Grandson photo, couldn't resist!

This is me & my 5 year old grandson Ty. He's such a sweetie!!

Final item for this time!

A red t-top, just what I needed! This one was done in a Knitting Pure & Simple pattern that I've used many times for my sweater classes. I knitted it out of Queensland yarn, an acrylic/cotton blend. It was really nice to work with & the sweater turned out beautifully! Click on the photo & you can see it has some little blips of color that look like fuzz, they are all different colors, which makes the sweater quite unique I think!

Another t-top!

This little sweater is an Elsebeth Lavold design in her yarn "hempathy" which is hemp! It is so lightweight, it weighs next to nothing & was a dream to work with. It was done on size 4 needles & I thought I was never going to finish it, but I am so happy with this & get alot of compliments on it whenever I wear it. The color is also fantastic! I would definitely use this yarn again.

OK, a very long hiatus from posts, I know!

I have not posted since I finished knitting the shawl. It's not that I haven't knitted anything, just haven't posted. Well, I did sorta take off some knitting time over the summer. I was busy with selling Mary Kay cosmetics. Now I've gotten the knitting bug again & want to update with some items. This pretty lace t-top is done with an old pattern I've loved for years, in a cotton/acrylic from my yarn stash. I started it up at my mom's in May, just finished it late September. As I said, I didn't knit much over the summer! The fit is fantastic on this, it's a nice dressier t-top & I love it!

Shawl is DRY!!

The shawl is now dry & you can check it out. It turned out so well, and I'm so happy with it. I think it will be a very functional shawl, just the right weight without being too heavy, nice to grab for taking the dog for a walk in the evening when you need just a little something.

And speaking of dog, here is a new photo of my girl, Molly. She's such a doll, well behaved & sweet as can be. She had her 8th birthday in January. Hard to believe we've had her that long.

Well, until next time, happy knitting to you!

Geri

New Stuff--(FINALLY!!)

Mercy, how time flies! Here it is, nearly the end of March, 2007! The weather here in Tallahassee is gorgeous, the azaleas and dogwoods are all in bloom, and the pollen count is high! Yesterday, the temp got up to 87! And us with no rain--time to start watering the lawn & start praying for some rain!
Well, it's been 3 or more months since I've put anything on the blog. Bummer!

But, I've been busy (who hasn't!), and blogging takes time. I have finished the shawl from Gathering of Lace--Beginner's Triangle. I knitted it in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, on size 6 needles. Took nearly 7 balls, and the shawl has blocked out at 36 x 72 which is perfect for me. The shawl is for a class I am teaching in April for beginning lace. I think it turned out quite nice!It's still drying, but I took a photo of the detail and one of the shawl drying. Later on I will publish a finished photo. I know the one of it drying on the floor is pretty dark. Its so hard to take these pictures & have them come out for the blog sometimes.
I have done several other things since I posted last time. I did a top down sweater class, and the project I completed was done in Cherry Tree Hill Oceania, which was a dream to work with and the sweater is so light you can't believe it. There is a bit of sparkly thread in the yarn, which I don't know if you'll be able to see in the photo or not. I thought it was interesting how the yarn changed patterning on the ribbed part of the sweater-neck & bottom rib. The way it swirled was really neat!

I was really hoping when I saw how the yarn was behaving on the neck area that it would end up looking nice so I wouldn't have to rip it out. But overall I was happy with it & have had lots of compliments on it.

By the way, if you click on any of the photos in my blog, you can see them close up. I really want you to check out the buttons on the sweater below, the Katia one. They are GREAT!

Last winter I made the sweater below from one of the Katia Books. It is one of my very favorite sweaters, and I was amazed at how it all went together. The detailing of the neck was gorgeous, and so while I was wearing it this winter, I had my hubby take a picture of me in it.

The buttons on the sweater could not have matched any better. I was blown away when I saw them.

The last couple of things I have to show off are a cardigan in Trendsetter Dune. This year, Trendsetter came out with a solid color, and it was very hard to photograph, as it has a beautiful shiny black textured thread running through it, and it wanted to photograph silvery colored.The cardigan bottom & sleeve bottoms have a lace detail to them that really is pretty.

I have also taught a sock class, and here are a couple pair I have made. The pair I did for the class this time is not photographed. My hubby had the camera out of town the weekend I finished them, and they were a gift for my sister, so I got them off in the mail before I could get a shot of them. By the way, she loved them. They were done in Opal Peacock, and it was a gorgeous color combo of turquoise & green. The socks featured below, the dark pair is Opal yarn,(don't they remind you of a pair of little boy socks from the 60s??) the blue pair is Trekking (my personal fave.)

I have 2 top down summer sweaters on needles right now, a v-neck and a Henley. They are both for the top down class I'm teaching in May.

I have a short-sleeved cardigan halfway done as part of a twinset in Cascade Sierra aqua color.

Still have the norweigan sweater on needles, yes the same spot it was in the photo--shame! I'm telling you this just to keep myself honest & yes, I remember I have UFO's! Sleeves are all I have left to finish on a gansey type sweater (Port Oxford pullover) done in Blackwater Abbey yarn, a heavy wool which I can't face this summer, now the temperature is already in the 80s!! I'm also dying to make a shawl out of the Victorian Lace book, already have the yarn for it--Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Wicked (black), need something to take to the symphony when we go!

Guess I'm making up for lost time with this blog, huh? Hope I haven't bored you to tears so far.

I have a couple more pictures and a bit more bragging to do before signing off though.

Fay's Needlecraft Boutique, where I teach classes, and one of the best yarn shops ever!!, was featured in a local newspaper about 2 months ago. The reporter came to view my class (the top down sweater class) and she interviewed both Fay & me. The article was very nice, and it really has helped publicize the classes & the yarn shop. The photos below are a few that came from the article. Fay is the gorgeous Liz Taylor look-alike! I am in the short-sleeved white sweater overseeing the class. You can tell from the surrounding area that Fay has alot of stuff, all the good stuff. She is one of my dearest friends.

OK, so this is not a knitting post. I wire-wrapped a silver serving set as a birthday gift for my mother-in-law. I think they came out really nice, and she will love them. She's a sucker for beadwork and one of my biggest fans (or so she says!)
Still knitting, finished all my Christmas knitting and trying to get the Trendsetter Dune jacket done so I can put a picture up on here. Maybe next week. I have a couple of other sweaters started also. My goal for next year is to get all these UFO's finished!
Happy Holidays to you & Happy Knitting in 2007!

It's hard to believe next week is Thanksgiving. I have been busy knitting a few items to give my husband's grandmother for Christmas, and I finally finished them today. It's a 4-piece bath set, with a soap sack, headband, bath cloth and bath mitt, done in lavendar "Sugar & Cream" 100% cotton yarn. I'm giving it to her with a gift set of some lavendar scented soaps/lotions from Bath & Bodyworks. I think she will love it!
Next on the finished item list is a jacket-type sweater done in Trensetter Boing yarn. This was a very quick knit, no buttonholes to do, and the knitting was done on size 10 1/2 needles, so it was done quickly. I really love it, I actually wore it to work one day last week. I had a small pin to bring the fronts together that matched it really well. I'm not sure you can see it in the photo, but it was really "just right".
Right now I'm working on a Trendsetter "Dune" jacket for the holidays. I'm going out of town for the next 5 days and hope to have some knitting time and maybe be close to finishing it when Thanksgiving is over--a great jacket to wear to the Christmas symphony concert we have tickets for!
Happy Knitting to you & yours.
Geri

My latest projects

This is Tyden's sweater for his Christmas picture. I think it turned out great! I bought the kit when he was born (he's now 4 1/2 years old!) and just realized the largest size was only a size 4, so figured it was now or never! I hope he will love it, although he told me he didn't like the light blue on it, he wanted green! Not sure how a green sky would look!



I seem to only be posting monthly these days. Way too busy to keep up with this blog any more often. But always time to knit!!!
I finished the white sweater out of Cascade Sierra, an 80/20 cotton/wool blend that I just love working with, and this sweater turned out really well. I like the way it fits, and it can be dressy or casual. It photographed looking a cream color, but is really a very snowy white.
Until next time!!!
Happy Knitting to you all!

Wow--One month later!!!

I've been extremely busy this past month, and also had a terrible cold which set off my asthma, so I haven't been posting anything to my blog this month, although I have been knitting up a storm!
I've got a few pictures to post, one is the FINISHED!!! Cascade 220 turquoise sweater. (Thanks to Fay who has been on me for a year to make that sweater!!!) It turned out great! Fit is good too, so I'm truly happy with it. And check out the buttons, they are crocheted, I was really impressed with this aspect of the finishing. Any other button would have definitely detracted from the finished good looks of this sweater.

The second sweater, the red one, is a gansey that I've been wanting to do as a sort of "mindless but nice" project. It's done out of (gasp) Lion Brand cotton which I picked up somewhere to do a sweater for my grandson, but when I realized I had enough to do one for me, voila! I still have the majority of one sleeve and the collar to go, but that won't take long. As a matter of fact, I plan on taking the finished item with me on Thursday when I go up to North Dakota to see my mom. The temps are glorious up there right now, 49 evening and 72 day. That calls for a nice sweater, don't you think! And it sure beats the 90s and 70s we are having here in Florida. It will be a nice break.

I'm also working on a white t-top which I don't have a photo of it right now, but that will be my vacation knitting, and I hope to finish it shortly also, in time to wear this fall.

Happy Knitting everyone!

OK, so I guess I have been knitting more than I thought, and this is my latest project. The photo of the gold version is from the Vogue Knitting Winter 2005 issue. I fell in love with this sweater the day I first looked at that magazine, and I bought the Cascade 220 to make it that very day. Finally, I'm getting around to it. The color is fabulous; this is the back, and I'm about 3-4 inches into the armhole. This is going very well. So, here I am with yet another WINTER sweater on the needles. Oh well, it's the fun in making them that I love best. I have others that I don't get to wear often but it's all a learning process. And I hope I'm an inspiration to others with these projects.
I've had this weekend off from my teaching at Fay's Needlecraft Boutique, but we start a whole new 3-week session next Saturday, and I will be busy once again. This upcoming session will have 2 classes, beginning knitting and a cable/lace scarf done in laceweight yarn from a chart.
Busy, busy busy!!! Hope you have a great knitting week!

As you can see, I finished the Trinity sweater. It turned out so good, fits well, and it is as light as a feather, truly!!! I had a few problems with this pattern, mostly because they didn't print out the full instructions for both sides of the front shaping , so I sorta had to wing it, but I made it work and I told a good friend of mine I'd rewrite the instructions, but I'm not sure anyone but me will be able to follow them!
I feel like I'm not getting anything accomplished knitting-wise lately, maybe it's the heat. I haven't knitted a single stitch on my norweigan sweater since I posted the photos of it, but I guess that will come. It's not like I have a need to wear it anytime soon, right??? Although I am going to visit my mom in North Dakota in September and who knows what the weather will be like up there at that time!!
Here's a close-up of the detail on the trinity sweater, it's very elegant looking, and I'm already thinking about making this is a different yarn. Oh, so many projects, so many wishes, and so many dreams...that's what the name of this blog is all about!

This is a little summer sweater I recently finished & LOVE! It's made out of Katia "India" and is a papery sort of ribbon with silver throughout. It was a breeze to make, but the photo doesn't show the cables very well. The pattern came from the most recent Katia summer issue. Of course, I bought the yarn & pattern from my favorite local yarn store, Fay's Needlecraft Boutique. Everyone loves this sweater, maybe it's the color??? Very summery.

This is where I'm at so far. I've been working on this thing for about a month now. I still have about 5 more inches to go until I get to the neck shaping, then instead of knitting in the round, it starts going back/forth which I'm sure I will hate. Then the sleeves. I will keep you updated on progress with this sweater. It looks pretty neat though, I think. This is really the first time I've knitted a sweater in this technique. I've done a few bags and a few sweaters with just a bit of the colorwork on the neckline or yoke. This has been a challenge so far, but I love it!

I don't know how well you can make out any detail on this photo, but this is the KidsKnits.com sweater that I've been dying to make for awhile now. It's in black/cream & I just love this sweater! As I said in an earlier post, I don't know when I'm ever going to wear this thing if and when I ever get it done, as this type of knitting is so thick & hot for our Florida weather. But it's fun anyway!

Last but not least, this is the photo of a sweater I'm currently working on. The pattern is from Jaeger & the yarn is Trinity. If you've never seen Trinity before, it's a cotton/silk blend, and it is the lightest yarn I have ever seen! This should be a TRUE SUMMER SWEATER, it weighs next to nothing. It's turning out quite nicely but the finished pieces did not photograph well, so maybe once I get the sleeves done & sew it up, I can try for another picture. Now, off to do some more knitting!

Now that I'm on a roll with these new pictures, let me show you the Cowl & Cable sweater I mentioned in my first posting. The talented person who wrote this wonderful pattern is Susan from Tropical Yarns in Miami. She is so great, I love ALL her stuff!!! This was done in Fantasy Naturale yarn, a heavy weight cotton. It turned out quite nicely, I think!

This is the finished Tristan sweater, from Elsebeth Lavold's "Embraceable You" book. I knitted this for my husband out of Berocco Ultra Alpaca, and it's perfect. The picture does not do this sweater justice, although the up close photo of the detail looks pretty good. And it fits him like a dream!

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. We finally decided to get a new camera, and I've been waiting for my turn to use it! My husband has been learning how to use it & taking it along with him, so I've been patiently waiting!

The above photos were taken at our local yarn store. The place is absolutely packed with the best selection of everything!!! I'm the redhead in the photos, and I'm wearing a sweater of my own creation, made out of a variety of different yarns & done in a ripple stitch pattern. The lady on the left is my very sweet friend/yarn shop owner, Fay. She is the ultimate knitting goddess!

Since my initial posting, I have finished the Tristan sweater, the royal blue sleeveless summer sweater, and have nearly completed the entire body of the kit I ordered from KidsKnits.com.
And I shall post pictures of these shortly! Seems amazing to have actually finished those items since I started this blog!

Just wanted to introduce my dog--Molly. She's

6 1/2 years old, and a true joy in our lives.

She is also the most totally spoiled dog on the

planet! We love this dog very much!