Deckside and Memorial Day Parade

This was the first time this season we got to knit outside. With the fans running it was a tolerable 85 degrees or so until the sun came around the corner. By then it was time to call it quits anyway. But it felt good to get outside and listen to nature as we knitted. Amanda and Moose are still visiting so she was able to join us and even finished a hat which will go into our inventory.

Kathleen finished another Baby Sophisticate cardigan and showed Liz the

Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn bindoff technique.

Liz finished three baby caps and is working on an eyelet baby cardigan.

Amanda finished the spiral eyelets hat she designed and wrangled Moose long enough to see how it looks. He thought it was pretty silly.

Our evening group showed Maureen and her daughter Cate working tandem on a baby blanket for one of Cate's friends who is expecting.

Beth finished a pair of cute little socks and .....

brought along the Daybreak scarf/shawl to show us the progress she is making.

Yesterday Amanda and I took Moose to the Memorial Day Parade in Delmar, New York. He was too young to remember last year's parade but this year he had a great time. He was so excited as he heard the bands approaching.

We saw the band from Mommy's high school....

And their mascot the Eagle rode along on a truck.

There were hot cars, and

old cars, and

small cars and

friends. There goes our friend, Pastor Sandy from the Journey United Church of Christ .

The people in the parade were throwing lots of candy to the spectators and Moose didn't want to miss any of it.

He brought home a bigger haul than at Halloween!

And he waved enthusiastically when the fire trucks drove by.

He also had a great time flirting with the teenage girls that were sitting beside us.

They enjoyed his company so much that they gave Moose even more candy.

It was a great day to thank the heroes who protected and are still protecting our freedom.

Finished Objects

I was very busy this week finishing up some gifts and donation projects.

My favorite booties are a free pattern which you can find here: //http://www.fuzzygalore.biz/patterns/cbbooties.shtml

They require only a bit of sock yarn which I find leftover after knitting a pair of adult socks from approximately 420 yards of fingering weight yarn. The pattern calls for ribbon ties but a three stitch I-cord works just as well.

I recently found out that a friend of mine suffered the same experience as my family. Her daughter gave birth to a stillborn girl, so I wanted to make prayer shawls for her and her daughter. I used Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors Sock Yarn ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/franknit) from my friend Karin, who hand dyes all her yarns and she dyed this one in memory of my granddaughter, Eliana. I thought it would be the perfect color to use for these prayer shawls in memory of another precious angel.

Here is Ishbel being blocked on my family room floor. No one is allowed to walk through that corner of the room when there is blocking happening. The color is true to this photo but the next few are a little washed out.

The details of the lace portion are so pretty and not too difficult to knit. All the work is done on the right side, leaving the wrong side for you to sail through nothing but purls.

The finished shawl measures about 20" X 40", just enough for a little shoulder cover.

The second shawl in "Eliana" is a pattern called "The Lazy Day Lace Shawl", another free pattern which can be found here: http://www.marykeenanknits.com/LazyDayLaceShawl2a.pdf

This is a good "TV" project as the pattern is easy enough to memorize and watch TV. And you don't even need to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. LOL!

A simple geometric pattern is set off by this teeny tiny cable up the center.

This hat was a free pattern offered on Ravelry, the site for fiber artists of all kinds. If you are a member, you can find the pattern here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2x2-ribbed-for-his-pleasure

I used a sock yarn, actually the same yarn that I used for the booties up above. It took me about a week to knit up. I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head for all the yarns waiting to become something warm and cozy so I must get back to my needles. Enjoy the Superbowl tonight.
I'll be knitting.

Finally! We sat outside on the deck! And Moose's first day of preschool

We finally had a good weather day and were able to knit outside this week.

Some of us were feeling like knitting small and some of us like to punish ourselves. LOL! We are currently working on two different projects. Baby items up to 18 months size will be donated to our local maternity center. That's the small end. The punishment side is making lap robes and shoulder warmers for our local nursing home. We all jump into these projects feeling so positive, but about halfway through rows and rows and rows of either plain garter stitch or stockinette stitch, it sometimes feels like a poke in the eye with one of our needles would be a lot more fun. But then we remember why we're knitting these items and it gets us back on track.

Liz was feeling feisty this week and showed off her baby blanket that she's making for our current baby project. The simple yet pretty block pattern holds one's attention to keep from being boring, while not requiring it completely.

Kathleen finished the navy blue shoulder shawl, an Elizabeth Zimmermann Pelerine, first in the row on the table. We were trying to decide on closures for the neckline. I made the black, yellow, and green one in the back and the mauve and purple one in the middle. The black one will have a button and loop closure. I'm thinking the same for the mauve and purple one too.
In this close up you can see the cute little baby bonnet Kathleen contributed also.
Elaine and Barb caught up on the week's events...

And Kathleen and Liz caught up on their mutual grandchildren's activities, while they worked on the Gansey sweater and baby blanket, respectively.

I've started the Elizabeth Zimmermann Rib Warmer with a navy tweed acrylic blend. There's not much to see yet. Maybe next week it will be large enough to show up.

Maureen is almost finished with her Pelerine. The colors don't show up very well here but it is the prettiest combination of a soft sage green with autumn stripes.

Then Karin stopped by to present me with my prayer shawl which was knitted by many of my knitting friends as a healing gift to me after losing my precious granddaughter, Eliana. I love it!!! Karin handdyed the yarn and named it Eliana. It's the prettiest pinky-mauve! And I love the size of it.

It's big enough for three! And these same lovely ladies made a matching shawl for my daughter, Amanda, to show her how much she is loved. Thank you to all my friends who knitted these wonderful gifts. Amanda and I will treasure them forever and think of you all every time we use them.

Last week I spent with my Moose in Pennsylvania. We had a great time all week and topped it off with a visit to the farmer's market and some cool "lemolade", as Moose calls it.

And a big milestone in Moose's life, he started preschool this week. He was so anxious to attend that he made his mommy leave the house too early and the school wasn't open yet.

He couldn't wait to use his new Toy Story 3 backpack and lunchbox. And reports from Mom are all positive. He has made new friends and tired himself out sufficiently to get to bed on time.

I can't believe my baby is already attending preschool. Have fun Moose! DeeDee loves you!

Sweater Weather.....Maybe....

Kathleen has been off for the last few weeks but that hasn't meant she wasn't busy knitting. She whipped up another Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Jacket and had the perfect buttons to match in her button box.

And she also made her favorite pullover, the Gansey sweater. Some lucky kid is going to be nice and warm this winter.
Barbara finished the baby blanket using Plush yarn which made it so cuddly. On the pillow beside her are the three baby sweaters she made to contribute also.

At the evening session Karin brought the finished prayer shawl for my daughter. It is heavenly soft! This was a joint knitting project made by my knitting friends from my monthly Panera knitting group and the Chicks. Thanks to all the ladies who worked on it. A little birdie told me there is one in the works for me too. I can't wait to use it. By the way, the beautiful yarn was hand dyed by Karin and named in honor of my late granddaughter, Eliana.

Maureen is working on an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern too called the "Pelerine". It's a shoulder warmer which can be knitted to your desired length. A really good pattern for using up stash yarn and a quick knit.

My Chick friend Karen Ayres bought us a Rose of Sharon shrub in memory of Eliana, so Moose and his parents helped me plant it in my front yard.
Poppop Ron got to help.....
And Mom Amanda assisted Moose when he got tired....

And Dad Phil got to throw some soil in the mix too.
We had to make sure it had a good long drink of water.

And now whenever we see those beautiful flowers we will remember our beautiful Eliana.

I finished the prayer shawl that will be donated to the Birth Center to be included with a memory box. The memory box is given to the parents who lose a child at birth. I pray they won't have to use it but it's filled with prayers for strength and comfort just in case. The yarn is a very soft and plush alpaca, wool, and acrylic blend called Snuggle and it's long enough to hold both parents together.

The wonderful staff at the Birth Center will be receiving these scarves that I made, with the help of Elaine and Maureen. Maureen made the burnt orange one.

And Elaine made the purple one on the far right.

Making gifts for these wonderful people who helped us through the tragedy of losing Eliana was my way of healing through knitting. Taking the time to meditate with every stitch helps to lift the veil of grief and leave love and comfort in it's place.