Cynthia's Annual Spring Luncheon

Here is part of the gang that came out on April 25th to enjoy the annual spring luncheon put on by Cynthia's Fine Yarn and Gifts in Mackinaw City. An afternoon of friendship, games, sharing, laughter and fun. Plus a preview of the new exciting patterns and yarns in the yarn shop!






Jenny won the big door prize (on the table in front of her) and is showing the bee sweater that she knitted for Avery (first grandchild)!

Jean with her felted "hand bag"!

The hands are felted cutouts traced from her grandchildrens hands. How cool!

Martha and Myrna in the background during show and tell.

Martha Myrna and Sherry play the "Know Your Fiber" game as Jamie supervises...no cheating!

Just Enough Ruffles Done

Spring has sprung, well almost. We had some nice days and I was busy working outside, trying to get as much done as I could, before the blackflies come out (that is another story). Hubby and I got the yards cleaned, a whole new yard planted with grass seed and the screen room cleaned and ready for summer and I was too tired to knit. I hate when that happens...I get the lovely yarn out of the knitting bag, get all comfy and there I sit with the project in my lap for hours, not one stitch knitted. We've all been there I guess.





Well the last two days have been almost winter-like. Cold and rainy, perfect knitting weather! And I finally got one of the three projects finished that I started for Malabrigo March in the Malabrigo Junkies group over on Ravelry. Here is my version of Just Enough Ruffles:

As for my designs, I have finished my Mitered Panels Cardigan for Adults (pics to be posted soon) which is based on my Mitered Panels Cardigan for Kids but with a different neck line. This along with Little Dipper, Telegraph Road and a new free pattern (which will also be posted here) will debut this Saturday at Cynthia's annual spring luncheon! How exciting.

Two Test Knitters

I have lost two of my test knitters who were working on the Telegraph Road cardigan.

candy1380 is a volunteer for the Red Cross and was deployed to Fargo ND until the end of April. As she said, there was no room in her bag for her sweater project and working 15 hours a day, 7 days a week leaves no time for knitting. Hope you stay safe out there!

mugginsquilts is the victim of outright theft. Somebody broke into her truck and stole the bag that had her sweater in progress (over half finished) and the yarn for it. And she has no yarn to make another one. All those hours of knitting, and it's just gone. Hope the yarn fairies are watching over her!

We also had a snowstorm on the 29th, 6 to 8 inches of wet, heavy snow. Lucky for

me I had taken the snowplow off my truck so I got to knit and Mike got to move snow with his tractor!

The Worms Have Arrived or The Cutest Buttons Ever

The buttons have arrived for the Little Dipper Vest and they are sewn on! If you are looking for the most adorable buttons, check out Gold Seal Products .

So far so good, Telegraph Road and Little Dipper are in the hands of several test knitters to whom I owe a mountain of thanks. Everything has gone smoothly so far! Thanks also to Wiste for creating a wonderful resource for bringing designers and willing testers together in the Free Pattern Testers Group!

I'm falling further behind on my Malabrigo Junkies KAL's but am swatching for two new design ideas, an adult cardigan and a summer dress for young girls!

Little Dipper Vest

This is what I have been working on for the last two weeks. The pattern is written as a short, slightly oversized vest for young girls, approximately 2 to 10 years of age. My husband came up with the name Little Dipper when I showed it to him and told him I was having trouble coming up with a name relating to little girls and stars (which is a reference to the stitch pattern used). It made sense in that someday I would like to design an adult version, Big Dipper.

And as an update to my Malabrigo March KAL's, here is a picture of my gauge swatch with the chosen buttons for my February Lady Sweater. I beat the March 31st deadline and cast on last night!

Telegraph Road

My latest design, Telegraph Road, is finally finished and the pattern written but not released yet. It is worked in a slipped stitch pattern, Dots and Dashes, from which its name is derived. It is worked in two yarns, Berroco Ultra Alpaca and ShiBui Knits Merino Kid with finished chest sizes of 36", 40", 44", 48" 52". I haven't yet captured the elusive "perfect picture". For some reason it is hard to photograph (could be my camera skills are lacking).

Malabrigo Junkies May Put Me Over the Edge

Not that my knitting itinerary is not full enough, I went and joined the Malabrigo Junkies group on Ravelry. Then I proceeded to join three of the KAL's. There are plenty to choose from but I am trying to limit it to three!

New Rule: as long as you have the needles open for a new project, go ahead and cast on. Note to self.... buy more needles!

So, now I am in the Forest Canopy Shawl KAL, The Just Enough Ruffles KAL and the February Lady Sweater KAL. That is my yarn for the February Lady Sweater in the dyepot. It was Mal worsted merino in Jewel Blue, now it is Mal worsted merino in Jewel Blue overdyed with a mix of Fuschia and Violet! Much prettier (IMO) but now I have to wait for it to dry before I can cast on.

I am going to try to post more often, but I would rather knit. For now I will be sitting at the computer writing the pattern for a new cardigan that I designed. Is it going to be Telegraph Road or Morse Code?