Monday, July 23, 2012

Heirlooms for Babies

Lately it has seemed like almost everyone a year ahead of us from law school who is married is having kids. 

I have been knitting a lot of baby stuff due to that situation.

The latest?  A baby blanket that came out wonderfully but was down to the wire, as usual with baby knits.

Presenting Heirloom:

Unblocked. with right side and wrong side showing.


Unblocked with right side showing:
 Blocked with right side showing.
I didn't get any better pictures because of the aforementioned down to the wire status.  It dried overnight before the shower the next day.

It was all worth it because it was very well received, people were very complimentary and recognized the work a hand knit gift requires.  Mom to be likes it and was glad to find out that it can be machine washed, but not dried.  The shower was a good one and very well planned.  I was impressed with the hostess and the coordination and planning of everything that went into it.

I would definitely use the Madeline Tosh Sport yarn I used for this again for another project.  It has great stitch definition and comes in a variety of great colors.  It isn't cheap but has a fair bit of yardage per skein.  I'm glad I have a bit of a break right now from baby items however.  Next thing I show you will probably be crochet!!  I've been taking classes at Gather Here in Cambridge to pick up some basic crochet and sewing skills.  They have all taught me something new. 

Happy knitting and crocheting!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Trail Race

One more thing down on the 31 while 31 list!

This was a tough race and I fell during it but it was fun and there was great beer after.  I was working hard up this hill and you can see the sweat to prove it.

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall-DONE
2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.-DONE (Pic at bottom)
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-DONE, my team Reached the Beach! (Pic at bottom)
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting-DONE at the Common Cod's weekend of volunteer taught classes-thanks Alanna!
9)Take a crochet class-DONE, at Gather Here in Cambridge. I made a granny square mostly there and finished it later and then used my crochet skills to do a border on a hat!!!
10) Take a sewing class-DONE, also at Gather Here, where I made an awesome bag I have been using for a bunch of things!!!
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.-DONE, I went cross country skiing recently in Stowe, taking a beginner class and while I am a very proficient down hill skier, cross country skiing is very different and something I didn't do so well at. It was a good challenge and I will continue to try.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream-DONE, we made dulce de leche soy ice cream for the latke party my dad and step mom had last weekend.
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!
-DONE, I also beat my previous time by 24 minutes this past Sunday!17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make
buttercream from scratch-DONE, we made a bunch of cakes and cupcakes for a Girls on the Run event and our running club banquet, including buttercream in a number of colors and two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.-DONE, Michael and I raised over $2,000 for Girls on the Run.  You can still donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/randmrobertson/team-solemates-2012
21)
Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.

23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24)
Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to.
Thinking New Orleans.-DONE, technically done as I drove to Albany, NY for work a few weeks ago and dropped off a few things. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is technically done.
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, and will try and do 52 before October 20th, so get ready for a plethora of posting.

27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad.
1) Smashing Pumpkins, I have the second picked out for New Orleans this weekend and one scheduled for later this summer. 28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language

31) Have a cocktail party