What a Hoot!

Well I finished my owl sweater - just in time for Christmas.  I weaved the ends in Christmas Eve and blocked it.  After opening presents Christmas morning I donned it for Christmas Day and couldn't have been happier.  Its pretty warm - being bulky wool and all - but luckily it was pretty cold for a South Carolina Christmas.

  (don't love this picture - but its in front of the Christmas tree w. stockings )

(up close - I still need button eyes)

LOVE IT!!

On the Needles now...

Up in the mountains on vacay and enjoying some quiet knitting time in the cabin.  Loving this sweater.  Will it be ready in time for Christmas?  We shall see...

Coming Back..

I'm coming back - with a lot of new knitting and hopefully even some sewing this winter... but first of all I would like to show you that I will be coming back in style.  Showing up in my new ride..

 (my Subaru Outback)

and sporting some new kicks...

(my Born Mary Janes)

OMG - I LOVE these shoes!  They are uber comfortable and show off my hand knit socks! No longer do I have to hide them in shoes or only wear them around my own house - but I can wear them out in public and everyone can see my gorgeous handiwork - Eric calls it shoe cleavage.  I'm not sure about that - but I do love them!  :) 

Anniversary Traditions

Our anniversary is Mid-October and for the first one last year we headed to the mountains in NC and picked apples.  Just so happened I had made some Bella mittens and wanted to show them off (with an apple - just like the pattern picture).  We had great pictures of my new mittens and matching hat...

Interestingly enough this year we headed back to the same NC moutains for more apples and another anniversary celebration.  I also just so happened to have some new mittens and a hat to show off! 

First, my hat - Foliage in Malabrigo Chunky - Sauterne colorway (BRIGHT yellow)

 Next, my FAVORITE!  My pecovegetarian mittens also in Malabrigo Chunky....LOVE these!  They are a great purple colorway - Cuarzo.  I felt so clever making them b/c the pattern is so cool (but easy!) and they knit up REALLY quickly!

 So ... I'm thinking besides an anniversary and a trip to the mountains, maybe I have a new hat and mittens each year to mark the occasion.  I'm envisioning a laundry line strung around my craft room with a pair of mittens from each anniversary we spend together.  A big long string FULL of mittens...yeah.. :)

Mostly - b/c I really love this man, and the fact that he takes special pictures of my knit items to show off here (b/c he loves me too!) 

happy, happy, happy :)

Friday Eye Candy

Clemson Sock yarn....

...And thats all I have to say about that! :)

Flip Flop

First the Flop...

Dancing Bamboo Socks with Lorna's Laces Stitches West Peppermint Mocha.  I LOVED this yarn and couldn't wait to cast on for some socks.  I pulled them out of my very own 'sock of the month club' bin and had them paired with the dancing bamboo pattern.  ECK!  What a terrible combination - actually - I think the yarn is terrible in this number of stitches.  I'm thinking maybe Baby Jays - something smaller so it doesn't quite look like St. Valentine threw up on these socks.  ugh!

So I tore these out and flipped the coin again... I drew *these* socks the second time - yea!  And coupled with my fave sock yarn - double yea!!  I wasn't stoked about paying $6 for a sock pattern, but I think after the first sock I will say - Love!  Soo worth it - totally love them!

Anklet - love!  Pattern - love!  Short-row heel - hate!

Well, as Meatloaf says, "Two out of three aint bad!"  And with anklet length and a long car ride - I am half done with the second one too.  Woo-hoo!!  Not loving the brown top (should have gone more 'fun' but alas - its only ten rows - if I really want to change it later I can).  So yea - I'm baaack!  Knitting AND posting!

Some Garden Stuff

The other thing keeping me busy lately....

Putting up all these veggies...

and again...

This year I have a new trick up my sleeve... Spaghetti Sauce

mmmmmmm.... it is soooo good!

words of wisdom though - remember to skin the tomatoes BEFORE you make the sauce.  Ugh. My second batch was way better - no fishing skins out of the already simmering sauce.  What have you been growing?

Catching up...

So I went MIA again... I hope that doens't mean you'll quit stopping by.  Excuses I know - but the new job is GREAT - but also means I work alot more (and blog alot less!)  Hopefully my work/life balance will adjust over time and I'll keep you better updated. 
In a short knitting synopsis I finally finished a baby kimono that I knit almost three years ago (I know...) but after knitting the kimono I had no idea how to 'close' it and never finished it (weaving in ends etc).  Some friends of ours had their little girl baptized and it finally seemed like a good time to finish it up.  I decided to add (caute!) buttons to close the front of the kimono and weaved in my ends.

I also finished knitting ANOTHER pair of socks (2010 may just be Nikki's year of Sock Knitting - but as long as they come in PAIRS I'll continue to enjoy it!)  These are my THIRD pair of Jaywalkers.  I absolutely ADORE this yarn and love the way it striped. 

Unfortunately even though they are FINISHED (I promise - they are!) I can't show you a picture b/c um well, they don't fit.  See... I always knit socks on size 2 (or 1.5) needles (ahem, or used to always) til a knitting friend of mine mentioned that was 'cheating.'  So I decided to knit these on size 1's.  I knit my purple Malabrigo socks on a size 1 needle as well - so thought I could continue - but beware!  The rumor about Jaywalkers having a narrow heel is true - esp knit on size 1 needles.  UGH!  I plan to block the ever-living life out of them and see if I can't get them to fit.  We shall see...

I also started a new sweater.  This is a Zephyr Pattern called Tree Sweater and I've been affectionately referring to it as my 'tree hugger' sweater b/c its green too!  I wasn't too sure about it to start with but after trying it on (twice now - in two different stages) I actually REALLY like it alot and think it looks pretty cute.

The yarn is Miss Babs Yowza Whatta Skein (so fun to say!) and so far I am REALLY loving it - very soft, not splity, easy to work with and HUGE skein (so less ends to weave in - thank you Miss Babs!)  I do have to say though, knitting a turtleneck sweater in SC in the summer - not the best idea.  Even in the car you have to have the AC cranked up for it to be on your lap.  But I am loving it so I'll let it slide..

So - not only knitting to update you on... but also (some) sewing....

You might have seen on the 'regular' blog that we are restoring an Airstream trailer.  My job in this restore is to make it 'pretty' inside.  New curtains, new beds, new pillows (quilts!!  eeek!!) and all other inside updates are up to me!  My hubs did have very specific ideas about fabric though (no flowers!) and we both wanted a 'vintage' look to the fabric we chose.  Fortunaltey (or unfortunately) we found a great fabric line that we both thought was PERFECT for our trailer and agreed upon.  The unfortunate part is that it is Arcadia by Moda (aka out of print) and hard to find and EXPENSIVE when you do find it.  We scoured the internet though and could not compromise on another line of fabric so Arcadia it is.  I have a post coming up to show you what I really mean by scouring for the fabric - but first a sneak peek at the pillows I am working on...

This pile of fabric strips is actually the honey bun I was working out of to create the String Quilt blocks (ala Ashley).  I plan to use the large block alone in one pillow front, and the smaller ones blocked together as her normal quilt blocks.  I really enjoyed the technique (it is a bit time consuming) but I am LOVING the outcomes.  I have some other ideas I'll share with you later too! 

So ... thats about it (for now).  Not too bad for a month's hiatus - eh?  Hopefully enough to keep you coming back for more - b/c I have more.  I know - crazy right?!?  But we haven't even TOUCHED on the gardening part of my summer!  TTFN!

Ravelry Socks

The trip to Chicago also brought about more knitting time.  I started a new sweater and a new pair of socks.  A new pair of socks because before I even left I finished these...

These are Ampersand socks with the colorway Ravelry (fitting - right?)  I can't remember the yarn manufacturer - I bought it from someone on Ravelry and its less Christmasey in the ball than it turned out knit up - eh - oh well.  They are finished socks and one less ball in the stash.  These may go to my MIL or SIL.  We'll see.  How many pairs of hand-knit socks can one girl have?!?

Having this pair done allowed me to start knitting my Summer Sweet yarn (yea!!)

The Moment You've All Been Waiting for...

The reveal of Drew's baptism blanket.  It turned out FANTASTIC!  I really love it.  The chalice pattern looks great and the Knit Picks yarn really knit up wonderfully (although it did shed on the suit my brother had on a bit).  Without futher ado... The Blanket

and the slipped stitch edge (great idea I got from a Ravelry friend)

and being blocked (which my wonderful hubby again helped me to do)

and finally - on the big day

I am back from my trip to Chicago (and a quick week off betwen jobs!) and now back to work and hopefully real life.  I have alot of fun crafts to show for my week off (can you say socks - ha ha ha!) and I sewed again too!

What have you been up to?

PJ Pants

I made my mom these PJ pants for Christmas and although she loved them - they didn't fit that great.  (I tried to make them less 'wide leg' and ended up making them less 'comfy pj' at the same time - ugh!)

So, I told her I would make her a new pair (that hopefully fit).  That was, eh, six months ago (sorry Mom!)  But I finally did get around to it and finished these the other week.  I sent them to her and she LOVES them (and they fit!)  yeah!!!

(yeah, that is me in them - but I wanted to get a pic before I sent them - you can see they are too long on me - that is how I know they have a better chance of fitting her).  The fabric is all Amy Butler Love and the same In Stitches Wide Leg Lounge pant (this is pair #3? for me!)  My mom picked the trim when she was here a couple months ago (good choice! - I think it makes the orange in there pop more!)

There is some fun stuff going on in my life - keeping me out of the sewing room - so I am sorry to not have posted very often - but between happenings and the External Hard Drive crash - I am still catching up.  Hope to see you in this space more often in the next couple weeks.  Happy Weekending!!  :)  xoxo, Nikki

I Knit

Yup!  I do, I knit!  And for Christmas this past year my big brother bought me a shirt to let the whole world know (from Etsy).  I LOVE this shirt and was uber-excited that it fit (there was only one - in a European size - I don't know what size I am in Europe).  Problem was at the time there was snow on the ground and it was a short sleeve shirt.  But warm weather has appeared and the I Knit Shirt made its debut (on date night!) the other night.  Just thought I would share....

(please excuse the unmade bed)

 Thanks Chad!  I love it!!

Also - I didn't forget my promise to show the Christening Blanket - I just haven't gotten finished like I thought.  Turns out a possible side effect of my antibiotics is nausea and I found that out in the car while trying to knit Friday night - and didn't pick it up again all weekend.  Getting more done this week though.  Its lovely!  Finally I did finish some sewing - THAT I will get to this week!  :)

Friday Eye Candy

-or- otherwise entitled "What I've learned about online retail therapy." 

I LOVE retail therapy, it usually gets me through most of my really bad days.  Sometimes though, when those bad days are work related (every day) and you are too busy to go shop after work, or what you want to shop for (fabric/yarn) can't be found in your hometown, then you may turn to ONLINE Retail Therapy.  Let me say - for the record - It doesn't work the same.  The 'buy' isn't directly followed by the 'enjoy' and you 'buy' again thinking it will help.  Really, its not therapeutic in the long run (just expensive! ha).  But in my case a couple weeks ago - it made for a really awesomely fantastic Saturday! 

That Saturday (after online retail therapy all week on my lunch break) I received not one - but two amazing packages of yummy goodness.  Including my fave, mmmmmmmmMalabrigo!  This time in chunky...

2 skeins of Cuarzo

Will most likely be a hat and mittens...

And one skein of Sauterne

This will be a Foliage...99% sure of that!

The rest of the LOVELY box from Eat.Sleep.Knit was (sadly) not for me...so I had to send it on

  More chunky Malabrigo (and a fun scratch off ticket, button AND Rice Krispie Treat!)

The second box was from Knit Picks and had yarn for two blankets 

The white is for Drew's Christening blanket (to be seen Monday!) and the other (FUN!) colors are for Wild Stripes!  I really have had my eye on the blanket for a looong time - but didn't want to splurge for all those colors of yarn, now that I have a nephew (a reason to knit the blanket) I was thinking about it.  Knit Picks has great prices and lots of colors, so I took the plunge.   It made the package MUCH more fun than it would have been all white!

Knit Picks also had all their books on sale (and retail therapy ALWAYS loves a sale) so I finally splurged $7 for EZ's Knitting Almanac.  I figure one niece and February Baby Sweater will be worth it (not to mention mom wants matching mittens to her Chevron scarf - and those are in here).

That is ALOT more than I normally buy and may have to be the only Friday Eye Candy post for the MONTH of May!  Enjoy your weekend - I'll be knitting, knitting, knitting on my DrewBean's blanket (60%+ done), and hopefully enjoying some nice weather at the lake!

Happy Weekending!