Some more busy knitting

I have arrived! I have joined the Elizabeth Zimmerman knitting world. After admiring a zillion Baby Surprise Jackets on blogs from around the world I finally dove in when Knitpicks recently had a huge sale on books. My cousin Emily recently had twin girls which is no small feat any way and certainly after 10 weeks on bed rest in the hospital these girls are quite the miracles. I had to rush on a knitted present, her due date was the first week of September but all the way back in May when Emily was hospitalized with contractions I knew I had to step things up a bit. I actually got to hand deliver these sweaters last week when my mom and I were in New York on business and made a little side trip up to see Emily, Jim and Susanna and Rebecca in Connecticut.

The pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket
Source: The Opinionated Knitter, by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Getting back to you on this one
Needles: size 7

This picture is for Carolyn who had not heard of this pattern. For those who have not heard of the Baby Surprise Jacket, this magical sweater is knit all as one piece. This is what it looks like before it is simply folded up and turns into the above sweater with the only seaming being from the shoulder to the cuff of the top of the sleeves. Pretty amazing.

Pattern: Yarn Over Cable Socks
Source: Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Yarn Ahoy! Hand painted sock yarn
Colorway: The Desert Song
Needles: size 1 dpns

What happened to all the knitting?

Well, there hasn't been much said about knitting on my blog lately but it isn't due to any less knitting around here. There was a bit of a dry spell around May and June while it was a super busy time for me but recently the knitting is back in full swing. Lots to share so let's get on with it shall we?



This is a cool little item that I fell in love with when I first saw the pattern online. It is from the Berroco Norah Gaughan Collection Volume 2. I was surprised how long this actually took me and how much yarn it used too. It was my first purse/tote and it was a bigger project then I had anticipated all around. Maybe it is mostly because I could never really fully take my eyes off the pattern while knitting this one. I would like to try it again and maybe do two different colors instead of knits and purls to form the pattern as is one of the other patterns in the book. Thanks a thousand times over to my stepmother Carolyn who used her wonderful sewing and quilting skills to line both the bag and it' strap for me as well as putting in a pocket and a magnetic closure. Without these additions I think the bag would have been really floppy and saggy, especially the strap seemed like it was going to stretch a lot as the bag got loaded with items.

The stats:
Pattern: Skuld
Source: Berroco Norah Gaughan Collection Volume 2
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish Superwash
Colorway: Squirrel Heather
Needles: size 3 and 6

Berry picking

So, my little sister, Addie, has been visiting. She is 14 years younger than me and she just turned 14 two weeks ago. This summer marks a big time where I am twice her age and in this poignant summer between junior high and high school for her now is the same summer that for me 14 years ago also marked this big school transition and was the summer I got a baby sister. As the only sibling that I have ever had, that was a big summer for me and it is fun to mark this kind of summer for her with her first ever trip on her own to come and stay with Gabriel and I. It has been really fun to have her here and to talk about high school and life and what to expect and dream of the years to come.

One of the many activities that we have gotten ourselves into while she has been here is last week we went blackberry and blueberry picking down in Pittsboro, south of Chapel Hill. We took a good friend of mine, Kathryn along. When we got there we actually got stuck out picking in a big thunderstorm that drenched us all. But luckily we were all great sports about it and it didn't slow us down a bit. That is one of the wonderful things about rain in the summer time in the South is that even when you get wet it is so hot out that you never care. In fact it is welcome! We picked gallons and gallons of berries. I have been freezing them, making jam and generally enjoying fresh berries on almost anything we eat. My sister was so cute, I think it was her perfect day, apparently with out knowing it I combined her two favorite things "rain and blackberries!"

Love you sissy!