FOs and Notre Dame De Grace Sweater

First up, I am very excited that the Notre Dame De Grace sweater is almost finished. I am working on the collar and then I need to sew the sleeves in, weave in the ends, sew on the button and ta da --- fini!!
I am using Elann's Highland Chunky yarn in colour 727 - spiced wine, size 5mm needles and am making size 40. It is nice and roomy which is how I like my sweaters.

Next up is the preemie sweater I started a few days ago. I have 4 to make and this is the first one completed. It will fit a 3 - 5lb baby and is teeny tiny compared to a newborn sweater.
I am using Patons Early Arrival pattern leaflet and James C. Brett Kool Kotton.

I have started another "girls" sweater and will post a picture when I am a little further along.

Here are a couple of pictures of the finished baby quilt. The blocks were made by a friend who decided not to finish her queen size quilt. Thanks, Kirst!!! I am sure a couple of babies will be very happy to receive your work :-)
It is 36" x 36" and has pretty floral flannel on the back.

Finally Sock Pictures

Finally, pictures of the socks I know you have been waiting for ... or did you forget that I promised pictures. I almost forgot so I am sure you have!! They are knit with Panda Wool (wool and bamboo) on two 2.25mm circs, two at a time. I made the pattern up based on the article by Anne Budd in the Summer Interweave Knits magazine. You can find a similar sock pattern designed by Wendy.


















And while I was out taking sock pictures there was a pretty butterfly that was having a snack on our butterfly bush. Isn't she pretty!
















On another note, a wonderful gal at our church is pregnant and will be having quadruplets (yup you read right, 4 babies) in November. The church is having a baby shower for her the middle of August and I decided yesterday that I would knit some (4 to be exact) preemie sweaters and hats for her. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute!! She is not telling what the sex of the babies are .... so I figure if I knit 2 boys and 2 girls outfits then the most I would have to knit once they are born is two more ... and I know a wonderful charity that would accept the extra two. Am I crazy or what !?! No, don't answer that LOL!!

One limit I put on this is that I need to knit these from my stash --- now you have to understand that my stash is not that big compared to others out in blog land (though my DH would disagree) so the 4 outfits will all be out of different yarn and be different patterns. To tie them together I am using the same buttons on all four. Here's the first one started. The pattern is from Patons Early Arrival leaflet and James C. Brett Kool Kotton machine washable, DK yarn.

Still working on the Notre Dame De Grace pullover. The back is done and I am now working on the front. Pictures next time!

And I finished a baby quilt for HAIN. Pictures of that next time too ....

Vacation Knitting

I am very pleased with the amount I got accomplished on the Notre Dame De Grace pullover. 2 sleeves were completed on the trip to and from Yellowstone and most of the back and part of the front were completed at the beach. I decided to work the front and back as one piece up to the arm decreases. I don't like seaming so the less seams the better! Here is the front and back of the sweater at the beach. DH is in the background flying his kite. As you can see he has his jacket on. It wasn't very warm though the kids still went "swimming".

Here's me knitting. I love seeing pictures of blog postees (is that a word?) so here is one of me. Wind is blowing and it is cold but I can't sit and not do nothing.

Since we arrived home I was overwhelmed with all the started (not finished) projects I have. I made these preemie booties to go with the hat which was finished a couple of months ago. There are so many other things to finish as well. I have decided that I will work on charity items during the "work" day and my personal items in the early morning and after dinner. I am hoping this will keep a balance in my life of personal and charity work.

HAIN Newsletter -- the summer edition is out. There are free patterns and some wonderful articles.

Afghans for Afghans is requesting baby hats (10" to 15" circumference), baby socks (no booties), and blankets at least 40" x 30". Due date is September 2007.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig

Yes, arrived home today and am happy to see all my "stuff"! I will post about knitting adventures in a few days but for now a few Yellowstone pictures ....

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Well, just one automobile for me! I will be on vacation for the next few weeks so enjoy blogland without me :-)

I finished the green panda wool socks, but you will have to wait for a picture since the camera is packed.

For pictures, I decided to make this sweater from the latest Interweave Knits magazine. And chose Elann's chunky highland wool in colour spiced wine. It's a gorgeous heathered red/brown colour. Sleeves are started.

There are quite a few really nice sweaters in this magazine and a really great tutorial on toe-up socks by Ann Budd. Her charts are what I used for the green socks I just finished. The charts allow you to knit with a variety of yarn weights and sock sizes. Very handy!

Hope everyone has a wonderful few weeks!

4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone. Please stay safe and be careful around the fireworks!! We are going to a BBQ this afternoon and haven't decided what we are doing tonight! We may go to some local fireworks -- I know my girls are voting for that LOL!

My socks are coming along. I have turned the heel on both of them and am now working on the legs. It seems to be going so slowly but I need to keep reminding myself it has only been one week since I started them and I am almost done both!

And a cute puppy picture. This is before his haircut. I will try to post an "after haircut" shot soon! He's pretty shaggy here.





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