To Pool or Not to Pool?

Judy L. at Patchwork Times is sponsoring a Pooling Challenge, so I dug out these 2 possibilities from my stash.  I started the Simple Skyp pattern with the yarn on the right and am loving the Skyp stitch, but so far no pooling is happening....... Would that be Murphy's Law perhaps?

These brown socks for DH finally popped off the needles this week and are being worn!

Here's our newest great niece, Kaitlyn, along with her siblings.  I need to get going on finishing her gift before she outgrows it!

Check out what others have on their needles at Patchwork Times.

Spring? (and What's on my Needles)

What?  Is this an April Fool's joke?  We have just returned from 10 days in Chicago where we tried desperately to keep warm and then woke up to this sight today  back home here in Washington.  Furthermore, it snowed a bit yesterday evening here, too, as we left for choir practice. Not funny!  The calendar says it's spring. Hmmmmm....... Maybe the snow and cold followed us home?

While we were gone, we received word of the arrival of another great niece in our family,  named Kaitlyn Frances.  I hope to show you next week what I knitted for her as it's almost finished. This project on my needles is for a baby scheduled to arrive in August, and it looks like I'm going to have to put it aside for a bit because I just received an invitation to a baby shower for a choir friend and need to make a little something for that occasion.

I started out knitting these socks with the Simple Skyp sock pattern but the Skyp stitch didn't show up, so I ripped and am following the pattern minus the special stitch.  The yarn is Lorna's Laces from May 2011 called "The White Witch's Lure".  If anyone knows what that is, please enlighten me!  I'm almost done with a pair of brown socks for DH and hope to show them next week also.  When it's too cold to go outside, there's more time to knit and play with the grandkids. Right?

Check out what others have on their needles at Patchwork Times.

What Is It?

What is the world is that? Max knows!

Oma told me it's a cowl made with Ringo yarn. She says it's crazy stuff and fun to play with. I wonder if she'd get me some?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!
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Spring Ahead!

Outside, the signs of spring are peeking out everywhere!

Inside, I've been finishing up a few projects like this dishcloth.

In trying to keep up with my one-a-month plan, I started another one.

I also finished my contribution to Leslie Ehrlich's Sandy Hook Memorial project. Of the two choices, I picked the memory heart.  It was supposed to be a CQ heart featuring old fashioned children's toys, but I did cross stitch and put the CQ on the background. To me teddy bears symbolize comfort.  Hope it's OK!!!  (The bear was from a  corner of  a much larger design called "Baby Blessing," a pattern by Michelle Lash.) 

This fun project is from the current Vogue knitting magazine.  It's a collar and needs a length of ribbon threaded through the beading to be complete.   It's kind of like an itty bitty shawl and reminiscent of collars that were popular in the late fifties. There are seven different patterns in the article, and I plan to knit this one again and try another one that requires beaded yarn as well. Very fun!

Have a great week, and don't forget to change your clocks as it's time to Spring Ahead! Already? How can that be?

Knitting and Stitching

Someone suggested making a dishcloth every month.  My intentions were good, but I'm still working on February!  I love this pattern., picot-edged Grandma's Favorite which is online and free.

The Knitters Brewing Company April Showers KAL sock, one at least, is finished. It's a complicated pattern, one that requires concentration all the time!  Now to cast on the second one.  Next week maybe?

This past week found me doing lots of stitching.  First, I made these 2 blocks to be used in a quilt that our group is making for a member who's having health issues.  These were good practice for the Sandy Hook heart.  I faced each of the hearts with a very light pellon which gave me a nicely finished edge.  I'm almost finished with the SH heart also, and then I can focus on my many stitching/knitting UFOs.

Last weekend  we missed seeing Max because I had a cold.  The only good thing about that  was I stayed home and stitched like crazy.  But we got to see our little guy today and also talked to the Chicago gang.  Thank goodness for phones!

On and Off the Needles + Sue Update

Among the things that are on my needles this week are this scarf which is a one-row pattern using a Trendsetter yarn called Bohemia  (The beads are already on the yarn.) and

the infamous Knitters Brewing Company sock KAL.  I am a little behind thanks to our vacation trip, but I hope to have one sock finished by the end of next week.  It's a fun pattern but requires concentration! (I had to rip out most of what I did while watching the final episode of Downton Abbey. If you saw it, you'll know why!)

These booties were finished and mailed off before I posted them. If you're looking for a quick and cute baby gift I'd recommend Saartje's booties.  The pattern is on Ravelry. Mocha, at least found them quite interesting but was probably wondering how come there were only two.

Two pair of socks came off the needles, this one in Florida.  Both, however, got the finishing touches this week.  

I really found knitting the gusset on this pair very interesting as I'd never seen a pattern that did it this way before. The pattern is called "Weeping Angels" and is also on Ravelry.

Sunbonnet Sue finally got her borders yesterday.  I am going to have a quilting friend quilt her since I spent so much time on the TAST embroidery stitches. 

Now if it were only sunny instead of rainy and windy, I'd go prune the roses. I'm sure there's something else waiting though!

Back from the Sunshine & Birds Galore

 

We just got back from 10 days in warm and sunny Florida where we met up with my sister and her husband as well as a number of friends.   (We got a reality check last night on the way home when they deiced our plane in Minneapolis where it was SNOWING.  It's not snowy here, just real grey.  Welcome home, eh?)

 

We wandered the beaches, waded in the water, and explored.  One of the places we found was the Circle Bar Ranch Reserve near Lakeland.  What fun we had trying to identify the birds.

 

The last we'd seen of sandhill cranes was last spring in Chicago when a huge flock flew over our daughter's house.

   

We've not identified this one.  We saw several including one that was nesting.

Our friends told us that these are black-bellied whistling ducks. And no, we didn't hear them whistle!

 

Great blue herons live in our state also.  They have such a huge wingspan and are just beautiful to watch when they fly.

  

Aren't wood storks interesting?

 

We saw lots of these roseate spoonbills very busily eating something in the swampy water.

 

This was the first time we've ever seen a live armadillo although he didn't seem to be interested in posing for the camera.

  

How do you suppose this iguana climbed up on this wall?  He only had 3 legs, too.

  

We saw all sorts of these jelly fish that had been washed up on the beach during high tide.  I think they are the kind that sting.

Look what was lurking nearby along with her babies!

 

It's been awhile since we saw this little guy. I wonder whether he's perfected this maneuver while we've been gone.  Can you do this?  I think my leg would snap right off!