My First Sweater

A few people have asked me about this sweater after seeing it in the portrait part of my profile. This is the first sweater I made right after a friend of our family showed me how to knit Continental style (yarn held in the left hand). Mom was doubtful that I could finish it, probably because the only thing I had knit previously was a garter stitch scarf which she had to finish. :-). The pattern was published in either Woman's Day or Family Circle in the mid to late 70's but I don't have it anymore. I plan on figuring out the pattern and writing it down so I can make one that fits me today. If you are interested, let me know and I'll email you the directions I figure out. 

Current knitting projects.

There is always talk of unfinished objects in the users groups, blogs and knit-a-longs I frequent. I'm trying REALLY hard to finish projects before I start new ones. Since there are different levels of difficulty and interest in knitting, I don't think I can keep this number to one. Anyway, these are the 4 knitting projects I'm working on right now. The green is my cables 101 vest. I should be able to finish it in the next day. The blue is a bulky sweater, should be finished in the next week or so, I can work on it in the dark while watching tv. The offwhite to the left is an afghan pattern I really like. I've started one before out of bad yarn so thought I'd try it out of Lion Brand Fisherman's wool. It will be nice and cozy to work on as it grows and I started it a few nights ago because it was so cold. I'll probably have it done in time for summer. The last in the top right hand corner is a doll. I plan to make 2 maybe 3. One for Esther and one for my sister. 

Here are the directions for these 4 projects. Grandmere doll, Cables 101 vest from Twists and Turns, a bulky sweater, and the afghan. Now, I am wondering if I will take pictures of the yarn stash I have....Not as big as some but I'd still probably need a special lens to get it all in the photo. 

Hungry Pups!

(I still call them pups but they are about 8 yrs old)
Sparky and Bentley waiting for me to feed them breakfast! Bentley is mid-bark and Sparky is licking his lips in anticipation. 

Esther's Holiday Dress.

I hadn't posted this before so thought I'd share. It's a little large and I'm hoping she can wear it next year since she didn't get much use out of it this year (Thanksgiving). It's knit from chenille yarn. The bodice is Lion Brand and the skirt and sleeves are done in Caron Jewel Box. I don't like the extra thread in the Caron Jewel Box. It looks kind of tacky to me and I did pull it out of one skein but found that to be a lot of work so kept it in for the dress. I may also take out the bodice and remake it out of velvet (sewing). The Lion Brand is lighter even though it is listed as the same weight as Caron Jewelbox. It just isn't stable enough to hold the weight of the skirt. The Minny Mouse purse and ball cap really make the outfit though!  

Happy New Year and good riddens to the Holicraze!

This pretty much sums up the Forest Holiday experience this year. :-). We didn't get to enjoy the Holiday as much as we would have liked. I did make sure to take Esther to see the Christmas lights, walking when I could and by car. She really enjoyed it. By Christmas she appreciated Santa more than in this photo.