honeymoon sweater

When I graduated from my master's program back in 2012, my dear auntie gave me a generous gift of cash.  Being somewhat new to the world of knitting, yet wanting to dive in wholeheartedly with all of my new found freedom from school, I promptly took myself down to my favorite yarn shop, bought a pattern for the Madelinetosh Hay Cardigan and enough Tosh Sock in Thunderstorm to complete the project, and headed home.  I then promptly tucked that lovely yarn and pattern away for the next few months as I threw myself into an intense summer of wedding planning.  As our wedding neared, I got more and more excited to cast on my first sweater.  As I pulled things together for the wedding and packed for our honeymoon, that yarn got tucked right in for our road trip up north.  And as we started driving the day after our wedding, I cast on and started working from the bottom up.  

With a size 4 needle and sock yarn, the cardigan was much slower going than I had anticipated.  So, our honeymoon came and went, yet I had made little progress on my project.  Over the past two and half years, I've continued to plod away on that dear little honeymoon sweater.  It was perfect road trip knitting, since it required a decent amount of attention to detail and it was rather unending!  But since it required more attention and focus than other projects, it often got stashed away while more time-sensitve and quicker projects filled my hands. This past fall, the end of the cardigan was finally insight!  And after our New Year's travels, the finishing touches were completed!  

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It's a bit hard to capture in the pictures, but the yarn is hand-dyed navy and the buttons are a soft teal.  It also has a small pocket on the bottom right side of the sweater.  

I must say that out of all the clothes I've sewn and items I've knit for myself over the years, this one may be my favorite to wear (besides my wedding dress...of course).  It's so comfy and one of my favorite colors to add to almost any outfit.  And it's wool!!  I'm a lover of wool.  In my dreams I'm a shepherdess of a small flock of sheep, each with lovely fleeces...but that's a story for another day...

Anyway, my honeymoon sweater is finally complete and I'm so very in love with it!  Hooray!!!  

handmade gifts

All of the Christmas decorations have now been put away in our house and the quiet feeling of January has set in.  However, before we all officially move on from Christmas, I thought I'd share a little about some of the handmade goodness that we gifted this year.  I love giving meaningful, useful, and thoughtful gifts and with my love for crafting, I often find myself making quite a few gifts during the holiday season.  This year a few of my favorites were mittens for all of the nieces and nephews (note: 2 year old boys do not find mittens to be exciting, nor something they want to try on for a photo shoot...), a huge infinity scarf for my husband (I used this pattern with a worsted weight), peppermint lip balm (with a mixture of coconut and olive oils), candles, and rosemary-lavender salt scrub (with a mixture of epsom and kosher salts).   

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I just love making and giving handmade gifts.  It just feels the way gift-giving should feel.  I love how it takes planning, time, and effort to create something--and not just anything, but a specific something for a specific person.  To me, it's a much more meaningful and enjoyable way to give gifts.  

How about you?  Did you make any gifts this year??  

knitting, knitting everywhere

With the colder weather fast approaching, I've found my hands constantly reaching or wanting to reach for the comforting and cozy feel of my yarn and needles.  And with so many projects currently in progress, its not hard to find one that fits the mood or the situation.  There is my big honeymoon sweater that's getting a bit awkward for discrete knitting settings and there are numerous Christmas gifts that are various sizes and in various stages of completion.  I'm squeezing in a row or two as I wait for the bus, several rows as I ride the bus, a bit while sitting in church, a ton while road-tripping with my love, and the usual moments on the couch at the end of the day.  I'm so completely and thoroughly enjoying knitting right now.  I'm even finding myself day dreaming about yarn and projects while I should be doing other things...like grading papers.  

Knitting, oh knitting, thanks for filling all of my little moments throughout the day.

knitting my way to extrovertism

I'm quite the introvert.

Thus, eleven days of Summerfest drains quite a lot of energy out of me.  You see, selling CDs at Summerfest looks a bit different than it does at other shows that we do.  At this festival, Dan plays for tips and CD sales, so while he plays, I chat with people, sell CDs from the table, walk around with a tip bucket, and walk around with CDs!  From before he starts playing until well after his set is done, I'm socializing, small-talking, and explaining who we are and what we do.  While I love doing this, the introvert in me gets throughly exhausted in the process, especially when the process happens twice a day for eleven days!  

I've found, though, that I'm able to knit my way to extrovertism (yes, I know...I made it up...)  Having my yarn, my needles, and even a book in my hands (or even just by my side) throughout the day makes me feel so much more grounded.  A few stitches here and there makes me feel alone in my own world, even if it's only for a minute or two.  It helps me recharge, making me ready to chat with and enjoy the next wave of people who come my way.  

Here's to a chilly Summerfest Day #7, filled with lots of people, a page or two of reading, and a few rows of knitting!