Evie turns one today-ish (she’s a leap baby)! For her birthday I knit this Sweetheart Cardigan by Laura Brown using Araucania’s “Ranco Solid” yarn. 
This yarn is hand-dyed in Chile and has subtle color variations that gives it an added depth and interest without detracting from the lace. The pattern called for ruffled edging on the sleeves, which looked a bit sloppy, so I changed the sleeve edges to a garter stitch border to match the collar and “waist band”. I found some nice eggplant-colored, simple buttons at Parker Button on the South Side. This shop is the bomb for button selection! In Pittsburgh there are no fabric stores, only Jo-Ann for your sewing needs. The beauty of Parker Button is that you can buy one button or 15! The hard part is that there are so many to choose from.
I had enough yarn left over to knit a pair of socks with the same lace pattern. I knit them toe-up from each end of the ball of yarn so that I would know when to start the ribbed cuff and bind off. There is about 1 yard of yarn left after both projects. Maybe I’ll use it to tie up the package. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVIE!
This past weekend was the 5th annual Kon-O-Kwee Knit Camp. This is my third year at Kon-O-Kwee, Lisa and Elise’s second year (Elise coming all the way from Baltimore!) and Beth’s first Knit Camp weekend. Knit Camp is a weekend getaway for about 50 women at the 
“What do we do all weekend?” Well… we knit. We knit and we eat and we knit and talk and laugh and make new friends and teach and learn and swap and buy and so much more! There was a sock contest and Beth took second prize for her beaded socks!
knitting trivia contest (Did you know China is the biggest sheep producing country, followed by Australia, India, and Iran???) Raspberry Hill Alpacas brought Pretty Boy Floyd for us to pet and feed and yarn and roving to purchase. We were revived with ten-minute chair massages. There were class demonstrations by fellow “campers”. We showed off our finished knits during show and tell and the fashion show. We bid on a variety of knitterly things at the auction. We stayed up late and knit all day while our meals were taken care of by the camp staff. Now, doesn’t that sound like a wonderful way to spend the weekend?
Ever since I got the Spring 2007 issue of Interweave Knits I have been dying to try Eunny Jang’s “Entrelac Socks”. Now, I know I should have picked two solid colors to make these socks, and looking through Ravelry’s finished projects for the pattern should have convinced me more, but looking at all those lovely balls and hanks of complimentary colors at Natural Stitches got the best of me. I am told this Ty-Dy Sock yarn has long color runs in it, so I had to give it a try.
Since “socks” is the theme this year, I had to include this PVC Needle Keep from 
A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a local gallery interested in carrying some of my work. It is always a thrill to have your work recognized and appreciated. I took my felted bowls and my 
In a few weeks I’ll be heading past Harmony on my way to the Kon-O-Kwee knitting weekend, so I’m hoping to have a chance to stop by and shop around. When the weather is nicer I’d love to do a nice day trip up to explore the area. There’s a cemetary nearby with a revolving stone gate that I’m dying to see!
