where am I?

Knitting has taken a back seat since my last post, hence the reason there's been no new posts from me! There's no doubt about it, I've lost my knitting mojo and I'm not sure when I'll get it back. I know the cause of it too - two things really... 1) the weather has been lovely here in Austin, spring has definitely sprung and I've been outside a bit starting to plant flowers in the beds and lay down new mulch... 2) I picked up the book 'Twilight' that I borrowed from my neighbor! and yes, like most others who have read it, I can't put it down. Well actually I can put this one down because I've already finished it. I started book 2 earlier this week! As well as reading that book I'm reading 'Three Cups of Tea' for our April bookclub meeting.

So, lots of reading and lots of outdoor time has squelched the urge to pick up the needles. I am so close to finishing my Woodland cardigan too, but I just don't get the time to pick it up. I have a couple of baby knits to do this month so I might try to get them started and hopefully they won't take long to finish either as they're so small.

Until I have something to show you then, I will just continue to visit your blogs and see what you're knitting ;-)

finally finished.... and fabulous!

Yay! I finally finished 'Soleil' and I really like how it turned out this time - in other words "it fits" and if I say so myself, I think it looks fabulous!

Specs:
Soleil from Knitty, Spring 05
Yarn: Elsbeth Lavold Cotton Patine - 5 or 6 skeins (I can't remember!)

Size: 33" bust
Started: June 2008
Finished: (off the needles) Jan 09 (finished crochet edge 3/19/09)

So, without further ado..... here are some modeled shots!

You should be able to click on the photos if you want to see them larger.

where am I?

I'm still here... in case any of you are wondering ;-) I just haven't had much knitting news so I haven't had anything to post about.

I have only half a sleeve to do on my Woodland cardigan then the massive task of picking up over 300 stitches to do the edging! I just can't wait for this to be done. I checked my Ravelry stats and noticed I cast on for this back in April 08!!! Of course I haven't been continuously knitting it all that time. It probably went in to hibernation for at least a good 6 months if not more, but every now and then I'd pick it up and knit a little ribbing here and there, and all of a sudden I found myself with only 2 sleeves to go so I 'found my second wind' so to speak and picked it up every chance I got. I may have to have a little party to celebrate when it's finally off the needles - either that or one big huge photo shoot!

Tonight I'm going out to book club, and I'm hoping to finally wear my 'Soleil'. It's been hanging in my closet for weeks now. I finally got the crocheted edge done but when I tried it on one of the armholes was a bit loose and I wanted to re-do it. I finally took it out today and re-did it, spurred on by the fact that it's 81 degrees out there so it's certainly a fitting day to wear it.

I'm hoping hubby will take some pics of me in it before I go out tonight and I can post again tomorrow to show you....... but don't hold your breath!

no (knitting) news... is Good news

Well just because I don't have any knitting news to share doesn't mean I shouldn't post - right?

I'm making great progress on my 'Woodland' cardigan and only have 1 1/2 sleeves left to knit. I'm getting rather excited about it, I mean it's only been on the needles for 11 months! That's all the knitting news there is.... now on to good news....

I just wanted to post about a wonderful site I just found that sells great t-shirts (IMO!). And the good news is they are having a fabulous give-away right now. If I don't win one of these, I will have to buy one of these! They look great! Transform Your Mind is my favorite.

Hop on over and take a peek yourself. The button is in my sidebar, or you can click below to go straight to their blog!

Finished.... and only $6!

I finally finished up my Almeara gloves this morning. It took a little longer than I expected but not surprising when I actually knit a tank in between gloves!

Good news ..... these little beauties only cost me $6! The yarn is ' I Love This Wool' from Hobby Lobby. I bougth 2 skeins but only needed one (actually only used about 3/4).

Bad news . . . . I think our winter is already over, it's forecast to be in the 80's ALL week, so these little beauties will have to be put away until it's cold enough to wear them. I did wonder if I should 'gift' these or not but I made a decision - they're mine ;-) All mine!

Specs:

Almeara Gloves by Jared Flood

Vogue Knitting, Winter 2008/09

Yarn: I Love This Wool - 1 skein

Needles: Clover dpn's size US#6

Started: Feb 6, 2009

Finished: Mar 5, 2009

Ribs and Lace

Pattern:Ribs and Lace Tank - IK Spring 07

Yarn: Naturally Caron - Country - 4 skeins

Needles: KnitPicks interchangable US#8 and US#4

Size: small - 33 1/2"

Started: Feb 14th, 2009

Finished: Feb 24th, 2009

I'm happy with how this turned out and it was a pretty fast knit. Just not happy with the photos! You don't wanna know how many clicks of the camera I had to make before I got a few decent ones!

I bought the yarn at Hobby Lobby because I liked the soft feel of it. It's 70% acrylic/30%wool! It was only after I got it home that I realized the pattern was knit in 100% cotton. Still it turned out pretty nice, and I should be able to just throw it in the washer and dryer (according to the ball band!). Don't think I'd use the yarn again though, there's too many nicer ones out there. I didn't actually use all 4 skeins, but had to break in to the fourth one when it said to split the top for shaping and knit both sides at the same time. I might even try to knit a pair of ankel socks with the left over, just to put on when my feet get cold in the summer! (yes I wear socks in the summer indoors cos the a/c makes my 'tootsies' cold!)

a closer shot of the back!

and even closer!

and my little Boo man, getting in on the action!

my 15 minutes of fame!

Over the past few days I've recieved 2 messages in my Ravelry inbox. They were from someone I didn't know - someone named 'bioengiknitter'! The messages were a request to use my photo on the Ravelry page for that particular pattern. The first was the Lace Bolero from Sirdar, and the second was the little baby jacket and hat I just knit. So if you click on these patterns you will see my photos featured in the left hand column :-) I have to admit I was rather thrilled to get the request - that someone liked my FO that much that they would feature it in the photos column... well, it really made me smile.

On another bright note, Hetty awarded me with a 'Fabulous Blog award last week - thank you Hetty!

Hetty wants to know 5 things I am addicted to and then I should pass the award on to 5 other blogs! Right now I'm seriously only addicted to one thing, and that's knitting, but I'll try to make a list of 5:

1. Knitting! There's not a day goes by that I don't pick up the needles.

2. Knitting Magazines - seriously! I can't stop buying them, even when I know I will probably never knit anything from a certain issue, I'll buy it anyway!

3. American Idol - I can't deny it, I love everything about this show and never miss it. AND... I really like Simon Cowell!

4. My computer! and all the things on it like Facebook, Plurk, IM... I'd feel totally lost without it.

5. and last but certainly not least .... RAVELRY! of course. To be honest, I don't think I'd be as addicted to knitting if it wasn't for Rav ;-)

I can't pick just 5 blogs to pass this on to! I think ALL of the blogs I read are just fabulous :-)

and look who's coming along nicely.....

...she may well be off the needles in the next couple of days!