mermaid's necklace

Mermaid's Necklace on Ravelry

Hello, just stopping in here quickly today to tie up a loose end: the crochet necklace I started in May!  This poor necklace had to be crocheted twice since I didn't like the first iteration, shown below.  The length was wrong and the pearls were too evenly spaced.  So with the necklace's rebirth I decided to also give it a new name: the Mermaid's Necklace!

Since I didn't buy the faux-pearls specifically for this project (I pulled apart a vintage necklace that was far past it's prime, though I kept the clasp and used it to finish this new necklace) I ended up with quite a few left over pearls.  As you can see I've already made some matching earrings, but I still have so many left and no idea what to do with them!

My favorite part is the three closely spaced pearls to the right in this picture!

wip wednesday: tiny fisherman

Tiny Fisherman on Ravelry

Crazy about knitting sweaters for my nephew?  Me?  Never.

This one I designed myself, and while I'm definitely only calling it a prototype I still think it will come out decent.  As long as it's comfortable I don't think he'll mind!

new england aquarium

Last week I mentioned that D and I visited the New England Aquarium and I thought that I might share some of the few pictures I took while we were wandering around.  We went on a Saturday and it was busy, busy, busy with families but still and awful lot of fun!  I grew up next to the ocean and love any chance to learn more about sea life!

The big tank in the aquarium was closed when we tried to visit in November but reopened last month!  It really is incredible.

I wish there was a reference point in the picture or the next, this is the BIG seal in the seal tank.  It's HUGE!!!  There are four or five more little seals swimming around playing with toys and then this behemoth would come up for air!

girly grandfather vest

Girly Grandfather Vest on Ravelry

Remember way back in the beginning of July when I said I'd show you some pictures of my Girly Grandfather Vest that I finished way back in the beginning of June?  Well, here she is!  Don gave me a ton of compliments when I finished the vest, so I will call it a success even when there are some things I wish I had done differently.

The pattern I "used" is the Grandfather Vest from Knitting 24/7.  However it is heavily, heavily modified.  I swapped in a less fuzzy yarn (that I thrifted!), shortened the vest, and moved the shaping around.  I played with the gauge a little but only to get the waist to nip in a bit more.

Accidentally I used a larger needle on the neck ribbing.  The dog ate the knitting needles I was using and I wrote down the wrong size before I went to the store.  I haven't felt like redoing the neckline but after looking at these pictures I might.

Even with my little complaints I'm very proud of this knit.  I don't have very much experience with larger knit projects but I am becoming confident enough to alter them!  The vest will also be nice to wear in the fall with high-waisted skirts.

Pattern: Heavily modified Granfather Vest from Knitting 24/7

Yarn: Mirasol Yarns Cotanani

wip wednesday: not where's waldo

Not Where's Waldo on Ravelry

I feel a bit silly even posting a wip shot of this hat since it's just more candy knitting, but I haven't posted in a while and a work-in-progress Wednesday post is an easy way to dip the toes back in.

Last weekend D and I went to Boston to visit the aquarium and I needed some travel knitting, so this hat was born.  We stayed with his parents and when his mom saw my nice navy and white hat she said, "Oh, it's like Where's Waldo!"  I felt a little sad about this ("Don, is this a Where's Waldo hat?  Will I look like a dweeb wearing it???") but the next day she called a black and white striped shirt a Where's Waldo shirt, so I'm not taking it personally anymore.

wip wednesday: baby sophisticate

Baby Sophisticate on Ravelry

I wanted to post the finished sweater for my nephew earlier this week so it wouldn't be quite so weird when I started posting all of my other obsessive baby knitting.  This little boy is going to have a better collection of knitwear than I do!  I've heavily modified the (free) Baby Sophisticate pattern but haven't documented all my mods on Ravelry yet.

little blue baby outfit

Little Blue Wraplan on Ravelry

Mittens are not the only things I've been knitting for my sister!  My first nephew is due in November and I have been having so much fun knitting tiny things for him.

The Offset Wraplan is the first baby sweater I've knit, and I was a bit worried about it at first.  I changed the gauge to work with some Reynolds Sunrise I got from a thrift store, then the yarn felt a little crunchy all knit up.  Happily, after throwing the whole thing through the washing machine (I wanted to make sure it could be washed easily, babies are messy little people!) it softened right up.

Little Blue Hat on Ravelry

After finishing the sweater I still had so much of this blue yarn that I would never have used for anything else, so I whipped up a matching Basic Baby Hat.  They're both in a 6 month-ish size, as is the most recent sweater I've been knitting, so I really need to stop that and make him something he can wear after he's born!

Patterns: Offset Wraplan (free Ravelry download) and Basic Baby Hat (from Mama's Stitchery Projects)

Yarn: Discontinued Reynolds Sunrise

blueberry smoothie

Blueberry Smoothie on Ravelry

Last week when we had a few days of nice cool weather I decided I NEEDED to knit a hat.  I've been feeling bogged down by my loop and mittens for my sister, so the hat had to be something quick and easy and fun.  The knitting had to be like eating candy.

I didn't even stop to take a WIP pic until I was about ready to start decreasing

I've had this hand spun yarn from Sweet Caroline Wools since early this summer and it seemed like a perfect time to use it.  The colors are a nice mixture of mint green, yellow, and light purple on a dark blue-green base.  I thought the subtle texture of the Hurricane Hat pattern would be a good match for the yarn but the purl ridges get lost in all the colorful hand spun glory.  Unfortunately it's all a bit too exciting for me so I've already given the hat to my best friend who's in town for a couple weeks (perfect timing).  Seeing this lovely face in a hand knit hat is a bit like eating candy too.

Pattern: Hurricane Hat from Love, Hestia; mods documented on Ravelry

Yarn: Ramboulliet Blueberry Smoothie from Sweet Caroline Wools