Life is full right now. My knitting needles have been busy as well as my pen and paper. “Whispers of Spring”, my 2010 Spring Collection is coming together. I’m really excited about the knits in this collection and can’t wait to get the patterns into your hands.

I’ve scheduled a photo shoot with my wonderful sister-in-law, who is a professional photographer, and my sister, who is a lovely model (well, she models for me). I’m looking forward to it — we’re planning a girls afternoon (or morning depending on the weather and Em’s schedule) out, complete with a stop in a coffee shop for a hot cuppa and a fun chat….

Well, babe’s up … and the food shopping needs to be done. Thankfully it’s bright and sunny out today. I think an afternoon walk is in order.

Happy knitting to all! Have a lovely weekend!

]]> http://classiccableknits.com/blog/2010/03/things-to-come/feed/ 3 http://classiccableknits.com/blog/2010/03/swatching/ http://classiccableknits.com/blog/2010/03/swatching/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:52:45 +0000 Christina http://classiccableknits.com/blog/?p=239

For those of you who aren’t following my adventures over on Knitting Zimmermann, here is a quick pic of what I’ve been up to over there.

Just in time for Baby John’s 6 month milestone, I finished the lovely Pebble vest by The Thrifty Knitter. The vest mimics the simplicity of Brooklyn Tweed’s Cobblestone Sweater and gathers two great stitches together – garter and stockinette – for a very pleasing look.

I love the fact that this vest buttons at one side and one shoulder. It is fantastically easy to put on a baby. And let me tell you, usually by the time we’ve put on a onesie and a shirt, he does not want anything else over his head.

Modifications: The pattern only has one size and calls for #4 and DK weight yarn, I used a #5 and light worsted (Berroco Ultra Alpaca) to make the vest a little bigger. The vest fit Baby John (6 months) with a little room to grow. Bear in mind that Baby John is a little smaller than most babies – probably more in the 5 month range.

Review:
The pattern is fairly easy to read and straight forward. It is a terribly easy knit and great for an inexperienced knitter. The down side is that there is only one size. However, this can be overcome slightly by adjusting the yarn and needle size. Of course, there is a limit to this adjustment. Overall, it’s a great knit and a very wearable garment for baby!

Happy Knitting!

Baby John turned 6 months old yesterday. It is hard to believe that milestone has come. That means I have been a mom for half a year – unbelievable!

Just a glimpse of more of the fun knits that will debut in my Spring 2010 Collection called “Whispers of Spring.”  Baby John and I are working hard in the studio to put it together for you all!

This year I made tiny little Valentines. Cutting a felt heart out of an old felted sweater, I then sewed it to a card stock heart of the same size with some yarn. Then I wrote my little messages on the back. Next year I will start earlier and embroider little messages on the front – kind of like the message heart candies.

Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without flowers – these were given to me by my sweetheart – JK…..

… or Valentine’s tea with loved ones, sweet treats and even sweeter little gifts!

I hope you all had a lovely day!

Baby John is growing up too fast. He has quite the little personality. He loves play time and is getting proficient in rolling from tummy to back and then once he is on his back from side to side.

We’ve introduced a little rice cereal, which he loves! He bends his head down to meet the spoon and gobble it up.

Baby John loves his dad — you can tell that he thinks of JK as his big hero. John is usually in bed by the time JK get home from work during the week, so John eats up the weekends when he can have more daddy time. Although right now the main activity they do together is “study” as JK works to finish his Masters. John thinks the sound the keys make as JK types is super cool.

Last Saturday Emily, my sister, took my mom, my other sister and I to the roller derby. Emily became fascinated with the roller derby after taking our Uncle Bill to an event last year. I can see why she likes it — it is like hockey, football and speed skating all combined. And you get to dress up! What girl wouldn’t want to dress up?

I took my basket of knitting but didn’t get any knitting accomplished. I was on the edge of my seat the whole entire time. Our team, Naptown (something or other) won 160 to 25. Yep, it was amazing.

Another amazing thing happened at the Roller Derby — I had a sweater sighting. Do you recognize the sweater the man with the grey hair is wearing? Probably not because I took a terrible picture. but that’s Brooklyn Tweed’s wonderful Cobblestone sweater! It was so much fun to see a handmade sweater in a place I did not expect to see one!

Have you seen handmade sweaters in unexpected places?

Late Saturday afternoon I left Baby John playing happily with JK (he was studying) and headed out for a winter walk. We had just received a beautiful blanket of snow in Indiana and I thought a “just me” outing would be refreshing.

I grabbed my knitting basket, bundled up (putting on my recently completed Woodsman’s Thick Socks) and headed out for a walk to the local Starbucks.

My walk was quite rewarding – time alone in the stillness of nature is quite precious.