knitting – Page 6 – sarah inskeep designs

Bunny

February 26, 2015February 26, 2015 sarah

It all began with reindeer. My friend Claire Hudson (lovely lady with a fabulous blog, be sure to hop over and take a peek!) and reindeer!

Not long after Christmas, Claire and I were discussing what knitting projects we wanted to make next. (See comments on this post.) Of course, there was a long list… and on my list were several items bearing reindeer motifs! (I have no idea why I kept finding adorable reindeer patterns after Christmas, but whatever! Why not start planning the gift knitting for next Christmas early, I concluded when the trend continued.)

Among those items was a toy reindeer for a child. It was so adorable! I loved it! Wanted to make it for my baby niece, Vera (2 months old). But next Christmas is a really long way away… Claire loved it too! And THEN. She showed me the Little Cotton Rabbits pattern she had recently bought – it was for a toy bunny rabbit! It was beyond adorable! I admit, there were a few squeals of delight…

Even better was Claire’s idea! She proposed that we knit these bunnies together, as a sort of mini knit-a-long! What a fabulous idea! So here we are, both making bunnies for our respective nieces!

We began last Sunday – perfect timing for me as there was a big snow storm here in Virginia, resulting in perfect knitting weather! (Although, for the record, any weather is perfect knitting weather as far as I’m concerned!😉)

I’m using Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 in Grey for the bunny’s body; and Knit Picks Shine Sport in Black, Wallaby, Cosmopolitan, Blush, and Cream for the facial features and clothing…

Ball-winding and tea went together perfectly…

We completed our bunny heads last Sunday! Here is a peek at mine…

This week, we’re working on the bodies and the legs!

This is the body worked as far as the neck…

Here I’m almost finished the body, just a couple more rows on the cute, striped underpants…!

And here is the finished body, all seamed together!

Now I’m working on the first little pink shoe!

Knitting, Weather

Cozy Day

February 22, 2015February 22, 2015 sarah

Hooray for snow!

I was really hoping for at least one good snow storm this winter, and here it is! ❄️⛄️❄️❄️❄️

Joe, on the other hand, claims to hate snow, rolls his eyes at my snow-induced glee, and checks every half hour to see if the snow has stopped so he can go out and start clearing it! I think maybe I shall attempt to bribe him into going on a snow-walk with me tomorrow! If he has fun (hope!) then maybe he’ll start to see that snow isn’t all bad… 😊

These cute little birds were all excited about something in our drive! They were so adorable!

By dusk, we concluded that we now have over 12″ of snow!❄️

A nice hot cup of tea and my knitting made for a very cozy afternoon!

Do do you like snow? What are your favorite ways to enjoy it?

Family

Vera

February 21, 2015February 21, 2015 sarah

My precious little niece, Vera Elisabeth, was born December 5th, 2014!

She’s just two months old now, the apple of her Mommy and Daddy’s eye, and treasured by the whole family!

Its a really good thing she’s super snuggly and loves to be held because we all adore her and are constantly waiting for our turn to hold her!

I have it on good authority that her orange Gullfoss Blanket is her favorite, which makes me so glad because whenever she is wrapped up in her blanket, she’s wrapped up in a warm loving hug from her doting Aunt Sarah! ❤️❤️❤️

Knitting

So Much to Knit, so Little Time…

January 9, 2015 sarah

I don’t know about you, but I can always find more projects that I want to knit much faster than I can actually knit them!

Here are a few recent finds that I’m adding to my queue…

The Undergrowth Hat by Mandy Powers. I just love the colorwork – and the colors used! Any contrasting colors would work great, but that teal is breathtaking! And the pattern is free!

The Glacier Gloves by Julia Mueller have such intricate cabling. I can’t wait to give them a try!

And The Gamayun Bird Shawl by Natalia Sha is truly spectacular! The feathers look so real! And I love the rainbow colors, they make me feel happy!

I have recently become obsessed with Reindeer!

Amelie-Claire’s Christmas Reindeer is beyond adorable! It’s based on the pattern for Murray The Reindeer by Dawn Toussaint. A “Murray” would make a great Christmas gift for my niece next year…

And I know several people on my Christmas 2015 Gifting List who will be getting this awesome Moose Fair Isle Hat; the pattern is by ResQCrafts! That’s right! It’s never too early to start planning for next year…

What projects are you looking forward to in 2015?

Weather

Beautiful Snowy Day

January 6, 2015 sarah

Cozy way to start the day…

Off to work! Wishing you all a lovely day! Stay safe in the snow!

Family, Knitting, Weather

Snow!

November 27, 2014 sarah

First snow of the season! And before Thanksgiving too!

I started for work VERY early, wanting to be on time regardless of lovely white flakes swirling through the air…

I finally made it! In one piece (despite several scares) and on time! Perfect day to wrap up in warm woollies to keep the chill away…

The shawl is the Flambé One Skein Shawl (pattern by Michell Miller of Fickle Knitter), and the hat (above) is my Hounds Tooth Hat.

The pretty view from from my office window…

Now the hubby and I are off to be with family!

Wishing each and every one of you a wonderful and joy filled Thanksgiving!

Family, Knitting

Gullfoss Blanket for Baby

August 31, 2014 sarah

I’ve been doing alot of knitting for my little niece-to-be lately!

Just off my needles this morning is the Gulfoss Blanket by Karen S. Lauger.

I used Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash. It’s a lovely light worsted weight 100% wool that can be machine washed (on cold) and dried (on cool), so it’s perfect for baby items – warm, soft, and washable!

The color is called “Tangerine Heather,” and I love it! The brilliant orange makes me feel so happy!

You start with a nice textured seed stitch border that continues up the sides of the blanket.

There is also a very interesting horizontal stockinette stitch that functions as a second border before the cable stitch pattern starts.

The cables are really fun to knit! They are not too hard but definitely keep things interesting! They form a beautiful textured pattern on both sides of the blanket, making it reversible!

I found this post by Jaala Spiro extremely helpful because in it she teaches how to work cables without actually using a cable needle. Not having to use a cable needle is really nice because it allows you keep your rhythm flowing and unbroken.

The small markers along one side there are the wonderful antiqued brass removable stitch markers from Fringe Supply Co.;

I used them to mark each pattern repeat as I went so that it would be easy to count how many repeats I had done and how many I had left to go! This made keeping track of my progress really easy!

Now I’m off to weave in the ends and block the blanket!

What have you been working on lately? Feel free to share in the comments, we’d love to hear all about it! Have a lovely Labor Day weekend, Everyone!

Knitting, Socks

Too Many Choices!

August 9, 2014 sarah

Look what came in the mail!

They are Swedish Hasbeens, and I love, love, love them!

Since we are standing all day at work now, comfort has for the first time EVER been more important to me than style… but with these I have comfort AND style! Total Win/Win!

You know something else totally fabulous about these Hasbeens?

They will show off hand-knit socks really, really well!

I need to get started on a pair now, so they’ll be ready to wear when the weather starts turning cooler!

The only question is: Which socks to knit?! There are SO many gorgeous choices!

These Acorn Lace socks (knit by agentscarlet, pattern by Evelyn A. Clark; both on Ravelry) would be perfect for Fall!

I love Hermione’s Everyday Socks! Just pick a yarn you love and bam! Gorgeous socks! These were knitted by Dreamsinfiber, and the pattern is by Erica Lueder; also on Ravelry.

I’m also in love with these gorgeous stranded socks! They are the Stranded Knee Highs designed by Barb Brown from Vogue Knitting Fall 2010.

I’m also totally in love with ALL of the socks in the new Fall 2014 Issue of Sockupied! Here are just a couple of my very, very favorites…

The Daisy Field Socks by Maria Leigh!

And the Time Traveler, by Jennifer Raymond!

Now I have to choose what to knit (first!) 🙂 Suggestions? Ideas? Do you have a favorite sock pattern? We’d love to hear…

Blocking, Knitting

Finishing!

August 2, 2014 sarah

I’ve mentioned before that blocking is not my favorite part of knitting…

…but it is an important part of finishing! It’s been said that blocking is to knitting like ironing is to sewing, and I firmly believe that to be true!

In order for your knitting to look its best, a good blocking is an absolute necessity.

So I recently scrubbed my bathtub good and clean and blocked a couple of large shawls that I had finished knitting a while ago but hadn’t forced myself to block yet!