New Projects

This is the start of a top down raglan cardigan with cables. I couldn't find a pattern I wanted so I'm using the general recipe in Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top. I'm trying to semi-recreate a sweater that I love from the Gap.


Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knit Gifts using Nature's Palette. I think I like the original with two hand dyed yarns better, but this is pretty nice too .


Awwwwwwww

Charity Shawl

My first ever finished shawls ans well as my first ever finished charity knitting project. This was definitely the largest (in terms of stitches) knitting project I have ever completed. At times I never thought it would be finished but I truly enjoyed working on it. I also love the finished product. The shawls is soft and light, but also warm. It will be donated to Anna Marie's Alliance. I hope the recipient will love owning this shawl as much as I loved making it.

Italy!

Our trip to Italy was AMAZING! We had a great time sight seeing and hanging out together. Turns out Steve is pretty fun to be with.

We landed is Pisa and spent half a day there exploring the leaning tower, local Duomo and the museum.



We then traveled by train to Cinque Terre and spent three days hiking between the towns, eating tasty seafood and going to the beach (Images of beach not included due to nudeness of some beach goers)



Next stop was Montalcino. A lovely Tuscan hill town with the best pasta Steve and I have ever had. We also had fun visiting the local museum and hiking around the vineyards.

Our final stop was Rome, where we visited the Vatican museums, St. Peters Basilica, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.


All in all one of the best trips I've ever taken. My only regret is that we could only afford 10 days instead of 30!

Traveling Wrap

I wanted a good traveling project for my trip to Italy with Steve. I decided on a simple wrap because it is light weight, portable, and since I'm making it up there's no pattern to carry. The pattern is very loosely based upon the Contessa shawl kit sold at Morehouse Merino. I like the kit better, but I think mine is turning out pretty nice too. It is all stockinette stitch so it curls a bit. My swatch flattened out pretty well though, and I think a little bit of curl is pretty. Plus it really shows of the soft blues, purples and greens of the yarn. I'm hoping to finish this on the trip. Hey I can dream.

Little Bit

I knit this sweater in one day! Talk about instant gratification. I really enjoyed knitting it. I usually like to knit things at a tighter guage, so it was very exciting to go crazy with big needles and worsted weight yarn. I actually like the pattern so much I would like to try it later with smaller needles and possibly grafted seams at the underarms. It is just perfect to wear over a tank top so I feel cute and summery but not too under-dressed. I really like the yarn too. Its knitpicks Shine Worsted. The color is great and it's super soft. It does seem a little sheddy though.

Oregon

Steve and I recently got back from a great trip to Oregon. We met up with some of my classmates for some climbing and hiking in Smith Rock State Park. The park was beautiful, full of steep cliffs and a cool river ( I know we tried it out!).

Here's our campsite by moonlight

This is the crooked river running through the park

This is Steve on his first outside leak belay. Scary!


Here's a picture of me climbing the same route. It's just from a different angle that makes the climb look harder than it actually is. Good job camera angle! No one needs to know that Steve is actually a much better climber...


This is the AWESOME car my grandma Phoebe gave Steve and I. It took us all the way out to Oregon in style. The stereo and air conditioning were awesome! Thanks Grandma.

Steve and I split up from the rest of the group and spent a night at Crater Lake on the way home. If you haven't been there I really suggest it. The lake sits in a huge crater that was formed when a mountain collapsed after a volcanic eruption. We went on a short hike up to the top of a small peak and then spent the night in the giant 200 site campground. That night there was a HUGE thunder storm that literally shook the ground. It was a little creepy but alaso awe inspiring and amazing.

And here's some knitting. This is a cotton washcloth for Steve. I took it on the camping trip with me and knit some of it by headlamp. That actually worked surprisingly well. I'll have to remember the headlamp for future use if I have tricky yarn.


I also knit a swatch for the project I want to take with me on our Italy trip. After working on the wrap for my mother in law, I want one for myself. A laceweight project is also perfect for our trip since We're trying to travel with just day packs.


Finally, one last picture because I think it's so funny. My cats don't really like each other than much, but the other day I saw Echo (white one) cuddle up to Ruby. The funny thing about it was that Ruby was under the rug. So it looks like Echo is cuddling up with a lump!

Wrap

My wonderful mother-in-law is in need of a pretty wrap for her nights on the town. She is an expert crocheter, but wanted something knit, and I was only too happy to oblige. This is a very cute pattern from Vogue Knitting on the Go: Shawls. The yarn is Knitpicks bare merino/ silk fingering weight. So far I'm very very happy with this project. The yarn is soft, shiny and wonderful to work with. The pattern is easy to memorize and just repetitive enough to get a good rhythm going. The one problem with this project is that it's making me wish I had a wrap. Now where would I ever get one of those...

TWO YEARS!!!

Steve and I have now been married for two years! I'm rather proud of us. We survived my hardest year of PT school. I'm so lucky to have someone who takes such good care of me and loves me so much! He is also very understanding of my recent knitting obsession. He even got me a swift as an anniversary present! (having him help me wind 400 yards of fingering weight yearn might have helped convince him)


Already been used! I love you swift, but I love Steve even more.

Sock pal Socks

My sockpal said she likes bright colors....

So I'm not too happy with the way these turned out, which is why I sent lots of other bright happy presents with them to distract my sock pal. I knit these toe up, to make sure I had enough yarn. I think I really need to work on my increases. The toes turned out all puffy and the yarn wasn't as soft as I would have liked.

My sockpal Tikabelle received her socks and wrote a lovely blog entry about them. I'm so glad she seemed to like them (I was worried). I hope she enjoys the socks and they keep her feet warm!

All in all I'm glad I participated in the sockapalooza 4 sock exchange. There were some rough patches in the middle, but seeing my socks on my sockpal's feet made it all worth while!

First EVER finished socks!

So I actually finished these socks quite a while ago. I had some lovely pictures, but due to communication problems, the pictures are no more. Imagine Steve wearing one sock and Aimee wearing the other. Big foot and small foot. Trust me they were awesome! Even if they weren't, you'll never know...

So I quite enjoyed knitting these. They fit Steve quite well and he wears them around the house all the time (but for some reason never out of the house, maybe it's the bright green stripes). My only complaint is that I would have liked different yarn. The yarn I used, which is now discontinued, wasn't very soft and the colors just weren't quite right. However I'm very happy I made something that is functional and keeps my sweeties feet warm!

This is not a hat for me

This is a hat I made for my friend at school. Fortunately he has a larger head than I do. I tested this hat on my husband's giant (cute) head and it was a little too small, so it should be perfect for my friend. I told my friend I would make him a hat in August and finished it just in time for our first 80+ day of summer. Oh well, it won't go bad before winter. I held two strands of yarn together to make the hat. I really like the way it makes a random color pattern.


Pattern: Last Minute Knit Gifts
Yarn: Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks
Needles: US 8 for rib US 9 for rest

I dream of swifts...

Wha-Bam!! Over 800 yards of lace weight yarn wound by hand. (one of three skeins) This lovely yarn if from handpaintedyarn.com and is very lovely. I have to admit I was looking for something more monochromatic when I ordered it. However the online pictures made it look even more uni-blue than my photos do. It is actually a mix of blue, green and aqua. I plan to make an circular shawl from it if my garter stitch monster ever gets finished.
Here is a cat for scale.
Here is a cat for cuteness.
In case you don't know what a swift is, or would like to buy me one, you can find one here.

Project of Doom!

I recently purchased the Knitters Almanac and became infatuated with the pi shawl. However, I've never even used lace weight yarn. So I got the great idea that I would use the little bit I had in my closed to do a practice project. So I cast on for a bottom up garter stitch shawl on size 3 needles. It didn't seem so bad at the start, but now I can see that this shawl is going to take forever, be boring, and not really teach me anything. I've also seen a similar one on size nine needles that looks fine. Unfortunately, I really like it. The colors are beautiful, it has a nice drape, and I think it will be warm and light when finished. So I will slog on! But I might start the pi shawl too....

Photo taken moments before Ruby attempted to eat shawl.