LaLa Scarf

Every knitter has a few staple knitting books that she goes back to several times for knitting inspiration and patterns. For me, Greetings from Knit Cafe has become one of my favorites and there are several other items in the book I still want to make. I was knitting and couldn't stop and ended up with two scarves and enough leftover to make one or two more. It was my first experience with mohair-weight lace knitting and it really comes to life when blocked.

Snuggle Buddy

This just warms my heart and makes my cup runneth over. How can you resist loving up to a face like this? I absolutely adore my dog, Sheba. We have a little ritual in the morning and no matter how late I am running, this is the sight I have when I look out of my bathroom. She's simply irresistible. Although she's a master of laziness, just about every morning when she hears me open the drawer to put up my hairdryer, she runs into the bathroom to get her teeth brushed. Of course, she has her own toothbrush nearby but shares my toothpaste. I am so lucky to have a dog that enjoys good hygiene.

Chanel-Ish Cardigan Jacket

I am SOOO pleased with this very sophisticated and classic ode to Coco Chanel from the book, Greetings from Knit Cafe. The KnitPicks Wool of the Andes yarn (in Chocolate & Cloud) makes it a very warm piece for winter. I machine washed it in cold water and lightly tumble dried and the yarn holds up great.

The key to the tweed stitching is to make sure you understand the stitch pattern when doing the arms/shoulder decreases because at that point you are on your own to keep in pattern. Also, make sure that the row before the bind off is in the same color for all corresponding pieces. (You can see my oversight in the previous blocking post). When finishing, I found this out and had to add a color touch-up to one of my front collar yokes, but it's all good.

Blocking Cardigan Jacket

The pieces are complete and the blocking is ON! I've already ordered the yarn for my next project so my goal is to get my jacket constructed before the next package of yarn arrives.

Next: I'll sew the shoulder seams, set in sleeves; and sew the sleeves.

Then: Single crochet the edges and finish with one round of Crab stitch alternating colors.

2007 Resolutions

Every year I tend to set my New Year Resolutions around projects. Sure, I'd love to work out, more, eat healthier and lose weight but it all seems to take a back seat to my crafts. Today, I brought in the firewood and got cozy for a full day of scrapbooking (since I hadn't touched any of my THREE books in 2006). I can feel the pressure building on me to get caught up and I'm feeling pretty good about getting 7 page layouts done.
I can always workout tomorrow.......