An afternoon with OWLS

This sweater is something special and it's been queued up for a long time. We ran a class at the shop last fall for O W L S by Kate Davies and I've had yarn ready since last summer planning to knit along with the class. Obviously that didn't happen, but it is now cast on and I'm making great progress!

Even though it's late in the season, I'm optimistic that the quick knitting bulky yarn will speed along so I can still wear it a few times before the warm weather arrives. Btw, Rowan's British Sheep Breeds is an amazing yarn to work with - it smells like real sheep and everything! That might sound weird, but it is simply divine!

I'm hoping to finish up within the next week so I can wash and have this puppy dry for wearing very soon. It is the weekend so I'm getting as much knitting time in as possible today and tomorrow. Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Cheers! Alisa

Be My Valentine...

To be perfectly honest, this hat was supposed to be ready a few months ago, but life took over and the project sat on the back burner for awhile waiting to be cast on. First it was simply going to be a warm winter hat (in October), then I tried to slate it as a Christmas hat (that failed for obvious reasons) but, finally it happened and it is now officially the Valentine's Day hat! Ever since the Royal Petites arrived at the store this last fall, I've been wanting to make the Buckingham Hat - not only is the yarn luxurious in color and texture, the sophisticated rib pattern and tailored crown decreases make this a classic handsome hat that I knew would be perfect for my hubby.

I'm thankful my dear husband understands that I have a few things happening on the needles -- shop samples, class projects, random experiments and the occasional project that is just for me -- and he very patient.

I did make modifications to the length so it would be plenty long to cover the ears -my notes for that can be found here on my Ravelry project page.

I've finished a couple other projects and started a couple more, I can't wait to share!

Did you make anything special for the Valentine in your life?

Cheers, Alisa

Busy bee...

I've been busy at work and at home. This time of year is always exciting with new yarn, new patterns, and I always love cooking at home - even more when it's cold out. I've been knitting away on shop samples for the new Simple Beret by Knitbot and I just finished the last of the 4 weights today. This is the fingering weight in Shibui Staccato and the one that is now drying. It turned out lovely, just as the others did. I will share more later, but I will say now that this pattern and the samples have been a joy to knit from beginning to end!

I also recently cast on Grace, she is the last of the 5 designs from Jane Richmond's Island collection - some have been knit more than once because they are so much fun and perfect for showcasing the amazing yarn at the shop. Grace waited awhile because I had a tough time deciding on yarn and color. I must say that I am 100% happy with the final selection of SweetGeorgia's Tough Love Sock in Saltwater - it is the perfect marriage of amazing base yarn and fabulous color for a super fun knit! I am a bit further now and will give updates along the way.

It's also bread season in our house. I love bread and have tried making bread over the years and was mostly very unsuccessful. A few years back I received a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and have been successfully making delicious bread ever since! I started a fresh batch of dough yesterday now that life is resuming somewhat normal pace, I made a batch of dough and this is the first loaf fresh out of the oven this morning. Can you say, "YUM"?

We've had some odd weather here. It was almost 60 degrees early last week with a snow storm and below zero temps shortly after. There is one guy that I rely on for loving the white stuff, that is my amazing Mr. Joey. He will be 12 this month and I'm contemplating baking him a cake - really, can you blame me? I have a book and he's a dog, so he will be kind to my baking incompetence, as will his sidekick Mr. Logan our 9 year old German Shepherd.

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What are you knitting and what are you doing in the kitchen? Do you have different cooking habits this time of year?

Cheers!

Alisa