I'm about halfway through the front of the Ginger tank. It's knitting up pretty fast. However, I also started some more sewing projects. I got this great Oriental toile in red and black from Reprodepot Fabrics that arrived yesterday, so I made another sundress and plan to make a lightweight coat. Unfortunately, I won't be wearing the sundress since the rains have come again in full force. I'll take rain over humidity anytime! Pictures next week...

I finally got my Sweater Wizard and Stitch & Motif Maker software in the mail yesterday. Yay! I'll probably install it tonight and try it out.

Along with the software, I also had my Booklend book, The Wishbones by Tom Perrotta, waiting in the mailbox for me. Booklend is a lending library by post that is run by Mark Anderson, a man who wants to share his own personal library. You browse the titles he has and then can sign up for the book. A lot of the time, everything is already checked out, but there are waiting lists. He also sends a you a postage paid envelope to return the book in. No time limits, no cost. Amazing!

I swatched my Rowan Summer Tweed this morning and am one stitch short of being on target. My row count matches up though. The yarn feels fabulous, but it leaves a fine dusting of black specks all over my lap. Has anyone else had this happen or is it due to my color choice?

Had a very fun and busy weekend and I managed to get some knitting in too! Friday night I went to hear Lyle Lovett. I don't own any of his music, but have heard a lot of it. It was a great show. Lyle himself was very charming and witty. He still had his leg in a cast from the whole bull trampling incident and was using crutches. He and his band sounded amazing.

On Sunday, I went on a fourth annual sturgeon fishing trip that one of my friends organizes every year. We have about 14 people and we charter a boat that goes along the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. I had lots of bites. I caught three sturgeon that were too small and had to be thrown back, but towards the end of the day, I finally caught a 43" keeper. Yay! We smoke most of the fish and then grill some at whoever's house the Fourth of July party is at. On the drive to Ilwaco, WA on Saturday I was able to finish the Rhombus hat I was working on even though I had to frog sections twice.

My next project is Ginger from Rowan Summer Tweed, using the yarn of the same name in Sunset.

Here's my Maggie sweater...

Here's the finished blue plaid dress. I realize it would have been better if I had modeled the dress in the photos, but I hate taking pictures of myself. I had to make a few adaptations after trying it on. First, it was too big around the chest. I thought about adding straps, but changed my mind because I wanted it to be strapless. So I added a skinny strip of elastic to the front bodice. That was the perfect solution! It fit fine. Second, the ribbon and roses were supposed to go along the top, but because of the elastic it was too scrunchy. Instead, I sewed them along the seam where the bodice and skirt met. This was a quick project--it took about two and a half hours total. The best thing was that it cost under $13 since everything was on sale.

I forgot to mention that I got a copy of the new Vogue Knitting at my LYS over the weekend! I know it wasn't supposed to be available until August, but stores must have early access. What a great resource. I know I'll be using this book a lot!

I sewed together the shoulder seams of the Maggie sweater last night. I should be able to finish setting in the sleeves and doing the side seams this evening. I loved working on this project, but black mohair makes the finishing a bit hard. I also started another shape motif hat, "Rhombus," in yellow and purple.

I cut out the pattern pieces for the blue plaid dress. I decided to do a combination of dresses B and C so I didn't have to match all the seams. The front and back top pieces were cut on the bias while the skirt pieces were cut along the grainline. I think this will make the dress look more visually interesting.

I got a lot of knitting done this weekend! Finished the Maggie front on Saturday and both sleeves last night. Those pieces are blocking now and should be ready to sew up later tonight. Yay! I love finished objects. I went to the yarn store on Saturday afternoon to get some extra Rowan Kidsilk Haze for the sweater.




I also decided to go to two different Jo-Ann's stores, as well as Fabric Depot to check out sales. I bought some ribbon for the sweater and some material and stuff for a new sewing project: the blue plaid dress using McCall's pattern 3563, dress C on the far right. This is another summer dress that is very similar to the cherry dress, however, I'm making it strapless and with some black ribbon and rose detailing along the top. This should be a quick and easy sewing project. I'm having a hard time deciding on whether or not I should try to match the plaid on the seams. What do you all think?

Go USA soccer!

The weather has dropped about 20 degrees from the last two days. What a relief! More time for knitting. I'm about a third of the way through the front of the Maggie sweater. This weekend I'm going to try to start some kid sweaters to go with the hats. Simple pullovers, with different neck styles using the same bright colors. I need to get some bobbins for the motif knitting. That will make it easier than using yarn from both ends of a skein.

Trying to ignore the hot weather, I still managed to pick up the knitting needles last night. Started the front of the Maggie sweater. The back is done blocking and looks very nice.

I ordered the Sweater Wizard and the Stitch & Motif Maker about two weeks ago. I wanted to use this software to help me design some of the kid sweaters to go along with the hats. Unfortunately, I just found out that it was backordered until July! That's a long time to wait. Oh well.

It's supposed to be even hotter today--94 degrees. Yikes!

I finished the back of the Maggie sweater last night. It's blocking right now. It's supposed to be 90 degrees today. Who wants to knit with mohair in 90 degree weather?

A Rift Among Bloggers [NYTimes article]

Worked a lot on the Maggie sweater this weekend. Almost done with the back. Also picked up the pillow knitting, which had been neglected for weeks!

These are the first three hats I designed to sell in the new children's clothing store that is opening in August. I was experimenting with shape motifs and different ribbings. I think seed stitch as a ribbing is particularly attractive. I used Rowan Handknit DK because I loved all the color choices. And I thought it would be fun to give the hat designs names: first is Block, then Spot, then Tri-Top (like treetop, but with triangles!). I want to make some sweaters using the same motifs, but repeated differently. The next bunch of hats I knit will use stripes. That should be fun!

Yay! I've got mail! A big thanks to Kate for sending me the crocheted star quilt pattern from the current issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting. I don't know when I'll get around to it, but it could be sooner than I think. I also got this book that I ordered from Amazon: Style Your Own Kids' Knits by Kate Buller. It looks like a great resource and has lots of cute motifs to add on to sweaters and such.

I'm almost finished with hat number three! These first three hats all have a shape motif. Next, I am going to work with stripes. I think I am going to have to frog what I have so far on the Maggie sweater. I am so bummed! The pattern says to use size 2 or 3 needles for the ribbing and I used size 2, but I think it's too small. Ugh! Luckily, my gauge is right on for the rest of the sweater. Oh well, better to frog now, early on, than later.

I am very excited because I bought a new digital camera yesterday. The Minolta DiMage X. It's super slim and tiny. Size is a big deal to me. I have refused to buy a PDA because it's big enough for me to not want to carry. But when the gadgets are so small you don't notice that you're toting them around, that's when I especially love technology!

I finished two children's hats over the weekend. I think they're pretty cute. I'll post pictures of them when I have more completed. I also decided to start the Maggie sweater from Rowan 31. I didn't really like any of the color selections of Kidsilk Haze at my LYS so I chose basic black. It's very fuzzy. I finished the ribbing and am now starting the increases on the back of the body.