happy happy joy joy ~ a post by Melissa

My husband's good friend and his wife are having their first child this September and...it's a girl!  I'm trying to be thriftier at home so I challenged myself to see what I could come up with for gifts using just leftover scraps from other projects.  I cheated and ended up buying buttons so the knits weren't totally cost free but, for about $5 for the buttons, here's what I came up with:

Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat ~ a super easy free pattern that knitted up quickly.  The little umbilical cord knot on the crown is adorable!

Then there's this little gem ~ Plain Cardigan ~ another free pattern!  I finished the sweater and dug around and found a bit of purple and crocheted (!) every edge.  I love how it turned out!

And finally, this last bit of sweetness ~ Autumn Leaves ~ and yup, it's a free pattern, also!  I'm always amazed that designers are so generous with their creativity!  I do try to support crafters that are trying to make a living sharing their talents with the rest of us, but there are some free patterns that are too cute to pass up!

I dug out some wooden beads I had pack-ratted away from a broken bracelet and decided to add them to this little sweater.  I love this so much that I'm tempted to see if I can make an XXXL size for me!

I think that's it for the baby clothes...for now.  Too many other things on the needles that got set aside that I need to get back to.  But that's not it for small gifts from this knitwit!  Remember Kelli's little houseguest?  I think I may get to meet Miss Grace Anne this week and I have a surprise for her!  Remember Zoe and Jo and Zoe's holiday sweater I made for her this past Christmas?  Well, I heard that there's a new addition to the Peep family ~ Zoe and Jo have a new cousin named Merrida and Zoe is gifting her little red sweater to Merrida to take home with her and Grace when they leave.

I chose a new button that I thought Grace might like better than the one that was on it before.  I hope Zoe and Jo and Merrida get to have a playdate before the visit is over!  And I hope Kelli pops on and posts a picture of this little red haired cutie pie with the big blue eyes ;)

Sometimes the best things do come in the smallest of packages and I can't wait to wrap this all up and give it away.  That's one of the best parts of knitting to me ~ giving it away!  Hope everyone is having a great week!  ~ Melissa

Santa Meets a Couple o' Dolls

What a lapful, eh?  I'm sure there's a grin under all that beard!  Jo and Zoe met Santa for the first time and got to share their elfish wishes for Christmas bounty on this, their first Christmas Eve.  And they must have been good little gals this year ~ not a lump of coal to be found in their gift boxes!

Miss Jo was oh, so surprised to discover that Zoe gave her a Mini Nancy Bush Triinu Shawl to match the one her mama was given:

And, little Rasta Zoe was so thrilled to receive some bright red holiday mittens from Jo:

What a pair of fashionistas!  I think they'll be the envy of all their little doll friends this season!

Happy holidays to all from The Peeps!       ~ Melissa

Holiday Fun at Churchmouse

We made it!

It was a blast.  Spent a couple hours shopping.  Ate lunch at the Blackbird Cafe.  Had some Whiskey Gingerbread.  A new favorite.  Better like whiskey if you ever try it.  There's a reason it's called that.  Drank some coffee, but not enough.  Here's how I feel after hanging with this crazy group all day:

All kidding aside, if you've got the blues and need a holiday pick-me-up, make the trip across the water to Churchmouse.  It's worth it ~ as usual, the staff was more than welcoming and gracious and patient with the bit of chaos that follows us wherever we go.  And the shop....boy, do they know how to decorate.  Zoe gladly posed with some of the displays, although sadly Jo decided to stay home today ~ long story, something about a late night, a little too much of the above mentioned whiskey maybe....hmmm.  Anywho, enjoy the pics and have a great week!    ~ Melissa

 

Loose Ends

With the New Year around the corner and an ever-growing list of knitting goals for 2012 (including this year's KAL...stay tuned...I'll share more later this week if you're interested!), I've been hard at work finishing WIP's.

I'll start off with this little 1/2 skein of sweetness that I whipped out for Zoe to wear tomorrow on our girls day to Churchmouse Yarns and Teas.

This cute (free!) doll sweater pattern can be found on Petite Purls website and if you want to see any info on the sweater I made, here's the link.  I'm going to love building Zoe's wardrobe ~ it's a great way to use up those random single skeins that we all have buried in the bottom of our stash!

This weekend I also finished this project:

Juliet Scarf by Louisa Harding (pattern can be found free on Ravelry and it's also in her wonderful book, Knitting Little Luxuries).  I've made 2 of these now and I love this pattern and the yarn is perfect.  If you're tempted to try lace and want an easy project to practice on, this is the one.  It's simple, it has written instructions as well as charts, and the result is so worth the effort!  Give it a try!

I also finally finished this:

 

It's the Triinu Scarf from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia.  It's another surprisingly simple lace pattern with amazing results (and that Madeline Tosh 'Byzantine' colorway merino light yarn is hands down the best red I've ever seen!!).  I love this lace pattern ~ I love everything about this knit.  I started this in July and put it down for far too long ~ I should have finished this a LONG time ago!

(One of my friends on Ravelry, as I was posting this project, went online and ordered the exact same yarn and colorway and she's going to make this scarf for herself ~ how's that for enabling!!!)

That's it for now.  I'll share our trip to Churchmouse after we go ~ there are 6 of us making the trek (plus Zoe and Jo) so it's certain to be loads of fun!  I'll also get some info up soon about our upcoming KAL that will start on January 1st so that there will be time to get patterns and yarns and people added to the blog that want to join us this year.  I'm looking forward to knitting with our ever growing little circle of friends across the states.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend ~  Melissa

Island Girls

Just returned from our 3rd annual Roche Harbor knitting retreat on San Juan Island.  Zoe and Jo came along for the ride and behaved themselves quite nicely:

The weekend was filled with wildlife (these deer were crazy!!) ~

A visit with old friends on the farm:

And meeting some new:

Wardrobe additions from Peru:

Beautiful views from the front porch, morning and night:

Captured moments:

Autumn splendor:

Tons of laughter and sharing with this amazing group of women:

And another adventure shared with my best bud and partner in crime:

There are some good stories that go with the deer, the beads and that dazzling dress but I'll save those for another day.  And oh, yeah ~ I did manage to get some knitting done!  madeline, madeline, madeline....mmm mmm mmm ~just can't get enough of ya:

I cannot wait for next year!  What a fantastic weekend!   ~ Melissa

Playing Hooky

I got to take a personal day at work so went to sit and knit with the 'Thursday Group' that I never get to see.  Talk about sensory overload ~ so much chatter and needles flying and projects to see ~ how can I be this tired from just sitting for 4 hours??  I need a nap! 

Jo & Zoe got to go and hang out with us at WildFibers:

Is it just me or does Zoe look stoned when she's sitting next to Jo?  Between the outrageous locks and the buggy button eyes.....I think some changes are in store.  Thoughts???

I cast on Kate Davies' 'Peerie Flooers' while I was there ~ 4 hours and only 7 rows done.  Geesh ~ I just can't knit any faster, especially with colorwork.  It's hopeless ~ or I am!  It's so pretty so far, even just the little bit I've done:

And if you're intrigued by what's underneath my knitting, let's pan out just a bit:

The word had gotten out that I was going to make an appearance today and Linda (THANKS!!!) remembered that I had wanted to borrow her Herbert Niebling books and a few German lace knitting magazines.  Pages and pages and pages of inspiration.  Linda, I will try very hard not to drool all over them!
                                                         ~Melissa

Party Girls

Jo and Zoe's first play date!

Tuesday night was our knitting guild's 2nd birthday party and what better place for the girls to meet for the first time?!  It was a really fun meeting ~ everyone brought snacks, there were cakes from Snohomish Bakery, members shared their ribbons from the Evergreen State Fair a few weeks ago, there were prizes for UFO's ~ biggest, smallest and oldest! ~ and the new officers were sworn in for our upcoming membership year.

It was great to see our guest blogger Morgen, who surprised me with an unexpected, tremendously generous and oh, so loved already, birthday gift:

Zoe cuddling with my birthday yarn

Yes, that's my favorite yarn ~ madelinetosh ~ in a weight I haven't tried ~ sock ~ in the most beautiful variegated colorway I've ever seen ~ Magnolia Leaf.  There's a little over 1000yds which is plenty enough to make a gorgeous shawl.  I'm going to have so much fun planning for this yarn!!  Thanks again, Morgen ~ I'm still shocked ~ and thanks also for the loan of the book.  I can't wait to delve into this one!

There's been little knitting time lately as I've been spending every spare minute getting ready to start my position as 'Knit News' reporter for the guild.  I'll have the opportunity every month at our meetings to do a presentation on any topic that happens to strike my fancy.  I'm close to done with my first presentation ~ the topic is top secret until October ~ but I have to say, every person that I contacted on Ravelry in regards to project, photo, and pattern sharing has been so generous and encouraging that I think I'll be able to work through all my jitters about speaking in front of the group on a regular basis.  I'm excited to see if I'm 'interesting' or if I 'bomb' ~ as a fairly new knitter, what do you talk about that would interest a room full of lifelong amazing crafters.  It will certainly be a challenge!  I'll let you know how it goes after our next meeting.  Wish me luck!

I did manage to finish a project this week ~ just what the doctor ordered since nothing feels 'done' right now (home, knitting, guild, you name it) and I needed to complete something. 

This is Vitamin D by Heidi Kirrmaier in one of my top 5 favorite yarns ~ Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Coffee Bean.  I'm thrilled with this knit and the drape of the yarn.  I'll get a ton of use out of this one this fall and winter.  This was a great knit with a little math and short rows, which kept all the stockinette from getting too boring.  I loved this pattern.

That's about all that's new for me ~ Kelli just finished a really pretty vest but if you want to see it you'll either have to check her out on Ravelry or razz her a little here to post more often (I'm all for option #2 ~ give her some grief, please!!).  Enjoy the last week of summer as we start hunkering down for some cooler weather and prime knitting time.  Happy weekend, all!      ~ Melissa

[Edited to add:  DANG ~ I was just rereading this after I posted and I HAVE finished something this summer ~ look at that awesome deck I'm standing on!!!  I stained that all by myself ~ 2 coats of stain and 38 man(or woman!)hours later ~ it took just about every single minute of sunny weather we had this summer that I wasn't at work!!!  So proud ~ and so pooped ~ but it is FINISHED!!!!  I get excited when it rains now since the water beads up which means I did a good job ~ yeah, for me!]

The Girls Get Around!

This morning the girls discovered they were featured on Nancy Anderson's blog, Yarn Juleps on the Veranda!  What a surprise.  Zoe's head swelled a little (maybe her dreads are too tight?) and she thinks she owns the universe now ~ doesn't she look proud?  Now if only I could convince her to keep her cute little feet off my new computer ;)    ~ Melissa

Playing With Dolls

Meet Zoe Agneline Peep....

Stay tuned for her adventures with her sister, Josephine Elizabeth Peep....

who finally decided what to wear after recently being seen streaking at the Evergreen State Fair.  Who said that being older means being 'more mature', eh?  Can't wait to see you, Kelli!
                                                                      ~ Melissa

[Nancy Anderson's pattern for Maggie Bean dolls can be found on Petite Purls website ~ thanks to Nancy for sharing such a fun pattern!]