My Two Boys

Ben and Elijah were being super cute today.  First, Eli was being fussy in the car so Ben tried to sing him to sleep:

Then, when we got home I heard Elijah full out laughing for the first time - at his brother, of course!  I can already tell these two are going to be close as they get older.  They had me laughing so hard at one point that I started crying.

Zora Update

Still plodding along on my Zora Cardigan.  I haven't had much time at all to work on it despite having a 5 day holiday from work. Too much going on with the kids.  But, both boys are actually cooperating right now and are sleeping - at the same time!  That almost never happens.

So I've only done about 3 1/2 inches of the back so far but here are a couple of pics:

 A close up of the quatrefoil pattern.  Un-blocked of course.  

It's coming along nicely I think...

Memorial Day Weekend

First of all, a big thank you to all the service men and women who have lost their lives for our country.  We remember and honor you today by enjoying those freedoms that you helped to make possible.

We spent the day yesterday with family- my brother, sister-in-law and their two boys.  Memorial Day weekend is usually our first family barbeque.  Yesterday, we went over to their house to help them put up their new pool and we got to enjoy some smoked pork and chicken that my brother made.  Yum!

Some smores by the fire topped it all off:

Ben

 

My nephew, Jacob.

Happy-Go-Lucky

If only we could stay as carefree as a 4 year old...

Game of Thrones Ep. 7

Does anyone else watch Game of Thrones on HBO?  I've been a fan of the books for years now and was very excited to learn that HBO was making it into a series.

I cheated and watched Episode 7 a week early on HBOGo.  I just couldn't resist.  There was nothing else on tv so I turned fired up my laptop to watch while I worked on my Zora cardi.   I won't say much on the off chance that someone actually reads this and hasn't watched the show.  But, Wow!  This show is getting better and better.  Even knowing what's coming doesn't change my reactions to what's happening on the screen.  And it only gets better from here.  The only thing missing this episode was a little Tyrion and a little Arya.  They're my two favorite characters in the books and on screen.  Peter Dinklage and Maisie Williams are both fantastic.

If there's anyone who hasn't read the books but is watching the show: Just wait until Season 2!  It only gets better from here.

Current WIP: Zora Cardigan

I've finally decided to try making my first adult sized cardigan.  My first real piece of clothing.  After making a ton of scarves, lots of hats and a few pairs of gloves and mittens, I decided it was time to branch out a bit.  I'm comfortable will all kinds of stitches, cables and lace but I am not comfortable piecing things together.  Finishing is really my downfall.  I definitely need practice.

So, we recently went to Webs for their tent sale.  Perfect timing!  I can get a whole sweater's worth of yarn for super cheap!  Yeah, right...   Instead, I find my way into the warehouse and absolutely fall in love with this:

I saw it and immediately fell in love with the color.  It's Valley Yarns Charlemont Kettle Dyed in the Navy colorway. Was it part of the tent sale?  No.  Was it even on sale?  No.  Oh well.  It's pretty and soft and I wanted it.  And it will make a perfect late summer night layering piece.

This purchase caused me to change my whole plan, though.  I was originally looking for worsted weight to make the February Lady sweater.  The Charlemont is fingering weight.  Hmmm...   I don't think I'm at the skill level yet to accurately convert a pattern like this into a different weight of yarn so I decided to start over and look for patterns made for fingering weight.

I eventually settled on this:

Image copyright Kristen Rengren from original pattern posted on Knitty

This is the Zora Cardigan from Knitty Winter 2009.    The pattern looks interesting enough to keep me interested (plain stockinette drives me batty) but not so complicated that I can't pick it up and work on it for short periods here and there.  I also liked that the original was worked in a slightly variegated yarn similar to the one I got so I think it will show the colors of the Charlemont really well.  I'm excited!

So far I've only got about 10 rows done.  I haven't even finished a whole repeat of the pattern yet but so far so good.  I think it's going to come out really nice. 

I'll post some in-progress photos once I've gotten a little further.