I didn't mean to go on a blog break, but sometimes life throws you some curve balls that include going away on a family emergency for a few months. everything is ok now, but I needed the last couple of weeks to just regroup and get used to being in my own home again.* so what was I even knitting or talking about before I left?

these poor sweaters had been sitting on my kitchen table for months, basically since I took that photo. I finally mailed it to Stef a week or two ago and crossed my fingers that Mazie didn't already outgrow them AND that they would actually be IN their envelope. thankfully they arrived safe and sound, unlike the pants I mailed before, and she still has room to grow.

pattern: child's placket neck pullover from lmkg
yarn: koigu kersti (k-613), 3 skeins
needles: 4.5mm circs

I never got any progress posts on this sweater since it moved off the needles so quickly. I can see this one becoming my standard baby knitted gift and will probably knit a few more during the holidays this year. this was my first time using kersti, though it had been in my stash for years. it has a rounder and squishier feel than their sock yarn that I really enjoyed.

pattern: vintage baby cardigan, shibuiknits
yarn: my own sock yarn (wool/nylon blend)
needles: 2.5mm circs

apparently Mazie likes the kimono more than the pullover. I guess this means she's a minimalist and garter stitch will be her favorite stitch when she grows up. or maybe it's the loud colors that have her jumping up and down. I don't mind either way, as long as she's happy.

*if you've emailed me and have not received a reply, now you know why.

Posted by bitter purl at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

have you ever had the spark just come back for something? was that feeling amazing or what?
for a while there I wasn't doing much knitting or blogging. I would still read blogs here and there, but more as a lurker and less as a commenter. lately though, I can't seem to stop knitting. maybe I just needed a break to remember what it felt like, let that void get a little too wide for comfort. or maybe I just needed to step away from the blog for a while and just let the crafting go its course.

I've been knitting a lot of little things, so the instant gratification high is helping me along. a couple of days ago I started yet another tiny project for mazie, the vintage baby cardigan from shibuiknits. I had some extra sock yarn that I had dyed ages ago and I wasn't sure what to do with. I figured this would be the perfect way to use it up.

it's mindless garter, but something about it feels so good. isn't that a sign that I just want to knit? I've been plugging away at it since monday night and all I have left now is the left front/sleeve and a little bit of seaming. for some reason I thought it would have gone faster than that. the suggested needles are 3.25mm but I had to go down to 2.5mm and I'm still not getting gauge. I've been following the newborn size st counts, but aiming for the 6mo measurements. I really, really don't want to knit another project on 2.5mm unless it is a sock. maybe that's why I cheated a little.

just a wee bit really. carrie mentioned starting a 28thirty and something about it just stuck in my mind. it wasn't exactly love at first sight, it took a couple of weeks for me to finally break down and buy it. I'm guessing it's the collar that slowly creeped into my subconscious. that, or I just want to dress like carrie. I only knit the first six rows, just to get a little variety, and then I hid it away so I can finish mazie's sweater.

that's the knitting, but what about the blogging? I'm still working on that, but baby steps right?

I'm woefully behind on passing this along. it's just so hard to pick a couple of blogs when there are so many that I read. i love teyani, leah, and tiennie, but for the list I decide to grab a few oldies and some new-to-me ones from my bloglines and share them with you here. how apropos to do it on valentine's. almost reminds me of elementary school when you bring cards for everyone in the class.

some knitting ones:
a friend to knit with
coloursknits
flint knits
hello yarn
sixoneseven

some cooking ones:
cookthink
mattbites
smitten kitchen

and one that I wish would come back:
streets and yos

Posted by bitter purl at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)