Finally...

If you've seen my site at all in the last week, you've probably seen one of the twenty or so different incarnations of my layout. I finally chose this one, created by Green Tangerine Designs. You should check out her etsy shop. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Speaking of etsy, my lovely friend Jasmine recently opened up an etsy shop of her very own. Check out her beautiful photographs here. She's been a photographer for as long as I've known her (wow, how have 18 years flown by so fast?) and has a great eye for taking pictures.

So, I wanted to share a knitting project that I started in October 2010 and have finally finished. It was meant to be a Christmas present for my mom (again, in 2010!) but I've only recently completed it. It wasn't really a difficult project. Part of the reason it took so long was that I don't live near my mom, so I couldn't have her try it on while I was working on it. I guessed at her size and her arm length. I didn't want to make the sleeves either too short or too long. It also took me a while because I modified the pattern so that the cuffs weren't as wide as they were in the original pattern. This took some serious math because the piece is knit from cuff to cuff, so while you're figuring out different numbers for decreases on one side, you're sorting out increases on the other. I also made the cardinal sin on not writing down my modifications. Why do I do this? I continually have this problem. On this project, I figured that I spent so much time figuring out the mods for the first cuff, I'd easily be able to remember to finish off the last cuff. It turns out that one and a half years later my memory wasn't so great. Of course, it doesn't help that when I cast on I had a one year old, and when I cast off I had a two and a half year old and a seven month baby. So long sleep and bye bye memory!

So, without further ado...

The pattern is Eleonora, by Knitting Nonstop (also known as Dawn Matkovic). You can see my revelry page here. It's an elegant shrug and I decided that I needed some nice yarn to make it with. My mom liked the colour of the original sample that the pattern is based on, so I searched high and low for a purple DK weight yarn that wouldn't break my budget. I ended up choosing KnitPicks Gloss DK in Blackberry, which I think was a really good yarn to fit the pattern. The yarn is a lovely blend of 70% merino wool and 30% silk.

Well, my husband just called to tell me that he'll be back with the kids in about two minutes, so I'm typing even faster. I think I have just enough time to put the kettle on to make some tea before they get home.

ETA: Here is a preview of the next project that I'm working on. It's been another work in progress forever but I've decided that I'm going to finish it this week. 

Here's M checking out what I'm making for her. I explained what it was and she asked me to 'go knit now, please.' Why, yes thank you, I think I will.