Took Scout to be spayed and declawed.

Thinking she might need a cat bed when she comes home tomorrow.

Got a massage.  Apparently I needed one.  I was very tense.

Worked for a couple hours at the stationery store.

Went fabric shopping.  Bought too much.

Came home for 15 minutes, ate soup and read blogs.

Knitted in the car.

Made snacks and supervised homework.

Found forgotten treasure in mudroom closet (more on that tomorrow).

Contemplating assembly line sewing projects.

Wondering if I could run a half marathon.

Meeting girlfriends for dinner.

A very good Thursday.

We returned home last night from a visit to see family in North Carolina.  In the two days we were there, we celebrated one nephew's birthday and another's baptism.  One suitcase was full of gifts, a few of which I made.

I knitted a sweater for our new nephew and godson, Kenan.

Pattern:  Child's Placket Neck Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (about 1 1/2 skeins for size 0-6 months)
Needles:  Size 6 bamboo 16" circular and double points
Modifications:  None
Notes:  My copy of the book has the updated pattern so I did not encounter any problems at all.  There is a corrected pattern here.  I knit it up and weaved in all ends in 7 hours and 50 minutes (not all in one sitting) - sewing the buttons on put me over the 8 hour mark.   I thought it was a fast and satisfying knit - I will probably make it again.

OK, off to make a meal plan, pay the bills and tackle the laundry.  Have a great day.

I promised photos....here they are.

The weather was finally cool enough for me to wear my Juliet yesterday.  I love it.   I am so glad I made it.  I haven't knit anything bigger than a hat or a scarf for myself in years.  Now I am wondering what I was waiting for.  Well, apparently Juliet.  Yes, I was waiting for this.

I found the pattern super easy to follow.  This was a pretty quick knit, too.  I started on September 12th and finished on October 1st.  Not bad considering I have been working on some other things in the carpool line (my knee socks and something else to be revealed after my November craft swap).  This was my at home, in front of the TV project with a few bouts of knitting at the barber shop (aka, my local yarn store).  I had a bit of trouble getting the lace right at the beginning, but that was entirely my fault.  I have this habit of forgetting yarn overs and so I had to rip it out about three or four times.  Once I got the pattern in my head though, I was off with flying colors.  I did the longer version because I just can't get away with all that cropped cuteness.  I wish I could but it just doesn't do my super long of torso and hefty hips any justice.  I did lengthen the sleeve some, too, and I am glad I did.

So here's the knitty gritty:

Pattern:  Juliet by Zephyr Style
Yarn:  Double strand of Rialto by Debbie Bliss, 14 skeins (with none left over)
Needles:  Size 11
Modifications:  Added length to torso and sleeves.  I also used a double strand to make the crochet button loops because I didn't think the single strand had the right scale for the sweater.
Notes:  The yarn splits easily and is very elastic.  I wasn't convinced I had made the right choice until I was finished.  I do love it.  It is super warm in a double strand (100% merino wool, superwash).

My favorite part:  knitting in my hand knit.  Satisfying to say the least.

I am back in the groove.  The craft gods are smiling and I have the itch.  Ideas are floating around and inspiration is at my fingertips.  To knit or to sew?   What a quandary.  I couldn't choose one over the other...so I chose both.

I cast on a 4 to 8 hour project from this book.  At the rate I am going, I think it will be closer to 8 hours which is just fine.

And I made this cute patchwork pin cushion from the other book.  It was in the 2 to 4 hour section....it took me less than 2 hours, though.  Well, that is if you don't count the time I spent waffling over what color thread to use.

Both books are lovely.  Gorgeous and full of wonderful projects, actually.  Last-Minute Knitted Gifts has been around for awhile, I just never had purchased it.  I like the concept that these gifts can be whipped up in a (relatively) short amount of time.  My kind of crafting.

Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts is right down my alley.  I knew I was going to like it, though.  Joelle let me have a sneak peek at an advance copy when I was at Purl Patchwork in August.  Lucky me.  One flip through this book had me sold.  I had dreams about it.  Seriously.  That is how wonderful it is.  You can see more photos at the Purl Bee.  There are so many projects I want to make, but beyond that is the incredible inspiration this book provides.  Wowzers!  It's eye candy in the form of fabric and color.  I want to sew all day long.   Forget cooking and cleaning and (gasp!) blog reading, I just want to sew.  And knit and then sew some more.  It's that good.

Back tomorrow with more good stuff.

A sneak peek at my finished Juliet.  My photographer (aka Fatty) is out of town, so a full-on modeling shot will have to wait.  But let me say this, I am in love!  The buttons were the icing on the cake, perfect in every way.  The fabric store only had three - just what I needed.  Isn't it great when something just comes together like that?

Is it Thursday already?  How did that happen?

Despite a general busy-ness around here, I did manage to make this fingerless glove.

Too bad it's not 1982 cause one is all I've got.

I used Fetching from Knitty.  I like the pattern, but there is no way I am going to get a pair out of one skein.  And I am being frugal with the yarn - no gauge swatch for me.  I am wondering if anyone has knit these out of one skein of  something other than the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.  If so, please tell.  Also, I am not digging the picot edge bind off.  I am going to take it out and just bind off in the rib pattern.  Anybody agree?  Disagree?

Other news...Scout is settling in well.  We are getting along famously.  You see, she likes yarn just as much as I do.

I made another coffee cozy last night for my friend Geron.

I didn't want her to feel left out.

I was knitting in the afternoon, waiting in the car for the girls.

And I was knitting in the evening while watching TV.

It's all I want to do.