Birthday Dress

This is the beginning of a birthday dress I'm making for Sara, who turns 3 on July 30th. She requested pink and yellow, but I had this white and pink variegated Sugar 'n Cream so decided to use that...and I love it! That pic above is no longer what the project looks like since I had to frog the whole damn thing. The initial ribbing (the white part, which is the top part of the dress) was too big on size 7's so I wanted to switch to 5's. I thought I could just frog that part and redo it...but NOOOO, that would've been too easy. I got so frustrated trying to figure out how to pick out and unravel the cast on edge that, in a fit of frustration, took a scissor to it and cut it. AND THAT DIDN'T WORK EITHER.

I ended up frogging the entire thing...almost in tears, even though it wasn't that much. Just...all that good knittin' gone to waste. But anyway, it's already restarted, the ribbing completed (much better on 5's) and about an inch into the st st part of the dress. Will post pattern mods when finished, but the pattern is the Sugar Plum Kids Sundress and can be found HERE.

Progress Pic - Ruby Wrap

Just took this and wanted to update. Haven't worked on it in a while since I put it on hold to work on Chloe's blanket, which is almost done. I hadn't seen the shawl for over a week and when I took it out of the bag to take this pic, it looked so pretty to me...the color, the weight, the pattern stitch. I love it.

UPDATE!

Had to post this picture of Sara wearing the yellow outfit I made her. It's a crappy cell pic but still adorious. She's so crazy!



...and just b/c it's so darn cute:

Chloe's Confetti Blanket

So I decided to make Chloe a fuzzy wuzzy plushy squishy soft and fabulous blanket for her to have and cuddle in the hospital. I had 3 skeins of Lambie Pie yarn that were gifted to me from Suzette when we first met. This was the perfect yarn and perfect amount for this blankie, but what nobody told me was that this yarn would be THE DEATH OF ME.

OMFG. Seriously. The yarn is awesome and SO great to touch, but SUCH a bitch to work with. I crocheted the ENTIRE thing, put a border on it, only to hold it up and discover that it gradually became wider on one end...quite significantly. OK, my bad for not holding it up sooner. So I ripped it all out and started completely over...only to rip it out again. And again.

YOU CANNOT SEE THE STITCHES with this fuzzy yarn, UGH! Then someone suggested I knit it instead, b/c it'd be easier to see the stitches. SO I tried that and yes, it was much easier, but the thing would've taken me forever to make and crochet is so much faster and grows taller quicker so yeah, I ripped out the few knitted rows I'd made and decided to just crochet the fucker and count every row as I went.



And that's where we are. I did a ch 75 (shoulda done 76) with an I hook and have counted every row to ensure I had 74 sts as I went...it's tedious, but much better than the alternative of ending up with another wonky blanket. No pattern really...just:

With an I hook: Ch 76
Row 1: hdc in each st across (75 sts), ch 2, turn
Row 2: dc in each st across (75 sts), ch 2, turn

...for 3 skeins worth. The border was done with a J hook and holding two strands together. First round was all hdc with one strand of Sugar 'n Cream in Hot Purple held together with some lavender acrylic that I was given. Next round was all dc with two strands of the Sugar 'n Cream held together.



I'm such a geek for this, but I liked the feeling of crocheting with two strands of cotton together. It was stiffer and bulkier and I liked the aesthetics of it. Total crochet nerd moment.



SO...yay, it's done. And perfect timing since I'm going to bring it to Chloe tomorrow in the hospital after a long day of rehab. I hope she likes it and snuggles it!

Mom's Ruby Wrap

Making THIS (link to free Lion Brand pattern) shawl/wrap (I just hate the word "shawl") for mom and it was supposed to be for Mother's Day, or shortly thereafter, but yeah...that's not happening.

She was wearing a small red shawl over her shoulders at dinner a while ago and I told her I could make her a nicer one, to which she excitedly said that would be great. I’m excited to finally have something to make for her that she’ll like and actually wear, show off, etc. She wanted something black but I promptly vetoed that so she said red. I love the color, it’s a deep red with a shiny thread through it.



This was my first yarn store purchase and it’s splitty yarn but I still like knitting with it, and the splittiness isn’t too bad with bamboo needles. Glad I switched to size 9’s (from 8’s) b/c I think the lace will show up better.

I like the pattern a lot despite the mistakes I keep making that force me to unknit a row or two. Frustrating, but the pattern itself is easy and I’m liking my first real intricate lace pattern.

UPDATE 5/27: This whole project went on hold when I decided to make Chloe a hospital blanket, so I'm going to post better pics of it when I pick it up again. I switched to the Harmony circs and it's holding the weight of the piece SO much better! More importantly, my left thumb is no longer killing me from holding the thing on straight needles (thanks to Debbie for that suggestion).

Diana's Birthday Scarf

I am finally using the beautiful yarn that Suzette gifted me when we first met. It’s a wool/cashmere blend and a gorgeous purple color. I’ve been saving it and saving it, and I decided to use it for THIS scarf (free pattern link). It’s a gift for Diana who turns 40 this month and is having a big party in NYC that I can’t attend. I think it’s so pretty.



I modified the cast on to 18 so I’d have enough yarn for the entire scarf. So far, so good. The lace pattern is SO easy to remember and it’s fun. The yarn is a little itchy, which is annoying since it’s a wool/cashmere blend. Oh well, hope it won’t be annoying to wear.

Christine's Legwarmers

I like this pair the best, fo sho. The colors together rock. The only difference for this pair is that I used size 10.5 needles. But not just any needles...I used my HARMONY needles gifted from Zettie and Gail for the first time and…OMG THEY ROCK! I love them so much! :)

I'm Not Worthy!

So like a month ago, Suzette said that she and Gail had a “just because” gift for me. I thought it was a naked picture of Baryshnikov or something as amusing. Zette told me I was “gonna pee” when I saw what it was, so I was sure it was something funny.

WELL! It was NOT funny but instead FULL OF AWESOME!



Knitpiks Harmony Interchangeable Circular Knitting Needles!

I seriously do not know what on earth I did to deserve such a gift, nor will I ever understand what I did to deserve such amazing friends who think nothing of doing random acts of kindness. For their generosity to be bestowed upon me today is, well, too much. I am unbelievably grateful and so warm and fuzzy inside, it’s not even funny. I am in awe of people like this who wake up one day and just feel like doing random acts of kindness. Suzette told me that Gail called her one day and said “I want to get something for Whitt, what should I get?” It went back and forth a bit until they decided to go half-sies on the needle set. Amazing.

AND THEN...as if that weren't enough...my online-only pal from Ravelry, Shelagh (Sheila), who lives in Canada, sent me a mystery package last week and it arrived today! OMG OMG OMG!





I LOVE THEM! I can't believe she made them! I'm always saying that my hands are cold and that I love Peeps...so what did she do? MADE me fingerless mitts, accompanied by yellow and pink Peeps! Truly a random act of kindness and I am overwhelmed with the warm and fuzzies tonight.

Milena's Legwarmers

Only one done but when the pair is complete I will be 5 pairs into the 8. UGH I am so over them! I had to start the Twin Cables Clutch Purse in the meantime!

My First Cables!

I'm making THIS and it should end up looking like THIS.