FO Parade!

I promised I have been knitting during my maternity leave and am finally delivering the proof. Let's not waste time; here are the goods. First up:

Pattern: Cloud Bolero by Ysolda, [Raveled Here]
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic in color 3214, 5 skeins

Mods: Cast on 74 sts and worked raglan increases for the medium size. Made the sleeves longer and body longer. Added a garter stitch button band as I went along. I like how this came out. Perfect for these cooler days. The big buttons (found at Joann's) cause the button bands to gape a little in the front, but it adds interest, I guess. Overall, a success!

Next up:

Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles, [Raveled Here]
Yarn: Rowan Handknit Cotton, 2 1/2 skeins

I've made this pattern twice before, once with the same exact yarn. You can't go wrong with this tried and true pattern. It's a little big on Ellie now but she'll grow into it quickly, I'm sure.

Pattern: Berry Baby Hat, [Raveled Here]
Yarn: Di Ve Zenith, less than a skein of orange and green.

I made this an October-themed hat for Halloween. Totally cute! I only wish the change over to the green "stem" was further down closer to the ears. It's a pretty skimpy looking stem, in my opinion.

Pattern: Pea Pod Baby Sweater, [Raveled Here]
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Merino DK in teal
You've seen this one before, but now that it has buttons, it's WAY cuter. It's too big on Ellie for a modeled shot right now.

Lastly, I had to show you all this.

This is a sweater, hat and booties knit by my grandmother for my mother. So that makes it over 60 years old. The gauge on this is ridiculously small - about 9 sts to 1 inch. My mom found a box of these vintage hand knits and I plan to share more of them with you as I go through them and as Miss E fits into them.

Baby Countdown: 2 weeks!

My due date is 2 weeks from today, and I've told the baby that whenever he/she is ready, so am I! But while we wait, I am crafting as much as I can. I've been making progress a long-sleeved version of the Cloud Bolero.

I'm using some stashed Tahki Cotton Classic. I've run out of yarn on the sleeves, so thanks to the miracle of Ravelry, I was able to find someone (thanks Moirae) with another skein in the same color and dyelot. I now should have enough to finish with elbow or 3/4 length sleeves. Phew!

I also bought some Kidsilk Haze from Joan on Ravelry and have started a pattern I've had queued for a while: Allure. This is a pattern in Kim Hargreaves' book Amber. There are some really lovely patterns in the book, so for me it was worth the money. I've just started it, but it's moving pretty quickly on size 6 needles, and the lace pattern is easy to memorize.

My co-workers threw a shower for me at work last week. There are 2 gals in the office whom I taught to knit a few years ago. In addition to them, there are 3 other gals who either knit or crochet. Well, the 5 of them got together and surprised me with this:

That's me on the left, if you couldn't tell!

3 of the 5 gals who put this together for me (if you click on the photo, you can really see the details and stitch patterns)

I was so touched that they would take the time to do this. They each knit or crocheted 4 squares and then got together to sew them. One of them took the blanket and crocheted the border and added the fringe.

Another co-worker made me this adorable fleece blanket. I've seen this no-sew pattern before, but never tried it. It's two large pieces of fleece layered on top of each other with little cuts made all the way around the edges, and then the pieces are tied together. It is so soft!

But, my friends, the craftiness of my co-workers didn't stop there. Another group of gals pitched in a bought the supplies for 2 of them to make this amazing diaper cake.
It was full of diapers, onesies, bodysuits, receiving blankets, a teething ring, pacifiers, bottles, a stuffed monkey (who's wearing a little pair of shoes) and two rubber duckies. It was such a great gift and something I would definitely try to put together for another friend as a shower gift.

The Interweave Fall Preview is up! I know it's still July, but is anyone else thinking of fall projects to start?

FO: Cloud Bolero

Coming in at just under 3 weeks, Cloud Bolero is finished.

Pattern: Cloud Bolero, by Ysolda.
Yarn: Rowan Summer Tweed, color 541 Blossom, 3 1/2 skeins.
Modifications: I knit the small size and did the extra set of increases before casting off the sleeves. I only cast on 4 sts under the armhole, which brought me up to the number of stitches required for the small. From there, I just knit until it was long enough and added buttonholes every 10 rows or so. I opted for a garter stitch border at the bottom instead of the picot bind-off. The big wood buttons are from my button stash, originally purchased at Joann's, my favorite button source.

Ta da!

Verdict: I am very pleased with the length and overall style of this. If I were to do it differently, I would do something with the big armholes. They are OK, but when I wear this, the sleeve caps tend to ride up and give the top a sleeveless look. This is OK, but not my favorite. I hated knitting with the summer tweed, but I really like the look of it. Blocking it in water helped soften it up, but I've tossed in the hamper and will give it a real wash with soap and fabric softener.

I've also started two new projects. I've been so smitten with my Leafy Lace Cardi and have worn it so much that I decided I wanted another one. I scoured the internet and found some more Cotton Glace on eBay. I'm going to knit it up in the same basic shape, but I'm using a clover lace pattern and making a few other changes.

I also swatched for this red lace top that Susan made. She was kind enough to share her pattern notes and lace chart. I'm using Shine Sport in Cherry red. More details as this project develops . . .

Sneak Peek & A Meme

Thank you all for your lovely comments on the Leafy Lace Cardi. I've worn it twice so far and love it!

The knitting for the Cloud Bolero is done. It's drying right now, and all it needs are buttons sewn on and ends woven in. Here's a sneak peek:

I've also been making some progress on Orangina. I made a couple of mistakes and have had to rip out some rows, but I've got about 12" of one side done. It's slow going mainly because of the yarn. I'm using Elann Lara, and although the fabric is very nice, it's the splittiest yarn I've ever worked with.

Claudia recently tagged me to fill out this meme. It's a fun one, so if you're interested in knowing more about me, here goes.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? I had just returned home to my parents' house after my freshman year of college. I spent the summer working at Talbots, where I had started working three years earlier in 1995. I was finally allowed to ring customers on the register, but my main job was to fold sweaters, clean up the fitting rooms, re-stock the shelves and answer phones. I learned a lot about what a mix of nice and not-so-nice shoppers are out there!

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today? Besides work-related stuff: 1) Go to the gym, 2) Go to the grocery store (may not happen), 3) Watch 2 more episodes of 'The Wire' from Netflix, 4) Upload pictures from my vacation last year to be printed out, 5) Clean my bathroom.

3) Snacks I enjoy: Little cheese square crackers from Trader Joe's, cashews, any kind of cheese, peanut butter cookies, snowballs with marshmallow from my favorite local snowball stand.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Buy Bill a new car, pay off our house, pay off my parents' and in-laws' houses, take a few extravagant vacations, and donate a good chunk to two causes important to me: cancer research and animal welfare. I've always been a supporter of adopting pets instead of purchasing them. If you missed Oprah's eye-opening episode on puppy mills, try and catch it in a rebroadcast and see why.

5) Places I have lived: I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD; During my college years, I spent time living in Boston, MA, Villanova, PA, and London, England. I am now back in Baltimore.

6) Jobs I have had: I told you about Talbots; I also spent a summer selling Cutco knives, and another summer as a temp at Blue Cross Insurance. Once I was in graduate school, I worked as a tutor and statistical consultant before I started my "real" job as a biostatistician five years ago.

7) Bloggers I am tagging who you will enjoy getting to know better: The meme has been around for a while, so if you'd like to participate, consider yourself tagged!

MD Sheep & Wool Report

I've started a new project with some Rowan Summer Tweed I picked up 50% off at Maryland Sheep & Wool. It's the Cloud Bolero, and it's knitting up very fast!

I really like the color and texture of the Summer Tweed, although it's not the easiest to knit with. It sticks to the needles a bit.

I also picked up some Cashmerino Chunky 50% off:

and some Brooks Farms Solo:

I stopped into the Brooks Farms tent on my way out of the festival, and I spotted frecklegirl Jess, aka Mama Ravelry. I felt like I was a fan approaching a celebrity, but I had to say hello and thank her for creating Ravelry. I did have my camera, but I felt like a nerd asking for a picture, so I didn't. After seeing how much fun everyone had at MDS&W, I think I'll have to participate in the Ravelry events next year. It would be fun to meet everyone!

When I bought my yarn and found my group - Bill, my knitter friend Elizabeth and her husband and kids - they could not believe I had met Jess. Of course the husbands know about Ravelry, and even they thought it was totally cool!

Besides buying yarn, I've also added to my stash in the form of frogging. I had knit a sweater a few years ago using Colinette Skye. It's great yarn and beautifully dyed, but I just never wore it. I've got close to 1000 yards here and no idea what to do with it. For now, it's just going to sit on my Ravelry trade page!

PS. Leafy Lacy is finished and fabulous! FO post coming soon.