Whooo's that Adorable Baby?

After years of knitting for other people's babies, I finally sewed the buttons onto a sweater for Sophie!  It's a little green cardigan with hidden owls around the yoke.  I think she likes it! 

Golden Girl

 

Our sweet niece/goddaughter turned two on February 2nd!  She had a delightful party at the Children's Museum, complete with cake, friends, family, and lots of time to play. 

 

 

 

Because it was her golden birthday, I thought it only fitting to knit her a sparkly golden cardigan:

 

 

I used this pattern (which, by the way, is awesome) and Cascade 220 Superwash yarn, stranded together with a superfun sequined thread from our local yarn shop.  Sparkle-o-rama!  

Sneak Peek

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 27

I'm thankful for knitting!  I have several top-secret projects on needles right now, and it is such a joy to stitch along while Karl reads aloud from Harry Potter at night.  We're on book two, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione just found out who opened the Chamber of Secrets 50 years ago! 

A Little Knitting

Last night I met Desiree out on the town for a some knitting.  Okay, we weren't really out on the town; we were at a coffee shop, if you must know.  On my way out of the house, I grabbed this book and a skein of thick green variegated wool.  So far the project looks like a scarf, but it will be a hat in the end...

 

I'm loving the yarn, especially now that more of the green is showing.  This may be the beginning of my Christmas gift knitting!

Coincidence?

'Tween knitting group at the library is winding down for the year. We meet September through April, so next week will be our last meeting for a long long time! I'm going to miss those knitters.

One girl is making a scarf and decided yesterday to add buttons to it. Of course I was thrilled because I got to teach her how to make buttonholes. The thing was, she wanted two big black buttons, and we didn't have any. So I said I'd get them by next week (with all the best intentions). Of course, within thirty seconds of saying good-bye to the knitters, I forgot all about the buttons I had promised.

A little while later, I got on the bus to go home. Riding along, the woman next to me turned to reach for something, and her back was basically in my face. Annoying? Yes. But guess what was on the back of her jacket, 1/2 inch away from my eyes, impossible to not see? Two big black buttons. Exactly what I needed to be reminded of! Miracle? Coincidence? I don't know, but I love it when that kind of thing happens.

Show and Tell: Owl Edition

One of my coworkers is expecting a baby in April. Secretly, I've been knitting a little surprise for her:



Look closely at the cables... do you see the owls hiding there?

A matching hat to keep baby's head nice and toasty.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 29

This morning before work, we hung up our Advent calendar. I still need to fill it up, but it made me so happy to get those 24 little stockings up on our fireplace.

Last night I got home from work after a looooong work day (ending at 9:00) and I found the sweetest surprise! My mom had dropped off a copy of this book, which I've been secretly wishing for. I'm thankful for my mom and her thoughtful treats. Can't wait to try some of the projects in the book-- there's even a squirrel ornament, which of course will be perfect for Woodland Critter Christmas!

Cutest Wedding Ever

Our friends Angie and Brett got married yesterday! The wedding was outdoors at a park in Madison. Everything was just gorgeous.

They had a woodland theme... so great. Perfect for fall. Here's their arbor, on the edge of the lake where they said their vows.

Perched at the top of the arbor were these little friends.

The musicians! Love that banjo!

Angie walking down the hill to the ceremony with her dad. Her dress was beautiful! It actually made me want to get married again so I could wear a dress like that. And boots.

Angie and I know each other through our knitting group. What a great bunch! Do you see Stacy's needles poking out of her red and white purse?

The Gomers (a local live karaoke band) played at the reception, and the knitters really rocked the house. I mean, not this knitter specifically, but Stacy, Kate, Anna and Pixie all belted out rockstar-quality tunes on stage. Karl and I did sing one song but it was so embarassing I don't even want to talk about it. I have some seriously self-confident friends.

We had so much fun! Angie's woodland touches were darling (hand-felted wool acorns, anyone? How about invitations with owls on them?), and of course the reception had us all laughing and dancing. Can we do it again next weekend?

Baby Biker Hoodie II

One of my most favorite things in the world is surprising people. I just love it.

When Kate's son was born a year ago, I knit him a little blue cardigan and was thrilled beyond words when I saw photos of him wearing it (in the garden, no less). So for his first birthday, I thought he'd need another sweater. I used the same pattern and some lucious red and white wool. For the past few months at our knitting group (which Kate is part of ), I've been lying about who the sweater is for. Tee hee.

This is actually my second Baby Biker Hoodie-- the first is probably the first of many. Who can resist a baby sweater with bikes on it?! Kate and her family love biking. I even got to go on a bike ride with them recently. So fun.

You can see some photos of the sweater in action here. Caution: cutest smile ever!

I've Got My Hush Puppies On: Labor Day Recap

Do you want to know a secret? Anytime I have to say "Labor Day" or "Memorial Day," I quickly remember which is which by thinking of Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett. One line says "Headin' out to San Francisco for the Labor Day Weekend Show" and then later "Yes, it's been quite a summer." So if it's been quite a summer, then Labor Day must be at the end of the summer, right? So the other one is Memorial Day. There ya go, a little hint to make your life easier.


I adore three-day weekends, and this past weekend was no exception. A few highlights:

• Organizing our Tupperware drawers. Is it weird that I love this? I could organize Tupperware all day every day and be happy as a clam. My mom could have told you this when I was about three days old, and it's still true. Plus our Tupperware area is now completely revolutionized.



• Making Ginger-Pear Preserves with pears from Kate... it turned out delicious and lovely. If you try the recipe, I recommend immersion-blending it right before putting it into jars.



• Canning salsa with tomatoes from my mother-in-law's garden. Our pantry has never been so full of home-canned goodies! So far we've got pickles, salsa, diced tomatoes, and at least four kinds of jam.



• A nap! I love naps. So luxurious.



• Going on a nice long bike ride with Kate, Jeremy, and Jr. We rode from Belleville to New Glarus on two state trails. We had perfect biking weather-- sunny and cool.



• Several picnics and walks with my sweetie



• Working on my knitting project, a red hooded baby cardigan. Would you like to see it? I'm not finished... it's still sleeveless and the hood is just one big rectangle, but here you go...
  

I hope you had a lovely weekend and are enjoying the short work week!

Baby Biker Hoodie

The red baby sweater I've been knitting is finally finished! The pattern is here. I changed the ribbed edging to seed stitch, and I added a little bike vrooming down one sleeve. Perfect for a bike ride on a cool evening.

Want to see what I'm knitting?

Right now I'm working on a little red cardigan for a friend's baby. I'm making it in a one-year size, even though the baby hasn't arrived yet. In the picture below, you can see the hood (the rectangle at the top) and one arm hole (we're looking at the side view here... the arm stitches are temporarily being held by orange yarn). I'm going to try a little pocket on this project, for collecting goodies or pacifiers or favorite toys.



I recently attended a day-long seminar that involved sitting in a chair for eight hours. I got several inches of this sweater done that day. The seminar was on global economics, so maybe when this baby grows up, she or he will be an economist!


Here's a knitting tip for all of you knitters out there. I keep my center-pull balls of yarn from falling apart by wrapping them in those nylon footies from shoe stores. Clean footies. Never used.

Hats Off to... a stranger

Earlier this week, I joined up with a group of knitters on Ravelry for a special project. We wanted to show Wisconsin's hardworking Representatives and Senators how much we appreciate them. We also wanted to thank those who have publicly opposed the Budget Repair Bill. So... each Senator and Representative who has opposed the bill will be receiving a handknit hat!



I was assigned to Rep. Leon Young. He's from Milwaukee. I don't know him. But I know he will have a warm head! Here's a sneak peek at the hat... taken at 6:45 am, in the pre-work frenzy:

Knit In With Your Bad Self

On Friday night, I joined a huge group of knitters at the Capitol for a knit-in...

We just want to knegotiate, yo!

Stolen from Kate's blog: knittas stick together!

Heartwarming

During our after-school knitting club yesterday, one girl said, "This is the best part of my day so far." Suddenly, it was the best part of my day, too.

We were making these. Just in time for the big day!

Sneak Peeks

On my needles... a subtly-cabled hat with a fun loop at the top

In our driveway...

In our trash can... Sad, isn't it? I'm organizing all of my photos (huge job; definitely not a one-day project as I had imagined!), and this is the cover of my old college photo album from freshman year. It was full of dark, blurry, backs-of-heads photos. I was able to throw a lot of them away and just keep the best ones. Sadly, the album has seen its day. Happily, though, most of the girls under the contact paper on the front cover are still some of my best friends, so I'm confident that we'll have many more photo opportunities in the future!

Hats Off To Babies!

We had an all-day inservice at the library yesterday. It was the perfect opportunity to work on this little number for my sister-in-law, who is expecting a baby girl in April.


It's Debbie Bliss Cashmerino (a lovely blend of cashmere and merino wool) in a simple seed stitch. 49 stitches on size 7 needles made the perfect newborn size. I was torn about the pom-pom, but Karl was certain the hat needed one. I think he was right.

New Year's Eve, Knitnosh Style

Knitnosh is what we call our knitting group... because we do as much noshing as we do knitting! We got together on New Year's Eve for a super fun get-together at Kate and Jeremy's house. They have a 3 month old baby, Kieran, who was such a good sport and slept through all of our ruckus.



Check out the stocking Kate made for her husband! So gorgeous. She also made one, in the same pattern but opposite colors, for her sweet son. She's amazing.

Wii rang in the New Year playing!

Drinking vessels for the masses.

What would New Year's Eve be without a few guinea pig puppets to celebrate with?

New for Christmas

A goal in our household is to keep the size of our Christmas decoration collection in check. I just put everything away today (cue Hallelujah chorus... the house has never felt so good. I love Christmas, but seriously it was time), and I was thrilled that it all fit into two medium-sized tubs-- with room to spare! We try to be really choosy about what we get and what we keep. Here are a few new additions this year:


I made this Christmas tree skirt to replace our old mini-skirt. We got a new tree stand, which is larger than our old one, and the old skirt just wasn't covering what needed to be covered. So I whipped this one up using some fabric I got at a sidewalk sale for next to nothing last summer. I love the blue and brown... so not reindeer-y. Like a breath of fresh air.

I know I already showed these off, but honestly, are these not the cutest little Santa mugs ever? They found a home on the shelf below our tea cabinet. So perfect. Vintage, from a local thrift store, $1.50 for the whole set. Love.

On our after-Chrismtas getaway, we went to a town that could be considered "antique store-heavy." Karl and I love poking around in the shops, seeing what treasures we can find. This time, we picked out a few tree ornaments (including one super sweet clip-on bird... too bad it's already stashed away... you'll have to wait till next year to see it) and this delightful NOEL. The letters each have space to hold a candle. It's perfect for our mantel.

This last one isn't for us to keep. I knit up this little jultomten (Chrismtas gnome) for my little brother, who is trying to establish a collection of 100 percent handmade Christmas decorations. You may recall last year's gifts. Those were given on Christmas day, but this little guy was just finished, so he'll be a little bit belated. Sorry to ruin the surprise, Elsworth!