Knitting!

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to take Anne Hanson's Sweater Fitness Class at the Shalimar Yarns Studio in MD.  Ive always been particular about my clothing and how it fit's.  Anne's class really helped me to get to the next level in my knitting.  When I returned home I immediately cast on for Sprossling in Breathless Hemmingway.  My goal was to have the sweater completed by TNNA so I could wear it while working in the Shalimar booth. 

Because the pattern sizes didn't match my measurements, Anne showed me how to make adjustments to ensure a proper fit by changing needle sizes in one area.  Since I prefer a lower neckline I dropped it down by two inches.  In the past Ive been hesitant to make changes to a pattern.  What if it didn't look right?  Or the fit was off?  Knitting can be ripped back, but Im one of those people who is in constant denial if something isn't going right.  I just keep knitting and ignore the problem until sleeves are miles too long or a hat is so big it could fit a giant.   I did make some mistakes on the decreasing and increasing and had to re-knit the fronts of the Sprossling.  I kept telling myself that ripping back was the right thing to do and I wouldn't be happy with they way the finished sweater looked if I kept going.  It was worth it!  I wound up with a beautiful sweater that fit's really well. 

Here is the finished Sprossling on our manniquin.  Her measurements are actually very close to mine, but she does have an annoyingly smaller waist.  She must spend more time at the gym that I do, which would be anything over five minutes!

Andy, Kristi and me in the Shalimar Yarns booth at TNNA

I also started a fun project that uses up left over sock and fingering weight yarns.  It's the Beekeepers Quilt by TinyOwlKnits.  It's really popular on Ravelry and I couldn't quite figure it out until I saw one of them in person.   Once you start the little hexipuffs you won't be able to stop.  Ive knit sixteen of them in two days! 

I can look at each hexipuff and remember what the yarn was originally used for.  The variegated pink, green, yellow and brown is from the very first skein of  Zoe Sock that I purchased.  The colorway has been discontinued - Pillow Mint.

Happy Knitting!

Is that a Gargoyle in your Strawberries, or are you just happy to see me?

This is one of two Garden Gargoyles that we have.  We figured they would keep the Garden Gnomes away.  The strawberries are blooming and a few of them have the beginnings of berries on them.

This morning I got up extra early and went out to work on the garden before the bee's came out.  I have to plan my garden work carefully as I am highly allergic to stinging insects of all kinds.  It can be challenging at times but I try to make the best of things.

Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, beans, leeks, swiss chard and carrots all planted this morning.  The soaker hose is new this year.  Im hoping it cuts down on the amount of physical work required to keep things watered.  Im also laying down newspaper and will place straw on top.  I ran out of newspaper which is why this part isn't done yet!

On the home improvement front we have a completed project! 

This is our bedroom.  The paint is Behr Pewter Mug and was the closest color we could find to Shalimar Black Truffle.  My most favorite color of all!

Andy has been working on replacing and reconfiguring the stairs leading to our finished basement.  They have been a bane to my existence.  I actually fell down them the first time I was ever here while carrying plates of pizza.  The carpet on them and in the basement is cream color and I was horrified that I was going to drop the pizza and Andy would never have me over again.  Well, I didn't drop the pizza and we have been married for almost seven years so it worked out pretty well.

Before reconfiguration:

During:

The plan is to paint the treads black and the risers will be wainscoting in white.  Hopefully finished pictures to come soon!

Flooring

After a long day twelve hours on Saturday we managed to get the great room and hallway flooring finished.  Sunday we did the trim work, polished/waxed the floor and replaced the heating vents.  The project took quite a bit longer than what we planned.  Some of the old flooring had been glued down and was rather difficult to remove.  Plus the fifty gazillion staples that needed to be pulled up didn't help matters.  What does help and is awesome, is Tylenol and lots of it! 

That's Roper in the big chair on the left.  He supervised us this weekend and made sure everything was square and layed down correctly.

We did a bit of redecorating with the furniture.  The room seems more spacious and we both really like facing the tv rather than having it in between the windows.  The little black fuzzy guy under the window on the right is Kiwi our house bunny.  He is litter box trained and really cool.   

The plan is to put the new floor in our bedroom this weekend.  It's a smaller area with less cutting (we hope) and should go a bit faster.  It's a lot of work, but we are saving a ton of money by doing it ourselves.  Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself.  Saving money on labor means more yarn money.  Yeah that's the ticket!