Kindergarten Graduation

Yes, there's a graduation ceremony for that, too.  At least we didn't have to have one for pre-school.  I say that, not because I think they're silly, but because these things wreak havoc on my emotions!  Last night I attended the first school program for my children.  It was so sweet.  They sang, performed...and graduated.  They are now officially grade schoolers.  I have to admit...I did cry...but I didn't blubber.  :-)

Their before and after.

(Can you tell my gauge on Seamus's vest was a little tighter than Ronan's?)

6 Year Olds in the House!!!

I now officially have two six year olds living in my house!  The boys turned six on May 19th.  People say it all the time, but I really cannot believe how the time has flown.  I just love watching them grown and become their own little selves.  The future holds a lot of changes for them.  As first graders, they will be going to school all day, attending a new school, be in separate classrooms, and wear uniforms.  Wow!  I hope I can do a good job of easing them into it all (at once).  Here are some pics of them before and after (becoming six year olds).

Before...their last night as five year olds...getting into bed.

After...the night of their birthday...finally getting to blow out candles...before bed.

In the past we've typically had a week long (or so) of celebrations and activities surrounding their birthday.  This year is a bit low key.  But fear not..there will be more to follow!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!  I can't help but share a pic of my boys in their first hand knit garments, by me.  I was so excited for Easter to arrive so that I can see my guys wearing their vests all day...together.  I couldn't stop looking at them and saying, "You're so handsome!"  I'm such a (corny) mom!  :-)

Basic Vest for Children by Diane Soucy
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn - Merino Worsted
Color: Verde Adriana - 117; Continental - 26; Pale Khaki - 602
Ravelry: Seamus's vest; Ronan's vest

Notice the picture in the upper right hand corner of the blog page?  That was the boys three years ago on Easter.  I tried to replicate their poses (unsuccessfully).  I wasn't a very good knitter back then.  Those vests were given to the boys for their two year birthday from a friend of mine.  They are not hand knit but I still loved them none the less.

Let the Madness begin!

It's March!  And that means it's time for Malabrigo March Madness!!!  Yes, it's a crazy month for me and I"m already off to a bad start.  I started swatching at midnight last night and was unsuccessful at getting gauge.  I may have to change my thoughts on this.  Last year I finished ten Malabrigo projects and one non-Malabrigo project.  I'm not confident I can do that this year as I have two (maybe three) sweaters on the list, two pairs of socks, and two vests for the boys.  Acht!  Now that I've just typed that out, there is no way!!!!  One can hope, huh?  Well, that's the plan for now, we'll see how I fare at the end of the month.  Oh, I'm co-leading another KAL this year, General Accessory group.  Good luck to all you Malabrigo Marchers!!!  Happy knitting!

Salsa

I cooked!  It's a rare occurrence for me.  I typically only cook (or prepare) the simplest of recipes.  This recipe has four ingredients...yeah...that's it...so I figured I could handle it.  The ingredients are jalapeños, garlic, lime juice, and oil.  It actually turned out pretty darn good!  My birthday and two others (on my husband's side) are February birthdays and they were all celebrated today.  Fish tacos were on the menu for today's fête.  This recipe has been on my radar so I decided to give it a try.  I think I added too much lime juice because it was kind of watery.  Regardless, it turned out to be a huge hit and the bowl was empty at the end of the night.  Recipe can be found here.

Mandel

I'm so excited about my latest knit!  This was a test knit for a fellow Raveler in Germany, Anke (fallmasche).  Mine didn't turn out quite as refined as her's nor some of the other test knitters' but I'm still in love with it, none the less.  I love everything about this sweater.  The saddle shoulders and pleats on the side make for a really flattering fit...which is the case for every test knit I've seen thus far.  It did end up big under the arms and above the bust line and the sleeves were a bit too long.  Though not pictured here, I did remedy most of that by dampening the sweater with water and throwing it in the dryer on high heat.  Normally, I wouldn't recommend this but the yarn does say machine washable.  I know, typically, that doesn't equate  to mean really washable but in this case, it worked out just fine.  I'm definitely going to knit this again in a short sleeve version and/or at a tighter gauge.  I'm sorry the pattern is not yet published so I can't share a link with you but as soon as it is published, I will update this post. (eta 02.19.11 - pattern is published and links added)

Mandel by fallmasche

Yarn: Rowan - Felted Tweed DK

Color: Clay - 177

Ravelry

A few more...

Keeping up with a theme, today's post will show off a few hats that I knit recently.  And from these two knits, I've realized that adding cables to a hat provides added thickness and warmth making 'em that much cozier.

The most recent hat I finished was a test knit for Breean Elyse.  And since knitting it, I've fallen in love with cabled hats.  I can't stop looking at them or for them.  This one was a special treat because it was for me.  Zinc is one of my favorite Malabrigo colorways.  And the hint of taupe really helped make the cables pop!

Obstacles Hat by Breean Elyse

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn - Twist

Color: Zinc - 613

Ravelry

Now this hat was knit on a whim.  This was for a friend's mother that recently had brain surgery and as a result needed hats to help protect her from the cold Minnesota winter.  I wasn't even looking to knit a hat but when I saw the pattern and noticed it called for some yarn in my stash, I cast on!  I didn't do the best job paying attention to the plain knit rounds so it isn't as slouchy as the pattern called for but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.  Because of the chunky yarn and the cables, the hat ended up being fairly heavy so a slouchy hat may have resulted in a hat that wouldn't stay on the head (at least that's what I'm tellin' myself).  :-)  I hope this does the trick and helps keep her head warm!

Slouchy Braid Hat by Cheryl Beckerich

Yarn: Berroco - Vintage Chunky

Color: Lilacs - 6183

Ravelry

I Don't Know Why

I don't know why I haven't blogged in awhile.  When I think maybe I will, my next thought is, "I could be knitting."  I always seem to place these self imposed deadlines on myself and then the thought of blogging instead of knitting gets me all stressed out.  Ach!  There could be worse things, huh?

Well, I have a lot to share since my last post.  I'll start with a few shawls that I finished up recently....

This first one is a (belated) test knit I did for Debbie O'Neill.  I am really please with the end result of this shawl.  I wasn't so sure about the color as I was knitting it, but after blocking, I'm in love.  The bamboo in this yarn resulted in such a light airy feel and the silk gives it such a nice sheen.  This will be perfect for those spring/summer evenings when a sweater would be just too much.  The stitch pattern transitions nicely from one section to the next without getting too long.  I enjoyed this knit, very much.

Arielle Shawlette by Debbie O'Neill

Yarn: Araucania Itata Solid

Color: 2009

Ravelry

My next knit flew off the needles.  Unlike the last shawl, this one has more of a crescent shape.  The colors of this shawl are absolutely gorgeous!  I just love pink and brown together.  For those of you heading out to Stitches West, stop by  Sunshine Yarns - booth 1139, as Dani will have this on display at the booth for all to touch.  :-)  When I finally received the much anticipated Malabrigo Book 3 booklet, I was (pleasantly) surprised to find that Stephen West has three patterns in the book!  He did not mention a peep about it.  Though the shawl is crescent shaped, per his usual style, it still has nice angles and symmetry.  

Lakedale Shawl - Stephen West

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Classic Superwash Sock

Color: Badlands (pink) & Coal Creek (brown)

Ravelry

Instant Gratification

Ah...isn't it nice when you can get an FO in less than an hour from start to finish?  These little gems are instant gratification.  I busted out 6 of them in less than 5 hours of knitting time.  These are my final FOs for 2010.

Café by Miss T (page 42)

Yarn: Dream in Color - Classy & Malabrigo - Rios

Ravelry

I've been off the grid for a while because I was working on a sample knit.  That sample knit was the biggest knitting project I've ever worked on...ever!  And the longest thing I've ever knitted on a consecutive basis.  I can't post any pics until the pattern is published but I'm very excited to share it!

Happy New Year and here's to many happy FOs this year!

Sea Princess

...and how...isn't she! 

This was, by far, the most challenging and rewarding test knit I've ever done.  I really love how this little sweater turned out.  And I had a hard time parting with it.  This pattern gives you a lot of bang for your buck.  It comes in sizes 6 months to 14 years (depending on the yarn you choose)!  The pattern is very comprehensive so nothing is left to guessing. I finished this test knit back in October but waited to blog about it until it was gifted.  This was a late birthday gift for a friend's daughter.  It's a perfect fit and I couldn't be happier that she has it. 

Sea Princess by Anadiomena

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed

Color: Angel Delight - 168

Ravelry

Christmas Knitting...

Now that Thanksgiving is just one week away, I think most of us have lined up what we'll be knitting for gifts and started knitting or planning.  A friend of mine shared this with me this morning and I just had to share it with my fellow knitters.

Christmas Knitting

Yo! Yo!

Our first accumulation of snow this morning.  Perfect timing for Ronan and Seamus's winter hats that I finished sewing the buttons on last night.  Every year it's a struggle to find a hat pattern that all of us (me, my husband, and the boys) like.  For me, it's a struggle finding a pattern that I really want to knit.  For my husband, it's finding a hat that won't look too crafty.  And for the boys, it's finding a hat that they will actually wear.  After (only) one evening of searching and deliberating, I settled on Stephen West's Piece Out hat pattern.  I always want to cross my arms in front of my chest and holla "Yo, yo!" when I say the pattern name.   :-)  Anyway....  This is my first project in Malabrigo Rios.  Heavenly!  It's really soft and the colors are so rich!  I have the same colors in the Malabrigo's Merino Worsted base and it's just not as vibrant.  Ha!  Not like that will get me to stop using it, though.

Piece Out by Stephen West

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn - Rios

Color: Paris Night - 52, Lettuce - 37

Ravelry

And on to other knitting news.  I'm really frustrated with the number of WIPs I've got going on right now.   I'm hoping to get two more finished up before the weekend starts...because I'm gonna be adding two more WIPs!  :-)  These hats were a nice reprieve from all the test knitting that I've been doing.  I do love test knitting...it gives me the opportunity to knit something I otherwise probably would not knit.  (How's that for sounding passive?)  :-)  But I do enjoy it...and hopefully, I'll be blogging more about those in the upcoming month.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!  Only one of my boys was able to trick or treat tonight because the other one is home sick with a fever and cough.  He's so sick he doesn't even care that he's missing out on trick or treating...poor guy.

Ronan (Anakin Skywalker - Jedi) with his neighborhood buddies.

Anderson Farms - 2010

Fall is officially here.  Today was our annual trip to Anderson Farms with lots of friends.  But this year was different.  This year's trip included a new BFF from the boys' kindergarten class.

Mermaid Dreams

The pattern is live!  This was a test knit that I finished a few weeks back but didn't have a modeled pic of it until now.  I finally got around to shipping it off to the recipient and her mom took some beautiful pics of Pria and the top.  Speaking from a test knitter's point of view, there was a lot of hard work and consideration, by the designer, to make this a well fitting top.  Taking a look at the number of test knitted FOs is a testament to this.  In fact, I would say this tank fits better than any other child's top pattern I've ever seen.  As knit, this top should fit a child ranging from 6-8 years old and took less than 300 yards in a worsted weight yarn.  The pattern is quite comprehensive in that it offers sizing from newborn to 6 years, in three different yarn weights, several length options, and finally, many hem alternatives. 

Mermaid Dreams by Anne McCrea

Yarn: Stacy Charles - Mosaic

Color: Magenta

Ravelry

Doesn't Pria's mom, Lynna, take beautiful pictures?  I could never do this top justice.  And it fits Pria perfectly!