Goings on!

I've been busy at school and trying to get some things made. That's pretty much what's been going on around here. I did decide to go back to decorating for Halloween. In fact I did this the last weekend in September!

That's a sample from the dining room!

I knocked off some little projects. I love knitting hats, so I knit 2 baby hats--both exactly the same. Here's a photo of one of them:
I love this little pattern. It's a free pattern from Spud & Chloe yarns and fortunately I had some stash yarn which fit the bill! I also made a beret for myself. I had seen it in the Knit One magazine and I had the yarn the pattern called for, courtesy of my secret pal! I'm not thrilled with the result, however. I looked at the projects on Ravelry and many of the people said that the hat was really large. I knit a swatch and got gauge but I decided to knit the ribbing on size 2 needles instead of the size 3 called for in the pattern. I switched to the 3 for the body of the hat. I probably should not have done that. The hat turned out much larger and drapier than the photo. It's a little loose so I am going to weave some clear elastic thread through the ribbing to give it some support.


Once I fit the ribbing, I'll model the hat!

I'm putting aside my summer knitting and starting on my winter projects. I'm about one third of the way through the Vine Yoke Cardigan. I'm really enjoying this pattern. It has a rather unusual construction. It was one of the selections of the Sexy Knitters' Club KAL. I would like to do two more of their selections:


The sweater is called Vivian and I love it. I've decided to pass on knitting it for now because I know that I wouldn't get it finished. I'm looking for faster projects. I did buy the pattern and I will make it at some point. The shrug is a real quick knit and I ordered some Tilli Tomas black beaded kid mohair/silk and a black wool/alpaca blend from KnitPicks. I want to make this to wear with my gown to the SAR ball in Dec.

I haven't done much sewing lately and I have to finish a sun dress I was working on. I'm going to finish the dress except for the zipper. I'm losing a little weight and the dress is fitted so I figure that I can take it in before putting in the zipper next spring if I need to. I did participate in a Christmas apron swap so I made an apron from a vintage pattern reissue:
I love the fabric! It's got kitties and yarn balls! My swap partner has 5 cats and she loves to knit so this was perfect! I may have to make one of these for myself!

I moved into a new purse a few weeks ago! I'm not one of those people who changes purses with outfits. I get a really good bag and I use it for literally years until it is worn out. My old icon bag with the Klimt painting of Adele on it was looking a little worn and I found a great Icon bag on clearance on their website: The trick for me is to not load it up and make it heavy. I'm able to stick a water bottle and a small knitting project in it which is nice.

So that's about it for me! Ems was in her first public scrimmage Tuesday night. Here she is as Crushin' Dior with the Steel City Derby Demons:

Kitty Cam: It's Super Harley!