Que

How many projects should you have in your que on Ravelry?  I mean really, right now I have 533 things to knit in my que.  There are a lot of sweaters in there.  If I knitted 8 hours a day for the rest of my life Im not sure that I could knit all the items in my que.  It takes me about three evenings to knit a sock so potentially I could knit 52 pairs of socks in a year.  Provided that no frogging was involved and we all know how that goes.  I either need to stop adding things to my que (difficult as there are so many cute cardi's out there that are begging to be knit) or dedicate more time to knitting.  Right now I only have two projects on the needles, Tempest by Ann Weaver in Breathless Ore and Love Potion.  I'm thinking of adding one large stripe towards the top in Blue Raspberry but haven't committed to that yet.  I'm also working on the second sock for the new sock design.

Ive gotten really distracted by the needle felting.  Which is great, but it's really cutting into my knitting time.  I spent a week working on this owl.  She is close to life size. 

 

I'm also working on a large mushroom house for the gnomes from the last post.  While I did order a crazy number of couple of felting kit's Ive also been using some roving that I purchased at my first MDSW.  It came in a huge bag and wound up being courser than what I like to spin. I've tried to re home it several times and there haven't been any takers.  I'm so glad it stayed here because Ive really been having a blast needle felting it.  

Does anyone have fun plans for the weekend?  Tonight I'm making Wiener Schnitzel, German Potato Salad and cooked red cabbage.  We are going fishing either tomorrow or Sunday and I'm really hoping we can go to the movies and see Star Trek.  A few years ago a new theater was put in and it has stadium seating with arm rests that can flip up.  The seats are really comfortable and it's a great place to go on a hot summer day.  We are also working on plans for a new patio area.  I'll have progress pictures soon (I hope!).

PS I finished Ardelise but need to block it!  Yay!  That was a LOT of stockinette!  And did you see that Signature Needle Arts now has convertible needles?  They look super cool!

Spring Has Sprung

It seems that spring is finally here.  It began with fits and starts of warm weather mixed with freezing cold days and snow.  Normally we have a bit of a grace period where it's warm enough to open the windows during the day and the heat or air conditioning doesn't need to run.  This year the heat was on one day and literally the next day it was in the 80's.  So much for getting to wear those fun in-between season knit sweaters!

Ive been working on Ardelise.  It's a fun and easy pattern. I wound up going a needle size to get gauge.  I think knitting all those socks recently has tightened me up a bit!


Audrey in Unst is also coming along nicely.  Breathless DK is really a dream to knit with!  Im going to try to grab all I can laughing like a lunatic get some more while we are MDSW next month. Im thinking of Oyster or Black Truffle which are two of my all time favorite colors, but haven't made my mind up yet.  I guess it would help if I had a pattern in mind!  The fronts are almost done.


  Ug! My camera is not cooperating with me today. The color is really stunning in person.

Candy Necklace should be released next week.  I am super excited about it!  Here is a sneak peek from our photo shoot:

 It's a really fun and quick knit and perfect for spring.

Ive also started a test knit for the Shalimar Indulge Me! Club.  It's from Tabetha Hedrick and a lovely pattern.  As soon as I saw the picture for it, I knew I would love knitting it!  I can't show any details right now, but as soon as the club members receive their yarn and pattern I will post the test knit.

I also have two secret patterns in the works.  One will be coming out within the next few weeks and the other one may not be out until later this summer.  Im so excited about both of them!  Beth is test knitting both of them, but I doubt you will be able to get any info out of her.  She is really good at keeping a secret!  And her model, Daisy won't tell either.


That's the Tuesday Night Cowl that Beth knitted for her sister for Christmas.  I wonder if she knows that Daisy modeled it first?

Ive created a page for my designs on Facebook: Lara Smoot Designs  I will be posting new promotions and coupons there throughout the year.  If you are on Facebook, I would love it if you would like my page!

Spring Fever

It's one of those times of year when it's still a little too cold to do a whole lot outside and we have been inside so much that Andy and I both have a bit of cabin fever.  It's better than having Bieber Fever (right Shannon?), but I'm not sure how much better it is.  Andy can't wait to get out on the boat and do some fishing.  The past few weekends we have cruised though a few tackle shops to check out the latest lures and new gear.  I enjoy fishing too, it's really nice going out on the boat on a warm day and spending time together.  It's even better when I catch more fish than Andy, but that doesn't happen very often.  Hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer to get out there.

While Andy keeps tabs on the weather and is getting his fishing gear ready, Ive been counting down the days until Maryland Sheep and Wool (MDSW).  As of today there are 35 days left until we head to Maryland.  A week or so ago I realized that I hadn't had a chance to use all of the yarns that I came home with from last year.  I wound up casting on for several project with reckless abandon!  It's hard for me to go shopping for new yarn when I know there is perfectly good yarn sitting in my stash.  Ok, who is laughing at me now?  I know, I know, yarn in a knitter stash has never stopped her or him from buying more!

 Frost in Bloom in Breathless Love Potion for the Shalimar Yarns Knitters Gone Wild KAL on Ravelry.  This colorway is so much fun!  If you haven't had a chance to check out the KAL, there are some great prizes being given away!  Yes, those are flowers and it does look like spring.  It's really not though.  They were completely covered with snow over the weekend.  It's some kind of early April Fool's joke from Mother Nature.

Kristi had given me the most beautiful yarn, Breathless DK in Copper Pennies for a sweater.  The first one I cast on for was a beautiful pattern and I knitted the sleeves and about 8" of the body before I realized that it just wasn't going to fit my body type not matter what I did.  I wound up using that wonderful ball winder from the last post to help me frog the entire thing.  I do have to say that it was much less painful to do it this way and faster too.  One way to find out how a yarn is going to behave over time is to frog it.  I have to say, Breathless DK held up like a champ.  I cast on for Audrey in Unst and I really think it's going to be a lovely sweater for me. 

Im about 14 rows away from dividing the fronts from the back.  Since it was going so well, I also cast on for Ardelise in Verdant Gryphon Bugga Seaside Dragonlet.

My new Candy Necklace pattern is finished and is being test knitted. Beth is already done with hers, and Debbie and Linda are working on theirs. My fingers are crossed that it's nice enough out this weekend for a photo shoot.  I took a quick picture the other day on the mannequin:

Speaking of test knitters, Tierney has a beautiful picture of her Mirrored Step socks on her blog.

On Stranger Tides is in the final portion of test knitting.  Look for a release in the next week or so.

I also have a secret project on the needles.  I'm so excited about it, I'm just about to burst!  It won't be released until May but I will be dropping little hints here and there. 

Tonight I'll be casting on for Anne Hanson's new Fringetree Shawl pattern from the Bare Naked Knit's club.  I have some lovely baby kid mohair yarn that I spun a few years ago that should work perfectly.