Had I waited another day or two, this project would have been chucked in the basement to stay cool until the hot months are behind us once again. I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to heat... and this project isn't for a wussy like me. Sheesh.

BUT- I got my buns in gear and finished it up just in time. I'm so pleased. SO pleased. You have no idea. In fact, all those close to me are sick of hearing me ramble on and on and ooooonnnnnn about how much I love it. It actually inspired me to sew some curtains and cushions to match (they're still works in progress- but they're happening!)


The yarn? A Fleece Artist Kit called 'Northern Lights Blanket'.
The needle? 8 mm .
The cozy-factor? Off the charts.

I think I've decided love making blankets. No need to worry about fit, or shaping. They make perfect evening/trashy TV knitting! Admittedly, LOTS of trashy TV was consumed in the final days of this blanket.

And of course, every throw needs giant tassels! I tossed a bit of Louisa Harding's Sari Ribbon to make it a little bit more glam.

Tassels and sparkles... sounds like my idea of a perfect outfit- I mean, blanket.


And finally, a rose for you on this hot June day.


Should you happen to live in Toronto, take a drive/bike/stroll around Bloor West. The roses that have overtaken some of the bricks on buildings are worth causing a traffic accident over.

Off to drink more iced tea.

Even with no babies in my life in the foreseeable near future, I have a love of knitting wee things- clothing in particular. Such a good way to get a garment out of your system, without commiting to days and months of the same colour and stitch. You know?


I had a hankering to cast on February Lady, but was able to overcome that by knitting the original, baby version.


'What's the original?' You wonder. The Elizabeth Zimmerman 'Best Baby Sweater' that was originally published in Vogue Knitting in the 90's.

It can also be found in Zimmerman's 'Knitter's Almanac'.

Knit back and forth, top down, on two needles with only TWO balls of yarn.

YEOW! Two.
I used Naturally's Classic Prints- a DK weight 100% beautifully soft superwash wool.
(Shade #888)

SO- now that's out of my system, I can get back to my crocheted baby boots.

Crocheted boots would look dumb on me anyway.

Spring is here and now I can reach deep into the back of my closet and pull out some of the things I finished just in time for the snow to fall last year. They got tossed around in the closet, and some almost near- forgotten, but it's nice to see them again.
Especially because it means that the warm weather is here.

I can feel it.

What is it? Roundabout Leaf Tank by Norah Gaughan from her book Knitting Nature.
What yarn? Kelly by Filtes King- sadly, it is no longer. It's a cotton/acrylic blend.
What needles? 5 mm
Get it? Hmmm??? The name? See the leafs? And the round-about ways of this tank? Man. It was so fun I want to relive this whole project.

Another day, another yarn.

The tank is knit in a big strip, starting at the bottom and going up around and around. I felt very much like I was being forced to think out of the knitted-tank-top-box and this is a good thing. We need a good knitting kick-in-the-pants every now and again.

Norah Gaughan gives good kicks.

And one more thing.


I don't think I have been this happy to see Spring in my entire life.

I hope you all had lovely long weekend with your knitting and/or amongst the flowers.

Once again, inspired by a customer I cast on this blanket on a whim, and was blocking within the week. I couldn't stop. It was addictive. I canceled social plans so I could carry on with this blanket. You people have got to stop with this 'inspiration' stuff. I need to learn to live more vicariously through other people's projects.
Sigh...

Too bad I had so much darned fun!


The yarn? King Cole Splash (3 balls)
The pattern? Argosy Baby Blanket (click HERE for the free pattern)
The needles? 4.5 mm
The mods? The original pattern is written for a worsted weight, and I used a DK weight. SO- I made the blanket two extra increases to get the size I was going for (start knitting and you'll know what I mean when I say that).


Look at the blanket getting all cheeky with the flowers...

The best part? Someone pointed out that this colourway is 'Hannah Montana Purple'.
Fabulous.


ALSO- I would like to point out that the idea given to me to make a nail polish cozy in the previous post is nothing short of brilliant.
I'm on it.

I got a phone call last Tuesday from my dear friend Meghan's soon-to-be-Mother-in-law.
Meghan is getting married in six weeks, and made it quite clear to all of her loved ones that a shower was not expected, or even really wanted. Having to do SOMETHING to celebrate this exciting event, a 'bottle party' was thrown in her honor instead.
Each person brought her a bottle of wine.
I brought her a felted wine cozy.


No home should be without.

I am not the most knowledgeable wine person, but I do know a thing or two about anything knitted/felted.
My immediate reaction to an invitation of this sort was to cast on.

So, I did.
And this was the result.

Meghan is a knitter so I knew it wouldn't go unappreciated.

What fun!

The pattern? I sort of made it up by combining several patterns I had come across to get exactly what I wanted. The flower however is from the pattern by Noni for the Felted Farmer's Market Bags.
The yarn? Cascade 220 of course! What dreamy stuff to felt with.
The fun factor? Let's just say that if I didn't have 300 other things on the needles right now, I would be making everybody I have ever met one of these babies.

You can be sure you will see more of these.

Oh. And one more thing.
Of course I included a bottle of nail polish with her bottle of wine.
It was a bottle party after all.

Ms. Mary has been rather busy lately. Knitting wedding gifts, taking care of her ever-growing barnyard family... It's all been captured on camera and I'm here to share with you.

First- the important stuff.
The knitting.

A beautiful afghan.
This is a wedding gift for some friends of the family. Done on 8mm needles, it flew faster than a fighter jet. And the pattern was just complicated enough to keep it interesting, but not so much that she pulled patches of hair out while working on it.
It was 'delightful' to knit, she reports.

The pattern? Cabin Fever's 'The Eden Afghan'.
Yarn? A discontinued Lang yarn called 'Naimo' that's 50% merino, 50% alpaca.
We've decided that Alfa would be a fabulous substitute.
Needles- 8 mm.


And for those of you keeping track of her adventures in egg farming, I present to you her latest batch of hens. These babies are far better behaved than the other crew. So far anyway...

Did anyone happen to spot the write-up in the latest Vogue Knitting for 'knitted hen sweaters'?
I'm thinking this posse needs to be outfitted.

OH! But there's more! Allow my sister Emma to introduce to you the baby ducks.
I went up to visit them last weekend and the last time I held a little duck in my arms was in grade four when my class hatched duck eggs in the back of the room.

Man they're messy, but oh-so-sweet!

Chickens peck. Ducks don't.

AND-Ducks eat algae, and chickens don't. If they eat the algae, then all the fish in the pond can continue to live.

I swear there are reasons to this madness.

When I arrived at the shop yesterday morning, this is what I saw.

Isn't Spring just the most exciting season of them all??? I can barely contain myself.

Then, when I arrived home at my place yesterday evening, THIS is the first thing I saw.


Cats are bad.

And I have too much yarn.