Julie and Leslie sent these lovely squares for the Ukraine blankie project. I gave them a refreshing blast of steam from the ole' Rowenta after their long trip in in the mail. Thank you both so much! They will be beautiful additions to the Taro style blanket.

Aine's square has found a home in the Cotton-Ease blanket. I only have 3 squares to finish before I can sew it up and add a border. My mom also finished her diagonal knit blanket for the project this week. My mother-in-law is sewing flannel squares together and 2nd grader Allie has also agreed to sew a blanket. Pictures to come soon!

Pirates and Cowboys
Captain Jack lounges on the mitered square blankie. Only seven squares to go!
Big C and I took a trip out to my cousin's home in the country to see her adorable new colt. C knew just how to hang on the fence. Those western movies he watches at his grandparent's must be wearing off.
 

First Squares!























These bee-you-tee-ful squares came in the mail today. The purple and blue shaded pair comes from Mary Lou. What lovely colors! My camera doesn't do them justice.

The blue and green square comes from Aine. It will go perfectly with the pastel Cotton Ease blankie. A million thanks!

I've decided to divide the project into two different blankets. The first will be my pastel and mostly Cotton ease. The second will use the darker colors and be sewn/knit together Taro Blankie style.
























As the squares come in I am putting their makers names into the fish bowl. We will draw for the log-cabin yarn kit on August 7. Keep those squares coming folks. I am inspired and eternally grateful! 

Seeing Squares


Finished Big C's bathmat.














Sewed up some mitered squares. (My hands were too sore to do anything else.)



This appeared in the back yard. Is it a sign? No, I just left the kiddie pool in one spot for too long. 

Can you believe that this was a pile of T-shirts 24 hours ago? My mom cleaned out her closet this weekend and this Mason-Dixon style rag rug was born. I'm using size 35 needles given to me by the lovely and talented Jen. The yarn is made by cutting the shirts into loops and then slip knotting the loops into a giant length of yarn. It should be the perfect spot for Big C's little feet to land when I scoop him out of the bath tub.

 

Knitting for Olivia














I took a short break from mitered squares to do a little baby knitting for my best work buddy who is adopting a baby girl from China. The plan is to make a 'days of the week' bib set in pink and green, but 100% cotton is tough on the hands. I'm going back to the miters tomorrow. Thank goodness Cotton-Ease has a little more... well... ease. 

My stack of mitered squares continues to grow. Hubby is wondering if I'll ever start on the second Super Tech Guy sock. I did make a couple of squares in Superman colors. Who wants to make a boring old grey sock when you can have this much fun playing with color?

























Remember, these squares are part of the Knitty Biddies blanket project for the Ukraine. If you'd like to help by donating a square please email me for all the details. 

Super Sock






















Pattern: Tech Guy , by Alison Hansel
Adaptations: Heel flap, duplicate stitch Superman logo
Yarn: Wool-Ease Sportweight
Needles: Size 3 circular

I've never seen Hubby so happy to try on a hand knit.

Chickened Out...















Hubby: What happened to my sock?

Me: I'm mad at your sock. We need to take a break for a few days. I'm making mitered squares for my blanket.

Hubby: I guess the sock is going the way of my neck gaiter and hunting cap. You must have been mad at them too. *sigh*

Me: Oh brother...

As you can see I wimped out on the short row heel for my hubby's Tech Guy socks. It just didn't look right even after frogging it two times. I'll probably try a short row heel again later on a less manly sock for myself. Sweet Hubby doesn't get many completed handknits and I want these socks to be perfect. 

Can you spare a square?

















As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Knitty Biddies are making children's blankets for my church's fall mission trip to the Ukraine. Along with knitting our own blankets, we are enlisting friends to knit, sew, crochet, etc... for the project. For the next six weeks we would like to collect knitted squares to be sewn together into blankies. How can you help? Knit a mitered square as precribed in Mason-Dixon Knitting or any other approximately 7 inch square. Email me , I'll give you the mailing address, and you can drop it in the mail.

We will post our progress as the squares come in (keeping my fingers crossed). Every square sent in by August 7 will also enter you in a drawing for a fabulous prize: a yarn kit for the Cotton-Ease Log Cabin blankie as seen on my blog.

So dive into that stash, pick up those needles, and knit a little cheer for kids who live in a cold drab place. Thanks in advance!

Big C gives the finished log cabin blankie a test drive. Its naptastic!











Check out the bed head! 

Faster than a speeding bullet, able to turn a heel in a single evening...




Can you believe that I started these TechGuy socks just yesterday? Sport weight socks rule! The short row heel was a little tricky, but I think it's pretty good for a first try. Allison's short row tutorial was extremely helpful. The jury is still out on swapping short rows for my beloved heel flap however. What can I say, I'm a creature of habit.





The Knitty Biddies held our first get together at the Swish home. Autumn, Farrah, and I are making children's comfort blankets for a mission trip to the Ukraine. Stay tuned for ways that you can help. 

My kid eats soap. Note the bite marks.



















It was bound to happen. Our first call to poison control. The good news is that Big C's breath smells pleasantly like white tea and ginger. The bad news is that glycerin soap acts as a laxative. Like I need MORE poop in my life. 

Roar!

Millicent Socks

Yarn: Knit Picks Color Your Own dyed with Artic Green Apple and Lime Kool-aid.

Needles: Size 1 circulars

Pattern: Sock Love, by Bonnie Marie Burns

I just grafted the toe on my second Millicent sock. They are a lovely pair if I do say so myself. The best part is that I finally learned how to use two circular needles instead of DPN's. For my next pair I will make Tech Guy socks for my dear hubby. Instead of an Apple logo I plan to duplicate stitch the Superman logo on the side.

The log cabin blankie is plugging along. Just one more round of strips and I can add a border and wrap her up for a special baby who's on the way. The best part is that I have plenty of Cotton Ease in the ole' stash to make another!
 

Millicent meets the flip flop.
 

Big C was facinated as I worked on my second Millicent sock this morning. I had a small ball left over from the first sock so I handed it to him.
























Here's his finished object.

I finally found some pictures of the actual wedding ceremony. As you can see the weather was beautiful. It wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze. You can't tell from this picture but we were surrounded by other condo guests in their beach chairs. Kids were playing in the water nearby. At one point in the ceremony a couple in a kayak paddled up to the shore. Julie described the wedding as "organic." I think it was perfect.

I hit the Dye-O-Rama jackpot!

















Check out the goodies that were waiting for me at the mailbox this afternoon. My GENEROUS Dye-O-Rama pal Jennifer not only sent me some of the most beautiful sock yarn I have ever seen, but this plethora of gifts.

This is simply the perfect colorway for me. If I saw it in the yarn shop it would be the one that I bought. The hand dyed cotton fabric is wonderful too. It should be just enough to sew the needle case that I've been pondering. I suggest that you make haste to Jennifer's Etsy shop and see all of her lovely work. THANK YOU Jennifer!!!

As promised here's the cutest famliy on the emerald coast.