Yarn Along ~ Lepidoptera

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I finally feel like it's that time of year to pick up knitting needles again and found this great lacey sock pattern called Lepidoptera :)

I had bought this soft alpaca yarn earlier this spring thinking it was going to make a great baby sweater for my sister but alas she had a little boy and the pink was definitely not going to do! So into the yarn stash it went until last weekend when I finally found the perfect use for it. A soft pair of socks for my daughter. 

And she is just itching to get her feet into them! We are constantly having little 'try on' sessions and I haven't even got one sock half finished yet LOL. It's a super easy pattern though. Nothing tougher than making a few extra stitches and it has my all time favorite heel to... short rows. Yay!! If I can avoid doing the regular heel flap type sock heel I will and in this pattern she simplifies the short row process even further by taking out all of those yarn overs that you normally find making it faster than ever and there is a video tutorial to go along with it so you can follow along if you happen to get stuck.

For my book I'm reading Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill and it is a must read!!  It's the true story of her life as a tree planter here in BC for 20 years and was absolutely fascinating to read about areas right here in my backyard and get a peak at what their lives are really like as we see them so often around this neck of the woods and I must admit I've always wanted to know more about them. Her writing transports you instantly into the thick of the BC rainforest and leaves you wanting more :)

I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have been knitting and reading this week to!

Happy knitting,

Rosina

Yarn Along ~ Cowl Love

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I'm a little late getting my yarn along posted this week but I couldn't pass up sharing how the cowl I was working on for my daughter turned out :)

This was seriously the easiest project to complete. It took me two evenings while watching tv to knit it up and I probably could have done it in one but I wanted to stretch it out a wee bit. If you can knit and yarn over then you've got this pattern licked with your eyes closed *grin*.

My daughter just loves it :)

The soft acrylic yarn I chose is perfect for snuggling her nose into without any itchies and it matches her winter coat perfectly. You can find that pattern and all the yarn details on my ravelry page here. I did not block it like the pattern indicates so it kept its wavy appearance and also definitely kept it tighter for fitting her small neck. I think I'm going to have to make one in turquoise for myself!

I forgot to snap a photo of the book we are reading right now so I just have links to share but we have just finished up the Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan for our homeschool book club and we all loved it. There is so much action and if your kids are into Egyptology they will thoroughly enjoy this book. This is the first book in the Kane Chronicles so we are looking forward to getting a copy of the second book from the library to find out what happens next :)

Hope you had fun knitting up a storm this week and I hope to get over to see just what you've got on your needles!

Hugs,
Rosina

Yarn Along ~ Cowl Licious

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

Here we are again for the weekly yarn along and I'm not sure what happened to my week! I know we weren't overly busy unless you count playing in the snow and flying kites as hustle bustle *grin*. Hubby was home for a couple of days though and that is always a joy since he is away for so much of the year working so that must have been it! I was in a cocoon of happiness with us all getting to be together *grin*.

I finished off the last little baby sock that I was knitting and I now have two completed pairs. There is still yarn left so I know I'll go back in a bit and knit up a couple more but I needed a break from those teeny tiny size 0 needles and something that was easy and needed minimal focus LOL.

You would think that with all the things I have faved in my ravelry queue it would be easy to pick something new but it was quite the opposite. I hummed and hawed, checked to see if I had needles that would work, sighed over my meager yarn stash and then fell in love again with this cowl. I had saved it planning to make it for my 8 year old daughter and then promptly forgot all about it *grin*.

It’s a one size fits all pattern but I’m using a larger 5.50mm bamboo circular needle and with the chunkier yarn I’m confident that this will fit her quite well. Plus I don’t plan on blocking it as I love the textured ripple of it as it is and it also helps to keep it on the smaller size :)

The chunky marble yarn by James C. Brett is gorgeous to the touch. It’s soft and squishy, 100% machine washable and I know my daughter is going to enjoy having it around her neck. Not at all itchy!

As for my book this week I actually haven't done a stitch of reading unless you count my lazy perusing of January's edition of the British Country Living magazine reading :) I just LOVE this magazine and all of the beautiful photos and articles.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you all are knitting this week!

Hugs,
Rosina

Knitting Lace ~ Yarn Along

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

Let the fall knitting begin!
I'm so excited to join in with Ginny's yarn along again. With all of the chores that needed attention around here in the spring, sadly I had to put away my knitting needles but I've dusted them off and have cast on a little girl's shawl for my daughter :)

I've been dying to try knitting some lace and the Little House Shawl pattern looks like it's going to be just the right size to see if it is going to be difficult. I have to say though that so far this is EASY!! The hardest part was casting on the 395 stitches without loosing count *grin*.

Our homeschool year is in full swing and I think I've finally found a rhythm that works for me and all three of my children as my youngest has joined us for kindergarten this year and I just love his exuberance each morning as he begs to get started :) I'm using Oak Meadow with him and we have been enjoying reading the Waldorf Alphabet by Famke Zonneveld and starting our own alphabet book together. Oh how I love starting kindergarten all over again :)

Can't wait to catch up with all of you again and see what's on your needles this week!

Hugs,
Rosina

Undie Update

Well I still haven't got any of the cotton/lycra fabric that I need to finish the leg and waist bands of my undies (hopefully tomorrow) but that's definitely not stopping me from sewing more :)

Who wouldn't want to make more! Have you seen how stinking cute these little boy ones are?! They are adorable with their little boy fly flaps in the front *grin*.

My 4 year old is completely crazy about the little owls on them and I've got him and his sister so excited about them that they are begging to try them on :) I am seriously thinking about making these for Christmas presents for everyone I know LOL.

I just need to figure out how to make them in my size now!

~ Rosina

Update and New Crochet Book

Thank you so much everyone for all of the wonderful comments, thoughts and prayers :) My sisters biopsy went well and now we just have to wait for the results to come back sometime over the next 3 weeks. There was no visible signs of any cancer or pre-cancer which was a blessing in itself but unfortunately that doesn't mean she's in the clear and they're hoping that the biopsy will tell more. So for now it's just a waiting game!



On my way home I stopped by the library to pick up a couple of books that were waiting for me and one of them was this really great crochet book, Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman. Wowza! She wasn't kidding when she says beyond the square :)

There are 144 different patterns to drool over and there is a really great step by step intro on all the crochet basics so you don't have to be an expert by any means to use this book.

Oh my... total hexagon love *grin*

There is even a section for some really unusual blocks like intertwining rings. Think paper garland chains and you'll know what I mean :)

And of course there are the standard granny squares which are pretty amazing to and just the inspiration I need for my granny square blanket that I have half finished.

This is definitely a great crochet book if you're looking for a new twist on some of the standard blocks so check out your local library and see if they have a copy or maybe you need to treat yourself to an early Christmas present *grin*.

~ Rosina

Boy + Embroidery = Boybroidery

My son has been dabbling with embroidery but all of my patterns that I have on hand of course seem to be florals. So he created his own pattern in true boy fashion... a pirate ship being attacked by a giant sea monster!! LOL

He finished transferring his pattern onto the cotton and is now painting it with thread. Mental note... must get pattern transfer paper for next time :)

I think it's coming along really well & I just LOVE the variegated waves. We're calling it 'Boybroidery' *grin*. The version of 'Manbroidery' for younger boys! LOL.

I know some of you may be thinking that boys don't do embroidery or any needlework for that matter! But hey, I think it's just a form of creative expression and there shouldn't be a gender role applied to it as there are some truly AWESOME men that embroider :) I actually ran across this article about stitching in public & I think it's well worth popping over to read :)

~ Rosina

Enlarging Patterns

Oh how I wish all pattern books supplied full size patterns instead of those itty bitty drawings that you need to photocopy and enlarge. My apron pattern for the Amy Butler apron swap just happens to be one of those itty bitty patterns and when I took it in to Staples to have them blow it up 400% there must have been some massive error in their calculations. I got home and pulled out the copies hoping to get straight down to business and found that they weren't big enough. EGAD!

The front panel pieces were supposed to measure 4 5/8" at the top of the waistband but it was only 3" and since I wasn't heading back into town before the mailing date I had to break out the tracing paper and ruler. I can't even remember the last time I had to think really hard about fractions! It probably didn't help that I didn't start working on it until after midnight either. LOL. Thank goodness when I pulled it out again this morning to double check the measurements everything was correct :)

It actually wasn't such a bad job and this way I got to add the seam allowances right into the pattern. Maybe I'll just do them by hand from now on.... then again maybe not *grin*.

~ Rosina