So Much to Be Thankful For

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with dear friends yesterday. We'll be sorry to see them go when they move across country soon, but we know we will stay in touch.

Prior to the day(s) of cooking, preparation and finally eating, I had completed a knitting project for each of my children. Thankfully, both of them flew home without delay during a nasty Nor'easter and on the busiest travel week of the year. They modeled their knitwear yesterday before we sat down to eat and both seemed genuinely happy with their finished object.

 

I'm pleased with my daughter's sweater, the Estelle Pullover--she tried it on Tuesday night and I made some notations about where it needed to be slightly bigger; I then blocked it and it fits PERFECTLY. My son's scarf, the Textured Triple Stripe Scarf from 60 Quick Knits, is long, particularly since I knit it in bulky instead of worsted and didn't do my calculations exactly right--but he likes the warmth of it looped around his neck and it looks great on him.

Wish I had them home longer, but in general, life is very good today!

I Gave In to Temptation

Walking down the street today, on my way to the train station to go into New York City for a lunch meeting....I passed Wool & Grace, a yarn store that I heard about from a friend but have not had the chance to visit since it's been open about a year now. After a successful meeting, I rewarded myself with a visit to the shop, where I found lovely yarns and had a great discussion with shop owner Cathy. 

I wasn't going to buy yarn, although I wanted to buy something. But when I saw the Easy Folded Poncho (by Churchmouse Yarn & Tea) on a mannequin, and I felt that Eileen Fisher vibe from both the style and color of this garment, I had to have it.

The yarn is Juniper Moon Farm Herriott, 100% baby alpaca, so it's incredibly soft and will be very warm. Yet anothertem added to my bursting stash. But I felt so good when I walked out of the store!

Now more projects will have to take a back seat as I itch to cast this on...but first, my son's scarf! 10 LONG rows to go!

Team Spirit!

I got the chance to go see my family's beloved Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday! My husband, who is from Pittsburgh, usually takes our son to a game once a year, but since my son is now away at college, I got the nod! It suddenly dawned on me that with an Etsy shop full of school spirit-themed items, I was going to a Steelers game without anything knitted in Steelers Black and Gold!

I quickly remedied that by knitting a Steelers headband while my husband drove to Pittsburgh. It was warm and cozy and looked great at the stadium. And of course, it was good luck--the Steelers had a great come-from-behind win, 37-27! GO STEELERS!

Serious Knitting for A Cold Winter!

With both of my children at school in Michigan, I feel the need to keep them warm from afar. I am happy to report that I finished my daughter's sweater, the fabulous Estelle Pullover by Linden Down. I am going to wait until she comes home for Thanksgiving to block it--she may want it a little longer and perhaps a little wider (not so form-fitting). I have been trying it on as I go (thank goodness for Try-It-On-Tubing!) and it fits me great--I will probably make another one for me. We are almost the same size, so I think with a little blocking it will be perfect on her too.

The Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted is Superwash, so it should have a lot of give/growth during blocking.

Next up, in between a few Etsy shop orders I've gotten, is a nice warm scarf for my son, who is experiencing the Michigan winter for the first time (and it came early this year!). I found a great pattern in Cathy Carron's 60 Quick Knits, and I'm altering it to use bulky yarn, which I use almost exclusively for my shop items. We have a long car trip coming up this weekend, so I should be able to make good headway on that and have it ready for him for Thanksgiving too.

Nice to know that maternal instinct can be satisfied through knitting--I know they've always got a little bit of Mom's love wrapped around them.

Moving Toward Completions

I am making great headway on my Estelle Pullover for my daughter. I want to finish by the time she comes home for Thanksgiving break. So far, this is a great pattern--I want to make one for myself after I finish this one (just like the last sweater I made for her!)

I was very careful to take lots of measurement checks during sleeve #1, as I had read a lot of Ravelry comments about the sleeves being tight. Now that I have the measurements down, sleeve #2 is flying. I had set a goal of 20 rounds per week, and I've already done 36 rounds for this week with three days left! I may just finish next week. The ChiaoGoo circulars are great, but it is hard to manipulate the small size for the sleeve as the cord is very inflexible. On sleeve #1, I switched to DPN's about half way through and I think I'll do that again. I hadn't used DPN's in a long time, as I usually favor Magic Loop. It's kind of nice to go back to my circular knitting roots!

In the meantime, however, I got another order in my Etsy shop today, thanks to a dear friend who let her friend know that I was selling University of Michigan-themed hand knits. Trying to do initiate a number of different advertising campaigns--on Etsy, on Ravelry, and on Google. So far, the word of mouth method is working the best! But time will tell.

On my way to a meeting tomorrow that may yield some clearer direction about my career and my ability to focus more on my knitting. Fingers crossed.