First KAL is Finished!!!

I’m so excited that I finished my first KAL with plenty of time to spare!  And I really enjoyed this project!  The pattern was the Anniversary Sharf by Agrarian Artisan.   And It was a fun and quick project.  It came out so pretty!  I love all the detail in it.

I did have to block it so I googled how to do it & off I went.  It grew like crazy when I blocked it!  I couldn’t believe it.  I was glad because I had wished I had done another round of the repeat pattern.  But now I’m glad I didn’t.

I Just Don’t Get How to Gauge…

Since I finished a few of my WIP’s I was excited to spend this past weekend working on some new projects….but that didn’t happen.  Instead I spent most of the day on Sunday kitting up swatches…. grrrrr…..

I had decided I was going to make a really pretty hat that I saw on a blog (and I apologize, I don’t remember which one it was)  But I had saved the project into my queue.  It’s the Hermione Hearts Ron hat by Christy Aylesworth.  I printed the pattern, read it over & was checking for yarn ideas.  It said that I had 2 yarns in my stash, Yay!  (I have made a promise to myself that I would not buy any new yarn until I used up some of the yarn in my stash because my stash is just way to big!  It is overflowing!)  So I was very happy that I had yarn that I could use for this project.  The yarn was Simply Soft by Caron and I have it in 6 different colors!  This yarn has been used 29 times for the project which is the 4th most used yarn.  I figured that was a good sign.   The pattern calls for size 2 & 3 16″ circular needles.  I thought I had them, but nope I have the 24″ circulars.  A quick call to my LYS and off I go to buy the needles.  It was so hard not to browse at all the pretty yarn!  But I did it!  Oh and I’m very excited about the needles I purchased.  They are from Hiya Hiya.  I’ve heard such good things about them in some of my podcasts and I’m very excited to use them.

Quick Birthday Card

Here is a quick birthday card I made for my daughter.

I used the Birthday Bash Cricut cartridge and the “A little birdie told me” bird and banner.

Football Season = Lots of Knitting!!

This weekend was a busy football weekend for us!  We had a huge college game on Saturday (UM vs UF)  and the start of the NFL on Sunday.  So that equals a lot of knitting time for me!  I love football!  Being an ex-cheerleader, football has always been part of my life ever since I can remember!  Though, now-a-days I am watching from the couch with my knitting in hand!  🙂

This weekend I was able to finish the Spooky Socks!  I think they came out great!  The pattern I used was Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes.  I loved the pattern.  It was easy to remember & it didn’t overpower the stripes of the yarn. I used Knit Picks Felici yarn and cast on 64 stitches but I think next time I will cast on a little less, maybe 56.  I think they could be a tad tighter fitting.  But that is just me being super picky!  I did a K3P1 for the ribbing for about an inch.  I also made the leg of the sock a little longer than I normally do.  I think I usually make the leg of my socks 6 inches long but I did 8 inches on these.    The heel flap was done with the slip stitch rib and the toe shaping was done with the rounded wedge toe & I grafted the stitches with the Kitcheners stitch.  I am sure the recipient is going to love these socks!  I can’t wait to give them to her!  🙂

Spooky Socks

Starting on My First KAL…

This weekend as I was out running errands with the hubby, we were close to the LYS so I suggested we stop in for a minute….  He said ok, sat on the comfy sofa while I took out the pattern to my very first KAL and looked for some yarn.   I decided on a yarn called VIP Lana Gatto Tollegno.  It’s in a nice brown color, wool/cashmere blend.  It is very soft.  I’m an earth tone person so I instantly fell in love with the color.

Conveniently enough there is a bike store next to the yarn store so of course we stopped in.  I bought a new helmet that matches my bike’s color scheme and we browsed the different bikes & things they had.  This little shopping center may become our favorite hang out!

One Lovely Blog Award

I am honored and shocked to have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award!  I am really beyond words at having received this!

I want to thank Alexis Krystina for the award!  You have a great blog & I enjoy reading it.  You actually inspired me to create mine.  Your blog was the first one that I followed so I really appreciate you nominating me for this award!

Levee Ride!

We did our first levee ride in a long time!  It was great!  We got out there before the day started to heat up beyond bearable and before the rains came in.

It’s much different riding on the levee than riding on the road.  First, you are riding on gravel which is just a little more difficult and second on the levee you are the only thing up there.  There are no trees or buildings to block the wind.

On our first 8 miles we had the wind at our backs.  We had a good pace going, though the more experienced cyclists were passing us!  LOL  I felt like I could go on forever!  But you have to remember that you do have to turn around & ride the same amount of miles back…So when we reached a certain point we decided to turn around.  The ride back was a little harder since we were riding into the wind.  The legs were burning!!  But it was a great ride!