Lots of good stuff going on!!

First and foremost, the biggest accomplishment for awhile. This is the left shoulder strap for dh's sweater. This has been on my mind for a long time. I was convinced that I would never figure it out and therefore never complete this project. This project has been a true challenge from day one. It has been frogged several times and tinked more times than I can remember.


I was at knit night last Monday and divulged my dilema with this part of the sweater to the group. Two very nice ladies helped me with lots of advice and support. "Just follow the directions one step at a time." was one and "Do two rows and no more" was the other. I followed these tidbits to the letter the first night I tried to get the hang of it. AND....it worked.


The next night I finished the left shoulder strap after about 3 hours of work and took a breath -- wow, what a feeling to conquer something that has been truly nagging at me for a long, long while. The next night I started the right shoulder strap and now I am half way done with that - WAHOO!!

The white strings you see are my lifelines holding the live stitches from the front and back of the sweater that are knit in one at a time as the rows on the strap work their way from the collar to the shoulder. I figured that if I made an error I could just rip it out. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to the lovely ladies who helped me, without their guidance I am not sure that I could have done this.

Instant gratification - another hat. For some reason I love knitting these hats!

#9 hexagon for the Whirly Gig blanket. I still would like to obtain more of this yarn to make the banket bigger than in the pattern. The yarn is also really nice to work with and to watch the colors change. I think the yarn would make nice hats and scarves also.

My first "Mother Bear Project" bear. It just needs a face :o) and the neck needs work.

More work on the spiral blanket. I have so many ideas for extra color. At the top where the needles are I added in a teal color yarn with the purple. 3 stitches teal and then 3 stitches in purple for 3 rows - it made really cute squares. I think an orange color would be a nice addition also. I haven't decided how big this blanket will be, but I already have some other pattern ideas to try out. Maybe it will be the blanket that never ends.....

Non-knitting news:

Basketball season for the "Y" is officially over. The end of season cake for ds's party.

St. Patrick's Day jewelry for the girls. The boys got shirts.

Pattern for dd#3. The fabric has been washed and cut out. Now for a little sewing action. I think I have to do a major dusting on the sewing maching as it has not seen any serious work in a long, long time.

Obviously my plan for more sleep each night is not going so well. During the day I love to play with the kids and of course provide shuttle service to various activities - then the chores need to be done - but after all that I need to unwind and that is when the crafting bug hits. It is hitting really hard right now!!