Dear Page,

Just to keep you up to date... I finished the OpArt Baby Blanket. Here it is pinned for blocking:

Overhead view:

Side view:

While this was not a challenging project it took progressively more time to knit the rows as each row increased by 4 stitches. On the final rows, there were over 700 stitches! There were a multitude of ends to weave in since each stripe had 4 ends. I find working with the darker yarns difficult as I don't see them well without extremely good light. I chose to use a loose bind-off since the designer of the pattern said it needed to be "heavily" blocked.

I used Knitpicks Swish DK which turned out to be very soft. It should wash nicely, too.

Love,
Mom

Page,

As hard as it is to believe... I have finished the Dale of Norway Baby Violets Cardigan!

I know you have despaired of me ever finishing it!

It took me two years to complete this project most of which was procrastinating doing the steeking since it was a new and terrifying technique for me. It took me at least 6 months to screw up the courage to do the steeking on the body, which, as it turned out, wasn't actually that difficult. Once I did the steeking on the body I couldn't move forward until I steeked the sleeves. It took me another 6-8 months of procrastination to get the sleeve steeks done. Then it went really quickly picking up the stitches for the neckband and then the button bands. The facings were sewn down covering the cut ends of the yarn, the buttons sewn on and it was washed, blocked and ready to present as a birthday gift.

I followed the directions for the 18 month size but it will probably fit up to a six year old! Since it took me so long to finish this project, it's a good thing the sweater turned out as big as it did.

Close up of the Violet motif:

Close up of the buttons which I found at a Joann's Fabric store in Carlisle, PA:

Close up of the interior of the button band and hem:

Interior of the back:

I will admit a certain pride in this project. It is possibly the most ambitious knitting project I have yet undertaken. And judging by the comments from the folks who have seen it up close and personal, it is well done. Most say it will become a family "heirloom" to be passed on to newer generations.

I hope the recipient will wear it in good health for a long time to come.

Love,
Mom

Dear Mom,

With the cold weather snap, I found that I was without a decent cowl. My previous one was always way too loose and slouchy to provide any real neck warming power. Thanks to Ravelry I found this wonderful free pattern: Darkside Cowl. My Malabrigo Worsted in Velvet Grapes was a perfect match for this project and a couple of days later I had a finished object!

It is really wonderful, soft, and a great fit. I cast on fewer stitches to get a snugger cowl and it worked perfectly (full details here). It needs a quick bath, but will be a terrific cold weather accessory. I still have over half a skein left of the yarn, so enough for another small project!

Page,

I have finished the Noro Striped Scarf! It really was a fun and relatively fast knit and the end product turned out beautifully! At least in my opinion.

It is approximately 5.5" wide by over 6' long. It needs a good soak then dry and it will be ready to wear for the remainder of the winter.

Love,
Mom

Dear Page,

I have started the OpArt baby blanket for your expected little boy. It is an interesting knit and I really like the Knit Picks Swish DK yarn. It is soft and easy to knit with. Here is a picture of the start:

More pictures to come of the project. I hope you and our grandson will like the finished blanket.

Love,
Mom

Dear Page,

I was weak when I went to Bryce this weekend. I intended to finish the fingerless gloves, but I was too drawn to the Noro Silk Garden yarn and the striped scarf project. So, I spent the weekend knitting a cliche. But it has turned out to be a beautiful cliche, if I do say so myself! Here's a peek preview of the half done project:

I am calling it my Cheshire Cat scarf because the stripes fade from distinct into barely discernable stripes and then reappear again. I really can't tell you how much fun it has been to make considering that it is 1x1 rib.

More will be posted when it is finished.

Love,
Mom

Dear Mom,

Well I finally finished the little Fair Isle cardigan for Bee. It was a challenge and a delight to make. The weaving in of ends was almost too much, but it is done. Here are some shots of it washed and blocked. I hope she will wear it over the holidays. Not much else to say and too much work to do for a full final project write up. Details can be found on Ravelry: here. Now what to start next????

Dear Mom,

I have a major case of knitter's distraction. I am filled with the desire to start new projects even though I need to just finish up a couple of old WIP's and one Christmas gift (socks for the husband). Despite having too much to do for the foreseeable future, I am convinced that what my life needs is for me to cast on a new cardigan for myself. So here are the projects I am currently debating all of which can come out of my stash (mostly ravelry links):

• Amelia from the Winter Edition of Knitty. Simple, beautiful, and feminine. I really really love this pattern.




• Lady of the Lake Jacket. I bought this as a kit a couple of years ago and just haven't gotten around to making it. I am a little nervous about the boucle and the amount of variegation being flattering, but it would be a quick and easy pattern.




• The cardiganized version of Wicked. This is a cool design as is, but FlintKnits, the designer of the February Lady Sweater made some awesome mods and was kind enough to post a tutorial on how to do it.




• A simple mostly open cardigan some combination of this and this. This first pattern is nice and classic, but not very fitted. The second pattern has more shaping and I love this version. Simple, wearable, easy to make.




• Finally, there is the Ropes and Picots Cardigan from the most recent IK magazine. It really did look good on all of the gallery ladies.




So which one do you think I should cast on for, after I finish the Christmas socks etc. of course??? ;-) Any of them you want to knit along with me on? I am also thinking we should make our Lady Eleanor stoles before too long. Hope you have been enjoying your knitting lately. I am completely obsessed by it at the moment even though I am not making more progress other than cruising Ravelry too much!

Page,

I've started the fingerless gloves for your brother and needed stitch markers that would work on size 2 needles. Needless to say, the ones I got from my mother are somewhat too large. So, I decided to try my hand at making my own. Here is the result:

As you can see from the comparison, they are quite a bit smaller than the standard ones. I used a size 8 needle to wrap the wire around and it is about the perfect size for the size 2 needles without stretching the fabric between stitches.

That's about it until I get the fingerless gloves finished.

Love,
Mom

Dear Page,

I finally finished the February Lady Sweater! I made a couple of modifications, namely making the sleeves long and closing it with two rows of three buttons each on both the right and left sides and making "frogs" to fasten it. Hope it will fit and look alright.