Happy Birthday Teddy

Today is Teddy's 8th birthday. To celebrate, here are some "Teddy" pics from our recent roadtrip. A happy accident, we found these bad boys in the children's department of the New York City public library. They are the original Pooh Bear and Friends.

How well loved is Piglet? Aaawww.

Today is for family and friends and Lego building. Tomorrow he'll be having a big boy "party" - movie, dinner and a sleepover with 3 of his besties. SO grown up!

Happy Birthday Teddy :0)

Malabrigo Marrowstone WIP

I couldn't wait for the FO to show off this project. It's the Marrowstone Shawl in Malabrigo Sock. I tell you I agonized, yes agonized, over which yarn to use for this. I wanted to make the larger size, which calls for over 400 yards, and most (make that all) sock yarn skeins I have are less than that. There was only one thing for it - buy more yarn.

Gasp!

I just happened to be in Charlotte Yarn when I looked at the Malabrigo Sock and saw it has a very generous 440 yards. That would explain why I have such large leftover balls of this yarn from the 2 other projects I've used it on - lightbulb moment!

Here's a close up - the colour is called Playa, which I think is Spanish for beach. Appropriate as the shawl idea was conceived on a beach, if I'm reading the pattern notes right. I don't know how I managed it, but the colour of this photo is pretty representative of the actual colours in the skein too :0)

And here's how the shawl pattern is knitting up. Boy do those short rows make it feel like the knitting is speeding up. Nice! I should be finished this weekend :0)

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In other news, Matthew loves having his picture taken. So here he is with his summer art camp creation - the 'stuffy' on the right. That inspired him to come home and make the stuffy in the middle, which I'm guessing is a cross between the art camp creation and his "lovey", which you can see on the left.

Our summer fun is over in only 3 short weeks. Sadness and happiness together on that day ;0)

Sublime Labyrinths

I finished up these embroideries quite a while ago, but took my time working out how to mount them.

I bought some unfinished wood hoops from Hobby Lobby, (my new craft store of choice, btw) and painted them with leftovers from my craft room wall colour. Insert embroidery, running stitch round the back to cinche and three nails later, voila! Entryway decorated!Some close-ups.......


Although they may not be aligned exactly on the centre, I'm pretty pleased with how they look. And I'm so happy to be making decorations for my own home.

Pattern: Sublime Stitching's Labyrinths

What a great way to start this beautiful Friday. Happy weekend!

Disco xo

A couple of Irish Girlie Knits

I have a couple of Irish Girlie projects completed recently. First up, the scarf/wrap which was supposed to be for Mother's Day this year. Better late than never.

The pattern is Le Petit Pont. I added extra garter stitches at the edges and a couple more repeats to make it wider, so it would be more like a wrap. I also added length. A lot of length. It ended up at a whopping 84" and felt like the never ending scarf - as these things tend to.
The colour is a very pretty seafoam green/blue and the yarn has a lovely sheen, which I just couldn't capture with my camera. I used Creamy by Kollage
Next up, a sample knit of the Summer Wind pattern. This should have been a super quick knit if I'd had the right length cable needle. Instead I just had a 40" which meant, instead of the stitches pushing themselves round, I had to hike them round the cable to be knit, wasting tons of time.
It's a pretty pattern though and, for me, the small size was just right to wrap twice round my neck to keep it cozy.
When Tommy saw me trying it on his response was "That makes SO much more sense than a scarf". Smart man!

Yarn used is Knitted Wit Peacock. Don't know the colour name (maybe peacock too?), but a combo of chartreuse, turquoise, minty green and purple kept me happy while I knit :0)

Happy Days!

Disco xo

Monday Excitement

I know, that title's almost an oxymoron, right?! So why do I have such a spring in my step today? Let me count the ways.....

1. My boys are in camp this week. 8.30 in the morning til 4.30 in the afternoon. Be still my beating heart, whole days to myself. Well, Monday to Thursday anyway. Aah, what to do, what to do....

2. Go to some local stores for dinner ingredients. Tomatoes for pasta sauce - already cooking, and lunchboxes tomorrow. Bread for garlic bread tonight and with the strawberry preserve on sandwiches tomorrow. A bottle of North Carolina wine to relax with this evening. Peaches and nectarines for dessert. Did someone say Yum!

3. I signed up to do a triathlon. The Rambling Rose in September. I'm onto week 5 of the Couch to 5k program and loving it. No pain in my legs at all. Wednesday will be my hardest day yet as I move from running 8 consecutive minutes to 20 minutes. Of course, I've said that about each stage of the program though! At the weekend I easily made a 9 mile bike ride, put away the bike and tried to run round the block. Couldn't even make it halfway - it's probably not even 100yards. So I have quite some work to do, to string these exercises together.

4. I'm getting this spindle thing out again and giving it another go. Carrie will recognize it from our attempts last February. There shall be progress this week. And hairy clothes - this silk fiber sheds like a mother!

5. My 2011 year of hats is back in session. Here's Hunter Hammersen's Plicate hat, ready for some decreases.

6. I joined a fabric "club". A Verb for Keeping Warm's Pressed Seam. Here are the 1st 6 patterns. What to make with them?

7. Maybe something from this pile of bargain books, waiting on my doorstep when I returned from vacation? OK, maybe just from the top one.

8. Cooperative press is publishing a book of knitting patterns for boys. Yes, boys! Not a girl in sight! Go look. If that's not something to get excited about on a Monday, I don't know what is.

Hope your week is getting off to an awesome start too :0)

Disco xo