Catching Up

I've been MIA for awhile but just been way too busy to update the blog! Grin...So many friends doing it lately, that I thought I'd update mine. We had a wonderful 2 months in South Texas dancing every day. We were really into Round Dancing (aka choreographed ballroom dancing) this year & learned so much. We had a wonderful time! The weather was cold there but nothing like it was everywhere else so we felt lucky. We had ice one day & were without power for about 4 hours.  

Orange tree with icicles all over!

Surprisingly to me, they said the ice on the orange trees actually protected the trees from damage from the freezing temps.

On the knitting front, I managed to whip up a few things in between dancing. Like the fingerless mitts using some yummy soft Royal Fiber Spinnery 100% Baby Alpaca that I got from my Secret Santa MB. So soft & they sure were useful this winter!

Yummy soft mitts!

Another pattern that I love is the Openwork Shrug. I've made several of these now & they are so great for wearing at dances where it is chilly when you first walk in. Then, once you warm up a bit you can toss it aside. This one was made from an aran weight yarns so it's especially warm & cozy. Then I made another one using awesome Brook Farms Acero fingering weight yarn that I adore! It's the perfect weight for spring! I have modified the pattern a little bit because I found that the double yo's weren't to my liking. Instead I did k2, kf&b for the increase rows. It is much nicer, imho.

Love this!

Last but not least is the Knot Knot Vest. The "real" name for this pattern is Gilet noeud noeud. But being the dork that I am I wondered what it translated to in English. So, from Google & Reverso I found that Gilet translates to Vest & noeud is either node or knot. Anyway, this is my interpretation of her pattern. I'm also making a hat to go with it called Knot Knot Chapeau. I plan to donate the set to my square dance club for a silent auction on the 9th of April.  

Adorable little sweater

Well, that's it for today. If you stuck it out....you have my sympathies!

A Tale of Two Hats or Three

I finished two hats recently. The purple one is done in some nasty acrylic with sparkly bits in it. I have no idea what brand or anything about it as it came from my dear departed sister in law from whom I inherited a garbage bag full of partial skeins of acrylic worsted weight yarn. Most without labels. But mom likes the hat and that's what counts. Oh yes, the pattern is from Knitty and is called Foliage. Ummmm. there is a red x where the picture should be. Hope I can fix that. But the picture is kind of wierd anyway because it's one of those self portraits taken in the bathroom mirror.

The blue one is smariek's Cap Karma Hat with the modifications made by Brooklyntweed for the top decreases. It is a nice pattern and quick and easy. I mostly worked on it while on the exercise bike. I am trying to improve my cable abilities so I think I will try the Honeycomb hat next.

Some FO's

I finished the Rivulet scarf in late December. I really like the way it turned out and that both ends are the same. I used the JaggerSpun Zephyr DK leftovers from the Shawl Back Shrug. It is nice and soft.

Then, I finished the Cabled Wristlets from Creative Knitting November 2008. They are so cute and I used acrylic yarn from stash given to me by my sister in law.

From Knitting 2009

The Girasole is going good. I am loving knitting it even though I know it's going to be a PITA when it gets much larger. Oh, and guess what I've discovered??? Remember how I used to be terrified of knitting in the round? Well....no more. I actually love it now because I know there will be no seams.

I also made the Foliage hat for mom but haven't yet gotten a good closeup pic of the hat. Here is one of her & me together with her wearing it.

From Knitting 2009

Olympics, Ravelympics and Llympics

It has been several weeks since I posted last but I've been very busy, as usual. I changed the look of the blog...new picture at the top and new colors. How do you like it?

Ok-let's see...what have I been doing....

Oh yeah! Finished the Featherweight Fantasy in Black for Mom. I love love love it! I really would like to keep it for myself. It is so nice and cozy. A really great size too. I used Jaggerspun Zephyr DK in Ebony on size 10 1/2 needles.


I joined in the insanity that is Ravelympics and my projects are Baby Surprise Jacket for Kari's second baby boy, Foliage (which I probably won't get to) and Ice Queen (which I love after seeing Deb's at Borders last month. It was already in my queue and seeing it made it move to the top of the list). I have been wanting to make something for Bertha who gave me something like 30,000 yards of laceweight yarn last year. I will use the Blue Heather and it will really be beautiful on her.

Here is a picture of Kari's BSJ taken a few days ago. I am almost finished with it now. I have just 4 rows and then bind off.



I am seriously considering adding a hood to it ala saradenise who was so sweet to share her method of adding the hood.

I bought some gunmetal gray beads for the Ice Queen and used a few on the swatch

and also some white ones, gold ones, clear ones...but now I'm thinking that they may be too heavy and I should use 8's instead of 6's. I have ordered a 16" circ from Knitpicks which should be here any day. I can't start it until the needle arrives!

Beautiful Sun Ray

The sunray shawl is finished! I really love it and I think the Cotton Fleece will be really nice. It was amazing how much it changed with a light blocking. All I did was stretch it out on my foam boards then spray it lightly with water and pin it down. I had to re-pin and re-spray a couple of times. But I was really amazed at how different it was when it dried. Very drapey and soft and just so much nicer.

Here I am wearing the Sun Ray Shawl with my zig zag lace top and my cute little floral skirt. Love this outfit!

And this other pic is the Sun Ray trying to be artistic by draping itself on my back deck railing. Silly shawl....so dramatic, really.

But quite lovely.....

Quilted Blocks Baby Blanket

The beautiful baby blanket is finished and off in the mail to the new mama!! I'm so glad to be finished with it but feel a little lost without that "job" to do everyday. So, here's a pic.

Here's the pattern if anyone wants it.

Quilted Blocks Baby Blanket
Copyright © 2006 by wendydancer at gmail dot com


Materials: Worsted Weight Yarn (I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I used about 5 ½ balls.) Size 8 29” circular needle, 2 stitch markers. The Quilted Blocks pattern comes from several sources including Barbara Walker’s Treasury.

Cast on 176 stitches. Work 6 rows of seed stitch. The first and last 4 stitches of each row form a seed stitch border along the sides. The markers are used to mark the border. Slip all markers on all rows when you come to them. pm=place marker

Row 1 (WS): k1,p1,k1,p1, pm, k3, *p8, k6; rep from * until 15 stitches remain, p8, k3, pm, k1,p1,k1,p1.
Row 2: p1,k1,p1, k1, knit to marker, p1,k1,p1, k1
Row 3: k1,p1,k1,p1, k3, *p8, k6; rep from * until 15 stitches remain, p8, k3, k1,p1,k1,p1.
Row 4: p1,k1,p1, k1, knit to marker, p1,k1,p1, k1
Row 5: k1,p1,k1,p1, k3, *p8, k6; rep from * until 15 stitches remain, p8, k3, k1,p1,k1,p1.
Row 6: p1,k1,p1, k1, k2, *p2, k6, p2, k4; rep from * end last rpt k2, p1,k1,p1, k1.
Row 7: k1,p1,k1,p1, p3, *k2, p4, k2, p6; rep from * end last rpt p3, k1,p1,k1,p1.
Row 8: p1,k1,p1, k1, k4, *p2,k2,p2,k8; rep from * end last rpt k4, p1,k1,p1, k1.
Row 9: k1,p1,k1,p1, p5, *k4, p10; rep from *, end last rpt k4, p5, k1,p1,k1,p1
Row 10: p1,k1,p1, k1, k4, *p2,k2,p2,k8; rep from * end last rpt k4, p1,k1,p1, k1.
Row 11: k1,p1,k1,p1, p3, *k2, p4, k2, p6; rep from * end last rpt p3, k1,p1,k1,p1
Row 12: p1,k1,p1, k1, k2, *p2, k6, p2, k4; rep from * end last rpt k2, p1,k1,p1, k1.

Repeat these 12 rows until desired length is achieved. End with row 5. Work 6 rows of seed stitch. Bind off loosely.

I finished the Wool Peddler's Shawl yesterday and blocked it. I plan to take some pics today of it. It was a really fun knit and I'd like to do it again. The yarn was Elann's Peruvian Highland Silk which is a dk weight. It was great to work with but I'm not sure how it'll hold it. It seemed to get a little fuzzy with washing.

I finished a shrug recently and thought I'd post the pic here. My spaces blog is all screwed up because they changed the format and some of the pics are gone. Anyway, here's the shrug. Done in Caron Simply Soft in orchid.

I am so jazzed because I finished the Elegantly Simple Baby Blanket last night! It turned out nice, I think and I can't wait to give it to Irene who's expecting her first grandchild later this month.
Now waiting for the lace KAL to start...