Yeah! I finished the hat in the 501. I started the little flower last night that will be the little accessory on the hat to cute-n (I know it’s not a word) it up. :)

Since I was teaching last night I only worked on the hat. I’ll post a photo of it when I finish the flower.

I saw Karla yesterday and showed her the sweater that I’m making for her. She really liked it and is very pleased. I hope she’s happy with the finished sweater because I think it will look great on her.

I just realized how outdated my current projects page is, I haven’t updated it for about three weeks. I’ll have to add that to my list of things to do this weekend!

I worked on nothing but Karla’s sweater last night. I got a lot done in the time that I was actually knitting. I spent over an hour reading. I worked 9 1/2″ (24 cm) of the front piece. It’s a low v-neck sweater and I’ve divided the front and have worked about 4″ (10 cm) of the left side of the v-neck.

That’s it for the knitting update. It was a short knitting night.

Well, the nice weather was just too wonderful to last. It was bitter cold once again on Saturday.

Bryan was over all weekend and my knitting time was low. Saturday night, he wanted to read a while and I worked on finishing the sweater that I’m finishing for a customer at the store. It’s taken me a lot of time to put the thing together. I had no idea that it would take so long. Oh well, I just have to knit the neck and then it will be finished.

This morning, I finished the back of the “Rosier” dress. I had about 8 rows of 9 stitches to do, so I decided just to finish it this morning instead of waiting until this evening. I pinned it before I left for work, so it’s blocking while I’m at work.

I started the front of Karla’s sweater and have already finished 4 inches (10.8 cm) of the front. I think the front will go much quicker than the back did since I have such a long v-neck to do. I would like to get a significant bit finished by the time I see her on Wednesday. I think she’ll be pleasantly surprised. :)

I’ve rethought my selling things to “Clever Alice.” With the amount I would spend on yarn and the amount of time to make a cute hat and dress it up a bit, I would be making slave wages. It’s not worth it to me. I would rather sell something online directly than to sell through consignment and only be able to charge about 2/3 of what I would like to charge. So I’m going to keep the Big Wool hat in grey and black, and the multi-color 501 hat. They are going to be really cute to wear, so it’s not like the work was all for nothing. I also bought Bouton d’Or Kilt yarn to make a hat and I think I’ll keep that yarn and make a cute hat out of it too. :) So I’ll have three new hats for myself! :)

Yesterday at the store, I bought Rowan Calmer in Chiffon (462), a light purple, to make a cute little sleeveless turtleneck sweater called Pagan. It’s on size 8 needles, so I think it will go quickly. Speaking of spring and summer stuff, I need to work on the sleeveless top in Rowan “Petula” Linen Drape that I started last summer.

Once I finish Karla’s sweater and the “Rosier” dress for Shannon’s new daughter, I think I’ll be finished knitting things for others for a while. That is until I start knitting my bridesmaids’ shawls for them to wear at the wedding. I need to pick out fabric before I start them so that they look nice with the dresses I want to have made. At least, the wedding isn’t for about 18 months, so I have some time! :)

My biggest news, I completed and passed Level I of TKGA’s Master Knitting Program. I received my letter on Saturday letting me know that I had passed! YEAH! Now I get to order Level 2. :)

It’s beautiful outside today! We finally have temperatures above freezing! It’s actually pleasant to be outside for the first time in a very very very long time! Yeah! I want to be outside playing! :) Even if it’s just knitting on a park bench with a coat and hat on!

Very little knitting was accomplished last night because I was working on finishing a sweater for a customer at the store. It cuts into my knitting but it’s worth it when I get a little bit of extra cash. I can’t complain at $10/hour. I also was teaching class last night. I showed a student how to crochet.

I did get about four rows of the hat in 501 knit. I’m meeting with the women from “Clever Alice” next week! I have to get together a little portfolio to take in. :)

WOW! What an amazing four days! Valentine’s Day was SO DREAMY! I received flowers at work from Bryan. He sent me red and white tulips. They are beautiful! Then we went out to dinner for Italian at a semi-swanky place in Lincolnshire, IL. Then we were at his house Friday night and he proposed. I said exactly how I felt and said, YES! I’m getting married! We haven’t picked a date yet. I knew our relationship was something really special several months ago because our relationship was so easy. I didn’t have to try to impress him at all. We get along so great and have a lot in common. We’ve had our bumps, but that makes the relationship even better because we’ve gotten through those bumps. :)

I’ve already picked out my bridesmaid’s dresses and a few dresses for myself. Meredith, Brandi and Susan are my bridesmaids, which was an easy decision. :) I’d seen the dresses online a month or so ago from a recommendation on Daily Candy. I loved the dress so much that I knew exactly where to find what I wanted it.

My knitting has been going well. I haven’t been keeping track of what I’ve been working on because I’ve been so excited about my engagement! :) My knitting friend, Debi, made a comment about the reason for Bryan’s proposal was just to get a sweater. :) When she said it, she felt bad but I think it’s funny. I told Bryan that I believe in the curse of the love sweater so it makes it funny to me. :)

I worked about 30 rows of the Glint sweater this weekend. I finished the green stripe I had been working on and an entire blue stripe.

I crocheted the edging on the bottom of the “Rosier” sweater and sewed the buttons on. It’s officially a completed project! I’m work on the dress and am just past shaping the armholes on the back of the dress. It’s going really fast. At first, I thought it was going to take me forever!

Last night, I knitted a hat out of the Big Wool to show the women at “Clever Alice,” a little boutique in Chicago that is interested in seeing some of my stuff for Fall! :) Woo Hoo!!! I’m working on another hat out of multi-colored 501. It’s going to be really cute! I also should start a Big Wool bag to show them that is similar to one that I made for my sister out of different yarn.

Happy Valentine’s Day! To those of you that HATE Valentine’s Day! I feel for you! I hated Valentine’s Day until this year. Just remember if it wasn’t for Hallmark and jewelry stores, we might put so much emphasis on Valentine’s Day! I also noticed that the Weather Pixie has little hearts next to her today. :)

Just a quick update on projects.
Glint
I worked 7, count them 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 rows on the Glint sweater! I think that deserves a percentage point - instead of 73% complete, I’ll go to 74% complete. :) If I worked 7 rows each day for the next week, I would finish about 1/3 of the sleeve! Heck, just working 20 rows several days a week, I would finish the sweater’s sleeves in no time. It used to seem so hard to work on because it was on size 3 needles and it was the smallest needle I’d ever knitted a sweater on. Now I feel like a pro on size 3 needles since I’ve finished the “Rosier” sweater and am working on the “Rosier” dress on size 3s also.

Karla
I knitted about 6 inches (15 cm) on Karla’s sweater. I started shaping the armholes at lunch today and worked an inch of the armhole. So I should be done in about a month at the rate I’m going! :)

“Rosier” dress and sweater
Sweater - I crocheted the edging around the collar and sleeves yesteday. I still need to do around the bottom of the sweater. I want to get a photo of the before and after edge, so I’m going to wait until I take a photo of the edge before I crochet the bottom of the sweater.
Dress - I knitted 2 inches (5 cm) on the dress last night. I have started decreasing to shape the dress. You start decreasing about 20 rows from the bottom of the dress, so I’ll be decreasing for a lot longer.

Have a great weekend! Happy Knitting! And Happy Valentine’s Day!