Sunday, March 11, 2012

The crocuses are still blooming...

My latest sock project:



The yarn is another ball of Crazy Zauberball from the Wool Station. I love this yarn - it feels great to knit, and the colours are gorgeous. It's also fun because of how long the colour repeat is. You can knit two socks without a repeat! You can see a couple of hyacinths coming up beside the crocuses. The spring flowers seem to be in slow motion this year, maybe because it's been quite cool and rainy (and snowy a few times recently too, like just last Tuesday).

Dave knit this Baby Surprise for a friend who had a baby a few weeks ago. We got the buttons at Laura's, along with the Peter Rabbits I'd put on my latest BSJ. So cute!



It turns out that the baby, Tiana, is tiny, and that this BSJ won't fit for months, so I decided she needed a sweater she could wear sooner. Tiana's mother says this baby is all about pinks and purples, so I found some leftover sock yarns that fit the bill and made this tiny Scrappy Socky Stripy Cardi. Here it is being blocked. I've found a pair of cute little purple buttons in the stash that will go nicely.


This little jacket knit up really quickly, partly because it's tiny, and partly because I got lots of knitting time on the bus and ferry last Tuesday. Dave and I went to the big teachers' rally in Victoria that day. Here was the view from our dining room window before we left:


By the time we all gathered in Centennial Square in Victoria it looked like this:


The square was less than a block from Beehive Wool Shop, so Dave and I ducked in there before the march started to buy a souvenir skein of yarn!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Finished...

Quilt for a new baby girl:





Socks for Diane:


 
The yarn is SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in Hush. The lace pattern is from 1000 Knitting Patterns Book.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

A finished shawl

The yarn - SweetGeorgia CashLuxe Fine in Autumn Flame. This is gorgeous yarn to work with and it knits up beautifully. It also takes incredibly well to blocking.


Blocking - the colours are truest in these photos:



Finished:



I found the perfect beads in Fairhaven at Bead Bazaar - glass with a bit of metallic paint on them.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Booties and beasties

Here are some booties I knit up for a former colleague of Dave's who's expecting a baby girl.


The yarn is Knitpicks Stroll Tonal in Summer Blooms that I had left over from my niece's socks. I love this pattern - Christine's baby booties.

Not long ago Lene blogged about an online art class she was taking, given by Carla Sonheim. I've signed up for one called Imaginary Creatures, and I had fun with the first day's drawing and painting assignments this morning. Here is my favourite little critter from today's efforts.

Blue Beastie

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Socks and Blooms

Dave has finished a pair of socks for Tanveer. She and her sisters will soon each have received hand knit socks and hats from us. We're working our way through the whole family - three girls, parents, and a pair of grandparents - with socks, and the girls get hats too. Grandpa is the only one who hasn't had socks knit yet... they're on the list!


Dave used Tofutsies yarn. It's nice to work with, but unfortunately this ball had five or six knots or breaks in it. The socks look good, though.

This is a sock I'm knitting for Uncle Ben, who is turning 90 later this month.


And here are some narcissi we are enjoying. No, they're not growing outside, even though the weather has been very mild lately. They were a gift, and the fragrance is giving a nice spring-y feel to the room!



Can you smell them?

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

December's Socks


It turns out that I knit a pair of socks for every month in 2011, without really meaning to. This latest pair is knit from Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball. We bought the yarn at the Wool Station in Bellingham. I really like this yarn - it feels great to work with and knits up really nicely. The pattern repeat is incredibly long, however - longer than a pair of socks, so it's impossible to make identical twin socks. I like how they've turned out and I don't mind that they're fraternal twins!

On a reading note, I've just discovered Alan Bradley's Flavia deLuce books and I'm really enjoying them. The first in the series is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. The main character is an eleven-year-old girl with a passion for chemistry who solves murders. I'm finding her quite charming.