I have been working at my LYS, Black Sheep Yarns, for the past two years and I have loved every minute.  Last month, we became a destination store for Brooklyn Tweed. Happy dance 😀   As we unpacked boxes and boxes and boxes of gorgeous BT yarn, there was much squealing and whoops of delight!  Stocking the shelves was a mammoth task, but so worth it.  I love the story behind this all-American yarn and now I am so glad… Read more »

I cannot believe I haven’t shared details of this finished sweater yet!  I guess since it’s been put away with the rest of our winter stuff, it was out-of-sight out-of-mind. This pattern is Twigs and Willows from Alana Dakos’ book Botanical Knits.  I really enjoyed knitting the yoke on this sweater with the cabled leaves and vine motif.  The pattern for the yoke is written as well as charted.  For this garment, I used Cascade 220 in a heathered green…. Read more »

I’ve got a finished sweater for show-and-tell today!  This sweater turned out pretty cute and I think that the wearer is uber cute!  Of course, I’m the biased mama 😉 With this sweater, I knit a few rows here and there until I was on the last sleeve and I could taste finishing victory!  It took about 6 months to complete and another few weeks to find the ribbon for the front closure.  I got it all done in time for Mother’s… Read more »

My cousin posted this picture on Facebook and I had to share 🙂 Source There’s a chill in the air, the days are getting shorter and pumpkin spice lattes are back! Time for nature’s catwalk to begin with trees resplendent in their autumnal gorgeousness.  It’s not quite here yet, but soon it will be time to rake, rake, rake.  Jump into pile of freshly raked leaves.  Begin process again. Fall ❤ Leaves I noticed that my crafting is also leaf-centric.  I’ve… Read more »

When I initially began knitting sweaters, the concept of seamless, top-down knitting, in the round was pretty unconventional.  Even for baby sweaters.  Patterns instructed you to knit the sweater in pieces and then seam the parts together.  There was little opportunity to try-as-you-go and you hoped that after all was said and done, the thing would fit ok.  I loved the knitting, it was the finishing that gave me the blahs.  Seaming all those pieces together and then getting the… Read more »

Start date on my Vitamin D cardigan was October of last year!!!  Finally, this project is off the needles… huge sigh of relief! I’m sort of on the fence about this one 🙁  I don’t know if I would feel differently if I had lengthened the body so that the “drapey bits” in front draped better.  That said, a whole sweater in this yarn, Tosh Merino Light, is absolutely amazing.  It is light and squishy and the color, even after a good soak,… Read more »

I’ve been working on what I thought was more than a few rows on my Vitamin D cardigan every night.  My routine at night is to knit while I go through my PVR list before bed (because who really has the time any more to watch shows at the actual time they’re aired and to suffer through all those commercial breaks?) Anyhow, this is prime knitting time for me and I should have been done with my cardigan with all… Read more »

Can lilacs fade? Ours certainly have although, they smell just as pretty. Come on little bean, you can do it!  I noticed a tear on one of the leaves.  I hope it isn’t some pesky bug but just from little fingers “over-loving” this plant.  With all of the petting, it’s amazing that the little thing has survived this long. Dinner? I love this measuring tool that I scored for a quarter at a garage sale this past weekend ♥ But right… Read more »

When it comes to yarn (or fabric), color is my friend.  I’m always drawn to saturated, vibrant shades. Never one to shy away from wearing color, it’s always a challenge to pair my handknits with my clothes. I recently purchased a blouse in the loveliest shade of “seafoam” and when I looked for a sweater to wear with it, as expected, there was nothing.  All those handknit sweaters and I came up empty.  Then I spied the first ever cardigan… Read more »

I almost forgot to share finished pictures of this project.  I knit a little baby sweater for another soon-to-arrive bebe using the Baby Sophisticate pattern and Malabrigo (swoon!) yarn. My favorite part about this pattern was the little shawl collar, definitely the “Sophisticate” part of this sweater! I added the different colored buttons for a bit of whimsy and fun.  This pattern was such a quick knit and I’m definitely going to be knitting it again.  I went up a… Read more »