WIP: Flax Light #1

Here's my progress on the Light Flax sweater. I'm about to save the sleeve sts so to work on the body. Before I made that commitment, I asked my trusty mannequin to try it on to see if it fit properly. It looks great, right?

The first thing out of this little guy's mouth? You guessed it! 

"It's itchy, it's itchy, it's itchy!!!"

Sigh.

It makes me want to throw this beautiful WIP across the room. Are they going to even wear this? Am I wasting my time? I had my heart set on natural fibers for this project (it's Paton's Kroy Sock yarn).

Does anyone else have this problem with children?

 

I plan to have them wear a collared shirt underneath, but I pray that they will actually wear this lovely knit because it would be such a waste of a good project and yarn. I'm even thinking of making myself a pumpkin spice colorway version for this fall.

Flax Light #1 (and the Kindergarten send-off)

It's a happy and sad time at our household. My baby boys have finally gone off to Kindergarten. I am so conflicted--I have been waiting for the day when I get uninterrupted free time to catch up on work, piano practice, cleaning, knitting, etc...but I have always been around my boys, and it will be hard to let them grow up in school and not around me now. Between me teaching 3 evenings a week, and their after school taekwondo activity, our time is much more limited than ever. They are going to grow up so fast now!

I have decided to knit the boys the Flax Light sweater to wrap them in warmth from my love and stitches this fall. One will be knit with Paton's Kroy Socks in the "flax" colorway, and the other with Lion Brand's Sock-Ease yarn in the "Snow Cone" colorway. I'm already in love with the interesting garter sleeve panel texture. Such a simple element, yet sleek.

 

The boys did not cry or whine or plead me to keep them home. They happily went off on that yellow school bus that they've been waiting to ride for years. I had half a mind to follow the school bus all the way to school, but decided against it.

My boys are growing up so fast, but still have baby faces in my eyes. How can they be old enough for a 6 hour school? Between that and the bus rides, that's 7 hours a day.

I wish them all the happiness school can offer. I wish that they will enjoy it as much as I did as a girl, and that they are granted every opportunity in life that they set their hearts and mind to. Mommy loves ya, babes!

FO: Skimmer No-Show Socks

I am really excited to blog about these no show socks with this brick backdrop before the end of my trip at the Wilstem Ranch. You can read a little about my trip this week at the historic ranch here. The camera caught the light and dust particles in such a magical way. It almost reminds me of a Cinderella-esque scene.

Pattern: Skimmer Socks (no show socks) by Sheila Toy Stomburg

Yarn: under 1 skein Patons Stretch Socks in the colorway "Sugar"

Needles: Size US 1.5 (2.5mm) circular needles; magic loop method\

Start Date: 6/5/16  Completed: 8/12/16 

 I plan on knitting more of these in the future. They are quick and satisfying little socks for Peds, or shoes that you don't want to show your socks. Next time, I would knit the ribbing on smaller needles though, to tighten up the grip a bit more.

I am continuing working on knitting my other Carnival Sock WIP before we head back home tomorrow. We went to the Marengo Caves in Indiana today, so keep your eye out for another post soon!

FO: Candy Corn Djevellue #3

I am currently out in southern Indiana near French Lick and Paoli at the historic Wilstem Ranch for a family reunion. We were welcoming two new cousins this year, one of which I have not knit for yet. During our 6 hour drive, I raced against time to knit a Candy Corn version of Baby Djevellue that I knit for my twin boys in 2010. It is adorable knit in stripes, but extra adorable knit to look like a candy corn!

My kids in their Candy Cane hats (my modified Djevellue): Jake and Sam, Fall 2010

I completed the hat 1 hour from arriving at the ranch, so I decided to go for the gold and knit a matching pair of mittens. 

 

I cast on 26 sts on size US 6 needles using yellow yarn, then knit a 1x1 ribbing and switched to orange for the stockinette stitch main body. When I was ready to decrease, I decreased once in orange, then switched to white until I had 6 sts left. I made two sets of double decreases, which reduced my stitch count to 2 sts. I just drew the strand through those and made a knot.

I was running low on time, so I just braided the strands of yarn together instead of making an I-cord for the mitts. 

Baby Max is only a few months old, but when Halloween rolls around, I think his head will fill the hat better.

Hat Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap/Djevellue by Gro

Mitt Pattern: my own

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in yellow, orange and white

Needles: size US 6

Hat Cast on: 79 sts    Mitt cast on: 26 sts

Mods: extending the brim, 3 colored striping to look like candy corn, extended tip

Started: 8/7/16   Completed: 8/7/16

I had a fun time taking photos of my completed projects from this trip on the brick floor, desks or chests for these items in the den of the Wilstem Annex house. If you click on that link, you can read more about the ranch, and how president Roosevelt and famous music artists lodged at this historic 1910 house (that was later extended to fit larger groups). The whole house is filled with antiques and such to fit the early 1900's theme. It's expensive (and we have not done this), but there is ziplining, horseback riding and elephants on the ranch property.

Read this post to see photos of the Wilstem Ranch.

Wilstem Ranch pt. 1

I'm blogging live from a historic 1910 ranch house where I am spending this week at during my husband's annual family reunion. If you read about the Wistem Ranch, you will find that Theodore Roosevelt and many music artists have spent some time here as well, hunting or lodging.

This home (the visible right side of the ranch is a 2-story extension on the 1910 building to fit 6 additional rooms) has many charms---antique furniture, original bathrooms (one in particular that looks like a torture chamber), double-sided fireplace/hearth and hardwood and stone flooring.

This barn sits behind the building.  

 

This is the dining room to the original part of the ranch. 

This living room (or what I image would be almost like a brandy & cigar room) is behind the dining room. And yes, the red leather couches are very comfortable. There's a bookshelf of antique novels not visible in the photo. 

Off the living room is this den, which I've been using liberally for a backdrop to my current completed projects.

There's a cute little shack 20 feet away. I'm not sure if they actually use it for anything.

And a nice little wood shed near the house.

About 10 minutes away, there is a tiny, tiny 1 block town called French Lick. If you blink, you might actually miss the town.

We stopped for ice-cream.

 I had a caramel macchiatto coffee and a maple and bacon ice-cream scoop. It was actually (oddly) good.