Branching Out

Some WIP news: I ended up having to frog my first attempt at the Textured Shawl because the fabric did not have as much drape as I would have liked. Going up one needle size solved that problem. Still knitting away on Turmeric. I won't bore you with progress shots because not much has changed since last week. Now for the exciting part: my first contest! Ever since starting this blog last October, knitting has been the main focus. Well, I hope to change that this year by slowly branching out into other crafts. Today, I wanted to share with you my one and only crocheted finished object: the tulip stitch washcloth, which is kind of misleading since it has never been used as a washcloth. Instead, it has a place of honor in my home on top of my precious basket of Peaches and Creme yarn. I am slowly refreshing my crocheting skills and hopefully will have more to show for it in the future.

One designer in the world of crochet that I really admire is Robyn Chachula. She has a terrific sense of style and color. For this contest, I am giving away her latest book, Baby Blueprint Crochet. If you want to see cute personified, check out this and this. In addition, the lucky winner will receive three skeins of Tahki Yarns Cotton Classic to welcome in Spring. Just leave a comment about your most favorite crocheted project.

For you knitters that have not ventured into crocheting yet, what are you waiting for? Just kidding! I am giving away to you two skeins of Shibui Knits Sock yarn. Leave a comment about your most favorite knitting project so far.

The contest will be open until the end of Sunday, March 6. I will announce the winner during WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS on March 9. Leave your contact info (ravelry username or email or blog name) with your comment. Good luck! And head on over to TAMI'S blog for some fun crochet and knitting projects in progress!

Lazy Days

Don't you love those lazy days when there's nothing scheduled or in pressing need to be done?(except the cooking and housecleaning, but those don't count). I've been lucky to have several of them this week which helped me to get Daybreak off the needles. Now it just needs to be blocked.  I impulsively started another shawl last night. The Textured Shawl by Orlane has been in my faves for quite awhile. I love the look of the textured pattern against the simplicity of stockinette stitch. This is being knitted with Ultra Alpaca so it will be nice and warm. I also managed to fix the mistake on the Turmeric sweater and am now working on finishing the body section. The fit is making me a little bit nervous. There seems to be quite a lot of room in there! Keeping my fingers crossed that all will work out once the front pleats are in place. Hope everyone is having a great week! Head on over to WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS for some crafty fun! Oh, and tune in next week for my first ever contest...it's not what you might expect....

Valentine Goodies

I knew it was going to be a good day when I woke up to this. My hubby knows me well....I'll take chocolates over flowers any day! Especially if they are from my favorite purveyor of all things delicious. The temperature today was in the 60's, so I went for a long walk on the trail, listening to The Cure's Disintegration. Such a tragically romantic album, perfect for Valentine's Day. Hope everyone is enjoying this fine day. Here's a photo of some new buttons for my collection. These are making me hope that Spring is just around the corner.

Danger Ahead

Got Sock?

I blame this little guy for disrupting my knitting plans for the week. Every minute of available spare time was spent on finishing him up for my youngest niece's birthday on Wednesday. This picture was taken a couple of hours before the official opening of presents. I'm happy to report that he was the hit of the party! The pattern is called Sammie the Sock Monster by Rebecca Danger. Despite the time crunch, I really had fun knitting him up. My niece has promised to bring him over to visit me next week, so maybe I can get a picture of him with his finished socks. His name is "Donut", by the way. He wants you to head on over to FO Friday with TAMI'S AMIS.

Year of the Cat

Today is the eve of the Vietnamese/Chinese Lunar New Year. It is the most important holiday in Vietnam and involves family, food, festivals, and many spiritual symbolism. I wanted to make the little ones in my family some gifts to honor the Year of the Cat, besides giving the traditional "lucky" money. But my nieces saw these bunny nuggets on ravelry and were instantly in love, so we are going by the Chinese zodiac which says this is the Year of the Rabbit. It is such a fast and fun pattern. I finished this one in less than 2 hours. I am also hard at work on my Daybreak. Just a few more rows of the edging left. Here is a shot of it with the afternoon sunlight shining from behind. Hope everyone is having a great week. Check out these crafty ladies at WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS. I better get back to knitting more bunny nuggets, after I hide all the chocolates.