Sarah's Boot Socks and an Unplanned Sweater

My family has started drawing names for Christmas, and this year I was to get a gift for Sarah. My plan was to knit some lovely boot socks for her, but I ran out of time. I decided to knit the winter socks for her birthday in April. However, I have not started the socks yet. I bought the two kinds of yarn months ago and recently decided I did not like bamboo with merino wool, so I needed to get something else to make her socks with. As a result, I had a lovely grape-colored bamboo silk blend that was no longer designated for a project.

I realized the quantity would be perfect for a short-sleeved shirt for myself, so I cast on. I am knitting Picovoli with stunningly simple results. The sweater is knitting up quickly, and the bamboo and silk should make it comfortable for all seasons.








Since I found an alternate purpose for the bamboo,  the merino needed a coordinating color for Sarah's Garden Gate socks. After much deliberation, I chose a deep red merino wool with 15% silk. The socks should be warm and lovely, and completely unneeded until Fall, which means I can be a little late with her birthday gift. That's always a relief to a knitter.

The yarn:

Rub-a-dub-dub

A colleague of mine recently had twin girls, so I knitted a couple of cotton washcloths for her baby shower. The baby shower never happened, but the babies will still have some soft and cute washcloths to bathe with.

I knitted two different washcloths, both sweet and girly: a flowery spiral and a heart.

Alpaca Obsession

My new favorite thing is knitting with baby alpaca. It is soft, light, and amazingly warm. I have made two cabled ear warmers and a cabled hat with a button detail.

The ear warmers are so much warmer than I would have expected, and the cable makes the little, quick project entertaining. The pattern, Chunky Cable Crown, is easy to follow and makes me want to knit dozens of these little things. Requests, anyone?

The hat is almost too warm for a Texas winter, so I guess I need an excuse to go skiing.... Anyway, the chocolate brown alpaca yarn was a pleasure to work with, and the button adds some cute flair for our coldest days.

Cabled Button Toque from Amy Swenson

A Valentine's Day Surprise

Robert and I are squirreling away every penny possible to buy a house, but we still wanted our first Valentine's Day as man and wife to be special. I chose to celebrate Robert with a semi-homemade treat: an edible bouquet!

It was easy and completely customizable. I chose some of Robert's favorite candies, including Dove dark chocolates for filling, and some beef jerky sticks.

 All I had to do was tape the candy to bamboo skewers and arrange them in the vase, which we already had. I hid the finished product until the morning of February 14th, when I left it with a romantic note on our kitchen table.

Robert definitely had a sweet surprise that morning.








That night, I had a surprise in the same vase: Robert reused the vase for a dozen red roses. So sweet!

The Chest of Drawers

This post is all about instant love for a garage sale chest of drawers. That love would later be my motivation to sweat for hours in the garage while I got a crash course in restoring antique furniture.

 I cannot even begin to describe the level of grime we were dealing with on this dresser. I am pretty sure this solid oak piece was abused by being used for paint storage in a garage.

I happily rescued it from such mistreatment.

 Look at that drawer. We're talking years of abuse that required three coats of Citristrip.

Citristrip is amazing stuff, by the way. It took a few layers, but the ancient finish and all the filth came off without any yucky fumes.








My supplies:

Tada!

Remember that nasty, grimy drawer? Look at it all beautiful and gleaming!

I love my chest of drawers. It was such a bargain, and it is now a priceless heirloom-quality antique that we will cherish.