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

Painting & Knitting

Underneath the tablecloth on my kitchen table is a permanent patch of butcher's paper securely taped down. Why you might ask? So that when the painting bug strikes my children which is quite often this mama can just whip off the cloth and and let them go wild without worrying about how I'm going to fix water marks and paint stains *grin*.

I seriously love this stuff! And it's pretty much indestructible :) If you have never used it there is one side made of brown craft paper which makes great wrapping paper that you can stamp and draw on and on the other side it has a water proof waxy coating that you can spill on, paint on, get marker all over and wash it all up with soap and water when you're finished :)

Today they were painting the backgrounds for a fun fall tree picture that will have them blowing paint through a straw tomorrow to make free form tree trunks and then we'll add colorful leaves using our pencil eraser ends. I just hope we can keep the paint from blowing out of the straws and onto the walls! Maybe we should to some practice breathing through the straws before I actually hand over the paint LOL.

While they happily painted away I pulled out my yarn swift and a couple of skeins of a pretty mauve colored cotton/linen blend of yarn that I've had put away for a rainy day :)

I think I've found the perfect project for it but you'll have to wait until tomorrow's yarn along post to learn more about it *grin*. Gotta love ravelry and free patterns!

Hugs,
Rosina

Shawlette Success ~ Yarn Along

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

I just loved knitting this little shawlette.
It was amazingly easy and a great little foray into the world of lace knitting and it knit up so quickly :)

I haven't blocked it yet and I'm having second thoughts as to whether or not I actually want to. I sort of like the rippling wave along the bottom where the lace pattern is. What do you think?

I was also going to give it to my daughter right away but now I think I may keep it as a gift for christmas *grin*. So much indecision LOL. We were in the little yarn shop in the city together the other day and she was fawning over pretty little shawl pins and I thought it might be special to buy a nice pin for her and give it all as a gift. Oh and that is my little guy in the photos :) I paid him a quarter to model it for me and to keep it a super secret *grin*.

Now that I'm falling back into my knitting groove I wanted to get another project on my needles right away and I've chose a little baby sweater called the Tummy Warmer and it has the most adorable little honeycomb stitch in it that my grandmother used to knit all the time. I'm going to put it away for when my sister has her baby in the spring. I don't know if it will be a girl but I'm going with pink anyways because I couldn't pass up this soft baby alpaca yarn :)

The owner of the yarn shop in the city that I go to must find me quite amusing to watch as I shop for yarn. I never have a specific yarn in mind when I go in so she can never really help me find anything and I don't shop by color either. I actually go around and around petting all the wool LOL. Yes, I really did say petting and when I finally find one that feels the best I pick a color. Strange I know but it works for me *grin*.

This week my book is Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness by Lisa M. Hamilton and I can't put it down so far. The author writes about 3 farmers that are incredibly small scale in relation to todays super farms but they choose to stay the way they are. Her writing paints a picture in my minds eye so vividly that I swear I could nearly smell the cow manure LOL.

I can't wait to finish reading it and 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

Yarn Along

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

Oh my goodness, I adore the ruffled bottom of this sweater!!

I'm making good progress and have knit about 8 1/2 inches from the ruffle up. The pattern actually says to only knit 7 inches of the ribbed stitch but from what I've read on other ravelry member's pages who have knit this before is that it runs a little on the small side and I want to make sure it fits.

I'm already knitting the largest size possible so I don't think making it a little bit longer will hurt :) I stretched out the stitches around her waist and it looks like once I block it when I'm done it will just fit perfectly. Definitely no time to dilly dally on this one or she'll outgrow it before I finish *grin*.

A few more inches and then the pattern changes to divide for the sleeves and shaping the neck and I've read ahead on the pattern and it looks a little greek to me! Cross your fingers that I'll be able to continue knitting along smoothly without to much difficulty :)

On the book front I have to admit I really haven't done much reading at all. We've read a few more chapters in the Little House in the Big Woods but there hasn't been much reading time for mama. I've been so slow with my reading that I actually had to return my copy of the Happiness Project back to the library as it was requested by someone else and I couldn't renew it :( It will be a couple of weeks now before I can get it back. Hopefully when it's my turn again I'll be a little speedier!

Happy knitting :)

Hugs,
Rosina

I'm Featured in an Etsy Treasury!

How super exciting *grin*. My 'Magenta African Daisy' photograph (top right hand corner) was chosen to be included in a treasury that Mistleflowerstudio put together. This wonderfully vibrant and spring like treasury is so uplifting when I think of all the white snow we are covered in still :)

~ Rosina