My Sister's Knitter

Open to Change...

Remember when I told you it has took me a while to settle on the colors for my Leaves of Grass? Well, my mind has changed again. Thank you all for the wonderful compliments of the original colors I chose from my KnitPicks Palete stash, but the stress of trying to find the perfect time to switch colors was just too much for me.

That means, I had to go deep stash diving again and caught me a winner.

 

I found some Dream In Color Baby in Fuschia, that is working out quite nicely. Yeah!

Since it is pink, you know I am in my knitting comfort zone now. :)

In the name of pink, check out this wonderful sock yarn the sister got me for Christmas. 

 

 

Speaking of my colors, check this beautiful yarn I received from my sister for Christmas. Does she know me or what? Love!

Showing off the yarn my sister got me, reminded me that I had not shareed with you all the incredible Christmas package I got from my bestie,  Ruth. An amazing shawl, she knit out of her handspun. Three skein of her gorgeous hand-dyed yarn! A skein of Malabrigo lace yarn and another one of her perfect project bags. Seriously I was overwelmed with the magnitude of this wonderful lot!

In addition to these wonderful gifts, I have also received many great patterns from friends on Ravelry. I plan on knitting ever one of them this year. Next week I will share my plans,  as well as bring you up to date on loves that I have found in blogland.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend and that things are back on schedule after the holidays.

Enjoy a song and have a brilliant day!

 

XO

Andi

A Sunday and some loves...

Happy Sunday! I have offically been over the cruds a week and lovin' it. Thank you for all the get well wishes, they are very much appreciated. Nothing makes you appreciate your health, more than when you are battling ailments, am I right? In the spirit of feeling great, how about I share some recent FOs, WIPs and loves?

An FO! This was the secret knitting I was working on. It has been mailed and is on it's way to a dear friend.

Details:

• Pattern: Lala's Simple Shawl
• Yarn: Beaverslide Dry Goods Light Sportweight. ( I will tell you all about this beautiful yarn next week)
• Needles: Size 6
• Mods: Added a picot edge

So, yeah for an FO. I have quite a bit on the needles right now. All seem to be getting a fair amount of love.

A sock...always a sock on the needles. This is a test knit for the wonderful Robin. I am loving this pattern. The yarn is Sweet Georgia ( this poor skein has been frogged from many a sock patterns, guess it finally found it's match)!

The above is a shawl pattern that was gifted to my from my bestie Ruth. Many in the knitting community are aware of the passing of this dear lady. In her honor there is a KAL going on. While I do not claim to have known her personally, I  did enjoy her podcast and feel that with each stitch I will be reminded to let everyone in my life know how loved they are.

Now that you are up to date with my knitting, how about we check out some loves?

• The uber talented Audry, has really designed a beauty!
• My sister is constantly requesting fingerless mitts, these by Kepanie may just fit the bill.
• Everything Kate knits is beautiul, not suprisingly her sweater is no different.
• This post from Lori just made my day.
• Hooky love is going on over at Ivy's!
• Love this new knitter's hat. I wonder now if Bethany will be having to share her stash.

 

Lastly a song I love. Enjoy the rest of your day!

 

 

XO

Andi

Tooting my own horn...

I admit when it comes to finishing UFOs, I am lame. Items sit on my side bar for up to a year collecting dust. They also sit in my UFO pile taking up space. Let me tell, one big one is gone from that pile and now kickin' it with the rest of my blankets. Toot toot..goes my horn!

Something got in to me this week and I decided I will finish this blanket if it kills me (insert drama here). I powered through the remaining 9 hexis that I need to, whip-stitched, and wove in ends within the last four days. Kind of feels the shower you take after camping all weekend.

Since it has been a while since I crocheted this much, the ibprofen bottle is now empty. That does not take away from the fact that this was a wonderful project to crochet. Disregard that it took me over a year to finish it, not the pattern's fault, but mine.

I know I will never be the queen of blanket like Miss C, but with this project completed I feel like royalty.

Now how about the details?

• Pattern: Ruby Hexagon Blanket by Nova Seals
• Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes (used approx 2250 yards)
• Hook size: G

I named my blanket Folk Star because it reminds me of Folky colors. Enjoy a Folky song and I will be cuddling away with my new blanket. Happy weekend everyone!

 

 

 

XO

Andi

The Sunday Post...

Well hello there! It is Sunday.

Look who finished her Halloweenie socks in plenty of time. They are squishy, don't they look squishy? I have already worn them around the house and these are just fantastic. I knit them in a my basic sock pattern: cast on 64, classic heel and round toe. These sock were part of a KAL for Knitabulls Sept/Oct Self-Striping and Personal Sock Yarn Club for the Traveling Sock Knitters.

Still in the KAL theme, I have cast on my October socks for The Sock Knitters Anonymous group and Solid Socks group. It may seem that I am KAL'ing all over the place, which I am. Joining in on this fun has allowed me to discover new designers and knit with yarns that have been sitting in my stash for far too long.  Bonus, I end up with some great socks at the end of it all. :)

You may be thinking that all I knit is socks, but in fact I have something non-sock related on the needles. I know, don't faint. The sister put in a request for a cowl. You can tell from the pic that the yarn is thick and the needle size 9! Many who know me, know this is not the norm for me. It feels like I am knitting with two boat oars. I like skinny yarn and skinny needles, but that's just me. Although, I can see the allure of knitting something like this, as it is knitting up fairly quick.

In the food department I am gearing up for Fall, despite the fact that it is still in the 90s here. I choose to pretend. So this weekend I fired up the dutch oven and made this soup. I have made it before so I won't share the pics. It really is a perfectly simple and rustic soup. Then..I made this pie!

 

Really...we have knitting, soup and pie, my Fall dream is coming true! If you would like to pretend with me then enjoy this song or go visit Kate for her week of leaves.

 

 

 

Happy Fall!

XO

Andi

 P.S. A couple of people have asked about the stitchmaker, they are Downton Abbey stitchmarkers from this lovely shop on Etsy!

 

Being faithful and some loves...

I am trying. I really am, but honestly I do not know how you monogamous knitters do it. For two weeks I have been doing nothing but knitting on one project. I have whined and complained through each stitch. These infantile fits have nothing to do with the brilliant pattern or the lovely yarn, the problem is my Veruca Salt attitude. I want it all and I want it now.

It is slow going, but here is my Quill. Friends have said it will be worth it in the end, I know it will. Thankfully football and funny t.v shows have helped me maintain my faith. If any of you monogamous knitters have tips on how you do it, I would love to hear them.

In non knitting news, I was still celebrating my birthday last weekend with my sweet friend. Some of you who have read my blog have met my friend before. Regan and her daddy took me to lunch and we had the best of times. We talked about lip glosses, clothes, and school. If ever there was a little human who has it all it would be her, brains (her report card says she is reading at the junior high level-she is eight!), looks, and humor.

Oh and talented. Easily a favorite gift, this card she painted for me.

You can see why I love my birthday month so much can't you?

Sunday football is starting so I will leave you with some loves. Enjoy and have a fantastic Sunday!

• Monica's perfect scarf
• I purchased this pattern a bit ago, now I really want to cast it on after seeing Claudia's.
• The sweetest little cardigan I have ever seen, knit up by dear Maryse.
• Here is a great idea is you are looking for a Christmas gift project.
• This wee dragon had me at hello!

And this song is stuck in my head.

 

 

XO

Andi

 

Start...stop..start...

This is how the last week has felt. I have knitting mojo, but it has been all over the place. Knitting begins on one thing, then I am easily bored so I move on to another. Maybe it's the summer or maybe I am just going though another round of startitis. Whatever it is, I wish it would stop. Thankfully it stopped long enough for me to finish my pinky socks.

These socks were a fun knit. Nice and simple with a wonderful texture. The more socks I knit, the more I discover about my likes and dislikes of patterns. I realize I gravitate towards simple texture more than complicated twists, cables, and lace.

• 
  Pattern: Simple Textured Sock
• Yarn: Pagewood Farms Yukon
• needles: 1.5

Yeah to finished socks! A friend and I were talking about our love of knitting socks and how we do not feel complete without at least one pair on the needles. For a while I only had one pair on, now I have three. One of them is a test knit for the above mentioned friend, so I can't show you yet.

See...more texture. :) The pattern is from this book and the yarn is Socks that Rock in Grimms Willow Wren.

And these socks are for a KAL for this group. I don't usually participate in KAL too often, because for some reason it stresses me out. The challenge for this one, is to knit a pattern that is not vanilla using a self striping yarn. The pattern is Sunday Swing Socks and the yarn is KnitPicks Felici in Building Blocks.

On to things other than socks. Yes there are things other than socks. heh. I have two shawls on the needles. Lyrica Euterpe is so close  to be done it's scary, but I can't seem to muster the will to finish. Hopefully this weekend (finger's crossed).

I know I mentioned it before, but this yarn is just heavenly.

Above we have the beginnings of a scarf/shawl for a friend who loves white.

Whew...you still with me? That is a lot of projects and rights about now you are probably wanting to shake me and say, "What is wrong with you?". I know I told you start..stop..start. It has been the story of Andi lately. Hopefully next time you visit me I will have some of the above items finished. Next time you visit I will have some wonderful inspriations from around blogland and I am telling you there are some amazing projects out there that you all have been working on!

I will leave you will a song and hope that you have a brilliant rest of your weekend.

 

 

 

XO

Andi

 

How about some eye candy?

 

Told you I would be back Monday to show you some new eye candy. I even surprised myself. So here we go with some lovely new yarn, projects, and just things that caught my attention.

First up yarn!

Those lounging lovelies are from Twist & Twine. I purchased these from the main store page, but you can also find more of Camilla's yarns at her Etsy store. Check out her blog for yarn updates as well as her wonderful projects. Not sure what I am going to knit with these, till then I will probaby just cuddle them to death.

I know if you saw this in a yarn store, you would think..Andi! Yeah so did I. This pinky yarn comes from Creature Comfort Creations. Bonus the seller and creater Sarah could not have been nicer.

Okay, enough cutsy yarn, let's get dark.

That's what I'm talkin' bout. Dragonfly fibers Dragonsock in the color Heroine.

This fiberpfile sqooshy sock yarn may or may not have been purchased because of it's color name, Nightwalker. Okay it was, but will you take a look at it? Both yarns were purchased from The Loopy Ewe because I needed some new sock needles. :)

Okay go purchase some yarn then come back, because I have some other fun things to share with you.

Projects:

• C's blanket. Fantastic!
• More wonderful socks from Dona.
• From Ivy, this beautiful sweater. And really Ivy do you need to be so cute?

Etsy:

• I bought my mom an assortment of jams from here. The verdict is that they are delish. Now I need to get some for myself. Wait, she has fudge?
• A cute bag from this store, or maybe some stitchmarkers would cheer anyone up.

Knitting Videocasts:

• A fun new one from Snappy Stitches. love love love.
• The title got me, the content made me stay. Adventures of a traveling sock knitter.

Had your fill? Then I will leave you to it. Enjoy a song that I have been screeching (singing) around the house today.

 

XO

Andi

 

Weekend coming to a close...

Just when I feel like I am starting to get into the groove of the weekend, it is Sunday night. I guess the key is to be grateful that I have a job to go to tomorrow, somehow that eases the pain. :)

New socks have been started. These socks look like they should have been my Easter socks. They remind me of little girl's Easter dresses.

These bright footies are having the last toe grafted in a few short minutes. Yippee. Love the color. Had I know the yarn would have been so stripey, I probably would have knit a pair of vanilla socks. Regardless they are still fantastic and I love the pattern.

Other than socks, other knitting/crocheting has been going on. The progress is not too noticeable or else I would show you the pics. Maybe next weekend I will be able to post about some finished things. Wouldn't that be cool? I have really been trying to focus on getting my WIPs down to a more manageable number like five. I know there are some of you that may feel faint at the thought of having five WIPS, but I still like you. :)

What else? The usual weekend stuff, cleaning and cooking. Oh, have I ever shared with you my favorite comfort food of all? To me it is like a grown up version of Mac and Cheese, Greek style.

It has a rich feta sauce which has white wine, garlic, tomatoes, onions, and shrimp. I would share the recipe but it came out of a cookbook that I cannot link because it was written to raise funds for a Children's Hospital in NV and  I wasn't able to find it online. It is kind of like this recipe, but without olives.Anyhoo, nothing tastes more like heaven to me that this dish. Do you have one certain dish that brings comfort to you? Please share if you do, it is nice to share. heh.

Enjoy a nice Sunday song. Hope this post finds you all settling down with your knitting and happily ready to face Monday!

 

XO

Andi

 

Let's Yarn Along...

It has been a couple weeks since I participated in Ginny's Yarn-Along. So I fixed that.

Heck, it has been a couple weeks since I have been able to pick up a book and read. This week's project came out of a funk I was in. I needed a break from a very detail oriented pattern and for some reason I had no desire to work on an anything I currently had on the needles. You know those funks don't you? So I cruised my scrap yarn box and casted on this Granny Mandala designed by the wonderful Alice. Now she did say it was addicting and she did not lie.  I pulled out four colors, (No idea what yarn they are because the labels all fell off) and went to town.

The book I picked off my shelf is Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy. Maeve is one of my very favorite authors. Whenever I need just a good book, I gravitate towards any of her books. I thought I had read them all and was pleasantly surprised that I had not read this one. So far so good.

Are you Yarning Along this week? If not, what types of Springtime/Summertime books or projects do you seem to pick out this time of year?

Because it Wednesday and I need a little "pump it up", here is a song for you!

  
XO

ANDI

Hey how are you?

I feel like I have been away forever.

But it has only been a week. Still I missed you. What have I been up to? Still working away on socks, trying to get them finished before the end of the month. I was starting to stress myself out over getting things done, till I read Audry's comment on my last post:

"As for KALs, I find them a bit stressful. I think it is because in my mind if I don't finish on time I've somehow failed. That potential failure seems to paralyze me. (Which is dumb. Not finishing a KAL is no measure on my character.)"

This made my smile and snapped me back to reality. Other than my swap socks, I have decided I will get them done when I do-no worries. Plus I have other things I have to get working on. Do you want to know what it is? Maybe this month is somebody's blogiversary! That's right, My Sister's Knitter is two years old this month. That means a giveaway is on the horizon towards the end of next week. The goodies have been ordered and should be here soon. I am so excited. I wish I were rich and could give away yarn all the time and just for the heck of it.

Even though I haven't posted, I still have been visiting blogland. Ready for some goodies?

• I was introduced to Dennis and Matt's blog when Dennis left a comment here. Now I can't get enough. I want them both to come live with me, I would even share "some" of my stash, and that is saying a lot.
• Audry just released a sock pattern that had me at hello! I mean seriously how cute are they?
• My buddy Jody has the most luscious FO, check out this cowl. Bonus Jody is just adorable modeling it.
• Bethany's Levenwick...need I say more?
• In non knitting news, I have been drinking this smoothie every morning and loving it. My energy level has skyrocketed.
• Oh and want to see some Ripples...head over here and get your fill. Insta-love!

I have had this song in my head the last couple of days. This song makes me want to make finger guns! Enjoy your Thursday, I will be back this weekend with some progress pics.

XO

Andi