Progress and a new project

The Garter Stitch Cardigan has been blocked, and I finished the matching hat yesterday at Knitting Night. I'll post pics once I have found and attached some buttons. I should start working on the fronts and sleeves for my mom's Bristow, but instead I have decided to use up my last skein of Cascade 220 Superwash #847 and knit my first socks. I'm using the Cozy Armchair Socks pattern from Weekend Knitting, and it looks very basic, so we'll see how it goes. Maybe spring (and thus spring cleaning) is in the air, or maybe I have been affected by The Story of Stuff, but I suddenly feel a strong desire to use the yarn I have piled up in the closet. Whatever it is, I'm sure it won't last - especially when the weather warms up and the wool sales begin!

My friend Stephanie does beautiful cross stitch and also does amazing things with a sewing machine. When Bran was born, she gave us onesies on which she had cross stitched teddy bears. Whenever I dressed Bran, and later, Abe, in the onesies. I always thought of her and how special the gift was. So when she was pregnant with her first child, I wanted to make something to reciprocate the gesture.

I knew I needed to knit something small if I was to have any chance of finishing it, since Abe was only a few months old when Lorelei was born. I came across Miss Dashwood and it was just what I was looking for.

I wanted to make a larger size, so Lorelei would be able to wear the hat for longer than a month, and I wanted a sophisticated color, since I had a feeling she would have a personality to match it. And I am happy to see, now that she can wear it, that it suits her quite well!

My good friend Kate is expecting a baby boy at the end of April, so naturally I wanted to knit something for him. I started the garter stitch cardigan from Knitting For Baby, but didn't have time to knit the sleeves before her baby shower last week. After debating whether or not to bring the unfinished cardigan to the shower, I decided to do so, and, after seeing her reaction, I'm glad I did. Now I have more time to complete the cardi, and I may even make a hat to go with it. Here it is, unblocked and buttonless:

We took a trip up to the homeland last week so I finally gave my sister her almost 2 month belated birthday gift. And here she is in her skinny Midwest Moonlight scarf with matching cap. I wasn't sure if the cap was going to work until I saw it on her - it is amazing how much better she looks in that color than I do. Happy Belated Birthday Meredith!

My son's school has a fundraiser in April and parents are asked to donate arts and crafts to be sold by silent auction. Last year I donated a felted purse and a pet bed (which had started out as a felted purse). The purse sold for $25 and the pet bed for $10. I was happy that the pet bed sold at all, but I was a little disappointed that the purse only brought in $25 after the hours of work that I had put into it. So, for the auction this year, I wanted to make something unique that would be very quick to knit, and for which I could use yarn that I already had in my stash. I went to the local library for some ideas and came out with One Skein by Leigh Radford, which has a great pattern for felted bowls.

I cheated on the using yarn from my stash part of the deal since AC Moore was having a sale on Patons SWS, and I had been wanting to try it out for a while. Here is what I made from one skein of it.

For my next bowl attempt I used one skein of variegated Patons Classic Merino from stash. I made the larger bowl first, and then started a new one where I had ended the last one. I like how the pattern of the yarn changed for the smaller size.

I have a lot of feltable wool in my stash, so I plan to make a bunch of these for April's auction. I'm tempted to see if I could make a set of three nesting bowls, although I may not have enough yarn if I stick to stash.