Baby Caps

I love a hat. I look terrible in most, but I love them because you don't really need a pattern and you can make a beautiful hat. I also love them because once you get a basic pattern you can add any stitches you want and it is all yours. They're quick to knit and people will probably wear them more than anything, except maybe socks, because they can wear them every day.

I also love baby knits. I think they're the cutest in anything handmade because they are fascinated by colors and construction and not afraid to show their admiration for the product.

Maybe I read too much into babies.

Anyway, I'm working on a set of christening caps (unisex) so I started my first one this week. They're white cotton so they're durable and warm but not too much. This one is pretty basic because I wasn't sure this was the yarn I wanted to use but it worked out nicely. I plan to do some more ornate ones with different yarn for winter.



Now I need to write down what I did for the next one. I learned the hard way the pattern and dimensions don't always stay tucked away. ha!

love, knit and purl,

Nicole

Princess Diana

Kansas City has had the pleasure of hosting the Princess Diana exhibit for about 4 months. I have been wanting to go since the minute it opened and with my busy life + money + coordinating date with sister, we finally managed to make it 2 days before closing (whew)

I love anything to do with British History and the monarchy in general. I distinctly remember when I found out she had been in the car accident and was stunned. I couldn't say anything and it still chokes me up to this day. It's weird how sometimes, someone's special deeds touch so many people that you can't help but admire her.



I seriously haven't spent so much time going through an exhibit. It's not like it was very long, but the amount of emotions, beautiful rememberances, home movies, music and details is something I will not soon forget. She was beautiful.

I definitely teared up in the funeral room (they had Candle in the Wind playing) and almost lost it while watching the footage of her. I ended up having to leave the room earlier than planned for fear I'd have a break down (I'm an emotional wreck right now anyway), but sister understood because she was close herself.

So, this blog is actually about this:



They had random quotes posted on the walls which were some of her more famous ones. I saw this and I've always heard this before..but for some reason it struck a cord with me. Maybe because I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life, direction, friends, etc so it hit a little closer.

I feel as though my life has lost the direction I was planning a few years ago, however I know that I didn't really have a clear path. I still don't and I know it won't happen overnight. I do know that this will be my theme for the next few years while I try to relocate myself.

Thank You, Princess Di.

1st set of socks are done!!

That's right! I've finally finished the 2nd one. I had messed up the toe decrease and then lost my needle so after those 2 battles were completed...I won the war!



As you can clearly see...the one on the right (2nd) is not only longer but much better than first. I realized as I was knitting the 2nd sock that I think I omitted a couple of rounds or something..it just looked way different and wore different. Who knows?

Alas, I thought I would be a sock prodigy and while I am good at it for the first time around, I'm not a prodigy. :) I would say for socks, practice does make perfect.

My next project is the laceweight shawl I'm currently working on and then I'll be starting a project for Mom with her yarn she got from MD S&W as a Mother's day gift. I had planned for Xmas but really...I couldn't wait that long. Yes, I'm THAT girl when I get a gift I want to give it right away. That's probably why I wait until the nth second to buy stuff. Right? sure.

Qustion of the week: When you join your round, do you knit it or do you have a special stitch to make it join tighter?

Knittin' Knittin' Knittin'...get those needles Knittin'

I have been the worst knitter ever as of late. Not only have I still not finished the socks I started in April, I have only worked on them for about maybe 30 minutes a week since my trip which ended on May 13.

Hello.

I will admit, that I go through phases where I must knit 24/7/365 and then others where I'm like "ugh not tonight". It is usually influenced by the level of hot in my home and while it seemed as though spring would never show up, it's now gone to summer in 1 wk. Record level highs, ozone days, and a/c running all day long.

Have I mentioned I really can't stand summer?

However, I am still working on shawl diligently and am planning my next project to start, which I hope to be for sister or mom so I can use the beautiful yarn I bought at MDS&W. :)

We'll see how far I get!

Do you like to knit in the summer? Do you have a favorite yarn to use? Favorite projects?

Crafting with Coles

I promised a post and here it is...although it is different to what I had planned so it's sort of a bonus post!

I've loved art in all forms since I was itty bitty and took as many art classes as I could growing up. The thing I loved about art is that even though you were given an assignment, you could still complete it to your liking and usually get a good grade. I always thought it funny that they "graded" art. How can you grade creativity? To me that always seemed a little weird but hey, it got me out of lots of classes which I had little to no desire to take.

Totally digressing.

So as I've gotten older, I've figured out my 'strong' artistic outlets. Mine are colors and shapes. I've always loved shapes and anything with spatial reasoning...oh yeah that's my bag. (This also links back to the interior design motive previously blogged about here. The best part about this being my outlet, is that my medium doesn't have to be anything in particular. I find I'm much better at working with solidified mediums (paper, wood, yarn) and making it into a particular shape, unlike those who can work with a pliable medium (clay, paint, wax) and molding it into a shape.


This all brings me to my next point which is what I did tonight. My nephew's birthday is on Saturday and since we're blessed with craftiness in my family, my sister likes to make sure as much of it is home made as possible. <3 My task tonight was to take paper pieces and wrapping paper and make placards for words and name tags for cups. Here is what I developed:

Name Placards



Cup Name Tags



My Nephew (yep he's adorable)

I love that my sister admired them so much and my nephew was SUPER excited about it. I told him he could have one of the placards with his name on it. He couldn't decide which one as he liked them all. He's so silly.

Do you do home made goodness for your birthday parties too?

I promise..I didn't forget

I promise, I didn't forget to blog this weekend. I had a busy weekend with the holiday on hand, so I'm going to blame it on that one. :)

I will be posting a blog tonight as I have new pics to share. yay! :)

Also, I wanted to give a big SHOUT OUT to my new followers. I love new followers and I love sharing bits of my life with people.

Okay going now, because I have to go do my j.o.b.

-Nicole

First Shawl & Lace weight project

Yesterday I started my first Shawl and Lace weight project. You have no idea how excited I am about this project. I have been jonesin' to start it since February and have made multiple attempts, however this project really does require you to be extremely comfortable with dpn's. Since I hadn't really worked with them for extended periods of time...I had to put it on hold until I became more familiar with them.

Hence, why the starting of socks became such a priority. Now, I love knitting on DPN. Who would've thunk huh?? I'm a huge fan of circulars, don't get me wrong, but now DPN is one less fear on the 'knitting bucket list'.

Anyway, here is the picture for the start. The pattern is called Vortex Shawl and it's by PisceanKnits on ravelry.com.




I've accomplished more on my bucket list this year than I have in the previous 2 years. So happy!! :)