Oh what tangled webs we weave

He is much more patient than me

My yarn is an unhappy, tangled mess.  My center pull yarn cake wound up being a giant knot on the inside.  Any tips on untangling (without cutting)? I gave up after an hour and then Nate took over for me....

In happier news...I had a job interview today at my alma mater and I think it went well :)

Too hot

Double Bump

It's even too hot at the beach.... Blech.  Did more reading today than knitting...the yarn kept getting stuck to my palms (thank you sweat). Currently enjoying The Knitting Diaries, an anthology featuring Debbie Macomber, Susan Mallery, and Christina Skye. Perfect light hearted romance novels plus knitting.  It just screams beach book.

My Saroyan is coming along nicely. It is obviously not my beach knitting, but I've been working on it when it's cool.  I just added the second skein last night and am 8 leaves in.  

Climbing Vines

The lighting is not perfect on this...the leaves look flatter than they are

Four increases in..two more to go before working on the straight portion of the shawl. This is a really easy, fun, and satisfying pattern.  I had a little bit of issue with it yesterday and had to frog it all and re-start but now I got the swing of things :) I wish you could feel this yarn. I'm in love with the Ella Rae Bamboo Silk yarn <3

Saroyan Shawl

It looks like I plucked a Hydrangea off the bush and started knitting with it

My next big project has begun! Keeping with naming my projects after food...I present to you the Sugared Violet Saroyan Shawl.  I'm probably the only knitter out there who is knitting a shawl....and has no clue how to WEAR a shawl.

By The Sea

Lovely blues and greens

I finished another Instant Gratification Cloth in record time.  It was originally going to be for us, but I realized I had a birthday party to go to this weekend and needed a gift.  Nate's Auntie Ellen and Uncle Jeff are having a combined birthday party to celebrate their 50th Birthday and they are going all out - they rented a section of a park and are having it catered and everything. And as money is tight with us...I figured I'd knit them a gift! But, as I only had two days....Instant Gratification Cloth was needed.  I had started a new pattern I found on Ravelry that was a Garter Ridge Dishcloth and it was super easy.  I will definitely be making more of these :)

I loved how the yarn striping worked out as well.  I will have to go to Walmart and get more of this yarn, seeing as how it is now discontinued :( I found the Peaches and Creme yarn to be much nicer on my hands and it felt a little bit more flexible.

I really need a better location to stage my pics

For Auntie Ellen and Uncle Jeff's present I paired the finished Instant Gratification Cloth with a lovely soap I picked up at Bellevue Beauty Walk.  It's called By The Sea, and it is a shea butter soap made in England.  It smells delicious, and I absolutely adore the packaging.  Little known Amy fact but I simply adore the Victorian era and Newport, RI being a beach town that was popular during the Gilded Age it is very fitting...that little Victorian miss in her swimsuit could have been me over a 100 years ago. So, with the cloth and soap Nate also picked out several amusing MikWright coasters from Pleasant Surprise.

Beach Bummin' Garter Ridge Dishcloth Project Details:

Pattern: Three Easy Dish Cloths by Elizabeth Carls

Yarn: Peaches and Creme Stripes 

Needles: US 7

Instant Gratification Cloths

I would like to rename dishcloths to Instant Gratification Cloths.  This little baby I whipped up in a week.  It would have been sooner, but I pretty much just knitted at the beach and while answering questions from the "If..." book at the Cape House. 

Dishcloths are the perfect beach knitting. Or, at least this pattern was.  The hardest part was remembering whether or not I was on a Row 2 (K1, S1) or a Row 4 (K2, S1).  I lost track once, and wound up ripping out a few rows - it should have been only one row, but I had difficulty putting it back on the needles.  And I guess I'm a process knitter and not a project knitter, because if I know a mistake is there it will drive me c r a z y.

After that little rip out moment, I came up with a clever way to remember where I was.  If it was a Row 2, I would leave only one point protector on my beach chair armrest.  And if it was a Row 4, I would leave two.  Genius.

Bright pink scrubby

Sanity Saving Dishcloth Project Details:
Pattern: Chinese Waves Dishcloth by Margaret K.K. Radcliffe
Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Creme
Needles: US 7

Mint Chocolate Chip Baby Blanket All Grown Up

My baby is all grown up

My blanket is complete.  Currently, it is pinned and blocking as shown in the picture.  I feel a bit...bereft.  I am ecstatic that I am finally done - as I've been knitting this since March. However, I feel like I've lost a friend in a way.  I miss the feel of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in my hands.  I miss the repetitive, calming back and forth motion of the seed stitch.  I do not miss the K3Tog of the edge.

But, with that said, I am so freaking happy to have finished a major project.  I know it's not a sweater, or even very difficult, but for me...this is huge. It's my third knitting project I have ever made, and it has taught me so much.  Going into this, I hated purling.  Now, I like it more than the knit stitch.  I can now add a new skein of yarn like a champ. And, I have dabbled in lace.  All on my third project! 

Sewing on the edges with my trusty Chibi

Sewing the edges together was easier than I thought it would be.  The pattern had called for the edges to be sewn together at the corners first, and then sewing that frame to the main portion.  I changed it up a bit and sewed each edge to the blanket first and then sewing up the corners.  While I found sewing the edges on to be easy, I did not find sewing the corners together easy.  In fact, sewing the corners together sucked almost as much as weaving in the ends. And trust me, there were a lot of ends. Each corner had two strands of brown, two of white and two of the green. The green and brown were the better of the two, but the white had to be woven into the lace...and it was tricky.  

I'm excited to give the blanket to Ariel in a couple of weeks. I really hope she appreciates it and loves it as much as I do.  With the right care, this can be a nice family heirloom.  And I'm sure while it won't be the last baby blanket I knit, it is the first...and that makes it all the more special to me.  Once her baby boy is born I will have to get a picture of him wrapped in the blanket.  

I will be starting my Saroyan next week :)  In the mean time I will finish up my dish cloth which is the most perfect beach knitting ever - easy pattern and cheap yarn.  

Mint Chocolate Chip Baby Blanket Project Details:

Pattern: Blanket with Decorative Edge by Debbie Bliss

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino

Needles: US 3 and US 5 

Happy 4th of July!

I'm a bit early, but tomorrow will be nuts....so Happy 4th of July (and Canada Day to my Canadian friends)! May your day be filled with friends, fireworks, and independence

Knitting on a Beach = Happiness