Ta Da!


Knitting is DONE! Holy crap people, I knit a sweater! Yep, that's Arwen, knitting complete and blocking away. Now I just have to sew this baby together - it will be a challenge, I'm sure! Blocking wasn't easy. I grafted the hood together before I blocked it, so it is one really long piece. Trying to find a place to big enough to spread this out was a chore. (I couldn't even get the whole thing in one picture!) But I managed. I measured, I pinned, I finagled. Now I keep hovering over it checking to see if it's dry yet!

I am so excited! I knit a sweater! I guess I should temper my excitement until I get it sewed together. It could be a nightmare. But I'm hoping for the best.

I had to reknit the left sleeve yesterday. I am not sure where my mistake was, but it turned out much smaller than the right sleeve. So I ripped back and added some rows. I had to cheat a bit to make it work. (I didn't want to have to rip out the hood and front panel just to fix the sleeve.)

Hopefully, by Wednesday or so... I will have a completed sweater to show you!

I've been looking around on the internet to find a button. The pattern doesn't call for one, but I think I want one toggle button on it. Sadly, I have something specific in my mind, and I can't find anything close.

In other news... I have a new toy!


My mom gave me her old sewing machine. Something else for me to obsess about! I've been kind of playing with it a bit, but I'm still new. I haven't really used a sewing machine since I was a kid, so I quite rusty. But I'm happy to have it, and hopefully I'll eventually learn how to use it properly.

I'm getting very excited for Sheep and Wool! It's only a few days away! HURRAY!

Here are a few cute pictures for you...

Poodle in motion!

Impossible to get her to sit still for a picture!

Thirsty kitty

That's one of my sister's cats - Cookie. She's having a little drink. And the goldfish is having a little heart attack!

Bonjour Mes Amis!



Je m'appelle Genvieve. Je suis très français, non?

C'est mon ami Joyce. Elle n'est pas très française, mais je la tolérerai de toute façon !




I think every farm needs a French pig, don't you?

My farm is almost complete. I still need to make the goose. And Joyce is supposed to be surrounded by baby chicks, but I don't have any fluffy yellow yarn in my stash (yet!) But here's the gang so far.



The above picture reminded me of that scene in Armageddon....



It's the Farm Animals that saved the world!!! (Yes, I know... I'm strange.)

(Thanks to Amie for helping me find the Armageddon picture!)

Anyway... details...
Genvieve is made out of some Knitpicks Palette I had in my stash. Joyce is made out of the leftover Briar Rose from my Monkey socks. Joyce took about an hour from cast-on to gluing on her eyes. Genvieve took longer!

I have to say... I love these animals! They are so quick and easy to knit. And extremely addictive. I want MORE!

And in the land of the not- so- quick knitting, we have this:


Check that out! It's an entire front half of an Arwen Cardigan! I'm so impressed with myself. I've actually completed 2/3's of a sweater! And I have already knit a large chunk of the right front half too! Yay!

I've been a little concerned that the sleeves are going to be too tight, but I did some measuring and I think I will be ok. I think a little hard core blocking should do the trick.

I've set a little goal for myself. I want to have this DONE by MD Sheep and Wool, which is two weeks from today. I think I can do it. I hope I can do it. And selfishly, I'm hoping it will be cool enough for me to wear it to Sheep and Wool! Ok, so that last part is fairly improbable, but there was snow in April, so I can hope for a cool day in May. C'mon... I know all you knitters are hoping for the same thing... you want to show off your hand knits too!

I am mentally obsessed with Sheep and Wool lately. I have a mental shopping list going. Of course, there is nothing I actually need, but plenty that I want! I can't wait!!!

I'm off to bed. Big things happening in the next few days.... Tomorrow is my Dad's 80th birthday! We are having a fairly low key celebration for him. Just a small family lunch together. And on Monday, my pal Jill is getting hitched! Fun, fun, fun!!!

Busy busy busy!

I have been a bad blogger lately. I haven't posted in a while, and I'm definitely behind on my blog reading and commenting. Things are a little nuts right now. Since Tuesday, I've worked nine shows and three waiting shifts. Needless to say, I'm exhausted! I have a few things to show you - like a finished left side of Arwen and an addition to my barnyard. But sadly, it will have to wait till I have some more free time to write a proper post! I'm hoping tomorrow!

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Snow on the Beach



Well.... I had always wanted to see snow on the beach. This really wasn't what I had in mind. Nor did I ever think I would see snow on the beach in April.

Oh well! Despite the completely insane weather, it was a lovely weekend in Rehoboth. I got to hang out with my sister and my neice for a bit and then I had a really lazy weekend of shopping, watching movies, knitting and enjoying the view.



On Saturday, I drove into Lewes, DE to wander around. I went to Ginger Moon yarn shop (no web site) and got to visit with Betty.



Betty stands on the counter and greets all the customers. So cute! I refrained from any yarn purchases. They have some gorgeous stuff there, but nothing really called to me. But the shop is worth the trip. If for nothing other than seeing Betty!

I also wandered around this amazing old church yard in town.


All the graves were from the 1800's. It was really interesting to read all the tombstones and see the family relationships.


I was particularly drawn to this little grave. Ruth was born in December of 1852 and died in February of 1857. Just four years old. Crazy to think that was 150 years ago.

After wandering around Lewes a bit (I love it there.) I headed back to Rehoboth and went to Knitty Gritty. I really hadn't intended to buy anything, but I ended up buying some Lorna's Laces sock. Like I need more sock yarn!

I headed back to the house and snuggled in with some movies and my knitting. I finished the left sleeve of Arwen.


I grafted the cuff together while knitting with the girls last night.

Thanks to Jolene and Amie for the help picking up the stitches to do so. I was so proud of myself - I thought I did a great job grafting it together, you could barely see the seam. And then I realized that I had grafted it together INSIDE OUT. Really I'm an idiot. Well, it doesn't look nearly as neat and pretty when it is turned the correct way, but I am not ripping it out. I figure I can do it better on the other sleeve!

In other knitting... I finished one of the Waving Lace Socks



And I am pleased to say that the second one is on the needles. No second sock syndrome here!
I love the yarn. (Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra) I plan on getting more at Maryland Sheep and Wool, which, by the way, is in less than a month!!!!

And speaking of sheep...

Meet Frank!



Frank joins Archie and Pepe...



Archie finally has a mane and tail, but it did little to reduce his rodent-like appearance.!

I just got the new issue of Simply Knitting yesterday, so there will be a pig, chicken and goose on the way soon!

I think that covers all my knitting and beach escapades for now!

See ya!



Going to the beach! I'm trying to ignore the fact that it is supposed to snow tomorrow... in April... at the beach!

I hope you all have a grand weekend. I will be back on Monday with pictures and a decent post!