FO: Gray Lace Scarf

Ever since my sister saw my Lace Ribbon Scarf that I knit for myself last year, she has been asking me to knit a gray scarf for her also. I didn't really want to knit her the same scarf that I had so I was looking for something unique to make for her birthday this year. This past spring I purchased the new St-Denis Magazine and I really liked the Bright Stripes Lace Scarf and decided to make it in a simple gray.

Pattern: Bright Stripes Lace Scarf by Kat Coyle from St-Denis Spring/Summer 2010
Yarn: St-Denis Nordique in Silver
Needles: Size US 7

I must confess, I was a little bit frustrated with this when I first started. I felt like mine didn't look anything like the picture of it in the magazine - I am a tight knitter but seriously, the one in the magazine looks like it was knit on size 1 needles. I was also making mistakes and because I was giving this as a gift, I wanted it to be close to perfect. Needless to say, it looks so much better after a good blocking, of course.

I really liked the yarn. This was the first time I used Nordique and it reminded me of an old fashioned wool, kind of like something my grandmother would use. I was surprised that it wasn't particularly soft when I first felt it, but when I was knitting with it it was very lofty and it blocked out beautifully and softened up a bit. And I absolutely love the color. I really like the way this scarf turned out - and my sister was so happy that I finally knit her a gray scarf!!

An impromptu hug from my son.

A Quiz

I have been tagged by Rainy Daisy to answer a few questions here. At the moment, this is saving my little blog from total boredom. Between the miles of stockinette I am knitting on size 3 needles for my cardigan and a project I cannot blog about because it is a Birthday present for my sister, I have nothing to show and tell about at present. Scratch that - I did finish the lacy scarf I was working on a looong time ago but I really don't feel like posing for pictures with it wrapped around my neck in 100 degree weather. It will just have to wait a little while longer.

So without further ado:

What is your staple meal? (i.e. what meal do you cook most often when you can't be bothered to be adventurous?)
I love to cook. I cook almost every day. But there are those days when I really don't want to spend 2 hours in the kitchen making dinner. My go to meal is pasta because it is so simple but still so good. I try to make my own sauces (quick ones like Alfredo sauce or Vodka sauce) but in a pinch I used Rao's marinara - it is soo good and the ingredient list is all natural. It is a little on the pricy side but so worth it. My son and I also love pancakes for dinner. In the fall we add apples into the batter. My husband does not like breakfast for dinner (weird, right?) so we make this when he has to work late and won't be home to eat with us.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Hmmmm, I would have to say a writer. I have so many thoughts for stories but I am not disciplined enough to sit for a long time and write them down and work them out on paper (or the computer screen). Need to work on that.

What book are you reading at the moment?
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson

How do you relax?
Cooking - it is very relaxing for me. That is why I love to do it every day. I love the chopping, stirring, adding ingredients, tasting, getting things just right - it is heaven.

What color are the interior walls of your home?
Boring off-white. I know, I know - but it goes with everything.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
TV shows like Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. Make fun all you want but they are really good.

What time is bedtime and getting-up-time?
Bedtime is at 11pm. I just can't fall asleep any earlier than that. I wake up when my son gets up - between 6:45 and 7:00. If I try to get up earlier than he does he hears my alarm and gets up too so I figure I might as well just sleep.

How long do you spend reading blogs?
Every day when I get a chance but lately I have been not spending as much time online. I'm trying to get those 2 knitting projects done! So once in a while I will check in.

So there you have it! Hopefully I will have some knitting to post here soon. Happy Summer knitting!

Back From Vacation

We just made it back from our first official old skool family vacation! We packed up the car and road tripped down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina stopping for sites on the way there and back. It was so much fun! The Outer Banks were beautiful and relaxing and the weather was great all week long.

Things we did:
- Went to 2 aquariums.
- Visited Roanoke Island - site of the first colony in America.
- Drove on the beach! What an awesome experience!

- Saw wild horses on the beach!

- Climbed to the top of a very tall light house!
- Visited the spot of the first flight of the Wright Brothers.
- Went to the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station in Rodanthe.

- Went to the beach - again!
- Built sandcastles, tackled waves, collected shells.
- Flew a kite.


Things I did not do:
- Knit. I brought my knitting with me but did not even knit a stitch! I was kinda busy with other stuff. See list above.
- Read. I brought a book with me (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) but I didn't get around to reading it.
- Get online. Our internet service was very limited.
It was a true vacation! And it was great to spend so much family time together. So glad summer is here.

Happy Holiday Weekend!

Our little family is off to Cape Cod for the long Memorial Day weekend and I am so excited! I am looking forward to some R & R at the beach. I can't wait to build a sandcastle with my little guy. I'm also hoping to get a good amount of knitting done on my cardigan (our cottage doesn't have a t.v.)! I hope you all have great plans for the weekend too!

The Never Ending Sweater

I have a major case of the sads over one of the sweaters I knit recently. Remember this one:

I wanted this sweater for so long. The first time I wore it, I loved it. I wore it again and the yarn grew. I wore it again and it grew even more. And more. Pretty soon this sweater was so wide on me it looked ridiculous. I thought I could solve the problem by washing it again. I even threw it in the dryer. It didn't shrink one bit - superwash yarn. This sweater was so big on me I couldn't wear it any more. Luckily, it got a good home. I hope I am not embarrassing my mother by saying that she took it (gladly) and it fits her perfectly. She gave me money to buy more yarn to knit it again. I just really dislike knitting things twice, especially a sweater, but I really, really want it. So I went on the hunt for yarn. I wanted something chunkier than the original yarn I used. I found some Valley Yarn at Webs that I thought would fit the bill. When I got my order I was disappointed. The yarn was not at all what I wanted for this sweater. I swatched it anyway just to see if I would like it when it was knit up. I didn't like it any better and my gauge was off. The yarn is too chunky - and too scratchy.

Then I remembered that I had some chunky yarn stashed away somewhere. Why didn't I think of this in the first place? I was saving some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky for something I saw a couple of years back and never knit it. I went ahead and swatched that - and it is perfect! I got gauge, the yarn is soft, it is the right color, and I know from experience using Debbie Bliss yarn that it doesn't grow.

I just don't have enough for the sweater. I decided to order some more just to be on the safe side. Well, it is discontinued. Luckily, I found some at a yarn store online, oh about six pages into Google after finding out everyone else is sold out. They had 7 balls left and I took all of them. Phew! I am crossing my fingers that will be enough.

On a much happier note, I just got the new St. Denis Magazine for Spring/Summer 2010.

Love. Love. Love. There are some really beautiful pieces in here that I cannot wait to knit up!

Lilac

My newest project (a cardigan). Knitting up in such a lovely spring color. This was the color my husband and I chose for our wedding which was by the seashore. I have very fond memories of this color.

Savoring the Scarf

I have been slowly knitting away on this very pretty scarf. It is such a pleasure to knit that I have been taking my time with it and have actually been savoring my knitting time. It is kind of like a very good book that you are enjoying reading so much that you don't want to get to the end too quickly because then the story will be over.