After weeks of ignoring them, I finally took out the finished pieces of Tailored Scallops today with the intent of pinning them out and steam blocking them. To my horror, I discovered 2 mysterious unattached loops in the middle of the left front. I have no idea how this happened.

I wove the loops in as well as possible, and then took a strand of the yarn and tacked them down so they won't pop out again. The two fronts, the back and the sleeves are now drying on my bedroom rug. I can still see where the loop fixes were made on the left front, but hopefully the holes that are supposed to be there will disguise them to the unknowing eye.

In more relaxed news, I had some leftover yarn from the first Midwest Moonlight, so I decided to make a skinnier version, casting on only 17 sts instead of 33. It looks more like an accessory now, as opposed to a useable warm scarf like the wider version. The super-stretch of the Cascade superwash when wet made it easy to create an 80" scarf with 52" of knitting on the needles. I haven't tried this yarn for a sweater yet, and will definitely swatch and block before I make anything that needs to stay a certain size. I still have about 2 skeins left in this color, which may become a February Baby Sweater for my son's teacher, who is expecting a baby girl in January.

The holiday gift knitting/destashing is in full swing. Here is the first of the smaller projects. It is Misty Garden from Scarf Style. Made with one skein of variegated Patons Merino, it is not much like the fuzzy version in the book. But the pattern is a snap, especially since I just finished working on the feather and fan sea of Tailored Scallops. I'm not sure who the recipient will be yet, but I have learned that during this time of year it is not a bad thing to have random FO's on hand and ready to be gifted at any moment.

Here is my finished Midwest Moonlight, the third item created for the secret birthday gift exchange that my knitting group started back in January. I hope to get a photo of the recipient wearing it. The gifts should be coming more frequently now since the last 3 recipients have birthdays in October, November and December.

I used about a skein and a half of Cascade 220 superwash, and cast on 33 stitches instead of 49, since the Cascade is thicker than the Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort called for in the pattern, and I didn't want the scarf to be too wide. The scarf was about 59" before blocking, and after a nice Eucalan bath and a stretch to open up the lace, it measured around 84". I really enjoyed knitting this pattern and am happy with the way it turned out. I'll definitely be making more of these!

Thomas the Tank Engine is visiting Strasburg PA this week, and since our 4-year-old is train obsessed, we decided to make the trek up there to check it out. My DH and I wanted to make the trip fun for the boys, but also as relaxing as possible for us. That means a peaceful atmosphere (i.e. not loads of other families with children, and a separate place for us to hang out after the boys go to sleep so we don't have to go to bed at 8 pm or sit in the dark and whisper to each other). After looking online and rejecting many outrageously priced suites, we ended up staying in the guest house at Penn's Valley Farm, which was reasonably priced, and suited our needs quite well.

The B&B is surrounded by farmland, and has a lovely porch with rocking chairs that looks out over cornfields. There is also a playset, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed. The guest house also had some toys and books to entertain the boys, which was great for us, since we had neglected to bring these very important items. The guest house has two floors, one with a sleeper sofa, a kitchen and eating area, and a television with a vhs/dvd player, and some videos and movies, mostly suited to children. There were homemade blueberry and chocolate chip muffins waiting in the kitchen when we arrived, and an array of cereals in the cupboard.

A winding staircase takes you up to the sleeping area which has farm animals stenciled on the walls. There is a twin bed, 2 double beds and a small crib, and a bathroom with a shower. There is a gate at the top of the stairs - a very good thing for small children, since the stairs are quite steep. Gladys, the baker of the muffins, also offers an optional full breakfast for an addition $4 per person. We decided to partake on our last morning, and are glad we did. She made sticky buns, scrambled eggs and bacon, and some other delicious looking baked goods that we were too stuffed to sample. She and her husband Melvin, the owners of the farm, joined us for the breakfast, and they were good company. The cottage cost us $80 per night ($70 base + $5 each for the boys), plus $16 for the full breakfast. We though it was a great deal.

And I got some knitting time in on the porch.

Nice view to knit by!

Tailored Scallops' sleeves are finished. Now all I have to do is knit the back, block it all and sew it together. If I were making this for someone who didn't have difficulty with her hands, I would probably gift a brooch of some sort to go with the sweater. I have thought about buying a Clever Clasp and seeing if I could somehow attach some beads and make a nifty, easy to close fastener for the sweater. Maybe I'll be compelled if the finished product is crying out for closure. Otherwise, it would probably be best to make the sweater as easy as possible for my MIL to put on herself.

Along the same lines, there seem to be so few products on the market that cater to elderly and handicapped people. iPods are a great size for those who are able to press the tiny buttons and see the small screen, but it would be great if there were some sort of a larger version so that those with failing eyesight and clumsy fingers could also carry some entertainment along for the ride.

I finished the left front of Tailored Scallops last night, and wound two hanks of Cascade into balls in preparation for the next part. I originally wanted to make this sweater as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law, but if all keeps chugging along as quickly as it has been, I may give it to her as a birthday gift at the end of the month. My father-in-law is in the hospital with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and therefore my mother-in-law needs to live in an assisted living facility for a few weeks. She had a rough time last time she needed to stay in a respite care facility, so she may have even more appreciation now for a colorful, hand knit, lacy cardigan made just for her.

Here is the right front of Tailored Scallops. It has been very enjoyable knitting so far, and miraculously, the Cascade seems to be working to gauge. To try and keep it interesting, I am planning to do the left front next, then the sleeves, and finish with the back. The one front did not even take an entire skein of Cascade, so I'll be interested to see how much of the 8 skeins I have left over at the end of the project.

Magical closet makeover. After sifting through disorganized clumps of sheets and towels one too many times, I finally asked my DH to help me put a shelving system into our linen closet. Here is the before picture.

I am not sure what the builder thought this tiny shelf would hold - certainly not much that is useful for humans. The gaping lack of shelving in the bottom section is also inexplicable, but since most of these vinyl smackeroo houses seem to be built in 24 hours, there probably isn't time to pense on such tiny details.

So DH ripped out little shelf and then much spackle was needed to help repair the wall. The pink stuff that turns white when it is dry is definitely helpful for those with children or other time-consuming life elements that don't allow time for you to sit and watch it dry.


I wanted the closet to match the hallway, and fortunately we had leftover paint, so I gave it a beautious new coat.


Then DH came in with the Closet Maid Shelf Track. We couldn't use one of the prepackaged kits like we had used in the boys rooms since this closet is a unique size and shape. Shelf Track is a flexible system though, and our Lowe's has a free shelf cutting service that we used to make the shelves accomodate our closet. So he found the studs, with some false positives, but ended up hanging the hang tracks with a mix of screws and toggle bolts and not too much trouble. Once the tracks were up, everything else went in easily, and the finished product makes the closet so much more useful!

We went raspberry picking today at Westmoreland Berry Farm. There is something so delectable about picking ripe fruit that practically jumps into your hand when you go to pluck it from the vine. You just know it is going to be delicious. The boys had fun too. Bran was trying to learn how to spot the ripe berries. Abe also did some picking, and enjoyed tasting the berries in all stages of development, even the white ones. I got some knitting done during the car ride. The right front of Tailored Scallops, which I began a few nights ago, but ended up ripping because the needles were too big, has been started again on smaller needles, and here it is. The pattern is fun so far, and I think I have it memorized now, so it should go even faster.

Here are the finished serf booties, laced up and ready to go. I like the way they turned out. Hopefully they will fit the recipient at some point. I am getting close to finishing the back of the Classic Camel Vest. It is a sea of stockinette stitch which was perfect work for tonight's Knitting Night.

Here is my sister in her new Arwen. She said she loves it, and I am happy with the way it looks on her. She surprised me and gave me these Noro lovelies. I am thinking of using them to make a Midwest Moonlight for myself if the variegation in the Kureyon doesn't hide the pattern too much. I'll definitely need to take off a pattern repeat or 2 in order to give the scarf some length, since I only have the two skeins. I finished the other Midwest Moonlight, but am waiting to put up pics since I don't want the recipient to see it before she receives it. I also felted the serf booties, but still need to add holes and laces. The back of the vest for my father-in-law is about half way done. The gold Cascade 220 Heather I am using for it is knitting up beautifully.

Projects are in the works. The serf booties are all knit up, ready to be seamed and felted. I got sidetracked and started a Midwest Moonlight scarf which has been very enjoyable and quick to knit. I have only 6 pattern repeats to go unless I decide to make it longer than 60". I am using Cascade 220 Superwash #847, aka Caribbean, and it is a soothing color to work with. We'll see how much the superwash grows when it is blocked. I have had Scarf Style for over a year, but for some reason this is the first pattern that I have started from the book.

I also have some magenta non-superwash Cascade waiting to be turned into a Tailored Scallops Jacket for my mother-in-law if the gauge works out. She has Lewy Body Disease, so it is impossible to know how many more Christmases she will be able to appreciate, so I would like to make her something special for this year.

A friend of my neighbor's is going to Bulgaria in September to work with women and children who live in horrible conditions. She would like to bring 150 scarves and pairs of socks to give to the people there. These two scarves are my contribution so far. The beige one is made with Goddess yarns Frederique, a lovely blend of superfine alpaca, baby alpaca and silk that I used to make a hat for my mother a few years ago. It is only 38" long, but hopefully it will make a cozy neck wrap for a woman, or a scarf for a child. The other one is made from Encore Worsted Colorspun, and it knit up so quickly and turned out so cute and that I just may need to make another one for the cause. I have been so caught up with following patterns that I had forgotten how satisfying it can be to make something with simple garter stitch or ribbing. Maybe it is all the yoga I have been doing lately, but I would like to start keeping at least one "zen" project in my diet along with the face glued to pattern more complex ones.

My DH thought that I needed to put up a photo of Arwen. I am hoping to get a pic of my sister wearing it when I give it to her in a few weeks. If it doesn't fit her, or if she decides she doesn't like it for some reason, I'm next in line.

After two months of doing very little knitting, I have made a comeback. The Cardigan for Arwen, which had been waiting to be seamed since March, is now seamed, washed and ready to be given to my sister as a much belated birthday gift. I have to say, I am a bit disappointed with the way the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran fuzzed after machine washing it. It also stretched immensely, and after reading the experiences of other knitters, I decided to put it in the dryer. My sister is teeny tiny, so I could not risk the sweater turning into a Cardigan for Bigfoot. The yarn still feels very soft, but is surprisingly worn looking considering it has never been worn, only washed once. Hopefully a little sweater stoning will make it better, but I am not sure I would use this yarn for anything large again, even if it is on sale.

Two of my friends recently had baby boys, so I also started the serf booties from Knitting Daily. If you plan to make them, be sure to check out the errata here to avoid potential annoyance. I also finally broke out the monster stash of Cascade 220 from WEBS Anniversary sale, and started the Classic Camel Vest from Men in Knits, which I purchased from Interweave's hurt book sale a few weeks ago.

This lovely bag is the second item created for the secret birthday gift exchange that my knitting group started back in January. Maureen used 2 strands of Lambs Pride Worsted held together and a pattern from Felted Knits. She presented the bag to Sheila at Knitting Night at Starbucks last week. When Sheila arrived, Maureen was still attaching the button to the bag, but Sheila didn't suspect anything because Maureen had been pretending that the bag was going to be for her sister. When she finished sewing, she passed the bag around for all of us to see, making sure that Sheila would get it last, and then she said "It's yours!" The next birthday is in September, and I look forward to seeing what the gifter comes up with.

Bran's last day of preschool is this week, so I decided to make felted purses for his teachers. They are both made out of variegated Patons Classic Merino. The pattern is based on the Booga Bag with some minor additions/changes. You can't tell in these photos, but both of the bags have a magnetic snap inside. I hope they like the bags!

My son's school held an arts and crafts auction, so I donated these.

The pet bed started out as a giant tote, but I didn't have enough of the Nature Wool to make it as big as I intended. I bound off and felted it anyway, and it came out of the washer a wide and short rectangle-like thing. Inspiration struck, I stretched the heck out of it, and voila.

The bag is based on Sophie from Magknits. I used leftover Lamb's Pride which came from various projects, so I wasn't sure about the colors at first. I do like the way it turned out though. The bottom of the bag is also hot pink, but it is hard to tell in the picture.

Happy Valentine's Day!! Bran helped me to make these cards for his preschool class. I got the idea from here. Baking the first batch was a little exciting because it dripped more than I expected, and the tray I had placed underneath was not sufficient to catch all the drippings. Long story short, I needed to clean the oven that night.

Bran gave them to his class yesterday, and it turned out that they were the only handmade cards of the group. I don't regret making them, since he enjoyed it, and it gave us a fun activity to do together.

In knitting news, I managed to finish the left front of Arwen. I left the shoulder sts on a holder instead of binding off so that I could use 3-needle bind off when the back is done. I also cast the stitches for the sleeve and the hood directly onto the front using knitted cast-on, instead of doing backward loop cast-on on the empty needle. Hopefully it will all work out in the end.

My knitting must be getting looser as I get older. After trying a gauge with 8's and getting 16 sts/26 rows, I tried it with 7's and was able to get close enough for jazz - 18 sts/23 rows. The pattern calls for 18/26, but I figured that width is more important since I can easily adjust length by doing fewer or more rows.

I decided to save the stockinette back for easy Knitting Night knitting, and went ahead with the left front. Stockinette isn't my favorite, but having the 24 stitch reversible cable pattern at the beginning or end of each row has kept it interesting so far.