Pleasing a Tough Customer

It's been awhile; blogging is getting harder to fit in to my life, but it is so nice to do it when I can. So here goes.
I have probably written before about knitting for my family versus for me. My husband, daughter and son all love hand-knit socks (doesn't everyone, once they experience what it feels like to wear a pair?) Other than socks, my husband has specific wants in terms of sweaters, and he did recently wear his Woodsy Ribs Vest for the first time post-summer, and it looked great! I could tell that he likes it too. My 13-year-old son doesn't wear sweaters, but does like a knitted hat every once in awhile. My 15-year-old daughter, who favors Abercrombie, Hollister and American Eagle, has not been a fan of hand-knit garments, although she does like knit bags and I have made her a couple of wraps to wear with dressy clothes. I knew she'd like the Staghorn Cabled Tunic when I saw it in the WEBS catalog, and she did. I am thrilled to say that she loves the completed garment, and it fits her PERFECTLY!

I agonized over the sizing, settling on the 32 as written. She even wants the same buttons as those in the picture, so the pattern designer, Kirsten Hipsky at WEBS, kindly steered me to them. It is so wonderful to make something that my style-conscious daughter will wear with pride!
Also, a word about the yarn, Valley Yarns Northampton--I LOVE it. I have 2+ skeins left and will probably make a scarf for charity. I am eager to use it again, and to try other Valley Yarns products. They are an excellent value and of course, who doesn't want to support the wonderful folks at WEBS?
So now I am intent on finishing--or at least getting much further along on--my Muse Wrap. I have 180 rows done; the pattern calls for 400 rows but given my height I think I will be fine with less, maybe 300-350.
Now that I am in the groove with it, I am enjoying it immensely, it just has to be a stay-at-home project because it's not the type of project that you can put down in the middle of a row. I'll go back to my Sweetpea Socks for take-along knitting, although I need a refresher to get me back in the groove on those!

Pleasing a Tough Customer

It's been awhile; blogging is getting harder to fit in to my life, but it is so nice to do it when I can. So here goes.
I have probably written before about knitting for my family versus for me. My husband, daughter and son all love hand-knit socks (doesn't everyone, once they experience what it feels like to wear a pair?) Other than socks, my husband has specific wants in terms of sweaters, and he did recently wear his Woodsy Ribs Vest for the first time post-summer, and it looked great! I could tell that he likes it too. My 13-year-old son doesn't wear sweaters, but does like a knitted hat every once in awhile. My 15-year-old daughter, who favors Abercrombie, Hollister and American Eagle, has not been a fan of hand-knit garments, although she does like knit bags and I have made her a couple of wraps to wear with dressy clothes. I knew she'd like the Staghorn Cabled Tunic when I saw it in the WEBS catalog, and she did. I am thrilled to say that she loves the completed garment, and it fits her PERFECTLY!

I agonized over the sizing, settling on the 32 as written. She even wants the same buttons as those in the picture, so the pattern designer, Kirsten Hipsky at WEBS, kindly steered me to them. It is so wonderful to make something that my style-conscious daughter will wear with pride!
Also, a word about the yarn, Valley Yarns Northampton--I LOVE it. I have 2+ skeins left and will probably make a scarf for charity. I am eager to use it again, and to try other Valley Yarns products. They are an excellent value and of course, who doesn't want to support the wonderful folks at WEBS?
So now I am intent on finishing--or at least getting much further along on--my Muse Wrap. I have 180 rows done; the pattern calls for 400 rows but given my height I think I will be fine with less, maybe 300-350.
Now that I am in the groove with it, I am enjoying it immensely, it just has to be a stay-at-home project because it's not the type of project that you can put down in the middle of a row. I'll go back to my Sweetpea Socks for take-along knitting, although I need a refresher to get me back in the groove on those!