my current WIP's

I've surprised myself. I only have 3 WIP's right now. I normally have 5-6.
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This is a sock I've started for myself. I'm not using a pattern, it's just a simple st st sock with 2x2 ribbing at the top. I think I might do a short row heel, I'm not sure yet. I am using 2 size US 1 circs and Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Potluck yarn.
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Here you can see my progress on the Feather & Fan baby blanket that I am making for friends of DH's who are expecting. I would measure it and tell you the blankets measurements, but I lost my tape measure......again. Sorry for the darkness of the picture (and for my feet being in it), I couldn't get decent lighting and I don't currently have a photo editor installed on my computer.
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Getting shoes on my 20 month old DD has become a struggle in the mornings. So, I decided to knit her some slippers for her to wear over her socks to help keep those toddler toes warm this winter. I found THIS pattern, but I have altered it to make the slippers fit a toddler and the pattern was written for a baby. I have the first one finished (still need to cut off the tails) and I am finished with the sole, and almost done with the top of slipper #2.

Christmas Presents

Last year, I knit Christmas Gifts for pretty much everyone on my gift list. I'm still kinda burned out on knitting for other people. So, this year, I'm only knitting for the very few people that I know will appreciate (and properly take care of) a hand knitted gift. Everyone else will get baskets or tins with home baked goodies from me.

I am knitting a pair of socks for my mom's present. I've posted about them before, they're the cascading leaves socks by Jeanie Townsend. I've gotten 1 sock completed and 1/2 of sock #2 done, but over the past few months, these socks have become a UFO. As of yesterday, they're a WIP again.

For my niece Laney, I've knit the hat pictured above (still need to weave in the ends). I used THIS pattern. The yarn is scraps leftover from other projects. The purple is Brown Sheep's Lambs Pride bulky in the color Wild Violet, and the grey yarn is Knitpicks Sierra in the color Mist.

There are a few more gifts I'm planning to knit, but I'm just not sure what to knit. I'm thinking it'll be small projects like hats, and they'll have either lace or cables. I love knitting cables, the more intricate, the better.

Entrelac Pillow

I wanted a project that would show off the beautiful colors in the Patons SWS yarn (color Natural Earth) that I picked up a while ago. So, I decided to go with something entrelac. My original intention was to knit an entrelac scarf, but it quickly became apparent that 2 balls of SWS was just not nearly enough. So I said screw the scarf, and made a pillow. I knit 2 entrelac panels. Each panel took about 2 days of knitting and one ball of SWS. I then sewed the panels together and stuffed the hell out of it.

fo- Pea Pod Baby Sweater

I just finished sewing the buttons on this sweater a few minutes ago, and got a pic of DD wearing it to show. Sweater Details in the post below.

Baby stuff everywhere!

The Pea Pod baby Sweater is amlost finished! All it needs now is buttons. Turns out I only had enough of the pink yarn to do the sweater body and the sleeves. I had the same yarn in another color leftover from a birthday present I made for my niece a few months ago, so I used that for the collar of the sweater. This pattern is from the Pea Pod Baby Set listed on the Interweave knits website. I used Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece yarn in the colors Victorian Pink and Lilac Haze.

And here is a gift I am making for friends of Dh's who are expecting a baby towards the end of December. I am using a basic Feather & Fan pattern and Carron Simply Soft yarn (acrylic but soft and washable-great for baby items) in the color Autumn Red. I think I am about 7-8 inches into the blanket. I love Feather & Fan because it goes very quickly and it's simple, mindless knitting. Plus, it's pretty.

WooHoo- another FO

ok, well after posting the garterlac dishcloth FO, I sat down and finished DD's cable hat. I had to be quick with the camera, she was in a hurry to take the hat off...lol This is the best shot I was able to get. I'm thinking that with the leftover yarn, I might knit her some thumbless mittens for this winter. Maybe, We'll see.

Garterlac Dishcloth- FO

Since I didn't feel like working on any of my wip's this past week (although I did force myself to work for a bit on dd's hat, I'm ready to start the crown decreases now), I decided to knit this garterlac dishcloth after seeing it on Criminy Jickets blog. I forgot to take a pic of it before using it, so it's a bit wet and stretched out in the pic. This pattern is fantastic for an introduction to entrelac knitting, which is something I have had problems 'getting' before. I now have plans on knitting an entrelac scarf for someone for Christmas, I just have to find the perfect yarn(thinking of something self striping, maybe Noro Silk Garden) and decide who the recipient will be.

Can I scream now?

Things have been a bit stressful lately. I hate my job, I miss being a SAHM, my best friend and I are on the outs, financial struggles....it just SUCKS! Because DH works during the week and I work on weekends, we no longer have much time to spend all together as a family. We can't go do anything on the weekends anymore and I REALLY miss that. One of the most frustrating things about my job, is that I am working retail and getting payed a dollar LESS per hour than I did 4 years ago working retail. that sucks. plus the supervisor and assistant manager I see most often are outright bitches. I would love it if I could walk in there tomorrow and quit, but unfortunately, we need the money. I don't make much, but what I do make is needed. The whole on the outs with my best friend sucks, I can't post much about it here because she may read here, but the whole situation right now is complete bullshit. I know I just have to keep plugging away with all of this, and eventually it will all settle and start getting better, I just want it to happen quickly and without me going insane in the process.

As for knitting (as this IS a knitting blog) not surprisingly, not much is getting done. I was on a roll, but that's gone to hell. I'm still working on the first sleeve for DD's pea pod sweater, I'm still on mit#1 for the voodoo wristwarmers, and I haven't worked on any of my other WIP's for about a week now. This fucking job has really cut into my knitting time. (another reason to hate my job...lol)

WIP's

This is actually an ex-WIP. This used to be the Hedera socks from Knitty that I was working on, Until yesterday, when DD got into my knitting bag and pulled out one of the DPN's and unraveled several rows of stitches. I frogged the whole thing and I'm grateful I was only still on sock #1 of the pair. I re-wound the yarn into a pretty ball this morning.
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This is a cabled winter hat I'm making for DD. I am using THIS pattern (altering it to make it fit an almost 2 year old) and Bernat Satin yarn. I think I'm going to do another 2 pattern repeats and then start decreasing for the top of the hat.
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This is what I have so far of the Voodoo fingerless mits from knitty. I am only about 2 inches into mit#1 of the pair. Using Cascade 220 Quatro color #9437.
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Yet another pattern from Knitty....lol. I decided to knit some toys for some of the little kids in my family for Christmas this year. This is what I have so far of the Nautie pattern. I am using some Lily Sugar & Cream cotton yarn. I don't remember the name of this colorway.
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And this is the sweater from the Pea Pod Baby set I'm making for DD (pattern from Interweave knits website). I am not making the coordnating hat that goes with the sweater. I have the body of the sweater done, and have started on the first sleeve. I am using Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece yarn in the color Victorian Pink.

FINSHED!!!!!

I soaked it and pinned it out last night after the kids went to bed. This morning, it was dry, and I must admit, it's beautiful! I'm in love with what blocking does for lace. I put some push pins into the wall and hung my Peacock Feathers Shawl on them for the pic. Now I just need an occasion to wear this to.

It is done, but not finished

All the knitting is completed on the Peacock Feathers Shawl!!!!!!! All it needs now is a good blocking. I am unbelievably relieved to have this part done. I'll get this blocked as soon as I decide on a decent place to do the blocking. I have 3 kids running around so the living room floor isn't really an option, my bed isn't an option, so I have to find a good place for blocking. Does it look like it would dry overnight? Maybe get it pinned out in the living room after the kids are in bed? I may have to try that.

I am SOOOOO freaking CLOSE!

My Peacock Feathers Shawl is so very close to being done. I am ready to start row 241 out of 250. In the pic, I tried to stretch it out so the details could be seen (it's scrunched up - all 480 stitches - on a 29" circ). I can't wait to get all of the knitting finished on this and see it blocked. I have been working on this thing for so freaking long. I realize that I put it down for months and then picked it up and did only a few rows at a time, but I started this in NOVEMBER 2005.

I really do have knitting ADD

I can't concentrate on any one project lately. When I get the time and desire to sit down and knit, First I can't make up my mind on which project to work on, then when I do decide on something, after a few minutes I'm wanting to work something else. Within the past week, I've started two new projects. Let's see how many WIP's I have right now. First off there's the rug I started crocheting 1-1/2 months ago that hasn't been worked on in a few weeks. It's sitting folded on my computer desk too, so it's not like I put it in the knitting bag and forgot about it. I see it every time I come into the livingroom and kitchen area or sit at my desk. Then we have the tessellated Fish blanket I'm working on for DD's Christmas present. This one actually has a good excuse for not working on it. I need to go buy more yarn for it. We then have a Waterlilly top from Spring 2006 Interweave knits. It's for my friend, Sarah. I started this one this past Friday and I'm already 1/2 done on it. It's done with big yarn and big needles so it goes quickly. I also have a hat for DD to wear this winter, a cardigan for DD to wear this fall, My Peacock Feathers Shawl that has been a WIP since last November(I pick it up and do a row here and there), Cascading Leaves socks for my mothers Christmas Gift, Hedera socks from knitty for me, and a dishcloth that I started weeks ago, sat it down and just haven't felt like finishing it. I'm pretty sure that's it right now. So, that's 9 projects going right now. shhhhh....Don't tell Dh. He and I agreed that I need to keep the WIP's to no more than 5 at a time. Oops.

this migrane is kicking my ass...

I think the title says it all. It started as a mild headache Monday night, and was a full blown migrane by Tuesday at noon. It's Thursday afternoon now, and it's still kicking my ass. Even the sound of Dh and the kids simply walking on the carpet drives me batty. I want to magicly make all the kids voices deeper, the high pitched kids voices aren't helping me feel any better. Needless to say, not much in the way of knitting or crocheting is getting done. Excedrin is my new best friend this week.

SNAKES ON A PLANE!!!!

LMAO! Yes, I have too much time on my hands today. This is 4 i-cord 'snakes' on one of my son's toy airplanes.

WIP's

Here's a few pics of the projects I'm working on.

I haven't worked on this sock very much in the past few weeks, I've only done a few rows in that time. This is Knitty's Hedera pattern, with some Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino Potluck yarn.

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My Peacock Feathers Shawl. I am one row away from being able to start the final chart for the pattern, the edging chart. It feels great to be this close to finishing. I wish I could give an accurate time frame for how long it took for me to knit this up so far, but this is a project that I've been in the habit of working on feverishly for a week and then setting it down for 1-2 months collecting dust...lol I started this thing in November 2005. I can't wait to see it finished and blocked.

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This is a dishcloth pattern from the dishcloth boutique. It's the double diamond circular cloth. I don't think I've done any work on it since the last time I posted a pic of it. I'm hoping that by posting it on here again it'll help prevent it from becoming an UFO. I am using Lily Sugar & Cream yarn in a Lavender color.
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Cascading Leaves socks. These are for my mothers Christmas present this year. These became a UFO for a little while, but I pulled them out this morning and did a pattern repeat.
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This is the beginings of the Pea Pod Baby Set from Interweave Knits. You can find the pattern free on the Interweave website. I'm 99.9% sure that I am just going to do the sweater and not the hat. I'm not that crazy about the hat for the set. But I LOVE the sweater. I am using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece yarn in the color Victorian Pink.

oops.....

It's been hectic around here, I just realized that it's Friday and it's been more than a week since I've updated my blog. I'm sorry.

Not much knitting has been done. It's been hot as hell around here and we've had problems with our gas company. Lucky for us, only some things around here are gas powered. Like our water heater. We haven't had hot running water around here since Monday. Someone from the gas company is supposed to be here today to fix the problem. I also got ds#2 registered for Kindergarten, finally. This school year I'll have one in first grade and one in K. I think it'll be weird having only me and my dd home in the middle of the day.

The small amount of knitting that I have managed to do, is to start a pea pod baby set (pattern free from interweave knits that link should take you to the page the pdf is on) for DD. I'm using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in the Victorian Pink color. So far, so good. I'm liking it. Soon, I need to work some more on the cascading leaves socks for my mom's christmas gift, and start some more gifts as well. I think the largest gift I'm planning is to do the Water Lilly top from Spring 2006 Interweave Knits for my best friend. I'm doing an experiment on the yarn though. I'm going to use the Get Away yarn from Knitpicks. It's a thick-and-thin yarn, but it works up to guage perfectly for the water lilly top.

I'll update probably early next week with some pics of my WIP's.

Tired Todler Modeling

and yet again, there's something wrong with Bloggers picture service. this sucks. Again I'm sorry if my pictures look a little wonky, as I had to put in the image HTML and resize the pic.

anyways, I decided to see how the Summer Swing top (which I finished this morning) and the knitted toddler tank top would look on, so I decided to have DD model them. The pics were taken right at nap time, and Hannah was very cranky and tired. In fact, the pic of Hannah in the tank top was taken when she decided to go to bed. She was walking down the hallway towards her room (which was behind me to the left) when I snapped it.

FO- Toddler Tank top

I've done the measurements, and the summer swing top is too small for Laney :( Just barely too small, but oh well. I have this Toddler tank top as a backup gift. I didn't really follow any pattern. I saw a few that I didn't really like, so I just kinda made this one up as I went along. I'm not entirely happy with it, bit it's okay. If the picture looks kinda screwey- I'm sorry. something is wrong with the blogger picture upload so I had to add the HTML.

What I've been working on

Eventhough I haven't really been in much of a knitting mood lately, I've been forcing myself to knit anyways because I do miss it. Here's a few pics of the projects I've been working on.

This is the Summer Swing Top I've been working on for my niece, Laney. However, I'm not sure if I made it big enough. Laney is a petite toddler, so it should fit....but there's this small fear in the back of my mind that it'll be too small. I'll see Laney this coming Sunday and I'll sneak some measurements of her. But just in case this Summer Swing Top IS too small, I started a little knitted tank top for her. It's the last picture below.
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This sock is beautiful. It's the Hedera pattern from Knitty, and I'm using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Potluck yarn.
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This is what I have so far of a Double Diamond washcloth from the dishcloth boutique. I'm using Sugar & Cream cotton and size 7 needles.
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And, here is the tank top I mentioned above. I'm making up the pattern as I go. I did the bottom band in a solid sage green color of sugar & cream cotton, and the body in Bernat Cotton Totts in the Jelly Belly colorway. The tank isn't finished yet, I did the body on circs, and I have the front chest part done, and I'm working on the back part then I'll do the straps and I'll be done.

What year do you belong in?

You Belong in 1969

If you scored... 1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! 1960 - 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too. 1970 - 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all! 1980 - 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day. 1990 - 1999: With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

well, we're getting more settled into our new house, and I've been knitting a little bit more than I was at this point last week. I've started a new pair of socks for me (knitty's hedra pattern) and I've been finishing up my niece Laney's birthday present. I'm still spending the bulk of my days figuring out where I want things and unpacking. I've really got nothing very interesting knit-wise to write about.

We're MOVED!!!

The cable guy came out today, so FINALLY, I have internet access again. We are completely in our new house, but we still have a lot of unpacking to do. I almost hate to admit this, but I have REALLY missed the internet this past week. Mainly because of my message boards and email, but also for us, no internet = no phone. I've been very thankful for DH's cell phone this past week (and he was kind enough to leave it home with me and the kids while he went off to work, even though his cell phone is his work phone) I have some more good news too. I have a job now, well, I officially start on the 11th, but still, I have a job. I'm going to be working at Babies R Us!

In knitting news, well, there hasn't been much knitting going on lately. I did manage one butterfly washcloth this past week though. That's it, all I've worked on. I can, however, finally share some pictures of the baby sweater I knitted for my new nephew, Aiden. I posted a front view pic and a pic that shows the cables on the sleeves. The model is one of DD's favorite stuffed animals :)

FO- Socks for Hannah

I finally finished the socks I've been knitting for Hannah. DD's feet grew A LOT since I took the original measurements, and now the socks intended to fit DD this Fall, fit her now perfectly. I used the Peaks and Valleys Pattern (I used the infant version of the pattern, but size US3 needles instead of US1 to allow for a toddler size) from the book, Knit Socks!, and I used some Knitpicks Simple Stripes yarn in the Vineyard colorway (no longer available). In neither of the pictures can you see the lacey pattern on the leg and top of the foot, but it's beautiful IRL.


In other news, We are moving this weekend, so I might not be able to update my blog for a little while. I don't expect anything to pop up, but you never know what's going to get messed up during a move.

Yeah.....When pigs fly!

Earlier this morning, I saw on Sybermoms, a link to THIS pattern (thank you Box of Rain!!). I thought "this is fucking CUTE!" So I looked in my stash bin and found some pink yarn and some white yarn, then I sat down and crocheted my little piggy. It worked up a lot quicker than I thought it would. I started at 8:30am, and he was finished at 11am, and that was with me getting a few juice refills and snacks for the kids too. Mr. Piggy still needs eyes, I'm thinking of sewing some little buttons on for them. Maybe one blue and one green or something? I don't know yet.

Stuffed Fish

One thing DD goes nuts over, something she absolutely LOVES, are fish. She loves to just cuddle with me and watch the fish in our Aqurarium swim around. So, when I saw THIS pattern, I decided to knit up 2, sew them together and stuff them for DD. After I knit the 2 fish, I picked up stitches in the stockinette triangle section and knit on some fins. I did all of the knitting yesterday (maybe 2 hours total, and that includes time taken to play with kids) and I did the sewing and stuffing this morning. I used some cheapo red heart acrylic yarn for both the knitting and the stuffing. I figured it would be durable and washable, and good for a toy for a toddler.
I've also got some WIP's that are close to completion. The socks for DD, the special something for my nephew, and the Summer Swing Top for my niece Laney are all almost done.

Look, I can do something other than knit...LOL

I read a discussion on craftster, about melting beads into bowls and other things. So, I decided to try it, and this is what I got. I used the cheap kids beads (found anywhere -walmart, JoAnns, etc...) I love my first attempt. I want to go get more beads so I can make designs with colors for other bowls.

In knitting news, I've worked a bit on each of my projects this past weekend. Now, I'm on sock #2 in the pair i'm making for DD, i'm on sock #2 in the pair I am knitting for my mom for Christmas, I am almost done with the special something for my nephew, I did a few more rows on my Peacock Feathers Shawl, and a little more on the Summer Swing top for my niece. I also started another pair of socks for myself. I'm not using a pattern, I am using size 2mm needles with some very yummy Cherry Tree Hill Supersock yarn.

FO- Cable Knit Hat

This hat will be a Christmas present for my bil, Ricky. I used my soon to be 5 year old ds to model it. I used THIS pattern, only I knit it alternating left twist and right twist cables. I used Patons Classic Merino Wool in the color Deep Olive.

Pictures of my wip's

This pic is of a Cable Knit Hat, I'm loosely following THIS pattern, But I am alternating left twist and right twist cables. I currently have it about 6.5 inches long, another .5 inch and I will start the crown decreases. I am using leftover Patons classic Merino Wool from the Boobholder I knit, color Deep Olive and size 7, 16" circs.
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This is what I have so far for a birthday present for my niece, Laney. The little cutie pie will be 2 in August. It is a Summer Swing top, and the pattern can be found HERE. I love this pattern, it's adorable and perfect for all of the beautiful little ladies in my life. I'm trying to make one for each of my younger nieces and DD (total of 5), but I'm afraid they will grow out of the sizes the pattern lists by the time I can get around to doing all of them. My Niece, Justice is already too big for it, she's 9, and I want to find a special pattern to make for her, too. (any ideas?)
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Here is my never ending Peacock Feathers Shawl. I am ready to start row 211, out of a total 250. I used some pins to stretch part of it out so you could see some of the design. I've made a few mistakes in this shawl, but they're small and I don't think they're very noticeable. I am also ready to join my second ball of yarn. I am using the Jagger Spun Zephyr Wool-Silk that comes with the pattern kit from fiddlesticks knitting. It is so soft and wonderful, a 50% wool, 50% silk blend, laceweight yarn.
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This is a sock (#1 in the pair) that I am knitting for DD. It is the Peaks and Valleys infant pattern from the book, Knit Socks!. Since DD is almost a year and a half old, the infant pattern wouldn't have fit her, so I decided to just use bigger needles (size US3 instead of US1) and add a few rows to the pattern to make it fit her. You can't see the lacey part of the pattern very well in the picture, but the multi-colored yarn looks pretty cool with it. I am using Knitpicks simple stripes sock yarn in the colorway Vineyard (discontinued?).
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And.....this is the pair of socks I am knitting for my mothers Christmas present. It's the Cascading Leaves Sock pattern found in THIS yahoo group. I am about an inch into sock #2. I am using Knitpicks Essential Sock yarn in the color Ash, and I am knitting the pattern on 2 circs instead of DPN's.
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I haven't been working much on any of my projects this past week, because I've been knitting a something special for my brand new, absolutely beautiful, nephew, Aiden. Congratulations Trish and Jared! I am almost finished with Aiden's something special , and I will post pictures of it after I know that he's received it....Well, after his mommy receives it...LOL.

FO- Traveler Socks

The Traveler Socks are finished!!! I love how they turned out, but the color just isn't me, so I decided to put them away and give them to my mom for a Birthday present when her Birthday comes around in October. I Used Cascade 220 in the color Baby Rose Heather (#9442), and size 5 DPN's. The pattern is written for Magic Loop, but it translates really easily to using a set of 4 dpn's. One needle for the front/top of foot 20 sts, 2 needles for the back/bottom of the foot, 10 sts on each, and one needle to knit with. The Pattern for these socks can be found on THIS page.

Our WIP's (brag about DH)

yes...The title says OUR wip's. Mine and DH's. Dh is helping me to get a start on Christmas presents for this year. He has started his very first sock. He is using the 'Madder Ribbed Sock' pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush, Knitpicks Palette yarn (color: Blue) and size 1 needles. In the WIP pic to the left, it's the blue at the top left corner, and I tried to take a better pic of the detail, and it's a little fuzzy, but it's posted below. He's doing wonderful on his sock!
Back to the WIP's, the gray below DH's sock, is my peacock feathers shawl. I've been working on it a little bit each night, doing anywhere from 1 to 4 rows (considering that each row is now 400+ stitches, that's a lot of work) after the kids are asleep for the night. The blue beside my shawl, is that baby sweater I posted about below. The Gray on the other side of the baby sweater, is what I have so far of the pair of cascading leaves socks I'm knitting for my mom. I am only about 1 cm into the cuff of sock 2 in the pair. And, the purple at the top right, is what I have so far of the Summer Swing Top I am knitting for my niece's 2nd birthday.

I finished my Boobholder!!!

I love the feeling I get when I finish a project. I knit Glampyre's Minisweater aka Boobholder, only without the border. I used Patons Classic Merino yarn in the color Deep Olive.

I also finished sock #1 of the Cascading Leaves socks that I'm making for my mom for Christmas. Also, last night I picked up my Peacock Feathers Shawl and did 4 rows, and today I added another few inches onto the Summer Swing Top I'm making for my niece. Woohoo! It feels good to be on a knitting roll again.