Knittng Stitch Books and Spring thoughts

Looking and finding  the next project is taking me a lot of time. I can't make up my mind and it makes me nervous! I wanted to start Sylvi but I am not going to use it until probably next winter, so that's why I'm ifi about it. Maybe I start something light like Amiga for air conditioning cold.
In the mean while I wanted to show you and recommend this wonderful knitting stitch book that I found and bought on Etsy for $7 !!!! It is in perfect shape and it has wonderful patterns! I think is one of my favorite books ever, it has new and interesting new stitches! Many of the ones that you see on new designs on Ravelry. I am already starting to make some swatches to try the patterns that I like the most, just for practice.
Do you own books like this one? Which one is your favorite place to get knitting stitches from?
I also wanted to show you my baby alpaca yarn that my husband bought for me when we went to the farm.
I do think that I am going to save this yarn for a especial project, like for a baby or something, but first I need the baby! hahahaha so I might use it one of these days! The yarn is so soft and the natural color is beautiful, so pure! It has to be for a baby!

100% baby alpaca

Here you can see the names of the Alpacas where this yarn came from.

The fact that spring is almost here, makes me smile, I love this time a year! My batteries get recharged and I feel good! Lot of positive energy, opening my house windows is my favorite! and of course the sunny longer days!!! Now when I get home I still have time to go for a walk and is not going to be dark! Even my dogs are happier because they get to be outside longer! hahahaha

Happy week for everybody and spring hugs for you!

Sabrina

My Echo Flower Shawlette!

 Lace knitting, has been always a knitting technique that I've tried to avoid since I started to knit. I've done like three or four lace projects, but nothing to complicated. The thought of making a shawl, made me dizzy.How could I ever knit a shawl? with its infinite rows and thousands of yarn overs, not distraction allow between stitches and very long and complicated charts!!! Well as I said on last post, I came out of my comfort zone and I started to knit my dream shawl, the big and beautiful "Echo Flower Shawl".
When I started this project I didn't know that lace knitting was so different from normal knitting! ha,ha! New patterns on the chart, new way to cast on, new ways to do the yarn overs. Very interesting I have to say.
Before I started the project I needed to figure out  the way to cast on the first stitches, the pattern called for a crochet cast on; I looked it up and I found this website with a very clear tutorial for crochet cast on and an explanation about how the Echo Shawl is shape (which for knitters like me, new in the shawl world was very helpful) I'm not a fun of  that technique so I found a very similar way to cast on that really worked for me, it's call garter stitch cast on and Stephen West has a great tutorial for this technique.
Also, before hand I wanted to find an easier way to make the Nupps, because I didn't wanted to deal with the purl 9 together headache (I had the experience in the past when knitting the lily of the Valley scarf, not matter how careful I was I will always lost a stitch when purling all the 9 together!So, this time I wanted to be prepared). I found this wonderful video for the Nupps. You have not idea how much easier it is using this technique! You are going to be watching TV when purling!
Also there is one more link that I wanted to share just in case that you don't know how to knit this row, here is a great helpful video for the knit 3 into9. 
After all that research I started to cast on!!!
I choose to knit my shawl with a very pretty yarn Cascade Yarn Heritage solid colors, in a fingering weight, pink color.
They way you have to read the pattern is tricky if you are not used to knit shawls.
The first chart is divided in three parts, side, middle, side. Starting on right side of the pattern, You have to knit the side only one time, then repeat ONLY the middle part, until 12 stitches before the middle Stitch. Then continue knitting the second part of the chart, knit the side only one time,  then repeat ONLY the middle part, until 12 stitches before the end. (Remember to always keep the 3 stitches for the edge at the begging of each side, this stitches are NOT in any of the charts).
Keeping track of the number of stitches is crucial for the pattern to work in the next knitting row. It's very easy to miss a stitch! and if this happens to you liked it happened to me you will be very mad!! hahaha.
I hope this post can help you!
                                          This is how my pattern look after all the annotations

Today at 11:30pm I finally  finished this wonderful shawl!!! Such happiness I'm feeling right now! I can't believe my needles are free after almost 3 weeks of hard work!
Now is time to go to sleep.
-----------------------------
This is how it looked before blocking

At the end of the tunnel there is light!

Now is going to take a bubble bath to get relax!

and now is when magic happens....

The waiting game!

Almost there!

Finally... My shawlette is completed. I'm in love with it! So much work but so worth it!

My Echo Flower Shawlette

This is how it looks now

The back of my shawlette

Happy Face!

Right size

What did I learned with this pattern:

1. Garter cast on
2. Crochet cast on
3. To understand my own knitting
4. Reading complicated and long charts
5.  Easier Nupps
6. 3 into 9, 2 into 9
7. Blocking lace
8. Tension holding  fingering yarn
9. To understand my own knitting
   
10. Patience is the key to knit lace shawls. 

Have a great Sunday and I;m going to enjoy this beautiful day wearing my beautiful shawlette!
Hugs for you
Sabrina

What do I knit next?

  Springtime is in the air! I can see it, smell it and feel it! This is a beautiful flower from the Amaryllis plant. My dearest friends gifted to me at the beginning of February for a very special occasion. And this week was the blooming week, it looks so beautiful,  with vibrant colors and extremely big flowers, 4 of them at the same time!!!

Sitting on my desk at home for color inspiration.

 Knitting
After finishing what I call my masterpiece shawl I felt so happy and proud of myself. It was funny when my husband came to go to bed and there I was sitting on the middle of the bed contemplating my masterpiece, he laughed and sat with me to enjoy the moment!! Hahahaha. You are an advanced knitter now! He said.

Well, since the shawl is blocking right now, my hands are free, and I don’t know what to knit next! There are so many cute projects that I have on my mind, but I can’t decide!

 I don’t know if I want to make Sylvi or something faster like a vest for summer time to use with my leggings? I also want to knit a cardigan in fingering yarn, so I can use it in spring season. What should I do? So many projects only two hands!!

Help me; what colors do you think would look good on me for springtime? I have to buy the yarn, but I can’t decide on the right color yet! Please help!!!

This is what I’m looking at :

What are you knitting right now?
I really would like to try the Madelinetosh yarn, it seems so nice and soft. Have you tried it yet?

Have a great weekend and today I want to send you a pre-spring happy hug!

Sabrina

Happy International Women's Day!!!!!

Today is the International Women's Day!!! Happy day  to the most important women in my life, the fighter, the dreamer my idol my dear Mother; and of course Happy Day to all the amazing women in my life, to all my readers to you that come to see me time to time, have a wonderful day and remember "We woman are important, and We need to get respected and respect ourselves. Love yourself and think of your body as a sanctuary.
Hoy es el día Internacional de la Mujer y por eso quiero decirle Feliz Día a la mujer más importante de mi vida, a la que lucha con uñas y dientes para seguir día a día, a mi unica idola, Mi querida Madre. Y por supuesto también quiero decirles Feliz Día a todas las mujeres que están en mi vida, a todas mis lectoras y a vos que venis de vez en cuando, pero venis. Hagamonos respetar, y también respetemonos a nosotras mismas.

Abrazos
Sabrina

2012 is coming strong!

It’s almost the end of February; many things have happened this past two months, good things and difficult ones too. I would like to share with everybody that my father is doing well; he is stable (thanks God!). I got to spend Christmas down in Argentina, after 10 years! I flew down there because my dad was doing really bad, but fortunately he made it! And so, one day before Christmas he was released from the hospital, so after 10 years we got to spend Christmas together! I was so glad that God was helping us to make it through the holidays in a happier way, all of us at home, nobody missing, big smile on my face!

Well it was weird because my husband couldn't go, of course complete happiness is really hard to achieve, so in one hand I was happy and in the other hand I was missing him so much. Anyways, I spend a lot of time with my mom,dad and brother, helping out and making sure that everything was fine. I came back just in time to spend New Years with my husband.

Also last week on the 19^th it was our 8^th year Anniversary! Do you want to know what did? In the afternoon of the 19^th we went to the alpaca farm in Gainesville, and after spending nice quality time learning about these wonderful animals my husband Vic bought for me 6-½ oz of baby alpaca yarn!!! The cool thing was that the tag says all the alpaca’s names on it! and think about this…I've just petted them!!!!!! Vic help me to pick the colors, all the yarns were natural colors, so we decided on a nice cream color, this yarn is so soft just delightful! Vic is awesome! He really is! Each year for our Anniversary we go somewhere like for a mini-vacation, but this year our budget was a little tight so we are going to go next weekend, we don’t know where yet, but we love just to drive and get lost or take a last minute airplane somewhere. It’s going to be fun!

Knitting

I started the year knitting a stripe hat for my hubby. He loves the hats! And then he asked me if I could make another one they are basically  always the same color, but starting with black instead of gray this time. So I made it for him.

This year I want to take knitting to the next level. What I mean by this is that I want to work in some advanced knitting projects. I always wanted to knit a lace shawl, one with a really complicated pattern, but I’m always too intimidated by it.

Well, I’m very proud to announce that last Sunday I cast on for the Echo flower shawl!

 I’ve queued this pattern like 2 years ago!!! So it was about time!!!!

I think I’ll write just one post for this project, I have so much to say about it! Loving it so far! In my case this pattern requires 100% of my attention, I can’t watch T.V or get distracted because that will mean chaos!
This is the yarn that I picked for the Echo Flower shawl,

Cascade yarn Heritage Solid Color

My first rows!

I wanted to show some of my 2012 knitting goals:

The Eco Flower Shawl

Sylvi

Color Affection, by Veera Valimaki

 Setsuko, by PamPowers

Those are some of the projects that I would like to knit! Will see how much I can get accomplish.

All right people, I have to get going.

Thank you for stopping by, and I want to send you a big hug to you!

Sabrina

Sunflower Mittens

This past Christmas I've received a gift certificate for Joann’s from one of my best friends. She is too cute, she knew I like yarn and knitting accessories, but she doesn’t know much about yarn. So since I don’t buy a lot of yarn at this store I decided to go and buy the Vickie Howells yarn Sheepish. I wanted a bright color, something that I usually don’t knit with. I found a yellow that is so pretty and bright, exactly what I wanted. I also bought some yarn in two different shades of gray.

Well to be honest I bought one of each color, so my project needed to be small, that’s why I decided to make myself a par of Mittens. Since the only par I’ve ever made for me was on 2006, they very old, and they are huge! Hahaha.

To make this simple pair of mittens I used the same pattern that I used to make my first pair, which is a very simple and easy pattern.I used one skein of Sheepish yarn ( and I have like 3/4 left) and as a complementary color I used some nice 100% merino wool (yummy), that I had as left over from a hat I knitted for my husband.

I wanted a pair of mittens basically because I was tired of getting my hands so cold when touching the steering wheel. The yarn is super warm, soft and it has a pretty decent stitch definition for the price. The only down side is that it peels easily.

I called this project, my Sunflowers Mittens and is raveled here

I’m very happy with this quick and cute project.

Have you knit a lot of pair of mittens in your knitting years?

Have a great evening, and hugs for you!

Sabrina

Happy New Year!!!!!

Today is the last day of the year! I would like to say to you Happy New Year!
 I really hope this new year brings to you and your family lots of health, happiness, union, hope, jobs, and just all the best for you all.
Thank you for followed  me this year and give me hope and very nice comments.

All the best for this New Year to come.

Many HUGS!!!!!

Sabrina