What's Next

Well, I finished my Tilia shawl and believe me when I tell you, nothing about it worried me more than the finishing row.  Last time I used a regular bind off and it looked terrible!  It was such a disappointment that I gave the last one away.

This time I had more luck and the edge looks like it's supposed to, as far as I can tell.  It's having a nice bath and when it's done, I'll be sure to post a picture.

For right now, I have my new project on the needles called Cora from Aran Knits.  OMG, I love this sweater!

I purchased a bunch of Rowan Purelife blue faced Leicester (bfl) in brown and it is deliciously soft and warm.  It's so reasonably priced I should have purchased a mountain of it.

This sweater is for my mother's birthday in February.  I chose it because she's vertically challenged (less than 5' tall), and she doesn't like button down sweaters because they make her uncomfortable under her winter coat.  I feel comfortable making the sweater shorter or longer, and I most certainly will need to shorten the sleeves.

Why another sweater for Mom?  Because my mother says I never make her anything.  I guess the hat, shawlette, socks, 2 shawls and the sweater don't count.  And how's this: I made a hat for 3 year old Odessa for Christmas.  I was going to embellish it, but my mother strongly discouraged that.

Fast forward, I bump into mom at the bank one day and she's wearing a baseball type hat.  We're filling out our deposit slips and she starts talking about how hot it is in the bank so she pulls off the cap - underneath which is Odessa's hat!  You. have. got. to be. kidding. me.  Honestly, mom?

"It fit just right."
"Are you going to give Odessa her hat back?"
"She won't miss it."
"I'm never making you anything ever again!"  Oy!

Who does that?!  Anyway, two sweaters (one for Spring and one for Winter) ought to cool her knitted goods stealing heart.

Happy Mother's Day

To every mother everywhere, I wish you a happy mother's day!  This year the weather was so wacky that my 'mother's day' tree bloomed early and the pink flowers are gone, but I do have an old one:

It's been a busy, but happy couple of weeks for me.  Starting with Mary Jo's socks:

Mary Jo wasn't a sock knitter, but she is now!  The socks on her feet (above) are her very first pair.  Let me explain why she deserves a LOT of credit: she used a pattern that didn't even make much sense to me (and I've knit quite a few pairs of socks in my day), but with some help, she muddled through it.  She also never knit with more than two needles before, so that was a real challenge for her, but she did it. And she worked very, very hard to make them and she finished.  Congratulations, Mary Jo, on your first pair of socks! (Lion Brand sock yarn).

The Mother's Day sweater for my mother was a great success.  I made the Tappan Zee and sewed the buttons on this morning before I went to spend time with her.  Made with Elsabeth Lavold silky wool and US #6 needles:

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the sweater, but I was too busy today.  I would have taken a picture of her wearing it for the blog, but that didn't happen either.  I'll catch her wearing it and I'll get a shot of it.  She really likes it and she said it was perfect for summer.  Now I feel better about making her another sweater for her birthday in February.

Joanne and I went out to lunch for her birthday at a place called The Coconut Palms in the Bronx.  While service was slow, the food came in generous portions.  The appetizer was crab cakes:

The entree was curried chicken with white rice (that's Joanne's rice and beans in the background with her fish cakes.  She ordered oxtails):

Service was slow, the food was not spicy at all and the fish/crab cakes were unremarkable, not a lot of flavor.  I was expecting a more authentic taste so this place just got moved to the bottom of the list for Caribbean fare.

Lastly, I'm making the Tilia shawl again since I screwed up the last one.

I'm better than halfway done and still deciding if I want to dye it or not.  Pewter is gray, no matter what you call it.

Enjoy your day, everyone.