Easy Does It! Pullover

I originally bought this Classic Silk yarn from Classic Elite Yarns for the Summer Open Cardigan from Knitting Pure and Simple. The Summer Open Cardigan is knit from worsted weigh yarn at a gauge of 14 sts=4". Although the patten says that the loose gauge is necessary for proper drape, the drape was never proper--at least with the yarn I choose--and ended up just looking droopy. I frogged the whole thing (yes, I even had the loose ends woven in), but could not stand not starting on something else right away as this yarn was a splurge and expensive. I found the Easy Does It! Pullover in my pattern stash. I've had this pattern for so long I don't even remember where I got it, and couldn't find it through a google search to put up a link. But now it's my favorite summer tee pattern. And I love top-down patterns when you don't know if you have enough yarn to finish the project. I knit down to about an inch past the sleeves, then finished both sleeves before finishing the body. When I did use up all of the yarn I decided that I would like another inch or two and went back to All About Yarn in search of more Classic Silk. As luck would have it, they did have one more skein in the same dye lot (how often does that happen?) and I added another inch to the bottom. But the project would have been fine without that extra inch, which is what is so perfect about in-the-round knitting.

Paradise Found

If there is a heaven on earth, then it is found at Gold Bluffs Beach. This trip was a short one, just four days, but heavenly. Only tent camping is allowed, no RVs and no electricity, and there are just a handful of sites.


The four mile drive into camp is over a very narrow and rough unpaved road, which--as I explained to Ben--keeps out the riffraff. Then I had to explain what riffraff means.

Elk wander freely through the campground and can be seen sauntering down the beach in packs of five or six. We don't get too close.

We have discussed replacing the REI two person tent, left over from Craig's bachelor's days, but I don't know ... it's cozy and filled with plenty of good memories.

Two More Dresses

The second round of dresses for Bailey and Chloe are finished and delivered. There were a couple of mistakes ... I didn't get the button holes exactly centered horizontally on one, and vertically on the other.

The dresses are completely lined with the pink eyelet; however, the only place the lining is sewn to the dress is at the yoke. The dress fabric is heavier than the lining and will hopefully hang separate from the lining.

An added bonus: the flower is perfectly centered on the front yoke of Chloe's dress. Completely accidental, but a nice touch nevertheless.

Box of Happiness

There's nothing like a box of yarn to warm your heart and lift your spirits. Smileys Yarns had Bernat Organic Cotton for 98 cents a skein and I ended up with ... well ... lots. I prefer to knit with wool, but cotton baby sweaters are more practical in this climate. And since shipping is one flat rate, why not get a few more skeins of happiness?

Tiny Top Down

Baby K has arrived and it's a boy! Named Quinn. I promised Matt I would make a sweater once I knew the sex of the baby. I LOVE this top down sweater pattern from Cabin Fever. It is so easy and so fast and so cute. I've made myself several sweaters using the adult version.

I usually don't buy pattern books, just individual patterns, but this is the best knitting pattern book for children ever. I've tried most of the patterns in this book, but my favorite is this one. Cabin Fever patterns are the best, so easy to follow and no ambiguity.

Finished and Almost Finished

I finished Baby R's blankie and I like it a lot. The pattern is simple but lacy (my new requirement for baby blankets) and the yarn--Plymouth Encore Colourspun--is nice. For the most part. I was annoyed with the color/dye lot. Although the wrappers indicated that the skeins were from the same dye lot, they most certainly were not. About two thirds of the way through the third skein, the yarn was tied and the last third had to be a different dye lot. Up until then, the colors were very muted, then suddenly I noticed I had a bright yellow stripe running through the middle of my blankie. The fourth skein continued this new brightness, and on the fifth I was back to muted colors. I returned to the yarn shop to see if I could get a better match, but they were completely out of the color. Since it is a baby blanket that will be washed a zillion times anyway I decided to just finish it up.

I am also close to finishing the baby cardigan I started months ago. To finish the sleeves I needed size 5 double pointed needles and finally remembered to pick some up over the weekend. I started this sweater primarily to see how I liked the yarn. I have a couple of skeins left and I think I'll try a top down pull-over next. I wasn't impressed with the way the color pattern turned out going back and forth, maybe I'll like it better going around and around?

Back to Normal

Ben is home and we are returning to normal. Bit by bit, we are learning of his adventures, in between naps and long conversations with his brother, which are totally unrelated to his trip. Italy was by far his favorite, and he was awed by the statue of David and the Colosseum.

He called from the top of the Eiffel Tower at 10:30 pm Paris time and that was probably when I envied him most.

Note to self: sign both kids up for a photography class before sending them off on any more European adventures.