Knitting content!

Since it's been ages since I've shown any actual knitting on the blog, I thought it was about time to put some up.

First up, a gift I made for my friend Bekka who had her baby in April. A baby surprise jacket from the Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, an Umbilical Cord hat from the first Stitch n' Bitch book, and a bunny hat from the pattern by Adrian Bizilia. The yarn is by Yarn Bee: Baby Bee Sweet Delight in Bare Blue and Teddy and Baby Bee Sweet Delight Twist in Teddybear. Yarn Bee is one of the house brands from Hobby Lobby, a craft store chain in Texas that I miss very much.



The Baby Surprise Jacket (my second, though I haven't even sewn up the seams on the first yet)


I really love these buttons I found -- I think they're a perfect match.


The bunny hat:


As seen on Mr. Bear, a very reluctant model:


The umbilical cord hat, one of my favorite baby gifts:


Still to come: the yarn I bought (and made) in Tucson, some mmmm...Malabrigo (gosh I love that yarn), my aunt's birthday present, and the scarf and skein that would not end.

Friday Fill-In #128

Friday Fill-in blog is here

And...here we go!

1. I grew up thinking _that my family was so boring. Boy was I wrong.____.
2. _Crazy Aunt Purl ____ was the last website I was at before coming here.
3. Why don't you _go have some iced coffee? It's my summer beverage of choice.
4. _My cat _ helps me relax.
5. Thanks for the _late night pan flute concert, mysterious street flautist. It was certainly unexpected___.
6. _I think that cliquishness is _ very off-putting.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _trying out some of my newly acquired Trader Joe's wine_, tomorrow my plans include _cleaning up the kitchen_, and Sunday, I want to _finish my aunt's present_!

Friday Fill-in #127 (better late than never edition)

Sorry to be late this week. I got distracted last night with knitting and never got around to it.
Friday Fill-in is here.

And...here we go!
1. _I miss my family and wish I could go visit_ home.
2. My favorite thing for dinner lately has been _asparagus. I got some from the farmer's market last week and it was wonderful_.
3. _When he gets lonely, the dog next door goes _ bark! bark! bark!
4. A nice long walk _would be nice, now that it's stopped raining____.
5. _Is it really gossip if you're only sharing____ some good news.
6. When all is said and done, _I don't think any place will ever feel like home the way Texas does____.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _knitting____, tomorrow my plans include _making pizza and knitting____ and Sunday, I want to _go to the park and do some knitting____!

When I'm not missing the deadline on memes, I've been busy with a secret knitting project for my aunt's birthday. I'm only a few rows behind schedule, but I'm hoping to catch back up today. I'm also working on updating my flicker pool and ravelry notebook, so that I can share some of the knitting I've been doing so far this year. I completed a few small projects, mainly baby gifts for friends, but I was also afflicted with a terrible case of startitis, and now I've got tons of unfinished objects laying around the knitting corner of my apartment. I think I'll be playing a little game of "finish it or frog it" this summer.
I've also been working on cleaning up my apartment. I've gotten the basic cleaning done -- things have been swept and mopped and the many small piles of paper, knitting, etc., have been consolidated into a few humongous piles of stuff. It's still a little messy, but it's much more livable than before. Now comes the harder part -- sorting, thinning the herd, and organizing it all. This is the overwhelming part, where I'm not quite sure how to start. I guess I should just jump in. Right now I've got a choice of books, paperwork, yarn stuff, other crafting stuff, or the closets (I feel like there should be some ominous music here). Any thoughts?