Finally finished and in the mail actually.

So.

Here they are.

Started over a year ago.

Intended for LAST year's Christmas.

I'm sure 2nd DS thought he'd never see them.

But they are done and in the mail.  I checked tracking and they are within a day or two of delivery.  So with a bit of luck he'll have them before Thanksgiving. 

Thank goodness!

And here is the start on the 4th pair of Northman mittens.  This pair is for my sister.  She demanded requested them by LAST January.  Yea.  She didn't get them.  Maybe this January.  If she's lucky.  Or I'm lucky.  One or the other.

Sorry about the horrid picture.  They are charcoal grey and off white.  Not that you can tell by this.

This is what I really want to be knitting on.  Acer is the pattern and Peace Fleece is the yarn.  I don't even have a Ravelry page for it yet. 

It is getting close to the body being finished and then just the sleeves.  And finding buttons that I'm happy with...

And just because, here's Teddy. 

Smile Teddy!  You're on candid camera!

Actual knitting content

Yes.  I'm sticking with the blogging.*

Since the name of this blog is Marilyn Knits I thought I might need to prove it....

And so...ta da...here is the latest Iceling Sweater Set.  Ravelry link. 

Cardigan.  Size 6 months.

Mittens with a cord to keep the new mom & dad from losing them.  Infant size.

Iceling hat without the turn up band.  Baby size.

The baby's dad is a nephew on DH's side of the family.  The baby is a sweet little fellow.  Already wearing a Viking shirt to go with his Dad's for those football watching sessions.

In other knitting news, I just have to bind off the shawl mentioned in this post.  I'll be so very happy when it's done.  As it turns out, unless I fall completely in love after I block it, I don't really care all that much for this shawl.  To small and no lace.  I knew that going in but I was in denial and I'd struggled to find a pattern to start with so I was happy just to find anything that the yarn agreed to be. 

 *After visiting with a couple dear people that explained how search engines work, I decided to continue but just keep in mind everything and I mean everything that goes into a post goes on to the great big www.

Cookie made me do it!

Yes, Cookie threatened me and made me finish the sweater and start the hat for my niece's baby boy that is due on March 10th.  That Cookie!!

I had the sweater mostly done.  I was at the row right before the 1st button holes.  And it's garter stitch for pete's sake.  It doesn't take long to do.

I usually have a hard time finding buttons that I like but I think I hit on some cute ones this time.  I wonder what it is supposed to be though...it's got ears like a bear and stripes like a tiger...doesn't matter I guess...it's pretty adorable.

I got this hat started this afternoon.  I should get it done by tonight and then give everything a nice soak so it's pretty and clean for the new little guy.

Maybe if the weather holds, (we are in a winter weather watch for Monday), I'll even get this in the mail on Monday.

So even though I had to ice my hinder for awhile after Cookie kicked me (ouch!) I do appreciate that she got me to finish this.  Maybe it'll get to New Jersey before the little fellow arrives....

One pair down. Two pairs to go.

 

Christmas mittens finished just today.

 

 

 

They turned out pretty good.

 

 

 

I love the pretty red lining.

 

 

 

I have 2 more pairs to go and I'm afraid my enthusiasm for stranded mittens is already flagging a little.

 

Any cheerleading would be greatly appreciated! 

 

 

Especially since I did this... 

 

Before.

 

 

 

After.

 

I just had to make the wrists longer on 2nd DS's mittens.  And so here I am...almost back to the beginning...

 

/sigh

 

 

Sewing, sewing, sewing

The sewing machine has been humming...

A party dress has been made for 1st DGD's American Girl doll, McKenna.

And what party dress is complete without pretty party shoes too!

And everyone needs to relax in their jeans once in awhile.

And even jeans outfits need a change of pace...so here's a t shirt.

And a pair of sneaks to go with.

It's cold here now, but summer will come again and then you need a sun dress.

2nd DGD has a Bitty Baby American Girl doll and she has lots of clothes already but no party dress and so Gramma had to fix that!

And Bitty Baby also needed some warm clothes for this winter.

Amoungst all this sewing has been a little knitting.  This pair of mittens might get done for 2nd DDIL.

But there isn't a prayer that these for 2nd DS will be done by Christmas Eve.  He's had to wait for gifts before and this probably won't be the last time either...poor guy!

There has been knitting going on...

After approximately a year I finally finished this honking big hat for 1st DS. It was in hibernation for a big chunk of that time tho...  All the details are here on Ravelry.

It's going to be a Christmas gift but before I started this project I asked him if he would like/use it.  Cuz I sure wasn't going to do all this planning and knitting to have it sit on a shelf!

He suggested the 2 different sides so that it could have many different looks.

And I was very happy to have the plain side to knit after the other one was so busy.

But it made for an interesting hat and kept the knitting interesting too. 

I kinda love stranded knitting almost as much as knitting lace.

This got finished too.  Or maybe I've already posted about this.  My memory is "this long" these days.  Anyway, bear with me if you've already heard about it.  It's a Christmas gift for 1st DGD who is 7.

 



 

And here is how far I am on the stranded mittens.  Almost done with the 1st lining.  And that flies along pretty quickly.  Will be starting another pair ASAP!  The grey, tan and blue yarn is washed and waiting. 

 

Just a word of advice...if you do stranded knitting with Blue Sky Alpaca Melange be sure to wash it first.  It bleeds like crazy.  Both colors I've used has LOTS of extra dye.  

 

 

1st mitten of many...

Well...

it's a start at least...

3 pairs of stranded mittens and a hat besides??

I had a phone call over the weekend.  It was my sister.  She was telling  asking me to knit her a pair of stranded mittens like I made myself last winter.

I stuttered and stammered and finally said that I had promised 2 pairs of those mittens and a lined stranded hat, like this one, to sons and DILs. 

She said it'd be ok.  She didn't expect them until January.  What?  What did she say?  What?

Besides that, I've got these beauties I'm working on.  And right now I'm in love and won't be distracted by anything else.

This is Henslowe.  Such simple knitting but the construction is what is blowing me away.

See the bit of yarn by the lace?  That is where the shawl started.  Yup.  With 1 stitch. 

The garter is knit first.  Then it is bound off, all except 1 stitch.  You then turn the piece and pick up stitches along the other edge and proceed to knit the lace.

After that is done there is a knitted on picot edge.  Can't wait to get there.  It's so pretty and I'm thinking of putting beads on the picot.

And also on the needles is this cutie. 

 

It's gonna be for 1st DGD. She's 7 and already a fashion-ista. Pink and purple are her colors. Just like this gramma!

 

I'm gonna knit on it until the yarn is gone.  I hope she loves it.

 

So getting back to the stranded mitten dilemma.  I succumbed and ordered the yarn for my sister's mittens per the colors she requested.

 

Do you think I can get 2 pairs of mittens and lined stranded hat finished by Christmas...whose yarn has to be washed first, BTW, because of bleeding...and then get another pair for my sister done sometime before winter is done? 

 

Because, you know, I'm totally going to ignore her January deadline.  I love her but really, I'll be pickled and never want to touch stranded knitting again.

 

I think I know the answer to my question.  (That I'm oh so very delusional.)  But could you all weigh in too? 

 

 

 



WIP, Reading and a Window Visitor

Look at all that! Looks like I've had a case of cast-on-itis. There sure is good choice to pick from for whatever knitting whimsy strikes.

I'm about 11% (what can I say...it is how Kindle tells you where you are) into this book. It's good. And it is the winter that we aren't getting this year. Shh, don't tell anyone but I kinda am missing our regular type winter.

And while I was taking pictures by the best light source this time of year (patio door), look who showed up.

The bold cheeky little critter. I got a couple mug shots of him.

Front view.

Side view.

And when the kitties discovered him he ran so fast I didn't even get the thought put together to take a picture much less press the shutter.

But the kitties knew what was up. Up a tree!

It's pretty huge....

I'm improvising on this. The idea for the braided edge came from the Northman mittens. The Nordic star is from Basic Lined Hat Pattern. And the stitch count and needle size are from Frolicking Deer Two Sided Hat. The stripes are from my own imagination and the need to make the yarn go as far as possible. I still had to order more.

We measured a current hat that he's wearing and it measured 25" around and 12" high.

This is going to be very close to that size. If I can decide correctly how much further to knit before I start the crown decreases.

But it's looking like it's going to be a huge hat.

Thank goodness he didn't have a big head like that when he was born. Yikes!