Update on Vest Pattern

I've decided to offer my Argyle Vest Pattern as a Free Ravelry Download. My user name is Knitjaneknit. Look for it there! Thanks for all of the interest!

Wrap it up

Neckdown Wrap Cardi is completed...and a bit fitted. This yarn droops a lot, so I made it a bit snug to compensate. Hope I like it in the long run. I still have 8 oz of this Cotton Fleece, maybe for a baby sweater?
I also completed my Northern Lights shawl (Revontuli-huivi from ulla) in Kauni (US 9, 170g). It turned out great. It is not merino wool, but it was very lanolin-y while knitting it. I love the colors (EL): black, blue, purple. Now I need a shawl pin; shawls are tricky to wear without one I think.

I also cranked out a pair of Cascade 220 felted mittens (Fiber Trends Snow Country pttn). Love the pattern and the mittens are really wearable and keep my hands warm while shoveling, playing, etc.

I finished up the Skippyjon Jones socks in Socks that Rock Lightweight. Skippyjon is a Siamese cat who thinks he is a Chihuahua dog. My nearly 4 year old loves the books, so we celebrated the sock finishing with the purchase of the toy/book set from Borders....where I am going to see the Yarn Harlot tonight!!!! Yippee!!!

I went to get my wrist band for the book signing this morning and got there at 10:05 am. I am a goof. Anyway, I didn't want to have to wait around so long after. I spotted other knitters in the parking lot, in the kids' section (sporting Birks and handknit socks), etc. I bought the new book too, but am going to read that after. Trying to spread the fun out a bit.

Slacker and Stash Reducer

Things have finally settled down here and I realized I haven't written anything in quite a few weeks. Bad blogger! Lots of family stuff, holidays, traveling, furnishing/decorating a guest room, etc are the culprit. Plus, we've had a few warm days so I have gotten into my garden which is exciting. Crocuses are blooming and lots of other bulbs are on the way.

In the knitting category, I've been slogging along. I made great progress on my wrap cardigan in Cotton Fleece. The body is done, but I'm not looking forward to miles of i-cord for the ties, so I'm going to do something else for a while. I was about to do the sleeves when I realized that my wrists were hurting a lot from the cotton, so I need to take a break to heal up.

These modified Hedgerow Socks from Knitters Review, are my in between project. Nearly done (one toe to go). First time using Kroy. It is a color I wanted, but not too springy so I'm not loving it. I'm sure they will wear well. I have black also which I'd like to make Monkeys with.

I whipped out a knitted basket which was lots of felted fun. I realize that I need a good dose of felting every now and again to give me that instant gratification I crave when working on a long term project like a sweater. The yarn is recycled from a vest I made in 2000 using some rainbow colored Lang Polar bulky yarn. It was out of date to say the least, so this is a good re-purposing. My boys use it to store toys in. Less plastic boxes for storage seems like a good idea-especially being so close to Earth Day.

I also have realized that I need to do more knitting from my stash. I don't have a huge one to say the least, but all of the small amounts and single skeins are annoying. So I'm going to knit it up until it is gone/reduced. How long can I last before adding more? Not sure. I just bought some great Kauni Effects in a blue/black combo. That will be it for a while. I'm hoping to make it to June 1st. That would be a good break from purchasing. I think that if I have too many projects in my stash, then if I buy more yarn, it will be forever before I can knit what I want. Then, once I can knit the cool "new" stuff, I will see more "even cooler newer" stuff and never be on top of things. Plus, I'd like to go to Stitches this August and yarn shop this fall when I visit my sister...with a clear conscience. No mountain of stash at home to make me feel guilty. Hopefully that is a good plan and I can stick to it.

Jane Austen quiz

Fun quiz

Tells you which Austen heroine you are with a few funny questions. I own the BBC miniseries of Pride & Prejudice and have seen it an uncountable number of times. I can't stand the Kira version-bleeck!

Crawling out and growing up

We have survived the first week of March. It is always so busy with family birthdays and all of the prep that goes with that. Spring has sprung and the grass is finally about 50% visible. The baby tried out his new boots and enjoyed walking around outside. No flowers yet, but I'm hoping for a few bulbs to emerge in a week or so.

Knitting has taken a back seat with all of the celebration activities in the forefront. I did finish the shawl, a pair of wool socks for the Mr.'s b-day and have made more progress on the STR socks. Here are the wool socks made from some local yarn (Wisconsin Highland). They are very warm and sheepy.
The shawl is made from left overs of my Norski Baby Sweaters (Cottage Creations). About 8 oz on size 7 needles. An 8 would have been better, in hindsight. This shawl makes me nostalgic. I used the yarn to make 6 sweaters total, 3 for my boys and 3 for some special family friends. They take a lot of work and really are not your normal gift sweaters. Making the shawl from these yarns was sort of an "end of an era" project. No more babies for me, so no need to save the half skeins for color work on another one. Maybe for my grandchildren, but that's a long way off. So, I'll be able to remember my boys being tiny enough to fit into the sweaters each and every time I wrap up in the shawl.
Here's the baby's version I made. He wore it for his first b-day photos a few months ago.His my second son's version:
And that's the oldest's version. He's six now. Time flies so quickly...

Maybe finished

Well, I may have finished my green sweater (ripped from the Tunic, 2000). Top down custom fit raglan, with shaping on the body using Galway Color Nep wool (size 7 needles). I had the whole body done and then tried it on...I looked like I had wooly love handles! So, my shaping is not really what most shaping directions suggest to do. Lesson learned. I ripped back to the waist and reknit straight and only did one set of increases, in dart fashion 1 inch before the ribbing. I also learned that by doing a massive increase on the row before the ribbing, I was able to have my ribbing not pull in too much or pucker in the back. Second lesson learned. Very cool to see how that worked out. I may be done, except that the sleeves could be 1 inch shorter. I can live with it, but after this much work, I may just want it as good as I can make it. Here's the Green Redo Sweater:Close up of the shaping (or lack of it):

I also have been stash busting my Nature Spun Sport Wt yarns left over from 6 Cottage Creations Norski Toddler Sweaters. The pattern is Feather & Fan Comfort Shawl. Lots of fun on size 7 needles. I only have about 8 oz of 8 colors, so I'm trying to create narrow-medium width stripes, and keep it look orderly, yet slightly random.
I don't know if I am a shawl person, but this was a fun, easy pattern and sort of free yarn (stash scraps count as free, right?). Now, to find a place to block it in a house filled with boys...that will be the challenge!

Diamond Back Argyle Vest Pattern

Last fall, I mentioned I was working on designing a project for my boys. I had some left over Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks and tried my hand at argyle and intarsia for the first time. This vest for my baby was the result.
Too Cute! To size it up for the big boys required a reworking of the original design. So I tweaked it a bit and now have a pattern for sale (hopefully soon) on Ravelry. Their version is called Diamond Back Argyle Vest ($US 4.00).
If someone would like to test knit this for me, I'll send you a free pdf. Drop me an email at knitjaneknit at gmail dot com

Edited to add: this pattern is now FREE as a Ravelry download. Enjoy!