I'm halfway there!

Oh, I'm so enjoying this shrug!  The yarn is so soft and the large needles - well what can I say!  It's going so quickly and I can't wait to see how it turns out when sewn together and done.  I've already decided that my girls will get one for Christmas.  I have only worked on this shrug a few days off and on and I'm already halfway through it.  I'm hoping that another few evenings and I should be done.  I think this is a doable project on the list to complete for Christmas gift giving.   I love giving handmade gifts - especially since the recipients appreciate the time and love that goes into what I make.  

The picture above doesn't really look like a shrug yet but just wait until you see it done!  Joan, girlfriend, thank you!  I can only hope that mine turns out as beautiful as yours! 

"Shrug" it off!

Like I said in my earlier post - my needles from Green Gable weren't cool yet when I cast on for my shrug.  My friend Joan made it and when I saw her picture posted on Ravelry, I knew I had to make it.  Here is a picture of the first few inches.  I figured if I keep posting about it, I will keep at it.  It is an easy, but enjoyable knit, done in rib stitch - one of my favorite.  

I also want to start my Cassidy cardigan but decided that my little peanut Addison needs another sweater for fall.  And one good thing about her sweaters....they are little.  Big girl stuff takes forever.  Of course my fear is that I will make this shrug and all the girls in my life - Jen, Diana and Meagan will love it and want one.  I have to admit that it would make a great Christmas gift.  It's a one size fits all kind of shrug so I know the sizing wouldn't be an issue.  Boy, I really dream big to think that I could make 3 more shrugs before Christmas.  Let's see what I think after I finish this one. 

I love finishing!

Yeah, Green Gables is FINALLY off the needles.  I don't know what I was more excited for...getting to wear it or to feel guilt-free casting on another project.  I'm thinking a little of both.  So, until I start my next big sweater project, I've decided to start this cute little shrug that my friend Joan gave me.  It is a quick, easy knit and hers turned out great!  And it's knitted on Size 11 needles.  I'm used to useing Size 1 on my socks so this will be quite a change for me.  So tonight I stopped and bought some Patons Chunky Tweed in a chocolate brown and already cast on.  My needles from GG weren't even cooled off yet!  I have so many projects I want to make.  Hard part is picking the next one.  I thought this cute little shrug would be a great project.  It seems to be an easy knit with great results - my favorite kind of project.  Will be perfect to use during our cold Chicago winters.

My favorite place in the house!

How many of you have a favorite chair that you sit in to knit?  This is a picture of my corduroy chair and a half complete with ottoman!  I love it and spend lots of time working on my projects in it.  I had originally bought a rocker-type chair for "my room" to use when I needed to rock Addison.  But I found that it wasn't as comfortable as I had wanted it to be for the nights I knit.  So I moved it to another room and claimed the big chair for my room.  Does this mean that I am always in my room knitting alone?  Not all the time.  But when Mike isn't home or is watching some crazy John Wayne movie in the family room, I retreat to my room and curl up with a good knitting project.  Sometimes I turn the TV on and other times I listen to my knitting podcasts.  I haven't been able to convince him that reruns of Knitty Gritty or my Stash and Burn Podcasts are great fun.  So for the time being, we are quite compatible in separate rooms!  Is that a bad thing?

Big girl sits up!

Now that Addison is sitting up, she quickly reminded us that she no longer wants to be in the infant seat when we are at the store.  As it lays back, she is trying with all her might to hold her head up away from the seat.  Time for a big girl seat!  I bought a pattern to make a Cart Cover back before Addison was born.  At the time, I just put it away, thinking it would be FOREVER before she could sit up on her own.  Well, it's here.  Jen took this picture on her cell phone.  It doesn't show it very clearly but you get the idea.  She even got her first ride in the stroller facing forward at Oak Brook the other day and loved it.  i guess she needed to see other things besides Mommy and Grammy!!! 

And as anyone who watches the news knows, Chicago has been getting a ton of rain.  It has been raining since Friday night.  So what better day for a sewing project than a damp, rainy day.  Of course watching the Bears lose wasn't fun but I kept on sewing anyway.  I finished Addison's Cart Cover and was in such a hurry to take it over to her that I forgot to take a picture of it.  So that will come later.  Maybe I'll even get a picture of Addison in it!  Better yet!  I needed a photo to post so I took one of the pattern and of the trim fabric I used on it.  Her toys that we were attaching to it were farm animals in reds, blacks, yellows so I made the body of it in quilted black fabric and trimmed it in this adorable multi-colored polka dot.  It was very easy to make and turned out so nice.  I can't wait to see how it fits in the cart and how Addie likes it!  Now she can grocery shop in style!!!

My little Addison!

Addison will be 6 months old tomorrow.  Where has the time gone?  She is sitting up, rocking on her hands and knees, laughing and developing this adorable personality.  I always remember my Mom telling me that as you get older the time flies by.  And it certainly does.  My own three children are adults now and I can't believe how quickly those years went.  And now my first granddaughter is here and I am watching her grow before my eyes.  Isn't it funny that when you are at the stage of your life when you can relax and take things slow, everything around you is going fast?  I want to enjoy all of these times with my children and grandchildren.  I want us to do things together and enjoy being together because as we all know, time goes by much too quickly.  My daughter Jen got me a beautiful sign for my birthday that says "Love like there's no tomorrow." And that's what we should all try to do each and every day because we don't know what tomorrow will bring.  

I think it's time for a quilt!

I have been quilting for 22 years but for the past couple years knitting has taken over my life.  I was looking for a hobby that was a bit more portable.  Something that I could do sitting with the family and not have to be in my sewing room alone.  Something I could stick in my purse and take with me to work on at lunch or while waiting for an appointment.  Then, baby Addison came along and I started collecting some really adorable quilting fabrics to make her a quilt.  She is 6 months old and I have not made her a quilt yet.  My goal is to make one for her 1st birthday and personalize it just for her so that she always has something to remember me by.   While shopping for cute fabrics I realized how much I miss quilting.  Picking the colors, choosing the pattern, watching it go together.  I want it to be special.  I want Addie to pick it up and cuddle it and wear it out.  I don't want it to sit folded in a corner.  I want it to be dragged around the house..something she can cuddle in when she is sick.  I want her to wear it out and love it. Because all the love she gives it will be the same amount of love that I will put into it!!!