Friday, November 22, 2013

One new, one old

I feel like I've been going non-stop since I moved back to Michigan; mostly non-stop working, but I finally have a day off...five to be exact! So I have two finished projects to share with you all, my Sunset Suncrest Shawl and an oldie, my February Sweater. I finished the shawl a few weeks ago and it is the perfect color for fall. Plus, I finally got around to finding the perfect buttons for my sweater the other weekend and sewed those on this morning. Of course, I love them both!

Sunset Suncrest Shawl
Pattern: Suncrest by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Valley Yarns Charlemont in "Sunset"
Modifications: None
Difficulties: The picot edge bind-off was tedious!
New Techniques: "Feather and fan" pattern stitch, two-directional knitting, picot bind-off






February Sweater
Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in "Lava Heather"
Modifications: Some added length on the body and sleeves
Difficulties: Connecting in the round for the sleeves without making holes
New Techniques: Top-down sweater knitting, no seams! Larger button holes









I have to admit that I've already started a new project...Shallows Cowl by Bonnie Sennott. I would love to have it finished this weekend, but we'll see. Not too sure how I will fill my time off this weekend, maybe some baking or more wine tasting? The snow is already falling here, so staying indoors just seems like a good idea. If you're looking for a good cookie recipe, I must share one for some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I've made two batches already and substituted dark chocolate chips instead...you can find it here on this blog. Enjoy!

Friday, November 1, 2013

The Hobbit Vest

Bennett in costume, running around!
Happy November! Can't believe it's here already! But now that Halloween is over with, I will share with you my special creation. I was able to knit up a vest for my best friend's toddler, Bennett, as part of his Halloween costume this year. Amy wanted to dress him as a hobbit and I was happy to jump on the opportunity. I must say it came together perfectly; he looked so cute! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see him in person, as they live in Georgia, but I loved seeing the pictures. Here are the details for my project, "Hobbit Vest":

Pattern Used: Pepo Pie by Joeli Caparco
Yarn Used: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in colorways Camel Heather and Truffle
Modifications: I used two different colors; one for the seed stitch border and one for the body. I also attached three buttons, instead of four.
Difficulties: Using the two colors was kind of a pain in the butt. Carrying the yarn up as I went made the skeins tangle together and then I had soooo many ends to weave in.
New Techniques: This was technically my first time using two colors at once. I have also never made a vest before and never constructed pockets before.

Overall, I am very pleased with how it turned out and so is Amy :-) Now it's time to finish my Suncrest shawl....and bake some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Home Sweet Home

Well it's about time I posted again, this time from a new home...I'm back in Northern Michigan and much happier. I guess you could say that Tennessee just wasn't for us, so Brendan and I are on to something new and something big; we are planning on starting a vineyard and winery. We already have land available to us behind my parents house, so next spring we will be planting about 3,600 vines or about five acres. It will be a huge project to take on, but we are excited and ready to get started. So far we've cleared most of the land and need to get the vines ordered; then we wait through the long winter until the fun begins.

For now I am back working at an old job, but hoping something will open up at a local non-profit. I've already inquired about volunteering with some and am taking on the role of trail steward and preserve steward for the Gauthier Preserve in Cheboygan for the Little Traverse Conservancy. I meet with the volunteer coordinator tomorrow and am excited to get started. Other than that, nothing else is new. I'm glad to be back in colder weather to keep on knitting more and more! I will have some finished projects to post soon, so keep an eye out for them.

As the leaves continue to fall more and more each day, I will be sad to see Fall leave the area. So here are some pictures I've captured of the season during my trip out to New York.

The view from Brendan's mom's house.

Hike at Grafton Lakes State Park, NY

Rock cairns in the water during our hike.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Sunny Mackinac Tank

I did it! I made my very first tank top, "Sunny Mackinac Tank," and even before the end of summer! For this project I followed the pattern Mackinac Tank by Danielle Chalson and used Knit Picks Comfy Sport yarn in colorway Creme Brulee. I decided to stray away from my normal color of purple and go with a light yellow. I'm glad I did because it makes the tank look so cheerful, plus this yarn is super soft. I find the name of the pattern to be quite fitting as my hometown is very close to Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City, many memories of summer. The tank itself was very easy to knit, simple knit and purl stitches, but I decided to knit the pattern in the round instead of knitting it in two pieces--seamless! I learned how to attach ruffles while knitting and also how to do the cable cast-on method during mid-row. It was a fun knit-working from the bottom up and watching it grow into something I can wear. And I must say, the finished product fits like a glove and I love it!

Now fall is nearly upon us, so it's time to get serious about yarn and a new adventure starting in my life. More to come soon!






















Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Sneak Peak!

It's been a while, I know, so I decided to show a little something I've been working on recently. I'm hoping it will be finished in a couple days!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Around the House

Hello! Hello! Just thought I would share what's been going on around the house lately, especially with the flowers and the garden. I can't believe that today is July 1st! Once the 4th rolls around, the rest of summer will fly by I'm sure. So far the heat here has not been as bad as last year, thank goodness! This time last year it was hitting triple digits and not a drop of rain in sight. However, for the month of June we had six inches of rain more than the average, so that means lots of growth!

The garden is growing and growing with no end in sight. Brendan harvests about 6-8 squash and zucchini plants per day, so it's really starting to add up. The tomatoes are ripening, eggplants sprouting and beans lengthening as we speak. We even have some melons started on the trellises. One can really get lost in our garden! It is an oasis with all the vegetables and flowers growing and even the honey bees buzzing as they pollinate, but the mosquitoes tend to ruin the fun of it all.

Part of the garden

The zinnias growing in the garden

Our heirloom summer squash and zucchini

Our two year anniversary was a couple weeks ago on June 22nd (hard to believe) and Brendan got us some Adirondack chairs and table for the front porch. They came au natural, so we stained them an English chestnut color and then bought some shade plants and pots to create a relaxing setting for us. It was a very nice present, a surprise to me, and I absolutely love it all! We still need to poly the chairs and maybe find some artwork to hang on the house, but we are still enjoying it.



I've included several more pictures; one can never go wrong with pictures. And coming up soon will be more daylilies (lots!), a knitting project and even some dahlias!


Lime and Queen Red Lime Zinnias

Rudbeckia

Bachelor Button

Snapdragon

The flower on the bean plants, I thought they were pretty.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Finished: 22 Little Clouds

I did it! I finally finished my first shawl, 22 Little Clouds. It wasn't the most exciting thing to knit, as it was a no-brainer, but it was perfect to work on after some long days working outside. Plus, the finished product is super cute! I like the clean lines of the pattern and the ruffled edge just adds a little something. Previously, I was hoping to use this yarn as a cardigan, but I'm glad I didn't. I love the yarn of course, but couldn't imagine wearing the colorway as a sweater. This Malabrigo yarn in Lotus is perfect for an accessory to add a pop of color and it is soft and squishy! After knitting this shawl, I must say that I'll be knitting plenty more! My mother warned me of this addiction, but she is right, I enjoyed knitting it, plus they use just the right amount of yarn and can create so many different color combinations or lace techniques. I'm sure you'll be seeing more shawl projects on here, however, for my next project I'm thinking about making a tank top...










Monday, June 17, 2013

Daylily Catch-Up!

Well I gave you all one day of relief from the daylilies, but since we had a rainy day I thought I should catch-up with all of the daylily pictures on here. I have been slacking, I must say, as I just counted how many new ones there are and got 16, give or take a few! The weather hasn't been cooperating with us lately to take decent photos; some days they wouldn't be fully open before I left for work and then in the evening they would be so faded. Since there are so many new ones, it is hard for me to pick a favorite! Some that I really like are: "Chinese Cloisonne," "Noble Lord," "Picotee Rippled Ruffles," "Spacecoast Bold Buccaneer" and more and more and more...Plus there are still a lot more to bloom! Just a warning, there are lots of pictures in this post, so sit back and enjoy!

Chinese Cloisonne

Diamond Dusted Borders

Dixie Rhythm

Festive Art

Jamaican Me Crazy
Dreams Come Through

Indy Heart Stopper

Night Breeze

Only Believe
Noble Lord

Picotee Rippled Ruffles

Rainbow Candy

Spacecoast Bold Buccaneer

Spanish Sketch

Tetra Dragon's Eye

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Mozart

You all have probably seen enough daylilies by now, so you are lucky enough that one of my calla lilies bloomed this past week. This one is called "Mozart" and is an apricot/peach color with red streaks. When it first bloomed on the plant, it was a light yellow color and since I cut it and put it in water it has darkened. It is pretty neat how some of the callas will change like that. So in a few days it may look different from these pictures! Unfortunately, after "Mozart" bloomed I had to dig it up because some of the leaves started yellowing and falling over, which meant the tuber/bulb was rotting. I think I saved it just in time though; it didn't hit the large part of the tuber. This isn't the first one of the callas that I have almost lost though. Last month the same thing happened to one called "Akela." I didn't notice it as early though and now only have two little tubers of "Akela" now. So sad. You may ask, "Why are they rotting?" Well, the soil here in our yard really sucks! It is just a nasty red clay! Even though we built up where the callas are planted, they are still sitting on the clay and it has rained so much here lately that the dirt isn't able to dry out. I just need to keep an eye on them. But here are the pictures of "Mozart" and the callas. Enjoy!

Mozart

Mozart

Mozart before cutting


All the calla lilies