I love knitting!

Well, that may be putting it mildly. My mother taught me to knit when I was young, but unfortunately I don't think I ever completed a project. Several years ago I taught myself how to knit again when I needed to find something to occupy my time while my husband watched soccer game after soccer game. Yup, I am somewhat of a soccer widow. So knitting became my newest passion.

Well, I quickly became quite addicted. I have no fewer than four large baskets of yarn and about five projects going on at one time. Of course knitting time has been greatly cut into by our newest additions - but they is so worth it!! Now I have an excuse to make adorable baby sized items...

My sister-in-law turned me on to Ravelry which is a fantastic site. You can organize your stash, find neat patterns, and keep track of your projects in progress. If you join look me up - Irishmbo!

Currently all knitting projects are on hold until I finish school. I have all I can handle between the two girls, the husband and graduate school. I only complete projects in my dreams - sigh.

The newest project:

This is the hat I just finished for Brynna made from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. I just love how soft it is and Brynna looks adorable in it!!

Finally finished the dress for cousin Catie. Hope that she gets a chance to wear it. I made it for three months - hope it cools off enough for her to try it out! I want to make one for Brynna to wear also - but I think I will make hers for 12 months.

Here is the back of a dress that I am working on for baby. It is made from Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. I just love the yarn! It is amazingly soft and easy to work with. The color is 340203 a gorgeous teal. The pattern is from Special Knits.

The kimono I knit for Brynna made from Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton color 39012 from the Minnowknits book. This took a while, but then again I have a newborn and barely have time to knit!! It's still a little big even though it was for a newborn, but she looks adorable in it.

okay so in between making the baby's blanket and finishing Tarik's sweater I decided to do a quick knit baby bunting. I fell in love with this yarn the second I saw it!! It is knit on size 15 needles with two strands of yarn together.

fabulous yarn - it is so soft! Ella rae madison
	here is what I got done yesterday. This is the back of the bunting
Almost finished - just have to add the buttons! Ooh I just love a quick project!! It's a little large for a newborn, but will work just fine...
	Here's the hat to go with the bunting. Is that baby gonna be adorable or what???

I started with a pillow. Not exactly a small project. I still have it. It was done in garter stitch in one long rectangle then stitched up the side. It took me forever to finish it. I probably should have started with an easier project.

I moved on to easier projects, and started knitting hats with circular needles. Everyone in the family got one, and I am still getting requests for them.

This is the second hat, the first went to my brother Jim. The pattern is from The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits

It was about this time that I went off the knitting deep end. I bought books, I scoured the web, I subscribed to magazines. One of my favorites is Rebecca, which is a German import. I have a subscription to it through a knitting store in Montana called Wild West Wools. It has great projects! Yes, I am fully and truly addicted to knitting. And still am... Since my first fits and starts I have become somewhat adventurous. I moved on to bigger and better things. I made my first sweater for my husband. (picture unavailable at this time)

	This was my second sweater. It is made from Jazz yarn and I love the color variation. It is a little short for me as it stops just below my belly button and I like them a little longer, so I have to pick up stitches along the bottom and continue in a different rib pattern. The pattern is from the same book as my hat.		I love this yarn. It is Kollage Radiance in Garden (I think). The scarf is really long and fuzzy. I get tons of compliments on this one! No pattern I just knit in stockinette until I ran out of yarn.
	This was my first scarf and I was experimenting with patterns. I used Mission Falls wool, which I love love love! The pattern is completely my own.		These are the stitches I used, seed stitch, then stockinette, then garter, in that order over and over the entire length of the scarf.
	This is a summer poncho. It is from the Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits. This was my first attempt at finishing and it went pretty well!		The yarn I used for the poncho was a linen, rayon, cotton mix in a color called Platinum. It is very pretty close up.

My first really big oops happened when I went on to make a sweater for my brother, except it would probably fit three of him. Okay so now I know not to take shortcuts when I do a gauge stitch. I have made several and have three currently in the works. Heaven forbid we ever move somewhere warm.

Great knitting sites