One-Out/One-In Damson

First up - I hope you all had a very wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a few ups and downs relating to my grandma, but she is now doing well and we are again so thankful for the time we are able to share with her. However, the surprise quilt project my mom and I have been working on, is no longer a surprise. It would have made me so sad if she would never have seen what we'd been up to, so we decided to share our plans with her. We've been making good progress and I plan on sharing an update soon.

Anyway, I'm here to share a little FO with you! I'm calling this my One-Out/One-In Damson because while it was originally going to be a stash project, I ended up having to acquire another ball of sock yarn to finish it.

I knit this on the recommended needles and used an entire hank of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Moody Blues. I thought I would probably have enough yardage since the pattern calls for 440 yards and I had 420 in my Cherry Tree Hill. It seemed like Ysolda had made notes in the past if something was going to run close to the recommended yardage, but it was a risk I knew I was taking when I started the project. It just didn't work out in my favor this time around. I made it to the end of row 103 when I officially ran out.

I went stash diving again in hopes of finding something that would be a nice complement, but I didn't want to just make due. I'm not big on stash projects like that. I also consulted with my knitting group and it might have turned out that I could have traded something that would have worked, but we don't meet all that frequently and I really didn't want to stall out so close to the end.

After lots of internet searching and thorough perusal of The Loopy Ewe site, I decided on a solid navy to bring out the navy in the Cherry Tree Hill and the Cascade Heritage seemed to fit the bill. I had a few moments of second thoughts, mostly related to how the spin of the yarn would match, but when it arrived...it was perfect, so soft and smooshy. Not shiny like the Cherry Tree Hill, but since I was matching the darkest blue, I don't really think it matters. Plus there is a ton of yardage (437) for $12! I even have plenty left for another project.

I love the darker accent in the cute little edge loops, so in retrospect, I'm super happy that I ran out of yarn. Other than the yardage issue, this was a great project. Ysolda laid out the pattern beautifully with a chart and written instructions (although, the lace is completely memorizable, so you really don't need either once you know where the pattern is taking you) and as you can see by all the different versions on Ravelry, the pattern lends itself to different interpretations well. I think this would also be a great first lace project for someone. It is very simple lace, but very lovely. And I have to agree with the pattern summary, that the edging is deceptively simple.

Anyway, I am super pleased with how it came out and I'm looking forward to knitting another project from the Whimsical Little Knits 2 collection...most likely the scroll lace scarf (which doesn't seem to be listed on her website, but you can see it here (on Ravelry).

Three Months, One Post

I know posts around here have been few and far between as of late, but between diaper changes, feedings and other demanding duties of a couple new moms, I'm proud that we're still here to say 'hey' now and then. Thank you again to those who still stop in to see what we are up to. I'm still reading what you are up to and I do miss being a part of this community more. So in an effort to bring you up to date on what's been going on around my neck of the woods, I thought I'd share a few photos*.

Our summer was pretty much engulfed by what we are now referring to as 'the flood'. The short version: a woman two floors up broke her toilet and didn't tell anyone. The four units below took on the resulting water (hundreds of gallons, people)...which made our kitchen and bathroom look like a scene out of E.T.:

FOUR weeks later our place looked like this:

Needless to say this was a very stressful summer and it took two and a half months for us to get reimbursed from the insurance company. I still tense up whenever I think about it. But its over now and we don't talk about it much because it still hurts. (They paid me 1/2 the value of my damaged craft books because they were 'used'...despite the fact they could have been sitting on a store shelf...but again, we've moved on. Ugh.)

We also sold my old car (a very 'practical' two-seater Miata ;) and after lots of searching and too many used car salesmen later, ended up with my 'new to me' blue beauty:

Speaking of blue...after my previous musings about wanting some lace, but settling for knitting toys...I lost my toy knitting mojo. BUT, I found my lace mojo in the perfect lace pattern for me right now: Damson (Rav link).

I initially picked out this Moody Blues Cherry Tree Hill from my stash because it was one of the few hanks of sock yarn I had with *nearly* enough yardage. But I have become completely enthralled with the colors. It really is gorgeous yarn and it is showing off the pattern nicely as well. It was a perfect way to start off my vacation at the end of August, which focused heavily on starting a pretty little knitting project just for me and very little on actually going anywhere. (I refuse to call it a 'staycation'.)

Things have also turned a bit upside down in the baby department since Elliott decided to start crawling just after turning 7 months old.

This has been very exciting for us, but also a bit unnerving as we seeing our cramped quarters with a whole new set of eyes. Guys, we have stuff everywhere. So consequently we are in constant baby wrangling mode. Good thing we opted for the 'dirt is good for his immune system' philosophy or else we'd be in big trouble right now! ;)

Elliott is now a little over 8 months old and is really working hard at learning to cruise. He surprises us every day with something new. And generally entertains us to no end.

As for what's up next in the crafting department, I've got several projects mapped out for the next couple months, so hopefully I will have a little more to share here in the coming weeks. I am swimming in inspiration right now.

I daydream pretty much all day long about projects, everything from sewing to knitting to quilting to embroidery. I have plans!! Now the trick is making them a reality! With any luck (and hopefully enough yarn!) I'll be back soon to share a finished Damson.


*This summer, I also started a little photo project of my own. I'm taking a self portrait, a photo of Elliott and a photo of something else each week.