More Recently Completed Knitting Projects

It looks as though summer has arrived here in Minnesota and with all the fun stuff going on outside, I've been very neglectful of my blog lately. When I was downloading some pictures from my Master Naturalist field trip this past Saturday, I was surprised to find lots of other pictures on the compact flash card that I'd forgotten about. So it looks as though I'll have a few days of blog posts as long as I'm willing to take the time to sit down at the computer and get my thoughts and photos organized.

I decided tonight I would start with an easy one -- recently completed knitting projects. (Some of you may have already seen these on Ravelry or Facebook.) My first item is the "February Lady Sweater" (a free pattern download from Ravelry). This pattern was modified to fit an adult from the original Elizabeth Zimmerman baby sweater pattern. I actually made a couple of these baby sweaters (for gifts) at least 15 years ago during a Community Ed knitting class. Mine is knitted with a nice superwash merino wool from KnitPicks. Needless to say this sweater has been folded up and put in the closet until wool sweater weather returns in a few months.
I did find some really beautiful natural shell buttons at JoAnn Fabrics. The photo doesn't show it, but they have that lovely iridescence you always find with natural shell and they're also machine washable.

Back in March I showed you the Baltic Mitten I had knitted up and wanted to teach as a class at my local yarn shop. I did have that class (for only 1 student - but she enjoyed the private lesson!) After I had posted that mitten, I got an e-mail from my blogging friend Beth out in Maine. She was wondering whether I'd be willing to knit his & hers Baltic Mittens using colors from the Latvian flag. I'm always up to a knitting challenge and the 2 pairs of mittens in the top of this photo now have a new home in Maine. It's really neat for me to know that my knitting projects are keeping people warm in so many different places.

(In case anyone's interested the mittens on the bottom are also for sale and will show up in my Etsy store once the weather gets cooler - unless you're one of those people who really plan ahead and would like to buy them now for next winter!)

This is the Victorian Shoulderette (a pattern from Sivia Harding). I'm also teaching this class at my local yarn shoppe -- starting next Saturday. It was fun to knit and a good introduction to lace knitting for someone who's never tried knitting lace before and are intimidated by starting with one of the larger lace shawl patterns that are usually available.

This shawlette was knitted with Mericash3 - a lovely and soft yarn blend of 80% merino and 20% cashmere.

This is what it looked like while it was being blocked. My students will also learn how to do this as they should be able to finish their shawlette in the 3 class sessions I have planned.

My final project was this cute little doggy sweater. It's the Classic Aran Dog Sweater from a Leisure Arts pattern book called Dog Gone Cute.

This is the small size and it was a perfect fit for Lulu - a Japanese Chin who accompanies Kristen to work every day at Kristen's Knits (my local yarn shoppe). I adore Lulu! She's such a cute little dog and loves to hop up and sit on my lap while I'm teaching knitting classes.

Lulu loves looking right at the camera to have her picture taken so Kristen had her hands full convincing Lulu to stay turned around long enough for me to photograph this sweater from the back. Thanks Kristen and Lulu for your assistance with this photo shoot!

So that's all the knitting I have to show you for now. I've still got little projects going on but once again, my knitting productivity has declined while I take advantage of the beautiful summer weather and all the outdoor activities that I enjoy like birding, biking, gardening, golf, etc. I know there will be plenty of time for knitting once cold weather arrives again next fall.