In and Out

2017 has been crazy busy around here , I am surprised at the amount of knitting that I have accomplished so far . We started kitchen renovations at the beginning of January and we are just about done . I only have to unpack a few more boxes and hang the last of the pictures and such then we will finally be DONE .

I am bound and determined to knit primarily from stash this year . So far I have done pretty well. There has been one exception , I fell off the wagon last week and purchased some gorgeous yarn from an indie dyer ,  Long Dog Yarns in the colourway Pop . So far this year I have completed three pairs of socks , a pair of mittens , an almost finished pair of mittens and a small scarf , all knit from stash and only one skein added ,  that 's not bad I think .

I did finish The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief . It isn't quite as large as I'd hoped but I can wear it tied around my neck . I am pretty happy , I used every last inch of yarn !

 Then I finished these very bright socks knit from some yarn that my dad brought on his last visit here. I will think of my father whenever I wear them , bittersweet memories .

That's about it for today . It's been a quiet day with the usual mundane chores , laundry etc . It has been very spring like lately with much warmer than normal temperatures . The birds are chirping and I have even spotted some robins and mourning doves in the neighbourhood  when Zoe and I head out for our walks . Till next time , have a good week !

WIPs

Hi , this has been the kind of day where you just want to hunker down, enjoy a cup of tea and pick up your knitting . It's kind of cold and windy with snow , ice pellets and the freezing rain forecast for later this afternoon . I went out to do some errands , then came home and shovelled the light dusting of snow in the driveway and walkway . I decided to make some pea soup before I did actually sit down with the aforementioned cup of tea and knitting .

I've got three WIPs sitting on my coffee table in various stages of completion . The one that I will be picking up after this post is the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief . It is very close to being done I think  , with one more stockinette section before the final eyelet section and cast off . The yarn is leftover from the Hitchhiker shawl that I had knit last year .

Then there are my plain vanilla socks which I am knitting on 9 inch circulars . I bought the needles on a whim  and find that vanilla socks just fly with these . I have difficulty purling with them , that would be the downside , but otherwise enjoy using them. Next up ...

 are the Woodstack mittens from this amazing book  entitled Within . I just love every single pattern in it . Yeah that's right all I need to finish these is to do the thumbs . They have been at this stage for over a week , but I will get them done this week !

That's it for today , on to my knitting  , till next time ...

 

Fresh start

I really hadn't meant to stop blogging but I did despite my best intentions . You would think that after my year of fighting and beating cancer that things would be peachy keen . It took me to the latter part of 2016 to feel half ways normal  . I was always so tired and would cry at the least little thing . I just could not cope with the everyday stresses .Then last fall while my father was here visiting he suffered a severe stroke and is paralyzed on his right side , can't speak and is pretty much bedridden . He had wonderful care from all the doctors and nurses at the Montreal Neurological but once he was stable he was transported back to Austria . It was so very , very difficult to have to say goodbye to him . He is 87 and had been living a full and active life . To see him like this has been devastating for our whole family . For me this was kind of a wake up call . I had better find a way to enjoy life because everything can change in a heartbeat . All that to say that while there are still bad days, but fewer of them ,  getting back to my knitting and blogging is my way to find the peace and joy again .

So what am I working on you might ask , well that would be mostly socks and mittens . These are my funky  mittens . The pattern is tincanknits The world's simplest mittens. It is a really great pattern with quite a few sizes and best of all it is free ! As always at the beginning of the year I have great intentions of knitting down the stash .I had purchased this yarn with the idea of making a hat . Once I had started it I didn't like the way that the stripes were knitting up .You can see by the photo that there is really no sequence to the colour changes . I quickly frogged the hat and started the mittens, the irregularity of the stripes in the mittens doesn't bother me in the least .They are going into the gift box for charity knitting though  I am tempted to keep them . I kind of like the funkiness ...

The socks are my first ones for Yarngasms' box of socks KAL 2017 . The yarn is another stash yarn  , OnLine Neptune color . The pattern is the Decathalon socks by Sue Grandfield . This is another free pattern on ravelry . Lately it has been my go to sock pattern . It is easy but not boring , just plain garter rib .

There are more socks and mittens underway , but I will leave that for another post .I am hoping that I will continue on blogging and that 2017 will truly be a fresh start ...

The lost month

It looks like I skipped February and went directly to March . February was just one of those months you would rather forget . It was a month filled with babysitting sick children and then both Mike and I came down with a rather nasty flu bug. Suffice to say , February glad you're gone , don't let the door hit you on the way out .

That's not to say there weren't some good moments , most of those came by way of knitting . I started to tidy up my knitting basket and came across a couple of almost finished knits . One of those were these were the Susie Rogers Reading Mitts .All I had to do were the last couple of rows and the picot edge bind off of the second mitt . They had been sitting there for almost year , shame on me .

The other one that  found I worked on but again did not complete :-(  was the  Burton Bear cowl . This is just one of those projects that I really can't get into it just annoys the hell out of me . The reason being that the pattern is not very precise on sizing and it seems to be hit or miss with the fit . It is written for baby , toddler , child  and adult with the difference being four stitches between each size combined with one size up in needles . The first one I knit for my almost two year old  granddaughter Charlie didn't fit her at all . It was the toddler size and it ended up being more like a balaclava . She hated it and refused to wear . Now I am knitting the child size , it doesn't seem that much larger and I am wondering if it is even worthwhile finishing it . I paid for this pattern but find it to be very badly done , not enough info about the sizing . There are many free patterns that are better written than this one .

One project that finally did go right was my shrug for Stella . This was another reknit . I guess this will be my year of re-knitting , lol . The first one also didn't fit , it ended up being too small . I made it a size larger and it is perfect , yippee !

The month of March is starting out much better . So far I have finished a finished pair of socks except for sewing in the ends and then taking some photos . There is also this hat in progress . It is for my DIL Stefanie whose heritage is Irish and her birthday is March 14th .She is very proud of her Irish roots and her family is very involved in the Irish community here in Montreal . It is a little further along than shown in the photo . Stef has been asking for a hand knitted hat for awhile now . I am so happy to have found this pattern . I love it and plan on making more for the family . They usually attend the St Patrick's day parade every year .

So that's it for today , thanks for stopping by . Have a good rest of the week !

The twice knit hat

Sorry I haven't been around blog land very much at all these days . My only excuse is sheer and utter laziness . I have been knitting though and have even completed a project or two . You might remember this hat from my last post .

You'll notice that it is very close to being finished . In fact I was almost at the crown decreases . This is the same pattern Basia that I had finished just recently . I was at Timmie's having a coffee with Shirley and I had mentioned to her how long this hat seemed to be taking to knit . I felt like forever since I had cast on . Shirley was looking at it and asked if I was knitting the same pattern because it sure looked different . Sure enough when I got home and checked the pattern I quickly realized that I was merely skipping 4 rows of the pattern . I assumed that I had the pattern committed to memory , so other than checking for the number of stitches to cast on I went ahead and knit it . Ah hubris !  Rather than try and figure out the crown decreases on my 'new' pattern I just ripped it out and started  again , the right way this time .

I gave it to my friend Valerie at lunch last week . She was so very happy with it , especially since she had just bought herself a gorgeous white parka . The hat suits her , I love it on her .

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This little snuggly was finished just in time for a baby shower I attended . I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it on ravelry . I am disappointed in my yarn choice . Looking for softness and washabilty I used some Sirdar Snuggly that I had in my stash . While it is super soft the blankie part feels unsubstantial . In hindsight I wish I had used my favourite acrylic/wool blend of Berroco Vintage . The wool content adds enough substance without losing the washability aspect . However the mom to be loved it , so all's well that ends well . There is another baby due this year in my circle of friends so I might just try again with Berroco this time .

Next time I will update you on more knits in progress and perhaps even on a book that I am enjoying so much that I almost don't want it to end . Till then , have a wonderful week !

PS - Forgive the kind of weird dots appear periodically in this post . Don't know what I did but I cannot for the life of me get rid of them . I know it has something to do with alignment , but this brain just can't figure out where I went wrong , lol .

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2016 week one

The last month of 2015 just flew by it seems . Like everyone in blog land I was busy getting ready for the festivities , so much so that blogging got lost in all the hustle and bustle . We had a beautiful Christmas spent with family and visits by and to friends . That time just flew by too and now we already have one week done in the new year . I like the calm after the storm of the holidays . I find that it is a time for reflection . Having come though a really difficult 2015 my hopes and intentions for 2016 are simple , live each day fully and focus on the positive and let go the negative . Trite but true , life IS too short .

Lately I have been cursed with a case of startitis . Currently I am working on socks and a hat for my friend Valerie . I have more than a couple of other knits that are languishing in the knitting basket . Hopefully that can be remedied soon and I will get more of them off the needles .

I have also been trying to get back in shape by watching my calories and walking more . Watching the calories is the most difficult of the two as we still have cookies and sweets left from Christmas , even with sharing them with family and friends . The lesson for next Christmas is to cut down on the baking .

Well that's it for today , better get cracking on my supper . I am having Jessey and Stella over so that mom and dad can have a date night . Early tomorrow Jessey has a hockey game and Stella has dance class . I'm hoping that they will both go to bed early so I can get my beauty sleep , lol .

Wishing you all the best for 2016 and have a wonderful weekend !

Hat weather

November has been unusually mild and sunny this year . That is until last week when the temperatures dropped and we even had a bit of snow that stayed around for a couple of days . Needing a break from knitting the Burton Bear Cowl ( I really , really dislike the pattern , but that's another post ) I started on and finished another of the Top This! hats as requested by Jessey , a monkey for my little monkey .

I think he likes it !

Thanks to the frosty and windy mornings I quickly cast on a hat for ME . Now normally I am like the proverbial shoemakers children who always go barefoot , I love making hats for family , friends and newborns for the local hospital , but for me , well maybe later when all the others are done . I found the perfect pattern for me , Basia by Hanna Maciejewska .It was quick , easy but not boring and makes a very warm and cozy hat . I love it !

 

Now that the hats are out of my system for now, I can get back to regularly scheduled knitting . That being the shrugs for Stella and Charlie as well as the Burton Bear Cowls (sigh ) . Stella's shrug is well underway , in fact I am hoping to have it completed by Dec 6th ,if I can find some buttons for it between now and then . Finding buttons is always a challenge . 

 

Wishing all my American friends and family a very Happy Thanksgiving ! Till next time , have a great weekend !

Home again

Mike and I went for getaway week at the end of October and came back just in time for Amanda's wedding on November 7 th . The week away did us both a world of good . We went to Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba , our time there was wonderful , beautiful hot weather , long walks on the beach and nothing to do but relax . We couldn't have asked for more ...

Amanda had a beautiful day for her wedding , she looked beautiful and so very happy . Don't they make a handsome couple !? I don't think you could meet a nicer and more suited couple than those two .

They were married by Matthews' mother who is a minister . She 's performed the weddings for each of her four sons , Matthew being the last one to tie the knot . It was a wonderful evening and we feel blessed to have been included in their special day . We wish them a lifetime of nothing but happiness !

Life has been a little more mundane since . I have been unpacking , doing laundry and just generally getting back into routine . We've attended a couple of Jesseys hockey games , we had an absolute blast cheering for him and the team . I'm not a hockey mom , but am definitely a hockey Omi . I am hoping to be able to go to most of his games .

I didn't do very much knitting while I was away , it was much too hot . Since coming home I did finish the Go Habs Go socks , making a pair each for Jessey and Mason .

The socks will go in the gift box for Christmas . I had trouble sleeping last night so I got up early to start another of the Top This ! hats .This time a monkey for Jessey . I have at least four more knits lined up that need to be done before Christmas . I am waiting for a delivery from Loveknitting.com for the yarn to knit Stella and Charlie each a shrug to wear with their Christmas dresses . No pressure , right . I have the yarn to knit them each a Burton Bear Cowl . At least one will get done this week if all goes as planned . They are knit with 9mm needles so it shouldn't take more than an evening or two right ?

Anyhow that 's it for today . Thank you for coming by and I wish you a good week ahead . Till next time ...



Promise me

This is Amanda's wedding shawl ready for the big day November 7th . It has been a work in progress since mid August . I had knit a few other things while doing this, just to keep my sanity.The stocking stitch part was easy peasy , but the lace and beads were challenging . I am so happy that it is finished , it will be wrapped and gifted to Amanda this weekend .  For once I wasn't rushing to meet a deadline.

Have a wonderful weekend , till next time ...

A bump in the road

I have been away from this blog for a little over a year . Late last year life threw me a curve with a breast cancer diagnosis .  I was very fortunate that it was early stage but had spread to my lymph nodes meant that I would have to have surgery , chemo and radiation . Everything went well and I finished treatment mid June of this year . At my last follow up with my oncologists I was told that I am now cancer free . Without the support of my family and friends this would have been much worse . I had some rough patches but am finally feeling more like myself . There are still low days here and there , but who doesn't have those , and more days of counting my blessings and enjoying each day . 

There has been knitting not that you'd know it by looking at my ravelry page . Many were completed and gifted before I thought to take a photo . I blame it on chemo brain , lol . I will try and update it soon . What I'm working on now ....

Jesseys' socks in the Go Habs Go colour way from Biscotte & Cie 
 

A Gaptastic cowl for My friend Yvonne . And last but not least a wedding shawl for Amanda who will be tying the knot with her sweetie Matthew on November 7th . I have 5 rows left plus the cast off to do .

I hope to give it to Amanda next weekend . I also finished a quartet of hats for my grandkids . I fell in love with these hats after seeing them knit up at my local yarn shop . They are kits by DMC called TopThis ! I mean who could resist !? 

 That's it for today , off to work on the wedding shawl while it is still daylight . Have a wonderful week !
 
 

Well hello June !

How did you get here so fast ! It must be because of this ...


Working hard in the garden

Swingin' good time



See Omi , I can make pancakes ...


 

Then of course there was some of this too ...

Spring socks finally finished !

Recently my stepmom Linde fell and broke her shoulder . She's having a rough time of it so I thought a warm  hug was in order . Because she lives too far away to give it in person , I'm knitting one for her , filled with good thoughts and good wishes for her recovery .


In progress , some one needs hugs



By special request , new socks for Jessey
 

 There were also adventures with Mason in where he learns  how much fun it is to catch frogs and just how cool it is to hold a real snake . He also learned that Omi doesn't share his enthusiasm for snakes  . Wouldn't you know that Omi forgot her camera at home , so you'll just have to imagine that adventure .

That about wraps up the month of May . Bring on June and summer !




Show and Tell

Ever since my cast came off  I have been a knitting fiend , albeit a fickle one . I guess I'm making up for lost time . Just before I broke my wrist I had two pair of socks in progress . After a couple of weeks with the cast , I was able to knit a few rows at a time , then gradually a bit more every day . Lo and behold , just before we left to come home I had a finished pair of socks .

Not so Vanilla socks

The pattern is Vanilla Latte on ravelry . The yarn was a impulse buy from my LYS . After our long  cold , dreary winter , I was in the mood for some colour and this yarn ( Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Aktion ) and another equally colourful one came home with me . The very nice thing was that included in the ball was a coordinating reinforcement thread . It is nice to have but I find that using it really bulks up the heel .

The second pair of socks are almost done , I just have to finish the toe on the second sock and sew in the ends . It should be done already except for the fact that I cast on for yet another pair of socks . But that's not my fault , more new sock yarn and this pattern made me do it .

Groovin' on a rainy afternoon

I mean really , could you resist ?

Have a wonderful weekend !

The intermittent blogger

That's what I should really call this blog . Long story short , the day after my last post I fell and broke my wrist . I was fortunate that I didn't require surgery  and just had to wear a cast for 6 weeks . All this just before our trip to Florida , our grand daughter Stella's birthday and our concerns for our other sweet pea Charlie . Charlie's condition has much improved . The diagnosis in the end was something called cerebellitis , a slight swelling of the cerebellum , usually caused by some kind of virus . The prognosis is that she will outgrown the tremours but she will be followed up by the neurologists at the Montreal Children's hospital . The condition is very rare in such a young child and since the diagnosis was really one of exclusion they want to be sure that all continues to be well with her .Our heartfelt thanks for all the concern and prayers for Charlie, it means more than you could imagine .

This morning a very colourful package from Dee arrived in my mailbox . I was completely surprised and delighted by the contents . Inside were these absolutely gorgeous socks , a pair that I had admired on her blog. They are even more beautiful in reality and they fit perfectly . I had a wonderful visit with Dee last year on our trip to Florida . This year thanks to my broken wrist and not being able to drive we couldn't manage to get together in person . Thank you Dee  , I love them !

My wrist has healed and the cast has come off . I have some mobility issues but physio should help . Oddly enough despite all that knitting is not a problem . I even managed to knit a little with the cast on . Updates on that next time . I promise it won't be so long between posts ...

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms !

Mad March

 Mike calls this month Mad March because that seems to be my state of mind every year at this time . By this time I'm heartily sick of winter and to top it off , it is tax preparation time . They're done now , and everyone and his brother has got their extra pound of flesh , so I can relax and get ready for our trip to Florida . I am looking forward to it more than ever this year . It might be spring on the calendar but we are still in the minus side of zero on the thermometer .

We've had some worrisome days lately . Charlie started exhibiting odd  involuntary movements . Her pediatrician referred Stef and Max to the Montreal Children's hospital . The poor thing has had all kinds of tests, including CT scans , MRI and multiple x-rays , eye exams and blood tests . The fear originally was some kind of brain tumour but that was finally eliminated this past Tuesday , thankfully . On Wednesday Stef had to bring her in for more blood work and now we wait . So far the doctors are unable to identify the cause but are hoping that the last blood tests might help with a diagnosis . She'll be going back to see the neurologists  in 2 months time unless there's some news from the latest tests and her symptoms worsen . Keeping fingers crossed ...

While we were waiting for news I knit , and knit and knit some more . The end result , another pair of Patina socks .

 

Once these were done I cast on another sock . Then Dee posted about this KAL and yet another pair of socks were cast on . I feel the need for colour and some mindless easy , peasy knitting .

 

They one on the left was started today , the other at knit night with the girls on Tuesday . The left one is Jeck and the other Vanilla Latte , both on ravelry . I hadn't realized how similar they are until I took the picture . I have to say this is my first time working two at a time socks , different patterns . You think I might be losing it ?

Weekend plans include babysitting Jessey and Stella while mom and dad get a day away . They're coming over tomorrow and staying for a sleepover . I think easy peasy sock knitting will be a perfect way to spend a quiet Sunday ...

Have a wonderful weekend !

Cupcake with sprinkles

 

This week I finished another baby hat for Anna Laberge Hospital  . I modified the pattern  (Little Scallops ) by inverting the scallops , I was hoping to get sort of a cupcake look . Because I was using DK weight yarn , not sport as in the pattern , I cast on 72 stitches instead of 81 . Actually as I was almost done the dark pink section I realized that it was only a 4ply not DK . Oops , I decided to plow on and hope for the best . The lighter pink is a DK weight , I think that it turned out alright in the end . I have enough yarn to knit one more ,  I'm still working down the stash .

Production may have to slow down in the next little while as I'm experiencing a lot of shoulder and wrist pain . I always have some pain due to arthritis but crocheting the ripples blanket made it worse . Ignoring the pain I rushed to finish my Patina socks in time for the end of the Olympics . I'm trying to limit myself to only short periods of knitting and then not even everyday . I'm hoping that helps . Unfortunately I'm allergic to ibuprofen so that leaves out a whole bunch of anti-inflammatory medications that I could use to manage the pain . Guess I'll have more time to catch up on my reading , not a bad thing ...

Speaking of the Patina socks , out of all the socks that I've knit , these are my absolute favourite . The design is just gorgeous , the pattern is well written and Tanis' attention to detail makes for a very nice knitting experience . In fact I liked the pattern so much I immediately cast on for another pair . The Madeline Tosh sock yarn isn't too shabby either . I fell in love with the Robin's egg blue colour the minute I saw it at a yarn shop in Florida last year . Isn't it gorgeous ! It gets me Florida dreaming and away from this awful polar vortex of a winter .

Have a wonderful weekend !

Rainy days and Fridays

...are perfect for knitting and watching an exciting Olympic hockey game . Boy , oh boy , were my needles flying during the men's Canada vs USA hockey game this afternoon . It was a real treat to watch , it was such a good game that could have gone either way . There is no lack of talent on both teams . Lucky for us Canada won and goes on to play against Sweden for the gold medal on Sunday . Yesterday the girls played their hearts out and managed to eek out a victory in overtime to win the gold for Canada . It was a nail biter of a game and heartbreaking loss for the US girls , who were winning until the last minutes of the the third period , when Canada managed to tie it up . They played an amazing game. No lack of talent there either .

 

Only a few inches more knitting to reach the toe of the second sock . Plenty of time to finish them off before Sundays' closing ceremonies in Sochi . This pattern is just so much fun to knit and the yarn is beyond wonderful . I love the colour , it brightens up today's gray skies .

Last Friday saw the completion of my pastel ripples baby blanket . Unbeknownst to me I had a deadline to finish it . Once Chantal saw it , she asked if she could have it for a shower gift for a friend . She needed it by Saturday . I worked on it almost monogamously for the better part of the week and I managed to finish it in time . The mom to be loved it !

I'll leave you with this picture of Charlie , I love her smile , isn't she just the cutest  !

 

Have a wonderful weekend , with lots of blue skies and whatever makes you happy !

Pastel Ripples

I didn't realize just how much baby yarn I had in the cupboard until I started going through all of the containers .There's bags and bags of it and it would take me a really LONG time to use it all up by knitting only baby hats . I decided that crocheting or knitting a couple of blankets might speed up the destashing process . Crochet is quicker and uses up more yarn so here's the first blanket , almost ready for the gift box . The baby hats are coming along quite nicely with 5 hats completed so far . I'll post photos when I have a few more done . There are so many cute patterns for baby hats on ravelry that I'm really enjoying this process .

To make a change from all this baby knitting I cast on for my ravellenics2014 project this morning during the  Olympic opening ceremonies in Sochi . I 've entered the sock hockey event and am knitting a pair of  Patina socks as part of Team Canada . There's not a lot to show at the moment , I'm almost done with the ribbing . I can't wait to start the pattern on the foot , it looks interesting ! If you're participating in the ravellenics2014 , what's on your needles ?

I'm looking forward to watching all the Olympic coverage this weekend and cheering on all of our athletes . Go Canada go !

January

That's it for January , the first month of this year is already almost done and dusted . Personally it's been a pretty good month for the most part . I still have my blue moments but at least I don't feel like I'm running on empty all of the time . I even managed to post every week this month , that's not bad after a 3 month absence .

My knitting mojo is back in full force ! I met my goal of getting Charlie's blanket finished and I'm working on baby hats for our local hospital .

These hats will be an ongoing project for 2014 . |It will be interesting to see how many I can get done by the end of the year and just how much baby yarn I can get out of my cupboard .

Weekend plans are for catching up on some shows that I missed the first go around on Netflix and watching the Super Bowl game on Sunday . That should be enough time to produce another hat or two ...

Have a wonderful weekend !

Sweet Barley

It's been so darn cold outside this week  that the best thing to do is stay inside , drink lots of hot tea and knit. Which is exactly what I've done for the most part this week . I did have to brave the cold a couple of mornings in order to bring Mason to daycare and  to babysit Jessey and Stella . She'd been running a low fever and was coughing , so Chantal asked if I could babysit . Jessey thought that since I was going to be there that he would keep us company . We spent a very nice day together . I don't get to see them as much as I'd like so it was definitely a treat .

I finished another hat for my grand daughter Charlie this week . This one is knit with some worsted weight yarn that I had leftover from the Entrechat shrugs that I knitted for Roxanne's daughters . The pattern is Barley from tincanknits'  Simple Collection . I just love how this turned out ! The pompom really adds to the cuteness factor IMHO .

I 've put Charlie's Miss Marple on hold while I knit another blanket for her .The cardigan only needs to be done in time for Christmas , so a little time out won't matter . I wanted a change and some mindless knitting , with the added bonus of getting six balls of yarn out of the cupboard , was just the ticket . I'm so fickle like that . I'm a little more than half done , I'm hoping that the end of the weekend will see another cuddly blanket in Charlie's crib .

A Friday Finish

Thank you for the welcome back and for all the words of encouragement  . It was so very nice and I really appreciated it  . It was such a difficult post for me , to try and find the line of what I was comfortable sharing online .

That being said , I have been busy this week trying to decrease the WIPs from my ravelry page , lest they become UFOs . One done and at least four more to go .

These socks were intended as a Christmas gift for Jessey  . He had asked me for some blue socks to wear inside his boots . I think I'll knit him another pair with a heavier weight yarn the next time around . They are warmer than regular socks but still , with the frigid temps we've had thicker ones would be better . An Omi's work is never done !  ;-)

While I was going looking through the stash for the baby hats from the last post , I found four balls of Berroco  Blackstone Tweed that I bought In Vermont a few years ago . I'm getting a head start on the Christmas knitting with a cardigan for Charlie . I have enough yarn to knit the Miss Marple cardigan in the 2 to 3 year old size . I realize that it will be a tad on the large size as she'll only be 15 months old by next Christmas , but  she'll grow into it and get more wear out of it .

I love this cardigan ! You knit the fronts and back all at once  from the bottom and then you pick up the stitches for the sleeves at the armhole and knitting short rows to form the sleeve cap . The sleeves will be the most challenging part I think , another new technique for me ...

I spent the morning baking chocolate chip cookies for a bake sale . Stella is taking part in a little dance show tomorrow afternoon and some of us were asked to help out with the refreshments for afterwards . It should be fun ! Trying hard to keep Mike's fingers out of the cookie tin , the man has some sweet tooth .

Have a wonderful weekend !