The treasure became a shawl

I didn't knit either pattern that I mentioned in the last post. I did spend more time on Ravelry and found the one I loved the most.

 

 

The pattern is Positive Thoughts #1.  There weren't any beads in the pattern.

 

 

 

 

But when I looked at the pattern is seemed to be calling for beads.

 

 

And so I listened and added lots of pretty beads.

 

I think I love it!  

 

All the details are on Ravelry, here. 

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.

Saturday Sky and a couple other things...

I loved Sandy's Saturday Sky but I don't think to do it often enough.  And today is an especially uninteresting sky.  But I'm still going to show you what we have going on for the next several days.

Grey and rain.

The start of this farming season is horrid.  There was snow everywhere still in early May and now that the snow is gone and the fields are just starting to get ready to plant...this happens.  Uff.

We are SO late.  But the farmers are holding it together.  And we desperately need the rain.  It was so dry last year.  If only it had held off for a few weeks and given everyone a chance...  /sigh

On a brighter note...well, maybe...I'll let you be the judge of that...

It's CMMDI Mega May.  I didn't think I'd have time, patience or the right attitude for knitting but as it turns out I really need that time in the evenings.

But to find the pattern to go with this yarn, (Malabrigo Lace), turned into a "Mega May Effort".

This is the list of patterns I have tried.

1. My Heaven Shawl
2. Rock Island
3. Flower Basket Shawl
4. Dragon's Blood

And the pattern that the yarn finally said "Ok, this is the one." is Citron.  It's the only one that has Malabrigo Lace as the suggested yarn.  Duh.  I should have looked for that first.

 

 

It's looking pretty good and is just what is needed.  Simple knitting with a little counting thrown in for good measure.  The hardest parts are the M1s and that is because of the slippery needles.

 

News about the house building is good.  The siding is going up and is looking good.  The hardwood floor is beautiful with the 1st coat of finish.  The woodwork is mostly up everywhere. 

 

The only thing that made me freak out was the sticker shock from the price of cabinet pulls.  But I pulled myself together, got my p**p in a group, my ducks in a row, my head on straight and lived with it.

 

Have a great weekend! 

 

 

FOs and randomnesses

Since it's April 22 and we still have substantial snowbanks, I thought I'd photo Henslowe outside. 

The color really isn't correct on any of these pictures but this one is exceptionally dark.

I love everything about this shawl.  Well, excluding the bind off which felt like it took as long to do as the rest of the shawl...

 

 

 

But the bind off is a big part of what makes it so pretty and interesting.

 

 



Also finished is 2nd DGD's Potato Chip Scarf.  It was fun to do because she asked me for it and I was happy to make it.  And she said it is "bootiful"!

On the weather front, this is our backyard.  Yes.  Still with the snow everywhere.  Snow forecast for Wednesday.  But!  Temps in the 50s and 60s by the weekend.  WooHoo!!

We had so much fun at our anniversary party a week ago.  I'll post about that when it's closer to the real date...

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? 

 

 

 



And since it says "Knits" in the name of this blog...

I finished this shawl awhile ago. But since I've been busy, and that being compounded by summer laziness, it has taken me a long time to get this posted.

I got the yarn as a Christmas gift from 2nd DS & DDIL. Isn't it pretty? I think it would have made stripy socks but I just wasn't in the mood for socks.

The ribbing on the bottom is supposed to look like a ruffle but somehow it just didn't turn out that way. I even went down a needle size like was suggested in the pattern. Anyway...

It's still a pretty shawl and goes around my shoulders just perfectly.

It was a super simple shawl to do and I intended to knit until I ran out of yarn but I quit early....I just couldn't do any more ribbing!

All the info is here on Ravelry.

And I just have to throw in a bit of parental pride...

2nd DS was invited and played yesterday in the John Deere Pro Am Classic. He was nervous as a cat in a room full of rockers but in the end I think he had a good time.

He's not a golfer but is a grounds superintendent at a golf course in Wisconsin. He was previously at a course in South Dakota where John Deere had a corporate membership. A person from JD that he met over 3 years ago in SD remembered him and invited him to play in this tournament. Being the dedicated employee that he is, he almost didn't go because of the heat and fear that his course in WI would not be cared for properly while he was gone but DDIL and I encouraged him to go on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

He golfed with a pro named Maggert who 2nd DS said was "Awesome". I'm so happy he is getting a summertime vacation (unheard of in the golf world) and that he is having so much fun. And DDIL also got to travel with him! Bonus!

Finally something to talk about!

I have been knitting! And voila! A shawl is born. It's my "I love AC but I hate the draft Shawl".
(It's a Ravelry link)


This shawl is going to live in the car this summer.
It's purpose in life is to protect me from air conditioning drafts.

I hate to admit that I end up with a sore neck and shoulders if I get drafted on by AC. (Old age??)

And so these pretty Falling Leaves will keep me safe from the nasty drafts caused by AC.

(The unblocked version)

Don't get me wrong I love AC and getting away from the sticky, humid weather that assults us here. I just don't like the draft!

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!

A new shawl and checking in with the kitties

The yarn is a Christmas gift from 2nd DS & DDIL. It's Misty Alpaca Hand Paint Sock yarn. I have to say it is durable...I've started 2 other patterns and ripped them out and it has withstood all that abuse. Seriously though, it seems soft and aren't the colors pretty?

I searched and searched for a pattern to make me happy. I think I've spent enough on patterns that I could have bought another skein of yarn instead but sometimes it's part of the process.

What I came up with is TGV*. Just what I was looking for. Garter stitch so I don't have to really think much and actually as busy as the yarn is I didn't want any lace. So this is perfect...except for the little fact that I don't really like ribbing. But I'll have to deal with that later.

And I just had to share the kitties. They have their moments when they are growling and rolling on the floor in an all out fight but look at this. They love each other too. Oh, so sweet!

If you can tell where one starts and the other stops, you are better than me! It's just a mess of kitty!

*I can't get the linkie thing to work. It's a Susan Ashcroft pattern if you want to look it up on Ravelry.

Actual knitting content!

Done! I finally finished the Eliina Shawl that I knit from the Zen Garden lace weight yarn that I bought at Joan's Stash Busting Sale.

This is really quite close to the color...it might be just a smidge darker in person.

I've tried lace weight yarn before and just couldn't work with it. But this time was magic and there wasn't a problem at all with the knitting. Of course that I loved the color and was going to knit with it come heck or high water didn't play into it at all.

I added some beads to the lace edging to give it a bit of weight and just a little sparkle. They are silver lined pink glass beads.

One bit of info that I learned--When you do a crochet cast off, and add beads while you are doing it, they face to the wrong side of the fabric. I had to pin each bead to try to force them into showing from the front. Uff. It turned out ok I think.

All the information about my Strawberry Ice Cream Eliina Shawl can be found here on Ravelry.

This doesn't look like much yet but it is going to be an Iceling baby cardigan. Norma has been telling how in love she is with this pattern so I thought I would give it a try.

The little cardigan will be for a sweet baby yet to be born in Moldova.

We have 3 foreign workers this year on our farm and all 3 of them are from Moldova. One fellow has a wife back home that is expecting a baby the end of September and they know that it is going to be a boy. I'm hoping that "blue is for boys" is the rule of thumb there too!

A new toy and a bit of knitting

DH bought a new toy over the weekend. It's a 1926 Chevrolet Series V Superior. What a hoot!

It runs and we've taken it for a couple spins around town.

Before we even got it all the way home from where we bought it, someone offered to buy it from us at a stop sign. They were yelling "Is it for sale?"! DH rolled down his window and said no...they were obviously disappointed.

We think it has been repainted but with the original colors. The upholstery is original and in really excellent shape considering it's age.

The steering wheel is wooden and get this...so are the spokes on the wheels!

DH will need a hobby in a few years and I'm glad he is finding something that will occupy him and will be something for him to tinker with.

And now for the knitting. I just started the lace on the Eliina Shawl. I threw in a lifeline at the last repeat of chart 2 in case I run short of yarn. I have almost 1/2 of the yarn left but it does have a crochet bind off and that does eat up the yarn.

So far it's been a fun and extremely easy knit and it looks like the lace will not be difficult. I will be adding beads though and just haven't decided when or where to do that.

I still think it looks like strawberry ice cream!

All better

Things are looking up here.

The lilacs are finally starting to look alive. Cute little leaves!

We have sunshine! And warmer temperatures! It is actually already 60F. I won't discuss what it should be. I'm just happy with what it is. :)

I started a new shawl. Eliina. This is the yarn that I bought at Joan's stash busting sale. I LOVE it. Doesn't it just make you think of strawberry ice cream? I'm always hungry while I'm knitting on it. Maybe that's NOT a good thing...

The only downer is I've got a yarn barf. Too much yarn came off the ball at once. I'm going to give it another try but it might come down to cutting it and doing a russian join. No worries. The sun is shining!

Tweeking and FO

I tweeked the letter that I'm sending with this hat to Senator Conrad.

I totally removed the P.S. and changed the last paragraph to read: This hat is a thank you for your service and for not having a "hot head". It is also an encouragement to continue with a calm, cool demeanor.

I called one of the district offices this morning and will be sending the hat and letter to them and they said they will send it on to Senator Conrad. It is so exciting to be part of something that blossomed from one person's idea into a nationwide grassroots knitters campaign. WooHoo!
















This is my Finished Object. The Super Simple Shawl. The info can be found on Ravelry. The project traveled with DH and myself to Maui last month but we were so busy enjoying ourselves and the wonderful things there that I didn't knit a stitch! Just that it was in Maui and also the fact that 2nd DS & DDIL gave me the yarn makes this shawl extra special. :D






This picture was taken outside, late in the afternoon, in the shade, during the winter and so it has a bluish cast to it. Not true colors at all.
















This is what it really looks like.