What I'm knitting right now

Hello,
not much to say these day...too busy with the new schedule of work. I am back to work since 2 full weeks and it's a whole world of adaptation for baby and me. She's now going full time to daycare and it's been a bit of stress for me. I was worried about her being there for such long period of time and 4 to 5 days a week but she surprised me well. She's doing giant step in her development while watching other kiddos and she's doing well. She's really tired at the end of the day and need time to relax at home, but we all do after a day out of home.

The bigger downstep of being back to work is having less me time and time to knit ! At least I have bigger pay check and will be able to buy some yarn in the future... :-) which is always good news.

Meanwhile I am still knitting two projects :

first a very boring black ribs sweater for my husband that he wanted for so long... umm I said it before but it's boring !

and a very pretty and soft shawl/scarf made of pure silk which is a joy to knit

let's just call it balance.

I do love swaps

Yes I did again and participate in SOAB 10, read swap on budget 10th edition. It's my fourth time I think that I do it and will certainly do it again in the future. It grows so big since my first time and it's fun. My only complain is about how small amount of time I have to chat on Ravelry now, with a baby almost walking at 9 months I'm very busy watching her !

So here my fabulous swap box that I receive from lebou1sa on Ravelry and I am so lucky to got her as my spoiler !

She sent me local yarn and soap from Michigan, a assortment of black tea that I adore, pretty buttons plus the best of all two hand made items (!!!) : a crocheted market bag and a very very cute sheep pouch since I love everything sheep.

I feel spoiled and I really enjoy being her spoilee...  Thanks again !!!

FO : Baby ruched cardigan

After a very good trip to Cuba (which I will talk about in a couple of days) I way up to some knitting time. I choose to knit a pattern I bought for my baby, whose is already 9 months olds !!! I make it just in time because it fit her, ok it's still big enough but we always need layers for a baby.

No more chat just look at the spec

Pattern : Baby Ruched Cardigan by Terri Kruse

Yarn : Knit Picks Stroll Tonal 370 yards in color Queen Anne (about 80% of a skein)

Needle : 3.5mm and 3.75mm circular needle

Size : 2T

Mods : I didn't increase on the row 11 as written and I just knit forward. My final cardigan is a big 18 months or a small 2yo size. Also I did not add any closure of button and prefered to let it open

I really really love the yarn I used and I already have it in mind for my next order to Knit Picks ! It's so soft and I like the smell if it too. Maybe I can plan a sweater for me with it...but just after my Thermal that I going to dig out of hibernation soon.

I am very happy with the result and even more because my daughter say "da!" when I made her to try it which mean something like "yes" to her. Knit from stash and more I knit the pattern I had in mind when I bought yarn ! Wow I'm getting better to this...

FO : a swap friend in the mail

Just before I left for my wedding in Cuba I knitted a little friend to send to my swap spoiler, now he is somewhere between my home and his new home in a box, I just hope his travel will be safe !

Here are the info of my little friend

Pattern : Sock Giraffe by Bobbi Padgett (free pattern)

Yarn : Knit Picks Palette in main color red and contrast color petal under 60 yards total of yarn

Needle : 3.25mm dpn

Use a black yarn to make him a face.

Note and comment : a lot of person are complaining about the pattern because the designer used unconventional techniques to make him but I am very pleased with the result and the pattern and I consider that it's very unkind to complain on a FREE pattern, good job to the designer. Already 155 of Giraffe like mine in Ravelry so I just hope now that my spoilee will like him and give him a name... :)

A quick knit to knit my mojo back

Yes again I leaved you for a very long time, I don't know what I have with Spring time but I never have time to blog frequently. I have to say that I have a LOT going in my personal life a little topo would be :

- Final exams at the university on April 21st
- We are going to Cuba on April 23rd and getting married out there :)
- Our condo is on sale
- So you imagine we bought a new home we are moving into this summer
- I'm going back to work on May 16th...unfortunately

and I have to run after my daughter now that she's crawling around and climbing on every piece of furniture low enough for her to grab !

Plus I lost my knitting mojo after hitting a wall with my latest project I was doing in March, a cardigan for me that turns to be too big and I was disgusted to find out only after I did the whole body and a sleeve...

Tuesday I was browsing on Ravelry and I found my mojo back when I saw the pattern of Celestine Sox, I had to make it right away !

So here are my knitting results :

Pattern : Celestine Sox by Berroco Design Team
Needle : 2.75mm
Yarn : Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in color Gypsy Rose about 192 yards

I did no mods out of stuffing it also with a plastic bag to make noise when my daughter grab it and a bell inside for more fun. So far I don't know who have more fun my man or my baby girl... :)

PS... I only used material that I already had at home !

Thinking about Japan...

It's horrible to think about the disaster that just happened in Japan, my thoughts are with them and I hope that they will recover soon and rebuild everything.

This video from Black Eyed Peas was videotaped one week before the tsunami...

FO : from 2010 finally got pictures

Yay another FO from 2010 made it to the WEB !!!

I am proud to present you my nephew Zachary wearing is very cool hoody ! Go boy and enjoy...

Spec :

Pattern : What a Character Hoodie by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence (bought as a kit on Knit Picks)

Needle : 4.5mm

Yarn : Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in color Jalapeno, Peapod and Fedora.

Notes : forgot the character part of the pattern I wasn't pleased and thought it would be more wearable without. Made the 4 years old size and it's big enough and he have plenty of room to grow into (I was afraid of making again a sweater too small for him!). I hate the way the hood is attached to the body, if I do it again I would simply go on from the body to the hood instead of knitting in 2 parts. I add bias tape inside to solidify and used a zipper.

The yarn is simply soft and can go through washer and dryer which is very good ! Loved working with it and I already bought some more.

FO : the rebirth of a UFO

Yay !

I pick up a old UFO (cast on July 5th 2010 during my nesting time) and kick myself to actually finish it ! It wasn't that hard after all and didn't took so much time. Sometime we only need a little push to work on a UFO and mine was that the size of the dress is a 12 months and it will fit Florence very soon.So had to finish it soon to be able to dress her with my knit...

Here are the specs and notes :

Pattern :  04 - Cardigan, Robe et Chausson by Bergère de France (from the magazine Tricot baby)

Needle : 3.5mm and 3mm

Yarn : approx. 400 yards of the violet yarn (unknown yarn bought from Wal-Mart in clearance section) for the cache-coeur and approx. 412 yards of the white (bernat  baby sport solid).

Notes: the pattern is the first french pattern I ever used in my knitting life... even if it's my mother tongue I hate how the pattern are written in french. It seems clearer in english and easier to read too. And my other concern about this particular pattern is that it involved a lot of seaming (they don't know about seamless knitting in France ?) and also way too much finishing (embroidery, seaming, grafting, etc) endless !!! That's why this project was a UFO since last July. I decided to go simple and abandon embroidery, bottom seam and the buttons for the cache-coeur. It took me less than 3 hours to finish everything.

Important : the strap for the dress are very short and I make 1,5 inches longer on the back. The booties are cute but unusable. They don't stay on feet and they are too short. And another important thing is that you don't need to seam the dress too high to let your baby move the way she like!

Finally I am happy to be done with this project and happy to be done in time to be able to put it on Florence and enjoy her wearing it !

FO : one day project...

Yesterday my day was filled with helping out my daughter to try move forward (still not done) and knitting while she was sleeping. The best part is that I used up every little bit of yarn left from the 2 bubble cardigans I made for the girls and the pattern was free ! :-)

Ok let's talk about my new project :

Pattern : Leafy Accordion Hat by Charlotte Bouchet (avalaible both in english and in french)

Needle : 3mm

Yarn : Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport all every yarn left from both cardi.

Notes : since I ran out of the main color (malted milk) before having completed enough ridge I only used up the leftovers of the other color to continue in simple stockinette stitch.

The pattern is very stretchy and it may fit over my head if it was longer ! Good to know if I ever want to make another one. I was worried because I used smaller needle but I wanted to have the same size of stitches than the cardi. I am very pleased with how it turned out and ever more because Florence decided that she like it and wanted to keep it on her head (for now...)

FO : Little Bubbles for Florence

Yay another FO and this time I took pictures right away... good me

Second time I knit this pattern and with the same kit I only switch colors to fit my leftovers. I have barely 30 cm left of the purple and almost nothing of the green yarn too ! Yay 2 points for using leftovers :-)
 
So here are the spec of my brand new FO who made it the same day to the blog...

Pattern : Little Bubbles Baby Set Pattern by Nina Isaacson (unfortunatly no longer sold as a pattern alone or a kit, it's now part of a ebook on Knit Picks website)

Yarn : Knit Picks Simply cotton sport in haze heather, camel heather, malted milk, green tea heather, duchess heather.



Needle : 3mm circular

Notes : I really enjoyed knitting it for the second time. Since the pattern is made very small I decide to go for the biggest size but with some addition here and then to lenghten and widen it a bit to fit a real 12 months size. And compare to other clothes in my daughter closet is closer to a 18 t-shirt in popular brands. So she have a little room to grow in it.


First for the body I made one more bubble pattern at the shoulder. Then 17 rows of green, 12 rows x 3 of one row stripes, 6 knit rows and cast off. I pick up 70 sts at each side and k for 6 rows, for the button row (at the 3rd row) : k4, yo, k2tog, k8 repeat 6 more times and k4.

For the sleeve : pick 7 sts under the arm on each side instead of 5 (making the kimono sleeves). K for 7 rows, decrease row on row 8 (k1, k2tog, k til 3 sts before the end, ssk, k) and on row 16. k one more row (17 total). Then one row stipe 12 of each color combo. k 1 row in purple, p 1 row repeat 3 times and bind off all sts.

I highly recommand to weave in ends a few times while knitting this if you don’t wanna be frustrated at the end of it… :-)

FO : Latrigg

My latest FO to date : the test knit I did for Lily Kate from Joli House blog the cute little bag she designed and I am so glad I test knit with her again ! The pattern is very clever - no sewing at all - only have a little of ends to weave and voilà ! Done !

It took me a long time to knit because life hit me with a few issues : the first cold of my little one, I got Lasik for my eyes (Yay!), school is very time consuming. At least I have found a daycare for Florence in time and I did not miss any courses because of that. Finally we are shopping for a new car to replace the one my boyfriend is driving for a little over 2 years, a old 2002 Elantra without A/C... which is necessary to carry our daughter around and he's working as a sale representing on the road so we don't have choice. Oh! and what about the wedding, we are getting married in Cuba on April 26Th so a little to take care of here too...pff. Maybe I can ask for days of 26 hours ?

Okay let's get back to knitting

Pattern : Latrigg by Lily Kate France

(soon to be release)

Yarn : about 150 gr. of Red Heart Super Solids in light gray and 50 gr. of each green color and variegated green as contrast color.

Needle : 3.75 mm

Notes : It's my first bag - and second test knit for Lily - and I really enjoy knitting it ! Clever and simple but not too much to keep it very interesting. I love the texture and the colors I choose. the very best part is that there is no sewing involved in it, only a few ends to weave in at the end ! If you are looking for a cool and cute little bag it's the one !

Busy busy...

Life is full of activities, baby entertaining, knitting and school... pfff and I wonder why I don't have time to blog these days! I have 7 FO to show in the next few weeks, including 2 free patterns coming and tomorrow the FO about the latest test knit for Lily Kate from Joli House blog will be online and you will see the result of my hard work on this cute bag of her : Latrigg.

Here a little preview picture for you to enjoy...

My daughter is now 6 months and after 3 full weeks of saying «maman» all the time now she learns «papa» (dad) and say it all day long, keeping the mama calling when she's crying... :P She's so funny.

Another WIP, another stash busting project

Yes another stash busting project : Sourwood mitts to finish using the yarn I dig out of my stash while last test knitting for Lily my Kirstone. Not only it will goes beautifully with my brand new hat but it will be the perfect spring hat and mitts !

Pattern is really fun and it's knitting only when my daughter is sleeping,I don't know why, maybe because she want me to look at her which is very hard while doing this...

Bubbles again

I am knitting a Little Bubbles cardigan for Florence with the leftovers of the one I knitted for my niece Rosalie (2 points stash busting + using leftovers). I am only the color in a different order to make it look completely different from the first one. I hope to be done soon to be sure it will fit her... if you remember the size 6-12 was barely fitting her at 4 months and a half, now at almost 6 months I hope that the bigger size (12-24 months) will be just right for her.

I am already in the fourth of fifth bubble row when you read this so quick knit and this time I remember to weave in end not only at the end of the project.

Just need to shop for cute button... they don't count as stash huh?

I am addicted to yarn...

Do you know how much yarn you have hiding here and there ? Do you have plans for it or you buy without a idea of the pattern you would like to make with ? I am a serious knitter since somewhere in 2006 so close to 5 years of knitting for me ! I have a little under 100's projects listed on Ravelry (the few first one aren't listed since it's before Ravelry). I just wanted to know how bad my stash was and made some resolutions :

Here is what my stash look on my queen size bed

A lot, ...too much I would say... I definitely need to reduce my stash before we move later on this year.

Here is the plan :

1. List everything on Ravelry to know exactly what I got (almost there just need to upload my big bucks store purchases).

2. Knit from stash only with two exception I can buy yarn for a knitted gift but need to knit every bit of yarn now of for a test knit.

3. Finish WIP (project touch within 3 months).

4. Finish UFO (project untouched for more than 3 months).

5. Find project to knit for leftover.

I need to be completely honest it won't be easy as I love to buy yarn, but I have no choice, it's sleeping money in boxes ! Plus with a moving ahead it will only make a few boxes less to carry around.

The first box is full of fingering weight

I have a plan to help me out with that box...

Then box number 2 full of worsted, sport and bulky yarn

Then a third one is again full of brand new yarn... different weight

Then a box full of WIP and UFO

My big box's store bought yarn

The last box is very very full of leftovers

Whoa it's a lot !!!

and a little something left... a bag full of WIP and UFO...

OK be honest too and tell me that you also have an uncontrollable stash. I am not the first member of the YAA (yarn addict anonymous).

Hello, my name is Sophie and I am a yarn addict. I will work hard to reduce my stash and buy no more yarn until we move out of here and that I will have more place to store it. Plus I also promise not to buy yarn without a pattern in mind and find stash buster projects to use my leftover quickly.