keeping busy

 A happy little girl with her new sweater. I think it just fits.. so I'll have to make the next size bigger for her next time. 
Thrift store finds. I found these beauties on my last trip there. The two aqua sweaters are vintage old navy with the old labels they don't use anymore. The middle sweater is so nice I may not unravel it. It is size small and fits.

 Spotted these beautiful plants walking to Trader Joes on Sunday. I have never seen plants this color.

 I cast on this sweater right after I finished the little blue sweater and it hasn't gotten very far. Every few rows I make a mistake and have to rip it back. The yarn is recycled cotton/linen blend and feels really nice with nice drape, so I rip and knit on.  Some day it will be the oriel lace cardigan. I had high hopes of finishing this fast, but I now see this isn't going to happen.

 More WIP.

 I'm finding that unraveling sweaters is a good stress relief. It had kind of gotten addicting. Both of these yarns are cotton acrylic blends with a little rabbit hair. So soft.

 A picture of my beautiful daughter who had grow into a beautiful women. She is going through some hard times right now. I will be returning to Florida for the summer to help out and will hopefully be able to make it back to Washington before fall to start school and continue to make a better life for myself. Back to the heat.. sigh.

Finished and cute!

 Yay.. Finished in just about two weeks. This pattern is called Leksak. The ravelry link is here.

 As I stated the last time, this is my favorite type of sweater construction. Top down, seamless, one piece. The yarn I used was a light cotton/acrylic blend recycled from a large thrift store sweater. I actually used less than half of the yarn, so there is enough for another small sweater or shrug. I think is a perfect summer sweater for a pretty young lady.

 Next... a new thrift store sweater to take apart. This sweater is actually in really good condition and pretty. I loved the black and white tweed yarn. This sweater is also a cotton, acrylic, poly blend. Very soft and light. I will probably use this yarn for a fall sweater. I'm hoping to be able to use the sequins too! For today I will be casting on another summer cotton sweater I can't wait. The little navy blue cardi is getting a bath and will get a light blocking. That will dry over night and I'll mail that out on Thursday. I'm hoping it will fit.

ASweater story...

 After unraveling the sweater I found at the thrift store I started this little sweater for my grand daughter. She wanted a navy sweater for summer. The yarn is a very light cotton acrylic blend. I have basically stopped all other knitting and have been solely working on this little sweater. The pattern name is Leksak and I'm making a longer cardigan. I started the project on April 29th.

 My favorite type of sweater to knit is exactly this.. a top down one piece raglan.

 As you can see it is progressing pretty quickly. I'm worried about the size. The gauge is right on.. I'm just wondering if the chest sizing is a little small. I'm knitting size 8. I always find it hard to knit for someone when they are now able to try it on at different stages for sizing. I love the way the sweater is connected at the neck.

 Knitting on the way to work and at work and on the way home from work.

 This is where I am at today. After doing the usual laundry and day off stuff I plan on watching "The Paradise" and spending the evening knitting away.

 A beautiful walk to work. The trees at filling out and flowers are blooming. (^_^)

Next the finished sweater!

On the needles...

Here is a picture of all my recycled yarn projects to date. The finished cotton lace sweater from 100% cotton gap sweater yarn. The aqua lace shrug that is still on the needles being knit with wool, acrylic angora blend yarn from a Ralph Lauren sweater and a summer tunic for my grand daughter knit with a cotton acrylic blend from a Sonoma sweater. I love the feel and texture of all the recycled yarns. The navy cotton is soft and light and will make a perfect summer tunic. This sweater has an unusual design that I'll tell you more about next time. I have a day off today and we are having wonderfully warm weather.

Progress this morning of both projects. The color of the lace shrug in this picture is almost perfect.

The warm weather has brought with it loads of beautiful blooms both flowers and trees.

Progress this afternoon on the little cotton tunic. Finished the raglan increases and put the sleeves on hold and now working on the body. That is all for now. So back to knitting and enjoying this beautiful warm sunny day!