Girl Who Knits - butterfly

Butterfly Finished...and it's my Birthday

noreply@blogspirit.com (Erin) — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 11:53:01 -0600

Take a good look:

I can't believe it is done. I finished yesterday in time to wear it out for the evening. I love the way it turned out and am tempted to do it again. It was a perfect gift to myself for my birthday. Which is today...

Today, I turn 30. Or should I say, today, I am 30. This means: I am no longer in my 20's. I know that is stating the obvious but it is a meaningful point to me. I have been dreading this day but then oddly the weekend came and I feel empowered. A good friend sent me an email sharing that once she turned 30, all pressure to do or to achieve x before she turned 30 was off. I agree with her. I like who I am and am proud of what I have accomplished and I know I am more equipped to handle what life throws at me. How can that be bad? So happy birthday to me.

My birthday weekend began with my sister taking me to the Beehive Tea Room for knitting and herbal tea.

I am working on the last strap of Butterfly, Kara on a shrug:

The tea room is beautiful and a great place to sit and knit. A perfect present from my knitting sister Kara. Last night I went out to dinner with my sisters and a couple friends wearing this:

Yes it's my pretty butterfly. I kept switching my outfit to see how many ways I could wear butterfly in the fall. So below is the cardigan butterfly look. I am blowing out my candles after a good 5 minutes of thought on my birthday wish.

Look closely and you will see butterfly:

The stunning cake was made by domestic goddess sister Kara. Thanks to my beautiful sisters for making my birthday special. How cute are they?:

Kara and Bri: don't hate me for the morning breakfast shot. See, you are even beautiful first thing in the morning...wearing aprons...making cheesy poses with your hands. I love you both so much.

Beautiful Butterfly Blocked

noreply@blogspirit.com (Erin) — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 00:40:00 -0600

Actually, it is seemed too but I really liked the alliteration of the title so I am pretending that is as far as I got. I finally found those pesky bead needles and got to work on the second panel, finishing much faster then the first one took me. This pattern really goes quickly once you get the hang of it. And it is so...beautiful. I love it.

Here is a so-so picture of my baby on the blocking board:

Now on to the Picot edging which I hope isn't too hard. One thing I am mystified about is how little Kidsilk Haze I needed. I have really only gone through about 1 and a half skeins where the pattern called for three balls. I made size M and even made it a little longer then the pattern called for—as I am a tall girl. So the leftover ball will be added to the stash I guess

Speaking of the stash, I went through mine this week and was surprised at how much I have accumulated in the year I have been knitting.

Some of my stash:

These are deep containers filled with yarn. When did I buy all this yarn?! It is crazy, I am crazy. Strange to think that a year ago I was struggling to make an even swatch. Strange but cool.

Tonight, my sister threw a knitting party for some of her co-workers. Here is the fall knitting decor:

So fun. I have done some more work on the Clapotis but I put it aside to finish Butterfly. I am really glad I stuck with the Koigu. I will post progress pictures soon (along with final pictures of Butterfly.) I need to get a picture outside so you can get a good look at the colors. The lighting inside doesn't give it justice. Once these two projects are off the needles I am going to finish Paula and then I am not sure what I will embark on. What I really want to make is a lace scarf but I am not sure what pattern I want to use. Suggestions are always welcome.

New obsessions...

noreply@blogspirit.com (Erin) — Fri, 7 Oct 2005 18:40:00 -0600

I did it! I finished the first panel of Butterfly:

Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait to see it all blocked out. As promised, I cast on for the frill of the other side and completed about 3 repeats. Not a huge dent but at least it's a start.

I also purchased this book from my LYS yesterday:

I needed a baby pattern book for my soon to be born nephew and found plenty of great patterns here. My only problem is the patterns I am most drawn to are the girl ones. How much do I want to make this for my 3 year old niece?

A lot. I want to make it a lot. She would be so cute. But really I need to focus on the baby. Problem is, the boy pattern I want to do is for a toddler and NOT a baby:

See...how cute is that??!? I am hopeless. I will just have to get it figured out. Baby comes in November so I need to get thinking. Also, my new obsession...the Clapotis. I know. EVERYONE and their dog has knit this and it is very unoriginal of me but I can't stop thinking about it. What I can't decide is what yarn to use. I have researched and I think I have looked at almost every Clapotis (pronounced Clap-o-tee--REALLY glad I learned that as it sounds dirty otherwise) in knitting blog land. My sister put a bug in my ear and I think I might try to do it in the Koigu PPPM that I am currently using to make opera gloves. I decided that I love the idea of Opera Gloves but I love this yarn and color palette so much that I don't think I should use it on something that is so not practical and could very well look comical and not be used as much. So why not try it for the Clapotis. I only have 3 skeins so I may need more but first I am going to swatch this weekend and see what I think. I am not sure it will drape as I want it too so I need to do more thinking. Either way, the opera gloves are frogged and off the list.

Remember how I wasn't going to obsess over new projects until my current ones are finished? I need help. But I haven't forgotten about Paula and Butterfly. In fact, tonight is dedicated solely to Butterfly. I want to finish this weekend but I think that may be too lofty of a goal...especially with so many new projects turning my head. Tonight, my sister and I are staying up late, watching season 4 of Gilmore Girls, and knitting until we can't knit any more. Sounds fun doesn't it? I think there may be Baskin Robbins Peanut Butter and Chocolate ice cream involved too which sounds even more fun. Yum.