Knitting Dragonflies

I started this sweater in the fall of 2012. I’m sure some of you have projects like this. Not disliked enough to frog,  but can’t get going enough to finish them. I got this sweater out repeatedly and counted and looked and deduced where I was in the pattern & usually knit another inch or so and then it went back to sleep in my bag. I finally decided to finish it or frog it. I gave myself permission to finish it and it was ok if it wasn’t perfect or even fit me. Sometimes I just need to jump in and create, I tend to be a perfectionist and that can leave me to think way too much and stop the creative process. This is a top down knitted sweater, I love knitting in one piece in the round, this is only the 2nd sweater I’ve knitted from the top down. I’ve done numerous bottom up in the round sweaters and didn’t think I would like top down. Well I love it. It is so easy to try on as you go and keep an eye on the fit. I modified this pattern quite a bit in the years. There is so...

I’m almost done with my 5 year sweater! Yes, that is the longest I’ve taken to finish a sweater, and I’m super excited. I totally went rouge and switched the pattern up. More soon when the sweater is totally done! May your knitting needles fly as fast as dragonflies……

Day 3 of knitting, as much time as I have, in the cold, snowy days we are having here. I’m coming along fairly well, starting to get a little anxiety about  the amount of yarn I have left. But we will see. I’m leaning towards a collar/hood situation. But I think my yarn amount will dictate how the rest goes. I love knitting top down sweaters, as you can try them on and make decisions as you knit. Happy knitting…..May your needles fly as fast as Dragonflies….

Does anyone else have that knitted project that has been hiding in the closet for years? I started the Zuma Tunic by Wendy Bernard in 2012. Yes that is embarrassing to admit, I looked it up in my Ravelry list. Egads! Yep, Jodi’s not feeling it either. I’ve actually packed this up and taken it on 4 different trips to start on again. It takes me a while to count & figure out what I’m doing and then get started. I’m not sure on the yarn, pooling? (some of my own hand dyed), do I have enough to finish? . Undecided about how deep the V is in the front of the pattern. Rip it and find another pattern/yarn? So I usually set all of these thoughts aside and start knitting for a couple of inches & then toss it back into the bag and  repeat the next trip. Well cut to present day, #1 I’m on a quest to finish all of my projects “on the needles”, #2. Weather, we just had an ice/snow storm and it is suppose to snow again tomorrow. OK, I decide to get that sweater out and dive in. Where I s...

Finished up my Christmas trees, have a pink one and a white one. Pattern is from Helen Free, it is a fun and fast pattern. I would recommend it. White Christmas Tree, no ornaments yet, I’ll pick those out next year. I used snowflake buttons and some sparkly glass beads for this tree. I’ve been listening to Stash and Burn podcast while driving back and forth to my Dad’s house, which is about a 4 hour drive one way. I’m getting inspired to get knitting and am going to keep track of the yardage of yarn I knit up this year. *grin* see the KnitMeter.com , on my side bar, this tool is available for crochet, spinning and knitting, you can add it to your ravelry page and any blogs. Have fun and keep track of how much you knit with me this year! Now that I’m done with the holiday projects, I’m ready to start working on my Zuma tunic from Wendy Bernard’s Custom Knits 2 book. I’ve gotten to just below the arms, and I’m ready to get going on it again. Zuma tunic is a top down knit in the ...

My husband is retired now, and in the middle of painting the walls of the bedroom. He says he is going to remodel the whole inside of the house. *yay*  So far at only days into retirement he is working at a breakneck pace like he is at work. I told him he will have to slow down and enjoy himself. I picked out and bought the paint for the bedroom so long ago, (about 3 years minimum) I had forgotten what color it was. I called from work and he said he had started painting. So it was a pleasant surprise when I got home and discovered I still liked the paint color we had picked out. Now I think I will make curtains for the bed room. Paint is called silver grey and it is actually a warm grey, looks like it has a purple undertone to it in real life. Our bedroom had been lavender, maybe you can see the color at the far end of the photo past the bottom of his legs, back wall. Ugh, it was a paint color that I thought I would like but when it got on the walls, ick, I never liked it. Tre...

Here I am doing some trail knitting!

Update on Syd, post surgery he got a seroma , about the size of a grapefruit, which then involved a drainage tube being inserted. Fun!  A lot of drainage, but better out than in. So I spent my weekend doing laundry and cleaning up after dribbles. But his side looks quite a bit better now that all of the fluid is out! Sometimes it is good to be lazy! I did get some knitting done. Working on my Dummy Clap Shawl , it is super east and fast. I’m knitting it with some Brown Sheep in a pound cone from my stash,  the yardage looks like it is 1400, in a deep maroon, beautiful yarn, and lovely to work with. It is Top of The Lamb . See link for information on this yarn, I would use it again. I’m already trying to track some down, I believe I bought at a weaving shop. It would be lovely in a shawl. From Brown Sheep Company about Top of the Lamb yarn, This single ply 100% USA grown wool yarn was expressly designed and dyed in colors that could be woven in rugs by the Navajo Nation....

I promise I’ll get to back to knitting content soon! I have frogged my DummyClapShawl , I originally thought I wanted a larger, lose gauge, but decided since the finished product will have dropped stitches to create the lacy areas, they would be too large and prone to getting caught on everything. From this (above left) to this (above right), yes that’s better! In addition I decided to use this yarn (I think) for a sweater ( Zuma Tunic ), Pattern from Custom Knits 2 (book review to come soon) by Wendy Bernard. I have Wendy’s first book, Custom Knits , if you have that one, I would say the 2nd book is a must! Very helpful she has extensive info on how to alter patterns, both for fit and to add and delete different components of the pattern. In the meantime, I am in a constant search for products for dry skin, hair and nails. A relatively new development for me. I’ve always had oily skin so have been very oil phobic. It has been hard to see oil as a good and necessary thing. I foun...