A Day in the Big Apple

Taking advantage of nice weather and no sports, the kids had been asking to go to the city for the day. It was also the scheduled Women's March and I was hesitant to go up there. Didn't know what it would be like but I thought we could keep our distance if needed. I'm not saying I was for or against the march, but I didn't want to put myself in the middle of it with kids in case something didn't go right. We saw evidence of the women marching as soon as we boarded our train. Women were happy, pleasant and excited. I immediately got the feeling that this would be a positive experience.

And it was.

We enjoyed Central Park so much. Chase loved climbing up the big rocks. The older boys enjoyed belgian waffles topped with goodies. We went to the Central Park Zoo for the first time. The seals were our overwhelming favorite. One slept the whole time and the other NEVER stopped swimming around, jumping over rocks and entertaining us. We said it was the Garrett and Chase version of seals! So much fun.

We had a great lunch at a diner next to Carnegie Hall. See that Carnegie Hall sign with me and Chase??? Soon a poster that I designed for my band will be in there!!!!!! It's still unbelievable that I will be performing on that stage soon. 

We walked closer to the Women's March and it was very positive and peaceful. I really was surprised and very happy that we saw it. My kids saw history. Whether or not you agree with the march, it was history and of course the high schoolers are hoping for extra credit from their history teacher!

Overall, it was a great day and I'm so glad we went.

And of course I did some knitting on the train ride. I knit a second sock for Chase. Loving the worsted weight socks! So fast. More on that another day....

Socks!

If you know me as a knitter, you know I'm not a fan of knitting socks. It's the whole making two of things I think. I don't mind knitting the sock, it's that I want to start something else when I'm done with the first. So yes, I have a few single socks in my drawer.

Well, I was listening to the Grocery Girls and they mentioned knitting some dk weight socks. Yes! Quicker and much more doable for me. I found the Rye Sock pattern by Tin Can Knits and casted on.

I got this pretty Tosh DK yarn in the Opaline color way from  my local yarn shop, A Stitch In Time in Farmingdale. It was a pretty color and I was ready for my first dk socks.

I knitted these up in a weekend and they're squishy and comfy. A bit big, but perfect for wearing around the house. I'm hooked and plan on making some more.

Ravelry Notes Here

Joining in with Ginny for the weekly Yarn Along

For anyone that doesn't know this, I designed the Yarn Along logo for Ginny. I love seeing it on all your blogs and I just noticed that it matches my socks quite nicely this week.

Inspirational

Between kids, work and every day life I haven't been on the blog as much as I like to be. I always find comfort in posting here. Not sure why...I don't even know who reads it besides my dad and my knitters. But it's nice to catch up with my blogging family and share a bit of what's been going on.

We've had some interesting weather in NJ. from 4 degrees to 68 degrees in one week, snow, rain, sunshine, wind, calm, we've had it all. 

I thought I would go back to my Monday Inspiration posts. A time to look around the web, find some inspiring things to knit, cook, decorate, etc. Here's what I came up with for today:

Found this pretty scarf on ravelry today

Link here

It's called the Petals and Frills Scarf. I don't knit scarves very often, but this one but just be a winner.

SO....I started this Monday morning and now it's Tuesday morning. Let's see if I can finish up! Hah!

Cute fair isle socks. Good stash buster! 

This would keep me warm and cozy!

Cute wreath idea for knitters.

OMG! It's now Tuesday 4:30. Seriously...this whole work thing really gets in the way of blogging. 

Yummy food!

Skillet Lemon Chicken 

Zucchini Pizza boats

I would love to do this to the kitchen.

Ok...so wasn't able to get a ton of things on here, but it's something!

Hope something inspired you to create, enjoy and make.

See ya all later!

Georgetown

Thought I would share a finished picture of my Georgetown sweater.

I dyed the yarn with the help of my sister, Liz. We used acid dye from Dharma Trading Co.

I started with the base yarn, Cascade Alpaca Lana D'Oro. Mixed up a bunch of colors and ended up with this pumpkin color. Ta da!

It's easy to wear and nice and squishy :) A perfect every day cardigan.

Ravelry Notes here: Georgetown

Knitting and Finished Objects

Hello!!!!!!!!! Happy 2017!

Wow, it's been a while since I've been on here. We had a wonderful holiday season. Busy times on the farm, with family, catching up with friends and of course lots of knitting.

Thought I would share some finished knitting objects as well as what I'm working on now.

For Christmas, I knitted this cowl designed by Buckaloo View. The pattern name is Neapolitan Cowl but I'm calling it the Blue Ribbon Cowl for Mom. I knitted this with farm yarn from her alpacas. It's a gray blend and all of the alpacas have won blue ribbons for their fleece. I was really happy with the way it knitted up. The yarn was so soft and it showed the detail so well. I loved it and my mom seemed to love it too.

Raverly notes: Blue Ribbon Cowl

This is the Conversationalist Hat. A free pattern by Plucky Knitter.

I knitted this with O-Wool Classic Worsted in the Alumroot and Mustard Seed color ways.

I bought this yarn at Rhinebeck this year. It's a fun quick hat!

Ravelry Page: Conversationalist

THIS HAT!!!!!! It's the Prim hat designed by Andrea Mowry. This is a great hat and I knitted it with Farm Yarn made from the fleece of Ox and Stone. I can't say enough how amazing this yarn is. It's soft, squishy, round, deep in color. It's amazing. I have worn this hat almost every day since it came off my needles. I would love a big fuzzy pompom for the top. Maybe in a camel color...need to get looking for that! Thank you to my sister Andee for taking a few pictures of me wearing it.

Ravelry page: Prim

For Christmas I asked my mom for a blanket quantity of yarn from the farm.

Lucky me :) I am knitting the Tree Ring pi shawl/blanket by Brooklyn Tweed.

Eric at Sticks and Twine is running a Pi Shawl KAL so I decided to join in the fun.

It's knitting up quickly. I'm farther along than this picture shows.

I also finished knitting my Georgetown Sweater.  I dyed the yarn with the help of my sister, Liz. 

The yarn is Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lana D'Oro. It started off tan and I dyed it this pumpkin color.

My buddy Joan wanted to knit a sweater together so we picked this one. I knitted the seamed version.

And here's what I've learned. I need to take a class about setting in sleeves. I'm fine with mattress stitch for side seams, but the shoulders seem a bit tricky for me. I kept saying that I need a "ME"! I just need someone to sit next to me and guide me once. I need a better photo of it on me, but for now, here's a quick pic of the sweater and the yarn.

Ravelry Page: Georgetown with Joan

Another hat, this one I just made up a pattern and knitted it up during playoff football this past Sunday. Go Steelers! Bummer Giants are done....I have both fans in may house.

It's knitted with Tosh Chunky (Whiskers color way) and spots of blue are stash yarn from Tess yarn that I got years ago at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. 

So that's what I've been up to....

Reading: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

And let's just quickly talk about my new obsession podcast!!!!!! The Grocery Girls. I love them.

I can't get enough. I've been watching past episodes and I enjoy every single one.

I would love to hang out with them, AmyBeth (The Fat Squirrel) and Susan B Anderson for days.

Love it. Watch them. Now. You'll enjoy!!!

Grocery Girls Podcast : YouTube

Happy Knitting and Happy 2017!

Joining in with Ginny at Small Things.