Only 9 Months Late

Last July 1, my nephew Silas was born. And I finally finished his baby blanket.



Isn't he cute?!?!?!

I love this pattern. It's quick, beautiful, and easy to memorize.



Name: Silas's Baby Blanket (Rav Link)
Pattern: Heirloom Baby Blanket
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Fjord
Needles: KP Options Lucite US Size 10
Date Started: 2/24/13
Date Finished: 3/17/13
Mods: None. Although, I ran short of yarn for the bottom border. So that end has a little shorter edge. I'm pretty sure he won't notice.



Here's a close up of the stitch pattern. Love it.

Now I just hope it doesn't take me another month to mail it to them.

I'm a Cheater

I have to confess... I've been cheating on my knitting. But when I saw this post on Alicia's site, I couldn't resist. Of course, I bought the kit and furiously dove in.

Then, in typical Nell fashion, I got distracted by knitting and it took forever for me to just finish the damn thing.



Here's how mine turned out. Now it just needs to be ironed and framed. But that'll take me another 6 months. I really do hate finishing!

Now back to our regularly scheduled knitting.

Victory is Mine!

I thought this post needed some Olympic attitude! For the fifth knit from Wendy Johnson's Toe Up Socks for Everyone, I finished the Victory Socks.

 

Pattern: Victory Socks from Toe Up Socks for Everyone
Yarn: Scout's Swag Merino Sock in Orchid Satisfaction
Needles: KP Options US Size 1.5 (2.5mm)
Date Started: 10/23/11
Date Finished: 7/15/12
Mods: None. But this is the first pair I knitted 2 socks at a time on 1 magic loop needle. It went pretty smooth although I had a yarn tangle at the end!

 

 This pattern was really fun to knit I just got derailed by all the baby knitting I've had in the past few weeks. They really should not have taken so long.

 

Love them! And I really love the Scout's Swag yarn. Her color sense is amazing. The purples flow so beautifully.

Another Baby Boom

It seems like every year, I'm smack dab in the middle of a baby boom. And this year is no different. There are at least 7 babies I need to knit for this year.

 

Pattern: Autumn Leaves
Yarn: Sublime Organic Cotton DK in Clay, 2 skeins
Needles: KP Options Size 6
Date Started: 3/11/12
Date Finished: 5/6/12- The knitting was done about a month ago. In typical fashion, it took me forever to sew the buttons on.
Mods: None. I really knit this as a trial run but I think it's good enough to give as a gift.

 

 I love the pink buttons. It makes it sweet but not too girly. I'm thinking this one is a hit.

Nice to See You

Long time, no blog. Between Facebook and Pinterest, my computer time has been sucked up. But I had a couple of things I wanted to show off.

I've had a needlepoint notebook kit for years. Last Sunday, it called to me from the craft closet. I happily stitched away while watching a DVR marathon of Smash and House of Lies.



The kit came with everything you need to make a gussied up notebook. Thank goodness it came with instructions. I haven't done needlepoint in quite a while.

After about 3 hours I had this piece.



Which you then insert into the notebook's window...



And you get a finished project.



A fun and easy lazy Sunday project. But now it's almost too nice to use. Isn't that always the way.

You might remember that we had a dining room table custom made to fit our space perfectly. It's beautiful. However, we had it made too tall for normal dining room tables. But it's a little too short for counter height chairs. Kinda silly, right? So we've been using cheap folding chairs that were really too short for a couple of years now. They were so short we had to put Grandma on a phone book for Thanksgiving! Yesterday, Brian brought home our new "real" chairs. They are about an inch too tall. So eventually we'll have to cut the legs down. But they look 1,000 times better than the cheap folding chairs did.



It's very masculine. The rest of the room will have to be a little softer so that it balances out.



I should have cleared the table off before I took pictures.



Here's a single chair. The leather is actually really dark brown. And somehow the wood matches our table perfectly. Now we just have to have a dinner party to show them off!

Beat the Rush

I don't know about you but I really am not a "shopping in the mall" kind of person. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I can't deal with crowds and I'm spectacularly impatient. (I'm flawed.) But knowing oneself leads to incredible other ways to get that Holiday gift giving completed. Here are a couple of cool websites I'd recommend to complete some of those holiday shopping requirements.

Turtle Girl and my friend Tiffany turned me on to Scentsy. It's a cool wax warmer that fills your house with delicious scents. She's having an online party here. Just click the link at the bottom to join her party. There are lots of cool warmers and wonderful holiday scents to get your home in the holiday spirit.

Another friend of mine has become an independent consultant for Stella and Dot jewelry. Super cute! I may have spent a little money here lately. Check it out here! My favorite are the initial and birth stone charms. Plus there are lots of really shiny things for holiday parties.

Kara Weaves towels, napkins, and aprons are so lovely. Handmade in India. Beautiful for daily use.

Finally, you can't go wrong with anything from my little sister's former employer, Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My sister learned to love food and cooking while working at this deli. And let me tell you, the bread is to die for!

Hope this helps a little. Good luck at the mall!

My Annual Yarn Binge

Ever since I've been a part of the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club, I place an annual order using my discount coupon. While I realize I'm not saving a huge amount, I really don't care. This one order satisfies my STR craving for the rest of the year. So without further adieu, I give you the 2001 STR Haul.



If the slide show isn't working for you, check out the link here.