Simple Ribbed Hat

I saw a bright orange ribbed hat in a Ralph Lauren Children's ad and thought "ooooh, I love the color," and then I thought "hey, I could knit one of those right up!"

Pattern: my own - easy peasy lemon squeezy
Yarn: Jil Eaton Minnow Merino in Orangini - 2 skeins
Needles: size US 8

This was the perfect project to work on in between all those cables on the aran sweater I've got going on. It was a nice break and the color is so cheerful!

I am absolutely in love with the yarn. It is soooo soft for my little guy's head. And he loves to wear it! Especially on this chilly autumn morning at the lake.

If anyone is interested in this very simple pattern, please let me know and I will pass it along!

Questionable

I started knitting this aran sweater and have hesitated posting about it for lack of any good pictures of what I have knit so far. It is lumpy, bumpy, and the stitches are quite uneven and I wasn't sure what the problem is - the yarn, the needles, my knitting (gasp!) - and have had thoughts of scrapping it altogether. But I have soldiered on and the longer the piece gets, the more it is starting to shape up. I think that it just might be the nature of the cable patterns and with some major blocking it might just turn out alright. I was so excited to start this Fall knit, too. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Striped Sweater

I finally finished the striped sweater I have been knitting for Oliver. I have been working on this sweater since April - it was intended for the spring and suddenly the weather turned too hot for sweaters so I put it away to work on other projects. Looks like I finished it just in time for the cooler weather.

Pattern: Design F from Sirdar #318 Lazy Days and Holidays
Yarn: Rowan Handknit Cotton in the colors Ice Blue and Linen
Needles: size US 6 and size US 3 for the neck

It is a bit big on him - It is a size 3-4 years and he is just shy of 2. I intentionally sized up because I was tired of knitting stuff for him that juuuuust fit and then he grew out of a week later. So big is good.

I had a slight problem with the neckline. It is knit with a size 3 needle and when I went to try the sweater on him it wouldn't fit over his big toddler noggin! I had to rip out the cast off stitches and cast off again, extremely loose, with a size 6 needle.

I am really happy with the way this turned out and I love the stripes!

Happy 7!

Today is a very special day. It is mine and my husband's 7th wedding anniversary. I cannot believe time has flown by so fast that we have already been married for seven years! I'll take that as a good sign. My in-laws came to town to visit last week and I sat here today to download the pictures that I took of their trip and I started going through the older photos on my computer and it really hit home all of the wonderful memories that my husband and I share - all of the trips we have taken together, all of the family gatherings, the parties, people, and places, the birth of our son, our life abroad in Rome - every single good moment. I love my husband, I love my life, and I am so filled with happiness today. Happy Anniversary Andrew!

On another note - the 7th Anniversary gift is wool. What kind of knitter am I? I had no idea! I had to buy my husband a wool sweater because I just didn't have any time to knit him anything. On the other hand, my husband got me a whole fair isle sweater's worth of yarn!

Scallop Edge Tee

So here it is, 2 days before September, and I just finished my one and only summer knit. I'm pretty sure that there are a few warm days left so that I have an opportunity to wear it.

Pattern: Scallop Edge Pullover by Lauren Lax from the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Knit Simple Magazine
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton in the Mallard colorway
Needles: size US 3 circs for the body and US 2 for the placket and neckline
Mods: I added and inch to the length and made a garter stitch necline to match the placket instead of the scallop edge the pattern called for

I like it! It is a cute sweater option for the warmer weather. Even though I added an inch to the length, it still could have been longer by about 2 inches. I am wondering who they make these measurements for - I am average and I always have to add to the length and it is never enough.

I really like the broken rib detail on the front and I love the yarn. It knit up really well. It took a little getting used to at first because it is very splitty but I really like the finished product.

Good!

While perusing my latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, my son spied the page with the "Cookie of the Month", pointed to it and said "Good!" I was like "Ya, those totally look good!" So we just had to make them!

And they are really good! They are the No-Bake Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars. They were really easy to make and they are no-bake so that means no hot oven on those hot summer days. Bonus- they have oatmeal in them so they are good for your cholesterol. Uh huh.

As for the sweater....... the front is coming right along. The sleeves are short so they shouldn't take too long to knit up. I will hopefully have this done soon.

Time Flies

Wow! I really cannot believe it is August already. Where has the summer gone? I am just now getting around to one of the many summer knits I had planned. It is going to be a cotton tee with a scallop edge. I have the back done and it is currently being blocked.

I am racing to finish this so that I can at least get some wear out of it before the cooler weather sets in. Its funny - now that fall is getting closer, my knitting is picking up speed.