And the Sweaters Keep On Coming

Sweater #6 is finished and, thanks to Mother Nature, has even been worn already. Who would have thought I'd be wearing a wool sweater at the end of June. Presenting my May Day Lady sweater knit with Madelinetosh worsted in the Kelp colourway.

The buttons are "Beach Buttons" that I bought from Judy's booth at Cummington. They may turn out to be a little heavy for this sweater but we'll keep them on for a while and see how they do.

And of course I have started a new sweater - the Lemongrass Bolero. Here is mine being knit from Dream in Color Classy - Strange Harvest. Looking at these on Ravelry, I've liked the ones that have been knit a little longer so that's what I'm planning on doing.

I'll leave you with a shot of our dog's favorite spot at our annual Walk for the Animals which benefits our local shelter. We had a great day this year and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Just a little reminder to head on over to Claudia's site and check out the wonderful prizes you could win by donating to her annual MS bike ride. Let's make Knitters Against MS number one again this year.

Must Quit Foolin' Around

Ok, I really have to stop being distracted by other projects. I HAVE to work on sweater #6 - it is the middle of June already and instead of working on my sweaters, I have been knitting a couple of small projects.

Here are two I finished recently for a friend's baby shower. The Baby Bobbi Bear (my second) in Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton (dog not included as part of gift) and a Sweet Pea Baby Hat from the Itty Bitty shop.

The cute baby hats are quite addictive and I've made two more since then (Upside Down Daisy hat and the Bumblebee hat) and started a third.

I've also started a Darkside Cowl with Sunshine Yarn in the Edward colorway (Twilight reference). I guess I'm easily amused, but I find it humerous to think of having Edward around my neck.

But, I need to focus on my goal of 12 sweaters this year and I need to get back to working on my February Lady sweater. I love working with the Madelinetosh yarn and already have more in my stash. It's just so soft and squishy and the color is perfect. And just wait and see the buttons I found - they are perfect for this.

Bragging Rights

I’m so proud. Our local animal shelter sponsored a poster contest in the area schools and my daughter won second place in her age group. The theme for her grade was “Lost Pets + ID = Ticket Home” and this is her poster. She really loves doing artwork and comes up with some great ideas.

I also finished NaKniSweMoDo09 sweater #5 and my daughter has been wearing it almost everyday. This sweater was a quick and easy knit and she loves it. Ravelry details are here.

For the most part, my daughter has a great group of friends but we have run into some issues lately with parents whose parenting ideas are different than mine. For example, I usually like to be involved in what my daughter is watching on TV, what she is reading, what sites she is visiting on the internet. I feel that it is my responsibility to know what she is being exposed to and I know that as she gets older, I will lose more of this ability. But I would like her to get her information from her parents for as long as possible. Some of the girls in her class are reading the Twilight series and since I had never had any desire to read these books, I had no idea if there were any inappropriate parts for a nine year old. I asked some friends at work and I guess I could have checked with my knowledgeable library resource, but I agreed that she could read the books if we read them together. And let me tell you, I am so glad that I did. The woman at the book store hadn’t read them either but said that she heard they were like eating potato chips – you just couldn’t stop. And boy was she right. My only complaint is that my daughter gets upset if I read too far ahead but this is making the books last longer. Plus if I was reading all the time, there would be no time for knitting.

Fun with fiber in RI

Two fiber events are happening this weekend in Rhode Island and it’s a perfect time to visit.

On Saturday May 16th from 9 am – 4 pm, the third annual Rhode Island Wool and Fiber Festival will take place at Coggeshall Farm in Bristol. This event has gotten bigger each year and I have heard that there are more vendors this year than last. There will also be a fleece to shawl contest along with sheep shearing, a children’s craft tent, wool craft demonstrations and of course the wonderful animals. It is sure to be a fun time.

And then on Sunday there will be the 2nd annual Stitch and Pitch at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. This will be my first time attending one of these events and I’m really looking forward to it (and keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will behave). There is a ravelry link here for more information.

So come visit Rhode Island this weekend and have fun playing with fiber.

Can't avoid those health issues

Yesterday I went for blood work and today I went to my doctor to hear my results. For the past few years I have been up and down with my cholesterol numbers – sometimes ok, sometimes not so good. Never great, never really bad – always somewhere in between. Every once in a while the option of medication will be discussed but as I said, the numbers are never bad enough to warrant it and I don’t have any other risk factors so we continue on with other lifestyle changes. Today was supposed to be a sort of deadline – if things didn’t improve we would try medication. So, I was kind of dreading today but also becoming resolved to the idea just in case. I think I almost tried to sabotage the blood work since I really didn’t eat too well this weekend. So, the blood was taken yesterday and I went in today for the results. And the result is … some small improvement (a lower overall number and the LDLs have also lowered) but the numbers are still not great. However, since things went in a good direction, we will once again stick with what I have been doing and I have a stay of execution as far as the medication is involved.

I know that this is a good thing, I really don’t want to be taking medication but I just wish it wasn’t this constant cloud hanging over my head. But I guess it is a lifestyle change and, like weight loss, will not happen overnight so I will continue to watch what I eat and try to increase my exercise (all good things). We recently got a Wii and I added the Wii Fit. I can honestly say that I am having fun with it – about 4 times a week, I set my alarm for 5:50AM and do my aerobics, yoga and strength training. I’m not so good at the balance games but do try those now and then. I take the dog for walks and the doctor suggested adding jump roping to my routine. My daughter will like this as she just did the Jump Rope for Heart at school and came home with 2 new jump ropes. Guess we can jump together.

I’m not planning on running any marathons, but always feel better when I add some exercise to my day. Then I don’t feel guilty about sitting down and knitting everyday – and I definitely feel that knitting is good for my mental and emotional health.

On another health note, Claudia is once again riding as #1 in the MS bike ride. So, head on over to her site and donate - let's keep her team as #1 again. If the good cause is not enough incentive, there are also great prizes to be won!!

Be healthy!!

Still more sweater love

Finally - as promised. Sweater number 4 for NaKniSweMoDo09 - my Placed Cable Aran in Queensland Kathmandu Aran Tweed. Another great sweater/yarn combination. The yarn was wonderful to work with and I love the color variations. The pattern was also well written although I did need to lengthen my sleeves by about 6 inches. Not quite sure how this came about but it shows you the importance of measuring yourself or a favorite sweater and then going with that and not just trusting the knitted pattern. My collar is not as "cowly" (is that even a word??) as the pattern picture but it's comfortable and I'm happy. I also knit the body in the round up to the underarms to save on some finishing work. I've worn this several times and one girlfriend told me that this is her favorite one so far this year.

I broke down and am knitting sweater #5 for my daughter - a Liesl in Frog Tree Merino Melange. With the gauge I'm getting with this yarn and the size I need, I'm able to knit the 34" size on the pattern. And since my daughter wants this long (~15" from the underarm) and the longer sleeves, I'm definitely counting this as one of my NaKniSweMoDo09 sweaters.

Knit on!!