the same six rows five times now...and that's no exaggeration! And it isn't a goof in the pattern...my brain is distracted. I'm up to the armhole shaping in that right vest front; the pattern switches from stockinete to garter stitch. Did I? NO! tore out six rows, back to the armhole shaping. THEN I forgot to bind off the armhole stitches!. Tore that out... Then I did the decreases on the wrong edges. Two hours later with lunch fed to everyone...I'm feeling much better...and I'm back to where I was when I first started tearing it out! Here's hoping the rest goes smoothly!

Speaking about the UFO...

When the Easter basket idea hit...I left a vest unfinished. I had the back completed, but never started the fronts. Monday I cast on the left front...and finished it Tuesday morning. I then cast on the right front and knit a while. I had to help with the high school band's fundraiser last night, so I didn't get to knit more on it...but that's what today is for! :)

Billy's Easter Basket

As promised, here is a picture of my son's red and black Easter basket. Now that they are all finished, I'm moving on to another project that was left OTN when the Easter Basket idea hit!

In the washer

Yup, the last Easter basket is in the washing machine...it's red and black. I know, not exactly Easter colors...but my son requested it in those colors...so red and black it is! I'll post a picture once it's felted and blocked. Remember that purple vest I was working on before the Easter basket idea? I cast on the left front this morning...then I have a sweater for my sister....and finally socks for ME! :)

Fingerless Gloves

What a search! My son came home from school with a borrowed pair of what he called "weird things" and asked me if I could knit him something like them... I was half afraid to see what he had! LOL Only a pair of fingerless gloves, with a flap that flipped over, covering the fingers and turning them into mittens. He said he wanted something like them, but not "with that flap-thingie". OK...much easier! But he wants the thumb knitted full (not a fingerless thumb). Here's the pattern I found... http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~kfairchi/fingerless%20gloves.html I'm going in search of yarn soon...making a trip to Harrisburg in two weeks to visit my sister...and she's playing "tour guide" for yarn stores! I'm hoping these are easy...I make my socks on two circs, so that is one reason I chose this pattern. And the thumb...well, I'm assuming I can just knit that up to the right length, decrease and close it up like I've done for mittens, all while keeping the fingers fingerless! KIDS!

Two more baskets done...

Here are the last two that are gifts... The one remaining to be knit is for my son. He requested a red and black one! Don't ask!

Easter Snow???

A bit early, but look what it did to my Easter decorations! Yes, that is an Easter Bunny between the porch post and the tree...and a big eggs in front ofthe rabbit! I even had the shovel put away in it's Summer resting place! Oh well, it's suppose to be 50 tomorrow...at least it won't last long! I'm still working on the Easter basktets...4 finshed; one to be felted; one OTN, about 1/2 done; and one to go.