FO: Suri Merino Ribbed Shrugs

I’ve been neglecting my poor little blog. I’ve actually been real busy, getting my life back in order after being gone for 2 weeks. And then I was in a wedding, which is where my new FO comes into play. For my friend’s wedding we decided it just might be chilly in March, and with our dresses having spaghetti straps, we thought a shrug would be perfect. So, I volunteered to knit them. It would be way to difficult to find them in the right color and style, so after the bride-to-be checked out a few different styles, she selected the Two-Toned Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits (Ravelry link). I finished them just in time! I haven’t gotten pictures back from the bride’s photographer, but a friend shot this one:

Pattern: Two-Toned Fitted Shrug by Stefanie Japel, Fitted Knits
Needles: US Size 7 and US size 4 cirs and DPN’s
Size: 16″ for shrug on the left, 17″ for shrug on the right

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino in Earth – 3 balls for each

Mods: Not many, except for I knit it in one color (obviously!). I knit the collar in smaller size the same way I knit the larger size (the pattern calls for a shorter collar but I wanted them to be the same).

I love how these turned out. They are super soft and super warm. I danced a little too much in it, therefore sweat too much, and when I tried to take it off there were little sure merino hairs stuck to my sweaty body! So I put the puppy back on and kept on dancing!! I was able to whip this out in a week so super pattern and can be knit up very quickly.

An update on my knitting – I am trying to finish my Bayerische socks before the end of the month. They are arduous to knit, but I’m telling you once you get the hang of knitting through the back loop and have the pattern memorized, the sock flies! I started knitting the second sock on Monday and I’m already past the heel and onto the foot portion which goes faster due to half of it being stockinette!! I have a preview pic but want to save it for the final showing. My other two socks are on the back burner, but I think I have to rip both out. The Nutkin socks are waaaaay too small (can’t even get it over my foot!) and the Leyburn’s are tight, but then I made the boo boo of not knitting the pattern around the entire leg portion (I must have been HIGH!). Anyway, Hopefully I’ll have the Bayerische Socks for you on Monday!!

FO: Dalya’s Baby Blanket

Pattern: Twining Vine Strip-Knitted Afghan by Sivia Harding
Needles: US Size 3 Addi Turbo Circs, 32″
Yarn: Sandnes Garn Lanett in Pink #4101 – just less than 8 balls

Mods: This pattern was initended to be knit as an afghan in a DK weight yarn, but I wanted a baby blanket. I also wanted a wool based fiber as this will most likely be an heirloom blanket, so I decided on the Lanett which is a superwash wool fingering weight yarn and the perfect shade of pink. To get the size I wanted (36″ x 36″), I knit one center panel, and then knit one left and right panel. In addition, I knitted only 11 pattern repeats vs. the 30 the pattern called for. As far as gauge goes, I knit up on size 4′s and wasn’t really thrilled with how loose it was knitting up, so I went down a size.

I love this blanket. My sister loves it which is more important. It was the first blanket little baby Dalya was wrapped in after coming into the world, and I think she looks great in it! It was definitely a labor of love as knitting it took forever, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Dalya Love

 

Can you believe how freaking adorable she is??!!  I mean I know everyone thinks their baby is the most gorgeous, but come on, my niece is just too adorable for words.  My sister sent me a text message (actually my brother-in-law sent it as she was having a contraction at the time) on Thursday during my last meeting in Miami that she was in labor.  I immediately changed my flight to come into Albuquerque and attempt to be around for her birth.  Well, she decided to wait for me, my mom, AND my dad to arrive.  The greatest thing was I was able to be in the room during the delivery and helped her hubby and my mom coach my sister.  After being in labor for 25 hours and pushing for 4 1/2, I was able to see this little one come into the world.  And I mean I watched the entire thing.  And no, I didn’t pass out.  That was a shocker.  Oh, and the picture at the bottom is one with her new baby blanket, which was apparently the talk of the nursery.

She’s beautiful!!!