Vacation

What I Did on My Not-So-Summer Vacation
There are my sons having a blast on the beach. The weather was glorious, and it was so nice to be together as a family. I was able to do lots of knitting, too.

I worked on the Am Kamin, which is coming along nicely. I have since started the first sleeve, and plan to join it all together at the raglan decreases. We shall see......

I also knitted up a cute tank top, modeled here by my friend, Cathy. I thought it fit me great till my two twig friends tried it on and it fit them. Let's just say I have a little more frontal real estate than they do. Maybe this will turn into a gift. Speaking of bust, on the stash-busting front, I actually bought the materials for this as my second project of my knitting career, back in March of 2004. Two years later, I finally got it out of my stash and made it. I based it on a pattern found at Spun Magazine . I used Crystal Palace Mikado Ribbon and Berrocco Candy FX held together. I added garter stitch edges at the bottom and around the armholes, as the holes were quite large and would not cover my bra. I think it turned out nicely.

Today was finishing day. I finally finished the few inches of sleeve I had to do on my son's Tomten Jacket, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. The Malabrigo yarn I used is SO soft, and the color, Azul Lindo, is appropriately named (pretty blue).

These boots are made for lounging. The UGG boots are finally done. I based it on this pattern, seen on Knitty Gritty, "Das Boot." I used moccassin bottoms instead of high-heeled shoes, and the moccassin bottoms I picked up at Hobby Lobby already had the holes in them, so I didn't have to drill anything. I used GGH Velour, which looks and feels like suede. The fluffy white stuff at the top is Gedifra Chapello. They're not pretty, but they're done, and at this point, that's all I'm shooting for!

BORED, BORED, BORED
I am bored, bored, bored with all my projects. Not just one of them, all of them. I don't feel like doing any of them. I finished my first pink sock yesterday and promptly put it on and wore it with a non-matching black sock. Okay, they were inside my boots, so it doesn't matter. I wish I could say I was a believer now, but I don't know that I have the energy to start, let alone finish the mate. I worked on 1 row of my CIT sweater and now I'm bored with that. I've worked on the Strip Tease for days, now I'm bored with that. None of my umpteen other projects is calling me either. I think I need a nap. I'm feeling snarky....

More Finished (and Semi-finished) Objects

I was too lazy to post these photos over the weekend, so here, now is my progress report.

That's me, modeling my Rowan Big Wool Coat. This was just sent to my by my mentor, Barb, who took the photo at our weekly get-together at Barnes and Noble. If you look in the background, you will see that they've gotten hip to us and strategically posted some knitting books on an end cap right by the cafe where we get together with 5-20 people to knit and for Barb to teach her unending, 50 years in the making, knitting knowledge. I'm still pushing her (gently) to get started on her book of awesome tips. Look for it in your favorite bookstore....soon.


This is the Tahki Ghost Print sweater I talked about earlier. I had finished it previously, but then decided it needed to have a shawl collar and cuffs. So here is my friend, Cathy, modeling the finished product for me.





And here is a shot of my progress on the Crossed in Translation sweater. Please note that it is crammed onto a 24 inch needle, so you're only seeing what I can show without popping stitches off the needles.

Here is the halfway finished UGG boot. Just a few more rows to go, but I'm bored.....SO....

I move on to yet another project (remember how starting projects really jazzes me?). Yesterday I started a Twisted Sisters sweater, Isolde. Because of my husband's (cough, cough) mandate that I use up my stash before buying new yarn, I searched around for something to go with the Artyarns Supermerino I had chosen for this sweater (without knowing I would need 24 skeins) in colors 209 and 210, and I finally found some Chelsea Silk that was just right (as goldilocks would say. So here is a photo of my first strip of the sweater.

That's all for now, kids. Julie, out.....

I AM-KAMIN along with my sweater
There she is, my progress to date on the Crossed in Translation sweater. Boy, oh boy, am I ever glad that I switched yarns! The cables just pop in this Maggie's Aran. I love it! I just tried it on, and I think it will do nicely.
I'm so thankful to whoever made the suggestion to scan in the charts and flip them to do the second half of the panels. Why didn't I think of that? It worked like a charm!