Reviewing My WIPs List

The Mitered Lace Blankie came off the needles this evening. I can't decide which project to turn to next.

This lace blanket was my eleventh finished project for 2014. I am slightly impressed with myself.

It was a bit of a new style for me. I really Iike the way these last two baby blankies came out. I think after these, I have the courage to try a lace weight Shetland style shawl. I started a circular shawl a few years ago with a cone of boysenberry colored lace weight yarn. Since it has sat untouched for a couple years, I may frog that and begin anew.

And speaking of frogging, I found half of a fair isle sock that I began in 2011. I finally faced up to the fact that color work is not my thing.

Relentlessly I took out the needles and started ripping back. I gained four needles, a skein of white Sockrates alpaca sock yarn, and some lovely tonal dark blue mystery sock yarn. And a nifty knitting basket is freed up again.

I now feel free to cast on some socks soon.

 

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Blankie Progress

The most recent of my blankie knitting has been growing.  This lace pattern is really eating up the yarn.  After I rounded the corner Sunday, I got out my digital scale and weighed the remaining yarn in the skein.  I then played with the figures on my calculator.
Drat.

I had enough pink left for 1 and a half side or so.  Certainly not enough for 3 more sides.  And the yarn used on the stripe wouldn't have helped either.  I needed to buy another skein.  Luckily a quick trip to the acrylic section of Walmart found that they still had some of that color.  So it should be clear sailing from here.
Whether I can finish it in time for our last week of Bible Study is another matter.  Luckily I have a friend who is the neighbor of the recipient and promised to deliver if need be.  Since the baby is here, she may not be able to make it to our last two classes anyway.

I am rather pleased with how the lace is looking though.  And I finally got the buttons on the sweater vest.  They aren't an exact match, but close enough.

Hope mother and baby like it.  Even if they aren't wool.
And believe me, I am going back to wool and blends as soon as I am done with these.

Under Control, Sort Of

Blessed Easter season to my readers.

This year, the holiday also coincided with my birthday, for only the second time in my life.  I had a semi-relaxing day, knitting and watching many movies.  My favorite channel, TCM , was heavily in Easter mode as well yesterday.  I saw the tail end of The Big Fisherman, about the life of St. Peter.  It was followed by King of Kings, and The Greatest Story Ever Told before turning to Irving Berlin musicals, starting with Easter Parade.  All told, in one afternoon I saw three different crucifixion scenes.  Each with a different flavor.  I still prefer the 1959 Ben Hur version I caught the end of on Saturday morning.  The storms, and style are so 50's.  Although I love John Wayne as the centurion in Greatest Story Ever Told.  One line, and even if you can't see his face, the voice is unmistakable his.
And today, in day after mode, I have been doing some knitting and bill paying.  I caught a few movies.  The daytime theme today was Frankie and Annette.  What fun!  And tonight starts John Wayne week.  He will be on all evening and some if not all daytime movies from tonight through Friday evening.
And on the knitting front...no new projects started!  Now that Lent is over I can go back to knitting for myself, but I need to finish the latest baby blanket and Lil Farm Gal's sweater before anything new can be started.  But I can plan.
Just to prove that maybe spring is here, I spotted these today.  A month ago they were buried under feet of plowed snow piles.

Typically Michigan

I make no excuses about the fact I like this winter.  Even this past winter was okay by me. 

Spring has always been highly rated in my opinion.  I am not a fan of mud and sloppy driveways.   

Last week, we almost got to one of the nice parts of spring.  The weather was finally warm enough for no coats.  At least for me.  Hubby wore a sweatshirt, to my short sleeves on Saturday.  And with sandals, no socks in my Berkis.  The pasture, hay-fields and drive had dried off and the sun was shining.

By evening it was a different story.

Rain, wind, rain, lightening, thunder.  And did I mention rain?  

The power never flickered, but the Dish went out a couple times, very briefly, causing me to miss the end of Nascar.  

We were not an area that had the tremendous straight line winds that caused a lot of power outages and down trees.  But we did get rain.

The above picture is of the hay-field, as well as the one below.  It also includes the corner of the drive by the barn.

The pasture picked up some too.

And just to put it in perspective.  This crock pot liner was empty that morning. and the next morning, it looked like this.

And this morning?  Just a couple inches of snow.   Typical Michigan.

Startitis Rears its Ugly Head

With all of the projects I have going right now, all I needed was another one, right?  I have the doll sweater done, and baby sweater too, all but the buttons.  And of course I have all my projects waiting for the end of Lent, but the off-white blankie will probably carry me that far.  (And if you are counting, those will take me up to project 11 for the year.)
Well, actually I did need one.
I finished the doll sweater for Lil' Farm Gal, (project 9) and so I decided to cast on the size 11/12 for Lil' Farm Gal herself.  In spite of the off-white baby blankie (more on that later) still in progress, I needed something that is less of a dirt magnet than the off-white for when I am going on a road trip with Hubby.

I am making her a sweater very similar to the the doll sweater.  It will have an eyelet yoke with a garter ridge above each eyelet row.  Once I get past the increases I will probably just do a plain stockinette, with sleeves and body ending in a few garter rows.  Just like the doll sweater.

Both are the same yarn; same skein so far.  I guess the background color messes with the camera.  I did that much Tuesday while I was mulling options on the off-white blankie.  

I decided against the purple ceramic buttons.  A friend at Knit Nite advised me that they are more likely to chip on a machine washable sweater.  So I will did out the pink ones I found, and use those.  That means I won't need to buy yarn for the stripe and lace on the blankie, but can use the pink left from the previous blankie.  The purple can wait for a hand wash wool sweater. 

I estimate the blankie is about 15 inches on each side right now.  I will add the stripes as I get closer to the edge.  I think a narrow strip, and then more white before the lace will work the way I want. 

So even though I have been starting lots of things lately, they have been quick things.  Like I said before, baby knitting is fast.  Doll knitting is even faster. 

Baby Knitting

I like baby knitting. The Pink Blankie was delivered and admired.

I started the sweater vest for another baby coming to one of the lecturers at Bible study. Again, this one will have several older siblings. It's nice to have something new for the younger children. The vest off the needles. It still wants a soak and blocking, ends hidden and two buttons added.

It went so quickly that I decided to make a nearly matching blankie. Different brand of yarn, but the off white color is almost the same. I'm winging this pattern as well. It is a plain square, center out. And I'll add a simple lace edging, and perhaps stripes.

It's is garter stitch, knit a round and increase at each corner, and purl a round. I may add some pink stripes, with yarn left from the Pink Blankie. Or I may buy something for stripes and lace to match the buttons on the sweater. I found some purple ceramic ones in the button stash that I really like.

I will definitely be blocking all of these, even if they are acrylic.

Then I'm going back to wool. Or at least a blend.

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Shopping Frustrations

A few weeks ago, I had a grocery and miscellaneous shopping trip.  I had decided to invest in a couple new spring tops or jeans.
But,  NOTHING.  My favorite plus size store  had closed.
Huh.  I didn't think it had been that long since I was in that area.  A quick trip around another shop reminded me that their clothes are funky and expensive.  Neither attribute was what I was looking for.
Not even Meijers had a top in my size.  Drats.
I hate it when I want to spend money and there is nothing to buy. I mean, I couldn't even find anything I wanted in the craft store.  And I don't know when is the last time that happened.
So, I went to the Christian book store and bought a study Bible, in the translation we use at Community Bible Study, the English Stand Version.
Educational and useful, even if I can't wear it.