My Sister's Knitter

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 get this party started...

It is Saturday my friends, hope it finds you all relaxing with a nice cup of coffee and some yarn. I know that is how this morning finds me. What else am I doing? Oh, I don't know maybe drawing a couple of lucky peep's names for a pattern giveaway. :)

Yeah winners!

Julie-

I'm so grateful for many things, but especially for my husband and my family, who make me feel loved every day.

Crochet with Raymond-

lovely! I would love to win the pattern, that is really sweet of you to be paying it forward.
I am absolutely grateful for finding the joys of spinning, knitting and hooking, god knows what I would do with myself if I didn't!
XXX

All of the comments were fantastic. I loved hearing all the things you were grateful for. I will be sending the two winners their patterns via Ravelry in a couple of minutes.

I have started my shawl. After much agony trying to decide color combos, which I am complete rubbish at, I decided I will knit mine in one color. I am knitting mine with Knitpicks Stroll Tonal in the color Queen Anne.

I also joined Evelyn's KAL, so I will be in good company while knitting away on this baby. I mentioned before that this pattern was gifted to me from Evelyn as a way to help a designer. Since then many have payed it forward, via gifts or giveaways. Love it!

Along the same line of feel good and giving, I will share with you a wonderful video that Bethany featured on her blog. What better way to start a Saturday?

Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

 
Have a great day!

XO

Andi

*****Update-one of the winners already has the pattern. So I drew another name...drumroll please....Heather. Pattern is on it's way to you!

Heather-

What a great way to help. I am grateful for renewed health in my family.

 

Baby, what took you so long?

Happy Saturday everyone! It is here and it's a good one. Maybe because I have an FO?

Ever have one of those projects that you are not sure why it took so long?

This was one of those projects for me. Once I set my mind on finishing it, it only took a couple of days to complete.

Details:

Pattern: Arroyo

Yarn: Fiberphile Yarns Super Squish Sock-Lowtide

I may have mentioned before that I am not much of a shawl wearer. I just really like knitting them.This one lays more like a scarf, so it will be put to good use this coming winter. The pattern itself was a breeze. It was well written and should take someone a week to finish (obviously not me).

Want to see some other incredible shawls?

• Lori's Plains Shawl is now complete. It is quite fantastic.
• Dona's third Shetland is the most beautiful yet.
• Monika's Chevry..I mean wow.

It is a shawl-a-palooza! :) Before I go I want to share this video that may help those of us who need to know different ways to wear a shawl. Have a wonderful weekend!

XO

Andi  

 

Happy Birthday Blog...Giveaway!

Someone is two this month. Doesn't she look great for two?  Because it is my blogiversary...I will torture you with my favorite video ever. Who's that at the door?

 

 

Oh and I just may have something to give away....

 

 

How about some yarn? As a thank you for visiting me, commenting , and just putting up with me. I would like to gift someone with four skeins of  beautiful squishy Berroco Vintage  yarn in  Aquae and... 

 

flower stitch markers, a project bag, and little bags for whatever floats your boat. So what does one do to be entered?  Just answer this simple question;

What would you knit/crochet with this yarn if you won it?

That wasn't so bad was it?  You must leave a comment by  April 5th at midnight Pacific Standard time. I will draw the winner  April 6th.

Good luck and thank you for being a wonderful part of my blog!

XO

Andi

 P.S. I will ship international!

KALs, Swaps, and Groups..oh my!

Boy are there ever things on the needles. Thankfully progress is going well.

These socks are for a swap that I am in. I have participated before and enjoyed it so much, that I was excited to start another round. I started a couple different patterns, then finally settled on this one. The previous ones were simple ribbed and sometimes vanilla patterns, but I decided to go with a little more challenging pattern. Glad I did because I want to gift something that I would be proud of. The beauty of this pattern seems to guarantee that.:)  My goal is to finish these socks along with my Hedgerows before the end of the month and both will also count towards this KAL. Is your head spinning yet?

There is also a hat being knit for this Ravelry Group.

 

The purpose of this group is to knit projects that are in your queue, as well as knitting them from your stash. Each month we are going through the letters of the alphabet, March is the letter "E". My hat is this pattern.

My groups have allowed me to set goals and finish items quicker that I would on my own.  Do you participate in any groups, KALs or swaps? Do you feel they help you or add unneeded pressure?

Okay I'm off, to finish things. Hey it's almost the weekend again folks! I'll leave you with a little inspiring knitting. Enjoy and have a great rest of your week.

 

XO

Andi

 

Starting the weekend...

It is Saturday peeps !

I have so much that I need to get accomplished this weekend, so much I don't know where to start. So in typical Andi weekend style I will start with some blog reading, breakfast, and a few stitches ( because I like to multi-task).

On the subject of breakfast, the above pictured porridge has been my everyday morning grub for a couple weeks. I make this recipe on Sunday night and it is enough for  me to have a bowl everyday. I add a lot of different toppings depending on what I have on hand. This morning I had some bananas, apples and walnuts. During the week I had some wonderfully sweet blackberries-yum! A bowl keeps me going well into lunch and helps me not to snack in between meals.

These socks are being finished, I am on the last toe! This means my pair will be done by the deadline-take note Jody (inside joke).Even with the end of the month fast approaching I decided to cast on another pair of socks with the beautiful gifted yarn from my friend Maryse.

The pattern is Hedgerow, while it is not an exciting knit, I think it shows off this lovely yarn perfectly.

Okay, now I really need to get my butt in gear and get some chore done. I will leave you with a video that Kiwiyarns Knits shared on her blog. It makes me laugh out loud.

Have a great weekend everyone!

XO

Andi  

Back to my love...

...socks. I have a love affair with knitting socks and I think I always will.

They were the first thing I learned to knit (not counting a garter stitch square), and I don't feel complete without a least one pair on the needles. I no longer knit socks out of  need, since I seem to have quite a few now. I simply knit them because I love to.  I am trying to finish up my Dublin socks by the end of the month so they can count as a finished project for this Ravelry Group. The month of February is the letter D. I only have a little time left in the month, so I better get on it.

Speaking of finishing. My test knitting is complete and the pattern has been released by the designer. That allows me to show you my finished project.

• Pattern: Karkom Wristwarmers
• Designer: Robin Lynn
• Yarn: Madeline Tosh Sock- Gossimar
• Needles: 3

This is a lovely pattern and if you can imagine it is free. Robin is just an amazing designer and person. You should cast these  on!

Well loves, it is very late Sunday night and I need to be getting my beauty sleep. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Enjoy a tune from my favorite girl.

 

XO

Andi

 

Yarn Along ...

It is Wednesday again! That means I will be yarning along with Ginny.

 

I am thoroughly enjoying this book. It is written beautifully. Thank you to those of you who recommended some of your favorite current reads! I have been adding them to my book list. :)

My knitting project this week is one of my WIPS, Saroyan. I knit this scarf before with a worsted weight yarn and it wasn't for me. Now I have cast on with Madelinetosh Light in Betine. This is more to my liking. Sometimes it is all about the yarn. This scarf seems to be flying off the needles. I should be finished before this weekend. That means an FO to show off-yeah!

To help you over this hump day, here are some loves that have captured my attention this week:

• Julie's latest pattern. There are no words to describe how in love I am with this!
• Allison's shawl. It is simple and lovely.
• Audry's Rocky Coast Cardigan. This cardigan just may be what I need to get my cardigan done, so that I can knit up a beauty like this.
• Bethany always post wonderfully inspiring videos on Sunday. This one is a new fav.
• I am having a serious blog crush on Lori times five.

I will leave you with this lovely man crocheting. I adore him. I especially like when he says, "..for those who know about crochetin', the bigger the beast is , the longer it takes to get around.". So true, Papa Al!

XO

Andi