Strung Out

Last night I show my mom the baby blanket I'm working on, and she says "the lady at the bank is having a baby, can you make her a blanket." And when I say, "No. no. no. no..." she asks if she can buy one from my baby stash.
And I'm not sure. On one hand, $ is good. On the other, I only have 2 blankets in stash, one the blue and white pineapple crochet pattern from a while back (same as the 2 pinks- check out FO's) and the other is a much older one(1st blanket ever). I certainly don't want to be on the hook for making another blanket though. Anyone up for a vote on the 2 blankets? Maybe I'll post pictures and descriptons and ask for some help. :)

Also- I'm vindicated in my confusion on why the poncho was so popular....

(I'm taking the picture down for a bit...)

Here's the front of the pretty little purse I made to match my shoes... isn't that a good use of the brooch? I still need to find a fastener. I'm thinking magnetic. The handle is knotted because it did not felt as much as the body did. grr.

Project Specs:
Pattern: knit from my head
Yarn: Cascade 220 in black and fushia
Size: 7 inches x 5+ inches
Start date: July 17
End date: July 23

(picture removed... Julie had a great idea, I'm going to submit it to Knitty)
The far side of the felt.... you can't tell, but the black stripe is really a ridge, and it's wavy... to match the shoes.

These are the fabulous Stuart Weitzman shoes I bought at Nordstrom Rack. I love that place. Aren't they beautiful? (sigh)

My niece's sweater is done! As you can see, it is very similar to Zoe Mellor's Duffle Coat from Double Knits. But I figured out part way into the process that I didn't have enough yarn for 2 pieces in the front and a hood. So I improvised. :) The front is started the same as the back, but at about armpit level, I split the cable and started decreasing every other row, until the decreases hit the outside cables, then continued without any more decreases.

Project specs:
Design: Modified Duffle Coat by Zoe Mellor
Yarn: 3 skeins Lion-brand Wool-ease
size- 2-3 year old.
start date: May 24
end date: depends on perspective... seaming and washing done on July 23

Finally, because my boss was so touched by how cute this was, I'm going to make her 2 year old twin boys hats... Wool-ease blue and yellow. Anyone know how many inches a 2-3 year old head is?

Other exciting knitting news to come....
- the bag is completed and felted! Pictures to follow once it's dry (with shoe pictures)
- I've been crocheting squares for lavender sachets.... my aunt and uncle's wife are visiting next weekend for my parents anniversary party
- I'm about 1/3 of the way done on the baby blanket for my sister's December baby.
- and I bought 6 skeins of Candy Blue Cotton-ease twice (it was $12 at Tuesday Morning and $25 at Hancock Fabrics- guess which one is getting returned) I think it wants to be THIS

Bad news on Candy... the buttons are reinforced, but now the darn thing won't stay buttoned (I suspect the buttons are too small) options are numerous, and the 2 front runners are these; I could cut off the button band and recrochet with more suitable buttons, or I could cut a length of ribbon, make the right size buttonholes in that and attach to the back of the buttonhole side, or I could sew the insides of the buttonholes to make them smaller. Brighter ideas are welcome.

Also, a note on the ipod pattern- my mom says the yarn is not as elastic as she would like, and so stretches to the point where it is slightly too loose. That said, she is running with hers, so it is getting a little more abuse than normal. But if you're choosing between two armband sizes, the smaller one may be a good idea.

Finally- 2 new project alerts! I am 10 inches into the baby blanket... and I have another brand new project that I bought the yarn for yesterday. Here's the story...
My parents 25th is this year, and at the end of the month they're having a big party. Last week I went to Nordstrom's Rack (great shoes for cheaper than department store prices) and I bought a fabulous pair of Stuart Weiztman slingbacks. They are shades of fushia and black. Once my wireless starts working again, I'll post a picture. So then I have to go out and buy a dress... my (older) black dress is kaput in the zipper, and so I bought a great black dress from Nordstroms (sale!) But woe is me... because I don't have a fabulous fushia purse to match the shoes (though a friend found earrings to match). So I head over to Northbrook's LYS- Three Bags Full- and they are extremely helpful in trying to increase my yarn addiction. At one point I actually thought to myself that they were yarn-pushers. heh.
So I came home with black and fushia Cascade 220, and my mother has granted permission for me to join the ranks of felting knitters everywhere. WHOoo-Ho!

so I have some partially finished projects and gift news...
I have to reinforce the buttons to Candy but then I'm done.
I've finished the niece's red Woolease v-neck sweater version of the Zoe Mellor baby jacket that I made for my nephew a little while ago.
I've begun a baby blanket (white :P) for my 2nd oldest (of three older) sisters... due in December!
and I've begun a tank top in black thread... by beginning, I mean I made 2 squares. I'm winging a pattern... inspired by "India" yes, it's crochet. Yes, I'm making crochet squares. What can I say... the grass is greener- for the moment

Llama, llama, llama

DUCKS

Because you need a villian...

houndstooth for spots... pure genius

In the last few days I've gone to a small, but very good zoo... and I also went to a fun magic show... I'm a bit of a skeptic, and so I spent most of the show figuring out (or trying to figure out) the tricks, and I came to the conclusion that one of the magicians has an amazing memory. Mini-golfing was fun, and so was playing games at an arcade... but I think the most fun I had was when my BF suggested we go to a bead store to see if I could use beads as buttons for "Candy"- yes, you all can be jealous... my bf actually suggested we do something to further my knitting :)

and yes.. Candy is almost finished... the button holes are done, and all that's left is stringing the beads (which match perfectly) and sewing in a few ends... and voila! Finito.

:) pictures coming next week... I promise