I am still knitting socks, and have a wonderful pair of red socks (had I blogged about them before?) that are all done except for the closure of the toe on one sock, weaving in the ends, and giving them a good bath. The yarn is a beautiful blend of superwash merino, silk, nylon and real silver fibers from Kramer yarns. You can see it here: http://www.kraemeryarns.com/yarn/sterling.asp
There are a lot of free patterns on their website, and I used the "Lace Sterling Sock" pattern. It knit up nicely, and I will definitely knit these again. This yarn and the pattern suggestion were a selection I got as a sock club member at our LYS, Boucle in Fargo. I will get a picture once they've had a proper bath.
I'm working on a lovely top down cardigan with another pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple. It is about 90% finished. I am using Berroco Ultra Alpaca in "Redwood Mix". I have to make a decision about the finishing of the front yet. The pattern has a small border around the neck, and then ties at the top of the seed stitching panels to hold the sweater together. It is #241 here: http://www.knittingpureandsimple.com/cardi.html
My issue is that the sweater I fell in love with at the LYS did not have the ties - it was modified to have a unique button (just one) at the top of the seed stitching there, and I haven't decided yet how to proceed. The sweater looks huge in this picture, but I think I am knitting a size XL. (Really, my sister agrees - it isn't that big in person.) I like the bell sleeves and the more tailored look of the seed stitch finish to the edging. I will have to make a decision and get it finished up in the next week or so in any case, so I can feel better about starting (or finishing) other things.
For Christmas this year I got the makings of a shawl from a dear friend/cousin. She is my knitting buddy, and we had become somewhat distant over the past year due to issues in my life and her own busy life. Enclosed with the gift was a touching note indicating she had bought identical materials for herself (but in a different colorway) and we her intention was that we would spend time knitting the shawls together and reconnecting. We have met together once a week since Christmas and the shawl progress is slow but sure.
Of course Patches had to get in on the action once he saw something was going on, and even though I lifted him off the yarn repeatedly, he would not be discouraged from hanging out while I finished my picture-taking business.
Tina also gave me a cute little ornament she made, which I completely love. I took a photo of it, and the one she made for my daughter. She had done daycare for my daughter for a time, and ever since then, (even though DD is now 19 going on 20) she still gets a homemade ornament from Tina. This year, I was blessed to get one too, and think it is the cutest thing ever. It was hard to get a good picture because of the reflection of the glass on the ornament, but inside my ornament is a small handmade skein of yarn and little knitting needles she made. The saying is "In case of Knitting Emergency BREAK GLASS"
