strolling

I was aimlessly strolling around my house last evening taking notice of some things. Example: my house was dusted, vacuumed and picked up (with the exception of DH's usual kitchen table clutter consisting of his unopened mail and the last three days' newspapers that had already been read and processed - just not deposed of). Moving from the kitchen to our dusted and vacuumed bedroom was the very noticeable unmade bed! While my home is quite orderly (kitchen table being the exception), I found the unmade bed felt quite liberating and even rebellious in a strange kind of way. My rebellion only goes so far as it is still made up when we have company.







While I may feel a twinge of guilt when looking at the daily unmade bed and the 10 decorative pillows resting on the floor in the corner of the room, I only smile as I realize the extra knitting time earned by such liberation.

Extra Knitting Time......

time I cherish

time I relish

and time I totally bask in!

my winter leggings

My Super-Easy Leg Warmers were not finished to enjoy last winter, but are now complete and ready to profile soon as the weather permits! Many knitting friends couldn't believe I was knitting Leg Warmers and certainly didn't think it was something I would really like, let alone wear! Well....let me be perfectly clear about two things, I think they are fabulous and believe me they will be worn a lot.

This project was knit with 2 skeins of dark dark grey cascade 200 heather and 2 skeins of black madil kid seta yarn on #8 - 32"circulars. The madil kid seta really adds a depth and softness to the cascade 220 without feeling itchy. Such Softness! Ahhhh...leggings with straight leg jeans and velvet flats or how about my lace up construction boots and a long sweater! And don't think I won't be wearing these around the house with my birenstocks on those cold days and evenings! If you think you would enjoy a pair of these, you can find the pattern (and many many other lovely knits) in Last Minute Knitted Gifts book by Joelle Hoverson.

Cabled Rib Wrap

What a sophisticated and luxurious wrap! I found the ribs and cable definition to be awesome when knit with the Shibui Baby Alpaca and Silk Cloud. This yarn combination is the coziest, yummmmiest yarn ever that results in a divine garment with a nice halo effect.
The Skinny:

Yarn: Shibui Baby Alpaca DK

Color: #220 Peony

Amount: 4 skeins

Yarn: Shibui Silk Cloud

Color: Peony

Amount: 3 Skeins

Needle Size: #7

Finished/Blocked Size: 74" x 20"

My wrap will adequately accommodate those cold weather coats and jackets.

Cold weather.........bring it on!

Sideways Grande Hat

Squooshy and Scrumptious would best describe the Plymouth Baby Alpaca yarn used in this project! Now, about the hat...not only is it cozy and cute, but it's a really, really "Cool Hat"! Since I have an extremely small head, I went down a needle size and knit to 19" instead of the pattern length of 20". This entire process was seriously fun when knit flat and seamed together.

Sideways Grande is darling when worn low on the neck and forehead and what a Fabulous piece on those cold wintery bad hair days...a little mascara and lip gloss and I'm out the door.

The skinny:

Pattern from: Boutique Knits

Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande

Content: 100% baby alpaca

Yardage: 110 yd/100g

BFF

The subtle changing and small gradual shift of the seasons is the perfect time to embrace and celebrate a warm delightful friendship.......yep, that's exactly what Laurie (BFF) and I did yesterday with bagels at Panera's, Pandora shopping at Towne Jewelers and an afternoon to just chill out at Reynolda Gardens.

We both are still sporting our Summer '09 Red Toes!!! Oh, that's Laurie on the right and me on the left! The day consisted of more topics than you would wish to hear, you know....much of the usual girl talk and family tales. Of course, there was plenty of book and magazine reviews (knitting - what else) and the ever-ending dreams of those countless future projects! While relaxing. and much serious people and dog watching at Reynolda Gardens, I did manage to complete 5 rows on my Shibui Cabled Wrap.

Here are pics of the beautiful Suibui Wrap that was finished this morning. I thought I would use my Greyhound,"Allie", as a quick model. Allie was a gift to my husband from his oldest and BFF, Alan. Guys do have BFF, you think????

The wrap has been soaked and is now blocking to a usable 74" x 20". The cable stitch is awesome in this fiber and really POPS when blocked. Hopefully, I will have pictures for you next week-end and you can see the real cable definition I'm talking about! Hope you all Enjoy the Labor Day week-end!