:: daydream knits :: back to school edition

Bohemian Tee

Getting ready for back to school this week. Where has the summer gone? Poor little guy, next Monday is his birthday which is also the first day of school. Every kid's worst nightmare, huh? But hopefully if the weather holds up, we can celebrate on Sunday with a trip to the water park or beach. Better yet, Grandma L. will be making a brief visit this weekend. In between the school shopping and getting the house ready, I am knitting away on my summer projects. Easier said than done, especially when all of the Fall knitting magazines are tempting me to cast on something warm and woolly. So as the linen yarn glides through my fingers and off the needles, daydreams of fisherman sweaters and toasty colorwork mitts and hats are swirling around in my head. Ssshhh, don't tell the little guy, but I love back to school time ;) What kinds of projects are you daydreaming about right now?

lightning tee

The Madeira Vandyke Lace stitch pattern immediately caught my interest as soon as I saw it in the wonderfully useful Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary by Wendy Bernard. No doubt because it looks a lot like lightning bolts to me, which brings to mind those unpredictable thunder and lightning storms that occur frequently around this time of year. Perfect for a summer tee. This was knitted from the bottom up, in the round up to the underarms. Then the front and back were knitted flat and joined together with a three needle bind-off. 1x1 ribbing was used for the bottom hem, neck and arm openings. Waist shaping was not necessary due to the nature of the stitch pattern. I knitted this with about 3 inches of positive ease, out of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, an 80% cotton/20% merino blend. The color is a vibrant blue which is so hard to capture in photos but is one of my favorite shades of blue. It would be very easy and fun to adapt this basic tee formula for other stitch patterns in the book. All that is needed is a good gauge swatch and a little basic math. I really ♡  how this turned out. ⚡⚡⚡

blog hop - creativity

Last week, Steph invited me to participate in a blog-hop about a topic that is nearest and dearest to my heart: creativity. Speaking of which, her blog is one of my favorite sources of inspiration for beautiful knits, witty writing and other hi jinks.

1.  What have been the doings/makings/scribblings at your desk/making table this week?

There is a jumble of crafty things on my desk this week. Here is the breakdown:

* 365 Things to Make and Do is a constant source of fun projects to make with the little guy. We especially love the ones involving bugs and pirates.

* Can't wait to get started on these mini embroidery kits.

* Another pin-loom coaster in progress.

* A random assortment of knitting which includes sweater ornaments, a newly started summer top, my Hitofude cardigan which is in desperate need of attention and...

* The ever-present hexipuffs.

2.  Where are you currently finding your inspiration?

The answer to this question is pretty cliched, but I find inspiration everywhere. Well, maybe not in the hubby's messy garage or my laundry room, but in everyday things like....my garden, or the hydrangeas growing just outside the front door, or the bunnies who claim our backyard for themselves, or my nieces and their budding sense of style, or the little guy's funny renditions of his favorite songs. I could go on & on & on. Also, there are so many wonderfully inspiring blogs that I love to visit. It is oftentimes very difficult to stay focused on my current projects when I see all of the beautiful knits/crochet/sewing, etc. that abound on these blogs. And then there's Ravelry. It is embarrassing to admit how many hours I spend ogling all of the gorgeous projects and patterns there.

3.  How important is being creative to you and how do you blend this with your work-life-family balance?

It is a constant juggling act most days, but I try to fit in a little time for knitting, listening to music or reading every day. Since I work pretty long shifts (12 to 14 hours), I consider myself lucky if I can knit just 15 minutes before bedtime. But then there are days filled to the brim with making, knitting, and other fun things. So it all balances out in the end. I also think it is important to teach by example. Seeing his parents knitting or creating funny motorcycle videos shows the little guy how much fun making things can be. I love seeing him caught up in his own creative ventures....most recently, composing hilarious lyrics to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody :)

Thanks, Steph, for letting me join in the fun! And now I would like to keep the blog-hop ball rolling by inviting Chris and Kepanie to play along. I so enjoy visiting their blogs and reading about their adventures in life and knitting.