nesting

I knit this little cap in a few days. It's a modified version of this pattern. I just added some stripes and purled each first row of new color.  I like how at each color join there's a thin strip of contrasting color. The hat looks good inside out too, but the i-cord and tassel don't show.

The nest above was built by a cardinal couple that we watched all summer. They hatched some baby cardinals a flew away late in the summer, leaving their handiwork behind.

I've been nesting lately as well - only six more weeks until baby arrives! We set up the nursery last weekend, but we still have piles of baby things to organize before we can call it complete. Last night I made a double batch of enchiladas and froze one pan for later.

I'm happy we're waking up to Friday tomorrow :)

xo Jill

socks

Socks socks socks and a sweater.

I found the sock pattern here - and I've already knit three pairs of these socks.  They're really easy, fast and intuitive - if you're familiar with knitting socks. I can finish one sock in an evening. My husband and I are huge Survivor fans and I knit half a sock each episode.

The sweater is a special project that used up all of a skein of hand spun that I'd been saving for over three years. It's a bit bulky, but it should keep our little guy nice and warm.

Well, I hope you are all surviving the work week. Steady as she goes, I'm plowing through. This weekend I have my first baby shower and my husband has promised to help set up the nursery and put the crib together.

Should be fun.

Hang in there everyone!

xo Jill

capturing september

Another sweater for the baby.

I spun some triple-ply yarn a few weeks ago and decided to try out a new pattern.  I've seen so many great versions of this sweater - all with hand spun yarn.

October starts tomorrow. Happy autumn, everyone!

xo Jill

some finishing touches

The weekend is here! It feels so good to take the time to relax and move slowly. Both my husband and I had a busy work week, so it was nice to snuggle in bed for an extra hour. Look who jumped into bed with my husband after I got up to make the coffee this morning. Bree usually sticks pretty close to me, but she took advantage of this open spot as soon as I vacated it.

August is for tomatoes, this I know. I've been making bruschetta, salsa, BLTs and omelets. This week I tried my hand as some homemade tomato and basil soup. It was good, but I definitely have some ideas about how I can improve my recipe next time. I think I need a sieve to get the tomato seeds out. That was my only complaint. It sure smelled good as it simmered on the stove.

Lots of caps and booties flying off the needles. I think it's because I have so many bits and odds and ends of yarn. I love that none of it is going to waste - the yardage is perfect for baby-sized hand knits. 

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.

Jill

handspun yarn

Here are a few of the projects that I've been working on with the assortment of hand spun yarn that I've been saving over the years. I got the cap pattern here. I got the bootie pattern from a friend at work. She said they're good because they stay on. We'll have to wait and see.

Hope you all are having a good weekend.

Jill

wool + zinnias

Lots of wool around here - and flowers. 

I picked up a hank of some hand spun yarn that I made a few years ago and knit a pair of ankle socks. I Navajo plied this yarn so it was a bit twisty in some places. I also noticed that the size of the yarn changed from sport weight on the first sock to worsted/chunky on the second. The extra twist in this yarn should make the socks I made more durable, that's why I chose to make socks with this yarn. I only had a few yards left over when I cast off the last stitches. I will enjoy wearing these socks this winter.

You will be seeing a lot of blue yarn in my upcoming posts because we found out we're having a boy. I couldn't be more excited and I've already got a small mountain of boy appropriate yarn in my knitting basket. The little sweater I posted above has been a real stash buster. I need to find the perfect buttons.

This summer has been a dream come true. I feel so grateful to get the chance to knit a sweater for the baby that I'm carrying. I really didn't know if I would ever get this opportunity. I may be going a bit overboard, but I don't care. There has been a lot of wool piling up around here over the years, also a lot of hopes that have finally been answered.

Thanks for reading.

Jill

hiatus

Hello Dear Friends:

I have been on hiatus from the blog - a first in the six years that I have been posting, but the break was much needed. Over the past few months I've resumed my crafting, cooking and creative explorations, so the need for outreach and sharing - this blog - was an inevitable conclusion.

How else would I be able to keep track of how the garden looked, what the goofy dog was doing and what had found it's way on and off my knitting needles?

Life has been very good to my husband and I in the months that I have been quiet. We are pregnant and I'm 20 weeks along! It feels like a fairytale and a dream - something I don't quite think we ever believed could happen after all that we had been through. 

My knitting projects are now geared very much toward baby. I've finally got the chance to try out all of those patterns that I'd been collecting. This little pattern is called sweet baby cap. I'm making it out of some 2 ply hand spun that I made in 2013. I only had about 150 yards left over from a pair of socks I knit at that time and I was waiting for a very special project.

I will try to catch up with you all now that I am back in form (though it is expanding day by day!)

God has truly taught me how to hope and blessed us beyond belief!

Ever hopeful, 

Jill xo