FO: Bib for a new little girl

Just to prove I'm not a total waste-of-life as a knitter these days, I wanted to show you an FO:



Thanks to Mason-Dixon knitting, I have a bib all ready for the imminent arrival of my nephew's new baby (due tomorrow!). It's made of Frog Tree Picoboo which is lovely and soft to the touch.

I took the advice of a brilliant person on this blog and used the Fibonacci sequence to determine the number of rows per stripe (1, 1, 2, 3, 5 and then back down). The mom's a math teacher so she'll really appreciate that. Not to mention the fact that I like the way it looks.

I tried a not entirely successful experiment with the edges. In previous bibs, I didn't like the way the color change bled up a row every time, so for this bib I cast on and knitted one edge with both colors of yarn. Then I whip-stitched the other edge with both colors of yarn when I was done. It looks okay but not great (probably a function of the fact that I'm a lousy whip-stitcher). Anyone have a better suggestion for that particular problem? I'm all ears!

P.S. I finished the Boundless Blue Blanket at last! Wahoo! Photos to follow.

New Jersey: Winter Wonderland

Snow, snow, snow, snow! We got about six inches and it's lovely: light, powdery and pristine. This is my holiday card to all you wonderful folks here at RTY: my house in the snow.



And Brodie the Snow Dog in full gallop (carrying something in his mouth he wasn't supposed to have, of course):



I hope your holidays are merry and bright...with just a touch of the white stuff!

My trip up North

I just returned from a trip to see my daughter and grandgirlies, and it included a visit to a lovely LYS called Yarn Boutique in Rochester, NY. Amelia, the proprietress, could not have been more helpful, and the selection of yarns in a place where you actually need warm clothing for real winter (unlike where I live) was breathtaking.

I selected a Cascade Heather to make my daughter a shawl from a cool free pattern they were offering called the Weekender Shawl. I'm including a photo of its beginning, though I'm much further along now.

A couple of very cool acquisitions besides the yarn:

1) a shawl pin handcrafted by Amelia's wonderful husband Brett (who was working in the store and is every so charming.) He has Pheasant Hill Wood Works, and I urge you to check out the beauties he creates. I'm including a photo of the one I bought but there were all sorts of intriguing shapes made out of gorgeous hardwoods.

2) these amazing square needles! When I saw them, I couldn't resist! Amelia told me that among their attributes is that you have better control of the yarn (you sure do!) and that you avoid a lot of the twisting that can accompany circular needles. Photo also attached.

Lawsamercy, if I lived in cold country, I would knit myself into a coma! Fabulous, gorgeous yarns (a whole wall of Noro) plus alpacas, baby alpacas, etc., etc....a selection of yarns to die for, one such as this Southern girl has never laid eyes on before!

Jean

Not a creature was stirring...

I was looking for free holiday knitting patterns and came across these adorable little guys so I thought I would share. I especially like the fellow wearing the jaunty beret.

Here's the link to the instructions on the appropriately named blog Fuzzy Thoughts, Knitting Cuteness:

http://blog.fuzzymitten.com/2009/11/holiday-mice.html

I'm a sucker for mice. I even think the live ones I catch in my Have-A-Heart traps are sweet. I just don't want them living in my house, so I relocate them to a lovely local park.

Of course, I don't have time to knit these for Christmas because I'm still working on the Boundless Blue Blanket--but I'm on the LAST SKEIN! Wahooooo!