Knit Unto Others

Pattern: Sleeper Sack
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby D.K.
Needles: US 3
Size: Less than 1 lb. (chest circumference: 8", length: 11")

There's been a whole lot of knitting going on at my house! Participating in KUO has given me the motivation I need to get together a nice donation for The Preemie Project. For me, knitting bereavement clothing it is the most important charity work I do. This gown has become my favorite to knit. It's simple, no frills look makes it perfect for a boy. I only wish you could see it in person, because the picture doesn't do it justice. The Dreambaby yarn is incredibly soft and perfect for this pattern. I still have enough to make another set like this in blue and there are still a few days left of KUO, so why stop now?

That's Enough

I've reached my limit. Eight Santa hats with matching booties for The Preemie Project. I began the first hat last Monday (though I didn't post about it until Friday) and finished the last pair of booties this morning. Each set represents three hours of knitting. I consider this time well spent. Knitting for others gives purpose to my passion.

For the rest of the week, I'll continue Knit Unto Others by working on a bereavement set (also for The Preemie Project). I haven't decided which pattern to use yet, but I have decided on the yarn: Plymouth Dreambaby. I was lucky enough to leave the 300th comment on Megan's blog, Woolly Interlude, and win this great yarn along with some beautiful Lorna's Laces.

Thanks, Megan! You must have handpicked this especially for me. It will be put to good use.

Be Thankful...

and Knit Unto Others. That's what I'll be doing for the next couple of weeks. I'm knitting Santa hats and booties for The Preemie Project until the red yarn runs out or I get sick of it, whichever comes first.



The hat pattern I'm using is my own version. There are other patterns here, here and here, if you would like to join me in knitting for the babies. For the booties, I'm using a variation of this pattern.

V Neck Cardigan

The cardigan was finished just in time for our trip to Florida, so in the suitcase it went to be photographed on our travels.



John didn't mind pulling off the highway for a photo shoot on Tampa Bay. It's not hard to convince a fisherman to stop by the water.



Pattern: Knitting Pure & Simple Neckdown V Neck Shaped Cardigan #241
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca (50% Alpaca, 50% Wool) Color 6279
Needles: 24" circular US 6 and 4; 16" circular US 6; US 6 double points
Started: October 19, 2006
Finished: November 10, 2006

This is the third sweater I've made since I began knitting. The first two were knitted before I began blogging, so I have never shown pictures of those. Maybe I will one day. This however, is the first sweater I've knitted from the top down and the first that is knitted in one piece. If you dislike seaming, this sweater is for you. I enjoyed knitting it very much. The large amount of stockinette stitch made it the perfect knitting project to pack in my suitcase to have for knitting on the road.



The pattern was well written and easy to understand. The only thing I wondered about was that the materials list said you would need a set of size 4 double points, but nowhere in the instructions were they ever used.



The yarn I used is well suited to this pattern and a dream to work with. Also a good buy at just under $9 for 215 yards a skein. I used almost five skeins to knit the small size which is a little less than the pattern called for. The pattern is written for six sizes from XS to XXL.



Simple design and styling makes this a sweater that's easy to knit, will go with everything and will look good on just about every body type. I'm going to be wearing this one often.

Greetings From Florida

We don't stay home long, do we? We're here on business, but today there was no work allowed. Took the boat ride to Caladesi Island State Park, one of the few remaining undeveloped barrier islands in the state.

The beach overlooks the Gulf of Mexico.


Shells are plentiful.


I picked up several to bring home.


John landed a Devil Ray.


It's not every day you get to see one of these on a knitting blog.


One last view of the Gulf before we left the beach and hiked the nature trail.


The nature trail winds through the interior of the island. We were told to be watchful for Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes. We didn't see any.


The boat returned us to Honeymoon Island State Park. And, since there was still a little daylight left, we decided to see the sights here too. I read that Americans got their first glimpse of Honeymoon Island in the early 1940s through Paramount newsreels and LIFE magazine ads. The ads promised undiscovered pleasures for newlyweds lucky enough to win a glamorous two-week Florida get-away.







It was a good day.

Kid 'N Ewe and Lamas Too 2006

I almost talked myself out of driving to Boerne on Saturday for the fiber festival when I pulled the map out the night before and really looked at how far away it is from my house. It seemed a lot further than I remembered, but I decided to go anyway. It took me fours hours to get there and because I had to be back home for a dinner at 6:00, I only had a couple of hours to look around and eat lunch.

It's a small event and I was able to see everything in that time, but not able to spend much time at any one thing. Most everything is indoors which is good in case it rains, but not so good for taking pictures. Many of the photos I took turned out blurry because I didn't use the flash.

The animals are the only part of the festival that's outside.






I was glad to see more people in attendance at this festival than last year's. Last year I remember it was hot, but this year the weather was perfect. Maybe that was the difference. It looked like people were spending money too which is good for the vendors and will encourage them to keep coming.

There was lots and lots of roving for sale, spinning wheels, spindles and everything a spinner could ever imagine.




Brooks Farm was there and not one knitter could walk by without being sucked into their booth and a the very least touching and drooling over their yarn. Most couldn't leave without purchasing some yarn to bring home and I was no exception.

I think I bought enough of the red (Cinnamon Spice?) Duet for a sweater and the Four Play will probably become a scarf or something small like that. I was hoping to buy some of their sock yarn that I had heard they have started selling at shows, but they sold out before this show and didn't receive their shipment in time.

Two hours went by very fast and then it was time to hit the road again. The drive home took only 3 1/2 hours. That makes a total of 7 1/2 hours of driving for two hours of fiber festival. Was it worth it? Yes. Will I go back next year? Yes, but only if I don't have a schedule to keep. By the way, I made it home in time for the dinner.

Home Stretch

The title of this post is significant in two ways:

1. You may have noticed there are no travel photos this week. That's because I'm actually home for a change. I think this is the first week in two months that I've been able to stay home and just catch up on things. When you spend as much time traveling as we have lately, you tend to get behind and lose touch. All time is devoted to getting ready to travel, traveling and then recovering from the trip, just to start the process over again in a day or two. It's nice to have a little break and I've been enjoying this "home stretch", no matter how brief.

2. The second "home stretch" refers to the progress I've made on my cardigan.



All that's left to finish knitting is one sleeve. It won't be long now.