Pirate Ships

Hello Knitters,

Yesterday we got quite the treat, a couple of pirate ships came into the city's harbour and docked on their way as part of the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge. The one that stood out to me the most was the H.M.S. Bounty - which was used for the filming of the movies "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest" as well other films and documentaries. We went in the evening when the lighting wasn't the best, so if you'd like to see some better pictures and some shots of the whole boat, you can check them out here.

This was the other ship that was docked right behind the Bounty. It is The Pride of Baltimore II. You can see full information about it here. It's a replica of an 1812 war ship.

It was so fun to be able to go and see these ships up close. My Mom, who was at home, got to see them sail by the house, so I'm sure she has some much better shots. Last time I talked to her, she said that she had seen five tall ships go by. They all seem to be taking part in the Challenge. I'll try and see if I can get some pictures from her later.

My little Emerson Rose has been staying with me at my sister's for a couple of days. We've been having lots of fun :-) That's a picture I took of her this morning before I started writing, her hair is a bit messy since she just had a nap, but I thought she still looked adorable. Since she likes to just sit and cuddle, I've been getting a good amount of knitting done. However, I can't share any of it right now since it's "surprise knitting."

One thing I can share though is the finished picture of my Tree Fort Shawl. You can find all the details on my Ravelry project page. This is it while I was blocking it. I really liked the pattern and would like to do it again since it was so easy to memorize and work on mindlessly. I'm very happy with the end result. I didn't make it any longer than the pattern called for, so it's more like a shawlette, but it's perfect for summer when you don't need much, just a little something to keep the chill off your shoulders.

Well, I should go and see how the pup is doing and get back to that knitting. Have a great day everyone!

Happy Knitting!!

Tree Forts and Picnics

Hello Knitters,

This is going to be a quick post since it's 11:10 pm and I've got to be up early tomorow, but I wanted to share my sewing and knitting projects I've been working on.

This evening I sewed up these two "Picnic Placemats" from One-Yard Wonders. My sister and Jake are going on a kayaking trip and she mentioned that they would be having a picnic, so I thought these would come in handy. You can't tell from the picture, but there is a little pocket on each one where you can put your silverwear and also a band part to hold your napkin in place. This makes them perfect for rolling up and keeping your necessities from getting dirty or blowing away in the wind. I sure hope they enjoy them!


I found myself a new knitting project to work on while I wait for my yarn to arrive. It is Azzu's Shawl bt Emma Fassio. The yarn I'm using is Knit Picks Stroll Hand-Painted in Tree Fort. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Have a great night everyone! I'm off to bed :-)

Happy Knitting (and dreaming of knitting!!)

Ta-Da!!

Hello Knitters,

I finally finished my lacy anklets!! I did the end of the edging this morning, and now they are off my needles. What a HUGE relief! I had no idea they were weighing on me so much, but now that they are done I feel tons better. It's not that I don't like them, I just for some reason lost interest in them when I was done the first one, but I wanted to stick to my goal of not knitting anything else until I was finished the pair, and that was a lot harder than I anticipated. I'm just so glad to have them done and can't wait to begin knitting something new.


I didn't get much sewing done while I was trying to complete the socks, but a couple of days ago I made the "Summer Nightie" from One-Yard Wonders. The fabric I used was from my Fabricland-sale-stash. It's very light and airy, and I've been enjoying wearing it these last few nights since It's been a bit warm. It was a super fast project and I finished it all in one day.

Yesterday afternoon I started working on a bag from the One-Yard Wonder's book, but I didn't get very far. I spent about an hour working on it though and I hope to get back to it today.

Well, I don't have much else to report, so I think I will go and start looking for my next project. Have a great afternoon everyone!

Happy Knitting!!

A Quick Sewing Project

Good Morning Knitters,

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend! The weather here is gorgeous today - sunny and warm :-) I'm hoping to get a chance to spend some time outdoors this afternoon.

I wanted to blog yesterday, but I ended up reading a book and relaxing for most of the day. I was tired, and thought it best to just take it easy. By the evening though, I was feeling quite bad that I hadn't really gotten anything done other than my 30 minutes of knitting that I did in the morning. I decided to find a quick project to work on and ended up choosing the "Laptop Sleeve" from One-Yard Wonders. I started working on this around 7:00 pm and finished it up by 11:30 pm. It was so much fun and something that my little Netbook really needed. I used some of the fabric that I got on sale at Fabricland a few weeks ago and I really like how it turned out!

I know it's something that is going to get a lot of use!!

Yesterday morning during my 30 minutes of knitting for the Tour de Fleece, I finished the first of my lacy anklets. I can honestly say that for some reason or other I have no desire whatsoever to work on the second sock! This is not a good thing since I made a goal of finishing these before I start another project....do you think if I knit on them for 30 minutes every day and then once that time is done I could work on something else? Or you do think it'd be best to just knit away on them and get them finished up as quick as I can??

This is a close-up of the edging on the top of the sock. I still need to block it so that the lace part shows better, but I thought I'd wait for the other sock and do them both at the same time. I'm still not sure if I'm going to put a button closure on it yet like in the picture. Since the original pattern is for a child's sock, I thought I should think about that one. I don't want these to look too "little girl-ish".

Jumping to the Teddy Bear Picnic swap progress - my yarn for my swap partner's kit arrived yesterday!! Now I'm just trying to find a way to cleverly package it up to resemble a kit. This is going to take a little thinking.... I'm really happy with the yarn though, it looks perfect for the pattern. I also ordered a little something extra special for my partner ;-) The rest of the yarn for the next part of the swap is still not quite here. It is sitting across the river at the post office facility and has not been delivered yet to the place where I can pick it up. My Mom went across yesterday and brought the one yarn order back but this one was just not quite there. I was really hoping it would be because I want to get started on some of the knitting. I think Mom said she is going across the river again sometime next week, so she'll pick it up then. It's hard to wait!! My passport expired at the end of last month, so I can no longer cross the boarder until I get my renewed one, which I'm praying gets here before the end of the month when my sister is planning on going to Traverse City for a fitting for her wedding dress. I so want to go too, especially since there is a yarn store there. I told Mom that if my passport isn't back by then, I'm sending her with a detailed list of what I would like! lol I'm so lucky to have a Mom that totally gets my yarn issues!! I love her so much and she's so awesome!!

Well, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I'm going to have some lunch then figure out my plan for the day. I know my sister is doing wedding things but I need to decide what I'll do.

Happy Knitting Everyone!!

P.S. Thanks everyone for all the sweet comments about my dress! I can't wait to actually geto to wear it :-) You guys are so awsome!!

Summertime Dress

Hello Knitters,

I'm back from my couple days vacation at home. I say vacation lightly because I worked making Maple Caramel Popcorn most of the time, since our Pancake House is open Fridays and Saturdays for this month. I actually enjoy making the popcorn though, so it was all good. I got back to my sister's last evening. Today I cleaned the house and then I did some sewing catch-up. I've been getting behind in my 30 days of sewing challenge, so I tried to spend a good chunk of time sewing this afternoon. I got the waist band sewn onto my Yard-Sale Wrap Skirt and now all it needs is to have the hem done, and I also sewed the dress that I cut out the pieces for last week. I got the whole thing completed!

Sorry for the not so great looking pictures! I don't look so hot after all that cleaning! lol The pattern is the "Simply Beautiful Sundress" from One-Yard Wonders. It's a super quick and fun dress to make. I didn't have 1/2" double-fold bias tape for the top, so I used 1/2" single-fold and made it double so it turned out 1/4". I still like it though. I'd like to make it again in a few other prints, it's perfect for summer!

I haven't gotten to my knitting yet tonight. I think I will a little later. I'm almost done my first of the lacy anklets. For some reason I feel like I've hit a rut and I'd like nothing better than to start a new project, but I'm trying to stick with the socks and get the pair completed before beginning something new. Wish me luck!

Happy Knitting!!

Wrap-Me-Up Puppy

Hello Knitters,

I almost made my deadline for finishing the puppy! I completed it just a few minutes ago, then we had a little photo shoot :-) I'm so happy with how this turned out!! I really hope the recipient likes it.

Kind of reminds me of a burrito! lol The crochet edging on the blanket was my first ever, so it didn't turn out quite right. However, I am embracing the extra ruffle :-) Here's a couple more pictures:

I'm heading home for a few days and should be back Wednesday or Thursday. I'm not sure if I will be able to blog while home, but if not, I will be back a little later on in the week. Have a great Monday everyone!!

Happy Knitting :-)

P.S. If you'd like more information (i.e. what yarn I used) you can check out my Ravelry project page.

The "Tour" Begins!!

Hello Knitters,

Happy early Fourth of July to all you American knitters out there!! I hope everyone is having a terrific holiday weekend. This evening we had a "little" 4th of July celebration. Nothing too much, it mainly consisted of dinner and the trifle in the picture above, but it was still nice. I enjoy making holiday themed desserts so I was quite happy to do this. I really wanted to make cupcakes, but with the wedding coming up, I tried to make something lighter. Both Sayja and Jake seemed to enjoy it, so that's good.

Today was the start of the Tour de France, which means also the start of the Tour de Fleece! Now I'm not a spinner, but over on the Itty Bitty Knits board, Suzanne suggested that we get together a Team Itty Bitty Knitty Tour de Fleece and join in on the fun. We are knitting, not spinning and most of us have committed to knitting for 30 minutes a day. Some of us are starting new projects while others are finishing up WIPs or working on Christmas gifts. I've been super excited about joining since I had so much fun with these ladies during the Ravelympics. My projects I'm committing to work on are projects for my Teddy Bear Picnic Swap partner. I had to order the yarn for these though (which I did today) so in the mean time, I'm working on finishing up my Wrap-Me-Up Puppy and the pair of lacy anklets.

I don't think I mentioned yet that I joined the newest Itty bitty Knits Group Swap. This one is for a total of 3 months and the theme is A Teddy Bear Picnic. How this one works is: month 1 - we send a kit to our partner for them to make, month 2 - we send something we have made and month 3 - we send the last thing we made as well as a special goodie for them. Our packages have to include a teddy bear, a picnic blanket and some knitted food. How fun does that sound?!? I've been a huge stuffed animal fan all my life, so this is going to be so much fun! Like I said above, I ordered some of the yarn today. I got the supplies needed for the kit as well as the yarn for one of the bigger elements that I will be making, and of course, teddy bear supplies.

Ordering the yarn and making all the big decisions took up a good portion of my day (not that I minded! lol) so I didn't get a whole lot done in the way of knitting. Before I wrote this post I got another paw done for the puppy though. It's coming along nicely. Tomorrow my sister and I are going home for the day, so while there I'm going to pick up a few more supplies I need to complete it. I'm still trying to stick to my goal of getting the little one (I still can't tell if it's going to be a girl or a boy) done by the end of the weekend. Wish me luck!!

I'm off to make the second paw, have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Knitting!!