erin knits

I’ve definitely been keeping busy this month.

In shop news, I’m stocking a springtime in hollis sweater at Comfort Wool on the 29th for Knit Night, which involves a really amazing group of ladies, and I must admit that I was totally honored to be asked to participate. <3

The May stocking of dotCA is also just right around the corner and there’s some great stuff going up over there, as well.

In more local news, spring has definitely shown up to stay. It’s been absolutely gorgeous the past couple of weeks! The kick off of barbeque season for sure! My perennials are starting to pop back up for the year and the plum tree that I planted last spring looks like it’s going to have a gorgeous flowering sometime in the next little while. I’m really stoked that most of my trees and shrubs look to have survived the winter. Score one for me!

Summer is also fast approaching. We might be venturing down through Washington state and the Oregon coast in July; any recommendations for must-see-attractions? I’ve been googling, but I want to make sure that I don’t miss anything amazing.

 

With summer finally rolling around up here, I’ve been keeping myself busy. Last weekend, my dad and I trekked to a somewhat-local greenhouse about half and hour out of town; it was endearingly chaotic, especially in comparison with the local greenhouse that I usually frequent. While there was a semblance of organization, it was minimal. Just a general groupings rather than the more specific categorization-and-alphabetizing I was used to. However, it was well worth it! I finally managed to pick up some annuals to fill the huge planter that I got earlier this year.

 

Annuals are somewhat new to my amateur gardening hands. I’m generally a big fan of simplicity, and with my tendency to be easily distracted, the majority of my garden is made up of perennials. Still, it’s nice to jump into new territory from time to time while I wait for the perennials to mature and develop their own sense of chaos. I’m an impatient gardener, so it’s always satisfying to me when things just suddenly grow and bloom of their own accord.

As an aside, I’ve been finishing up a few projects. I cast off the edge of my Liesl in Sundara’s Ruby Port ASM that I ordered from the Year in Color however many months ago. I need to finish up a couple of inches on the sleeves, but beyond that, it’s done! Only downside being the fact that I started it according to pre-pregnancy measurements, so the fit is a little awkward with my belly starting to stick out. I’ve also resumed work on my Jessie Lambdin shawl — yes, I know. How many times have you heard that one? Hahaha! But I really have! Puttering away on the leaf edging, which is tedious, but worth it. Continuing with the project wrap-ups, I got the scraps of Dream in Color Strange Harvest that I need to finish up the edging of my Tulip Baby Cardigan, and the Baby Surprise Jacket that I finished a few weeks ago just needs buttons! It’s almost time to start something new.

How are everyone else’s summers progressing?

 

I posted before that the Jaywalkers were finally finished, so here’s a good look at the final product. They came out quite well – they’re a little tight to get on over the heel, but once they’re on they’re really comfortable. I have seen a couple other people with this problem, so we’re chalking it up to the diagonal pattern not having enough stretch.

I didn’t have any problems with the pattern – it seems that Grumperina did a really great job with the write up and the presentation. Kudos to that!

Also, while I seem to have stashed inordinate amounts of BMFA’s Socks that Rock, this was the first time I’ve actually knit with it, and I quite enjoyed it. People are always talking about the nice twist that STR has, and I have to agree. It’s a very round yarn.

These particular socks were done in the STR Mediumweight, so they are a little heavier than they would be in a lighter weight yarn, but they’ll be nice for those frozen Northern winters.

The next pair of socks on the needles is going to be Yarnissima’s Firestarters in none other than the Wollmeise’s 100% superwash in the Am Kalten Polar colourway. It’s a gorgeous mix of blues and violets that I was absolutely gaga over for a couple of months. I finally got my hands on some in a trade with a fellow Raveller, to whom I am very grateful! This particular skein and I had a very traumatic week – I wound it up on my ball winder last Tuesday, put it into a Ziploc and set it on the end table for the night as I wasn’t quite ready to start the socks, yet.

Well. . .imagine my horror when I come home from work the next day at lunch to my precious yarn all over the living room, down the stairs to the front door and tangled into an impressive mess. Apparently our youngest dog had decided that the yarn was too good to pass up, and turned it into her chew toy. I was furious, and really, really upset as I had planned such great things for this yarn. However, I persevered, and I swear it must have been an act of god that I managed to get the mess untangled and rewound without too many yards of casualties. That will teach me.

I would have taken pictures of the mess, just to show you, but I think I’m trying to block that out.  

The next FO you’ll likely see is the nearly-complete Laminaria. It’s come down to the edging now, so it shouldn’t be long. Following that, I need to get myself started on some holiday knitting. There will be some photos, and some hints, but for the most part final posts won’t come until after Christmas.

 

So, I’ll leave you with some photos of my Dahlias that decided to bloom suddenly, and beautifully. I planted them earlier this summer from bulbs that I got at WalMart, and never really expected great things from them. Boy, was I wrong! You can’t see it in the photo, but that first plant shot up like a trooper – it’s almost three feet tall!

                                   

I’ve been keeping busy, for the most part. Been working on (slowly) expanding my little flower beds around the front of the house. I’ve actually got plans to dig out a new bed further out into the yard once I finish clearing out the little rock garden that has been pathetically overgrown since we moved in a couple of years ago.

I’ve been knitting, as well! Still plugging away (slowly, again) on the Jaywalker socks, but they should be finished up in the next few days if I have anything to say about it! The Laminaria is coming along nicely, as well.

  

Started the new job a little over a month ago, and I’m still muddling my way through. All things considered, it seems to be going relatively well aside from the fact I don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to get in all the knitting I want to do! Things should slow down in the next couple of months, though, and I’m sure my productivity will skyrocket.

Back to the needles for now, though. Gotta make use of my knitting time while I have it!