"Astro"

Meet my new friend, "Astro".

It's kind of bright and fun. Black, orange, blue, and bright (and I mean bright) green.

It's stocking today on Serenity Tree along with a matching long sleeved t-shirt. The shirt is 18mos Circo brand, my kids have a couple of these shirts and I like them.

I had a hard time photographing the colors, the green really didn't want to show up. I also had a hard time getting the colors to set like I wanted. It was pretty frustrating and my hands are tinted bluish-black. One of the skeins I think looks a little more washed out, but I've listed them as "seconds" so hopefully that can make up for my mishap. It's dyed on Sweet Grass Wool 3-ply, which is 4oz and 153yd per skein.

Veteran's Day shipping

In honor of Veteran's Day I am offerring free first class shipping to the lower 48 states tomorrow. All other shipping will be discounted. This is valid anywhere you can find me - my website, Etsy, Serenity Tree, or Made by Military Wives.

To those who have served, are serving, or will serve our country, and those that love them... thank you.

On A Roll!

I have one word for you...

Done. It's finished. Finally.

"Savannah" by Dolce Handknits in Dream in Color Classy "Cool Fire".

Completion was a matter of procrastination mainly, as there was a lot of seaming to do. I seamed up the front and back pieces a few weeks ago but the sleeves didn't seem like they were lining up as they should so I put off finishing the rest. I finally got the guts to do it this weekend (thanks Dad), and what we have is a completed sweater.

So... my analysis. I've posted my notes on Ravelry, but I'll give you the gist of it here. The pattern was well-written and overall I have no complaints with it, other than seaming. I just don't like it. You know, you finish knitting, have this sigh of relief that you've *finally* got something to show for all this time... and you still have to sew it together. I just prefer knitting things as one piece so when you're done you really are. Except for blocking.

Anyway, my only real frustration otherwise is the yarn. It's nice yarn, seems to make a nice fabric, but there are no dye lots. No friends, no dye lots. And one skein isn't even that close to the next! Of course I didn't realize this right off the bat, not until I got an inch into the second skein.

I ended up having to knit from 2 balls at once to try to get the colors to blend. Overall it has a unified look, but if you look closely and/or hold say a sleeve up to the back you can tell. The customer has implied that she'll be satisfied with the finished result, and I hope it's true.

It's a pretty sweater. I think the empire waist gathering with no closure is slightly awkward, but it's personal preference. I won't even show a modeled pic for you because it's clearly not my size. The sleeves are a good 1.5" - 2" too short. :)

Oh, Glorious Completion

Today I finished a longies / kimono set I've been working on for awhile. It seems to have taken ages to get it done, not because it was a huge project or because it was particularly difficult.

I got the longies done, no problem. Didn't take too long and were fun to knit because the yarn is *gorgeous*.

Adorabubble Britches, size 2T in Mosaic Moon BFL

Then I went to TX to visit my hubby (which I may not have told you about). We (my two children and I) drove from Minnesota to San Angelo, TX to visit my husband who is training there. Well, I didn't bring much knitting along. I figured I was going to have more than 2 full days in the car and 2-1/2 days to see him.

Probably wouldn't knit much. Then... a gracious friend of mine who just moved near Dallas offerred to let us stay with her for the week so we could see my husband again the next weekend. After 25 hours in the car, it seemed like it might be worth it to stay the extra week. The problem? (As far as knitting goes) I didn't bring the right size needles with me for this project. :( Yeah, I finished up another small one and worked on another large one, but I couldn't get started on this kimono!

Baby Sachiko Kimono Sweater in Spotz Golden Yellow with Mosaic Moon Trim

So I got home, got settled back in (a little) and got working on this. It took a little longer than I had hoped, but I got it done in less than a week. I modified the pattern slightly with some intarsia-like trim on it to incorporate more of the variegated colorway. All in all it's nearly perfect. The only thing I think I'd change is instead of doing the I-cords I would maybe do a twisted string like I usually do for the drawstring waist of longies. It would've been faster and perhaps tied the two (pun not intended, but funny none-the-less) together a little more. But either way I'm more than thrilled with the result.

I finished the last I-cord after 4:30 this afternoon, stuffed it in an envelope, and ran off to the post office just in time. Cristi, the recipient, has been incredibly patient while I've dealt with pregnancy and long trips to postpone her outcome. I hope she is pleased with it (and can use the little *extra* I included for her patience). She sent me some yarn she dyed up to knit for myself and I cant wait to decide on what to make with it. She has some great colorways, I'll be sure to show them when I get them photographed and/or knitted up. Thanks Cristi! I hope you enjoy!

October Activities

I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of exciting new projects to report. I've been working on a few small things, I did a custom dye for a customer on a merino/mohair blend

and am still finishing up seaming "Savannah". When that's done I can get a good picture of it, I think it'll be a beautiful sweater. I've finished up a pair of longies as well but the camera was missing.

All in all it has been a pretty busy month trying to finish up some odds and ends as well as preparing for a trip to the grand 'ol state of Texas. My husband is training in San Angelo and we drove down last weekend to visit him.

A gracious friend is letting us stay with her this week near Dallas and we'll head back over to visit him again next weekend before making the 1,200+ mile journey home.

On another note, I just started in October stocking at Made By Military Wives on HyenaCart. All vendors are obviously military wives. We stock on the 1st and 15th of the month, so be sure to check it out.

Child's Tunic Sweater

Here's one I've been working on for *ages*. I don't know why I didn't get my act together a month ago and just finish it, but here it is, at long last.

It's the Cottage Creations "Tunic Sweater for the Family". It was a pretty easy knit and I'm very happy with the way it turned out, except I'm not convinced it's *actually* a size 8... it just looks too small. But, I have small children and have never really held a child's 8 sweater in my hands and looked at it, so I'm sure I know nothing. I remeasured it all and it seems like it is right, so we'll see if it really fits the recipient or not.

The yarn on the other hand... gorgeous! I think it's Perfect Pear's Ardara in "Grotto". I wasn't wild about it on the skein but absolutely LOVE it knit up. It's soft, and really beautiful. I was hesitant to use a variegated yarn like this because sometimes the variegation is too drastic and takes away from the garment. This yarn is very colorful, several shades of green, blue, and purple, but the colors are subtle and while there are a few dark spots that stand out, overall it blends very nicely. The dark green adds a splash (just a splash, mind you) of interest, but not enough to take away from the overall continuity of the sweater. Plus it didn't pool. :) I despise pooling in almost every case. All in all, *beautiful* yarn selection. Too bad it's for someone else, huh? Did I mention I really hope the sweater fits?

Website Update and New Congo!

Sorry for another boring post, I have to take some pictures of the sweater I just finished and the longies I'm working on. BUT, I have exciting news... I updated my website! It's still being worked on, tweaked here and there, and I plan on adding sidebar navigation but I just have to figure it out first. I'm doing it myself and all the coding can get overwhelming. But it has pictures and is looking okay, if you ask me!

Also I have joined a new congo on HyenaCart, Made By Military Wives. We stock the 1st and 15th, so my first stocking is tomorrow! Come and check it out, there are lots of talented ladies on there!