Pattern:  Folly Cove
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Frolic
Colorway:  Red Hot Chili Peppers
Needles:  US 6 and US 7

Do you not love this sweater design?  The pattern was written by Julia Farwell Clay and I thoroughly enjoyed knitting it…each and every stitch.  There is something so soothing knitting stockinette.  The mindless back and forth or round in round in this case at the end of a busy day quickly quiets the soul.

Even though simple in design, the little touches of lace on the back …..

….a little more on the front neck…..

…..and a little touch on the sleeve, all went towards making this a comfortable yet fasionable sweater.

I have actually had this sweater finished for a few months and had hoped to wear it in these photos, but I made it a touch smaller than I normally would wear, anticipating more weight loss.  Not being able to work out or walk most of the winter slowed the weight loss process down, but I have been given the OK from the doctor to start power-walking again, so you will definitely see me in Folly Cove this fall!

Thanks Julia for a lovely design!!

Remember the little piece of fabric I showed you last week?  Well, this is what it became.  It's been a very long time since I have made curtains, so they are not perfect, but Stacey tells me that little Asher enjoys looking at the big elephants when he is being changed.  I spent a good portion of last week working on these and Ken was kind enough to staple them on to the support board as I am not really good with any type of sharpish tool.  Those heavy duty staplers make me nervous as I would so be that person to staple my finger, ha!

Saturday was about all things Prom…here is Hannah getting her hair done by one of the Stylists at our favorite Salon.  I will do another post this week with more details and pictures of the event.  Hannah looked so lovely in her pretty dress.

…and of course Sunday being Mother's Day was a special treat for me as all of my kids were home for the day, along with my parents and my brother.  I know it gets harder and harder for them all to be here at one time as they all have busy lives, so I never take it for granted when karma allows them all to be here together. 

Miles was so excited to meet is new nephew, especially as he is going to become a new daddy in December.

As the day came to a close and everyone went home, Ken and I enjoyed my Mother's Day gift from Miles and Jen.  A wonderful bottle of Chardonnay and 2 fresh lobsters.

…..it was a wonderful weekend!  I hope yours was as well….

A few weeks ago we planned and actually pulled off a surprise baby shower for my oldest daughter, Stacey.  Surprising Stacey is a feat in itself.  She is a sneaky one this girl of
mine and is always snooping when she is expecting a surprise or a gift.

My husband, Ken, is an administrator of a senior center which has a big thrift shop building, so I told her that someone had brought an amazing group of baby things, such as a furniture quality changing table, baby clothes with tags, etc.  I told her that Dad had tucked the things aside for her to look at, so if she wanted, he could meet her at such and such day and time.  We had all of the guests park in a different parking lot and then waited to see if we could actually surprise her.

There was one way to tell if she was truly surprised.  You see…..Stacey would never go out without makeup if she were expecting something like a shower, but being 8 months pregnant and just running over to meet her Dad, she definitely would go out au natural, so when she walked in without a stitch of make-up we knew we were successful…YAY!

Many, many thank you's to Stacey's best friend Dawn, who put together an amazingly creative party, from the party favors right down to the cake, games and decorations.  Not only is Dawn Stacey's friend, she is also a nurse working along side of Stacey in the OB section of our local hospital.  Such a fun party!!  Dawn is permanently hired from here forward to be in charge of special events, she did an awesome job!

Knowing that Stacey's little one was going to make an early appearance due to her history of placenta troubles at the end of her pregnancies, I set about finishing his little sweater and curtains.  The tentative date to induce her was May 22nd, but we all thought he might make his appearance a bit earlier.  I finished his sweater last week and started his curtains this weekend.

It's a good thing I got that sweater finished because………

…..he made his appearance in the wee hours of this morning. 
Born at 1:40 he weighs in at a wee 5 pounds and 18 inches.
I think it will be a little while before this sweater fits his sweet little body.

Welcome Baby Asher!!

I bet you are wondering about the title.  Easter ~ Beer?  I know, right?  Actually all of the kids were home here for Easter except for my son's family, so we had a really nice time.  My two daughter's husbands Brian and Jeff have become good friends and both share a keen interest in brewing beer.  What you see above is Jeff's concoction of Watermelon beer.  I know….it sounds terrible, doesn't it?  I hate beer and I hate watermelon even more, but I actually like this brew, go figure!

Ken usually is wonderful about helping me get the house ready for Easter dinner, by setting the table and just helping me time things in general, but this year he was fascinated by the beer process, so he hung out with the guys.  I was happy to see this!  I just put the girls to work instead, especially since eventually the torch will to handed over to them in the next few years. 🙂

Brian was especially proud of his fresh hops (see the bag on the top) and of course they used the green hops pellets as well.  I think the fresh looks so much better, don't you?

Brian is a real beer connoisseur and has spent years researching different brews and different recipes and really comes up with some good beer.  I really loved his Vanilla, Oatmeal Stout a few years ago (and remember I hate beer). I think it had a touch of NH maple syrup in it as well….maybe that was what made me like it.  Hmmm.

Here's Brian's beer that was bubbling away.

….the boys pouring their different brews into their carboys.

2 different beers….a watermelon mash and a double IPA.  Brian tells me that patience is the key.  Let it sit longer than you think you should and you will be rewarded with a nice full bodied beer.  Sounds almost like a good wine…hmmm.

I had a great video that Jeff sent to me on my phone of the yeast activating in his beer, but I just couldn't get it this post no matter how hard I tried, but it is pretty darn cool.  I wish I wasn't so technology challenged at times.

….and really, I am still knitting, truly I am.  Right now I am working on the Sunnyside Cardigan made with my Woolen Rabbit Opal in the Robin's Nest colorway.  We will have a new member of the family in the next month, so I am diligently knitting away. 🙂

I finally finished my first custom Blythe and am very happy with how she came out.  Is she perfect?  Not by a long shot, but I learned SO much through this process….and I quickly remembered how much I really enjoy dressmaking.

If you remember back when I purchased this doll to customize this is what she looked like (the white haired one).  In their natural state they really are not that pretty…at.all.

But with a little love and a lot of work, she was transformed into a lovely girl…at least I think she is lovely.

 
It gave me a chance to get re-aquainted with dressmaking, which as I mentioned above it's something that I really loved. Knitting such little hats and sweaters makes for instant gratification which makes it very enjoyable.  I've told you before that in real life I am not a "bling" kind of girl, but secretly inside I think I really am because it always makes me smile so.

….and already I have new ideas of couture dancing through my head for the next girl…yes, you read that right….the next one. 😉

I also managed to squeek out another hand made dress for Autumn. When I was a child, my grandmother used to make the most amazing dresses for my beloved Skipper doll and this hobby brings me right back to the time I spent with her . This makes me smile as I remember how special those times I had with her as a child were.  She taught me how to knit all those years ago and I will always be greatful for that.  Thanks Nana!

Because I know my fiber friends are not really doll people, I am going to start another blog dedicated to Blythe.  It will be called,
"Down The Rabbit Hole of Blythe"

….and it's almost time for yarn club sign-ups.  Wow, this year flew by it
seems and it was so much fun!  I really enjoyed the different ideas and
interpretations of the Roaring 20's  that each one of our designers
brought to the table.

We
are going with a Roaring 20's theme again as I know some were sad to
have missed out.  We have a new round of amazingly talented designers who will be bringing new ideas and designs for all of our members.  This year's line up of designers is:

Subscriptions
will open up as usual on April 1st.  I will continue to offer both the
discounted full price option and the bi-monthly option.

You can read more here…….I look forward to having you join along with us this year!

Yes, yes you can finish a sweater in a weekend…actually in just a few hours if it is doll sized..ha!  When a friend first introduced me to the world of Blythe and she mentioned knitting for them, my response…."I would NEVER have the patience".  Well, not only did I have the patience, I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially given how quick the gratification is.

With the never ending back crap, I rested and spent the day knitting on Saturday and on Sunday Ken and I decided to take a ride to visit Brian and Ashley.  We hadn't been up to their corner of the world in some time and it was such a beautiful day, so off we went.  We traveled through the Kancamagus Highway to get there.  If you have never traveled this road, then you should make it a point to do so when you are in Northern New Hampshire.  The views are amazing!  This picture was taken at one of the scenic viewpoints near the top.  Brrr….it was SO much colder up there then where we left from.

You can see in this picture just how high up we were and how far the view extended.  These are the mountains that make up the White Mountain National Forest….the other side of the National Forest Mountains we see every day here in Conway.

One more…..just because it is so darn beautiful and absolutely breath-taking when you are there.

We finally made our way over the mountains and through the woods to Ashley and Brian's beautiful log cabin.  One of the loveliest ones I have ever been in.  They are so fortunate to have found this little nugget to call home for a few years…and we were so happy to spend a day with them here.

Brian and their large beast of a dog, Makoda, led us on a wandering hike in the woods behind their property.  Such a beautiful pathway that meanders through various woods, streams and fields.  I could have kept going and going, but sadly it was a bit icy due to some melting and re-freezing, so we only did a mile or so..everyone was nervous of me falling on my back, which would not be a good thing, although truth be told, Ken did a lot more slipping than I did..ha!  We will definitely go back again in the late spring when things have hardened over.

One more picture of the couple before we all headed out to The Woodstock Inn Station and Brewery for a few Saint Patty day cocktails and snacks…what a great place!  We had such a wonderful time. (don't you just love Ashley's pouty face..haha)

I know I have told you before, but I really LOVE my adult children. 🙂
Thank you Ashley and Brian for such an enjoyable afternoon!!

What a crazy few weeks of snow we have had here in the mountains.  Two 12 inch storms and one 18 inch storm.  Ey yi yi.  The only blessing is that the temperatures have been fairly mild on the days it hasn't snowed, so it keeps melting fast.

I love how pretty it is right after a snow, but with the fast melting there has been a lot of snowy mud muck.  There is still a good foot on the grass though and the days have been overcast and gray, which makes everyone a wee bit grumpy at times, myself included.  Winters are long up here so we have to find ways to enjoy it, even if it is enjoying the beauty of the mountains in the snow, or sipping yummy ginger/licorice tea while knitting. 
Ah winter!

Over the course of the week, I did finish all of the pieces to Folly Cove.  Tonight I will steam and sew the sleeves in and hopefully finish the neck edge over the weekend.  I loved knitting this sweater!

Have a warm and wonderful weekend!!

WOW…Here is a color that will wake you right up and dig you out of the winter doldrums!
An upside to having a cranky back is that I have had a good amount of knitting time when sitting on ice.  Are you wondering what it is?  The colorway is Red Hot Chili Pepper in Woolen Rabbit Frolic and the pattern is…

….Julia's lovely yet simple pattern design called Folly Cove.  Julia and I spent some time chatting at Fiber Revival last summer about sweater designs and I told her that I personally feel people like not only knitting, but wearing sweaters that are simple in design and very wearable. This is what Julia came up with….and I LOVE it!

I love being able to pick up and put down a sweater without leaving myself all kinds of notes as to where I am.  Knitting where I can watch an involved movie and still work on my knitting….miles and miles of mindless knitting.  I personally find it very soothing.

It's knit in the round until you get to the armholes.  From there you split off and do the front and back separately.  I am finished with the back and up to the pattern design element in the front.  I am betting that I am wearing this sweater next week…yay!!

What are you knitting?