Singing Lessons

Ever wonder why you get songs stuck in your head? And why are they always the lame ones?

I've had the "Star Spangled Banner" playing over and over in my head for the past few days. My daughter fixed my up, except I now have "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt " ("His name is my name, too...") on mental replay. Agggh!!!

News Brief

Ummm...coffee and pastry. Food of the Gods.

I'm sitting here enjoying desert and thinking that I need to update everyone on what's been going on. I'm finishing up a cold that caused me to miss my February Guild meeting as well as my Saturday knitting group. Sad about that, but it couldn't be helped. On the good side I've had time to work on some projects.

I've finished my Valentine's Day sweater and as promised, there are pictures (the color is a bit off on the right - it's red and not pink. Still learning how to use the camera).

Things I liked about it: The lace pattern was pretty easy to knit up and looks pretty good, too. Nice pattern and nice sweater - the project looks harder than it really is, so I look like a knitting Diva when in real life I'm more of a knitting clown. :)

Things I would do differently next time: I would use a 100% wool on this project to help define the lace pattern better. I used Encore (a wool/acrylic blend) that I use for a lot of the kids' projects for ease of care, but I should have stepped up for this. I would also try doing the main body in the round rather than flat, although I'd need to adjust the lace pattern a bit to do that. Might make one for my daughter.

Next up is a hat I did using no pattern. Top down. It's not the most incredible thing ever, but I did it without using a pattern!!! (I know, you knitters that have been knitting since before you could walk are all laughing at me. I don't care - this is a big step for me. I'm starting to kick my pattern dependency thing, lol. Maybe.)

The next thing I am working on is a scarf. I tried it using Kidsilk Haze but had too large of needles, so I took it out (well - tried, anyway) and started again, but took two strand, one a blue and one gold. It's a bit thick of a fabric - I should have used a larger needle - but it's OK:

That's pretty much it for tonight. I've got more coffee to drink and maybe another pastry to indulge in. Good night!

Valentine's Day Sweater is Done!

The sweater is done - well, almost.

The Valentine's Day sweater is complete, except for the buttons. It's now in the wash and the buttons will go on after it's dry.

Yes, I put items made with Encore yarn in the wash - that's the whole purpose behind using that wool/acrylic blend and I use a "handwash" cycle. I will dry the item flat rather than putting it in the dryer, though.

Pictures to come!