pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?

i've been to newport to visit the queen!  the newest baby in our extended family is sloane.  she has red hair, blue eyes, and a brand new sweater/hat set that she is not that thrilled about. ツ   her mom was happy, though, and i was tickled that it seemed to fit.  i used debbie bliss baby cashmerino on size 3 needles. it's lovely to work with, and creates a wonderful, soft fabric.

the sweater is my modified february baby sweater.  it is so easy, and comes out adorable every time.  i will not do intarsia again on this sweater. it was painful to weave in all those ends.  in addition, i will either decrease 4-6 stitches across the bottom before doing the bottom seed stitch border, or i will use a smaller needle.  it really spread out before blocking, and even after it was not quite right.

the hat is my modified gnome hat.  of course, the gauge is quite different from the pattern, and i added the twirlies on top.

quit bothering me with your hats and such!  i am EATING!

it's only fair

i have made so many of these two-sided tunisian ("cro-knit") washcloths this summer, and have only taken a picture of one or two.  so this one, taken on the photogenic front seat of my car, right before i gave it to my daughter's swim coach, will represent the dozen or so dishcloths i have cranked out between other projects this summer.

i love how these look, how sturdy they are, how quickly they stitch up, and how they make it easy to use up bits and pieces of cotton.

doing the math...

boring flashdrive + black fingernail polish = roaring unboring flashdrive!

we're getting ready for school here.  it starts in 2 weeks!  WOW!

i hope your summer has been wonderful and relaxing.  i've been knitting and cro-knitting, and have a few things to show soon.

old news...

about a year and a half ago, this handsome, barefoot boy with shoes of tan and his t-shirt on backwards asked his mother to knit him a pair of socks.

a year ago, she got this far while on vacation in colorado.  she put them away.

last winter, while preparing her knitting for the long drive to san ignacio lagoon in baja california sur, mexico, she rediscovered those socks, and, realizing that THE HARD PART WAS ALREADY DONE, finished them in about an hour while traveling through the desert in baja.

happy boy.

silly mom.

which is also old news.  ツ

summer dishes...

... require a summer dishcloth.

and sassafras asked about my rainbow cotton thread. it is the psychedelic colorway, and i bought the giant 12 oz. skein on sale at joann's.  i have no idea how it holds up to washing, but it's certainly fun to knit with.  the blue will rub off on your wrapping finger, though.

some summer successes

so far, i have knit one hot pad, and five washcloths, experimenting with techniques and patterns.  i don't know what i'll do with them but they're fun, quick, easy and bright. 

i also have a baby sweater to show, but after blocking...

hope you're enjoying your vacation!

beach blanket bingo

we're back from baja, and the beach was lovely.  i did not meet my goal of finishing the complete squares on my mitered tunisian square blanket, but i got some squares done.  above -- how the blanket looked when i got there.

progress!

and -- that was the extent of my progress.

here's where the blanket rested:

and here's where i sat and "worked".

i hope you are enjoying your summer!  we're back to "real life" here, and i hope to get some knitting done.  and maybe a blanket!

corrections and retractions ツ

my little bird, which i thought was a dusky warbler, turns out to be a bewick's wren.  though dusky warblers have been seen in california, it would have been quite a rare sighting down here in LA.  my biology professor and amateur ornithologist brother-in-law got me straightened out!

these bird parents are busy all day long, feeding their babies, who chirp long and loud for their frequent meals!  they are so quick that i continue to have difficulty snapping a decent picture.

new mystery bird... a pair live in my neighbor's yard.  i have NO idea what this one is!

knitting will return in my next post.  lots of dishcloths, for some reason!

my bird

a poor photo, but this dusky warbler is so quick, it was really hard to capture him/her with my camera.  s/he has a nest with babies in a deep nook in my garden wall.  i have not seen him/her today -- i hope i have not scared her away.  the babies are still peeping.

a look at my flowers in the rain

stoplight knitting

i am knitting the holden shawlette with linen yarn.  it's SO easy, it qualifies as stoplight knitting in my book.  i'm sneaking in some extra rows while waiting for my daughter to finish her swim practice.

here's a gratuitous flower photo -- my roses finally have enough blossoms so i can have a bouquet.

for my finnish friends...

GO TEAM!

ETA:

Onneksi Olkoon!
 congratulations!

It looks as though it was a VERY exciting game, up until the third period!  I finally found it live online for the last 3 minutes.