Monday, March 14, 2011

Pineapple Progress

Even with all the spinning hysteria going on around here, I am still making progress on my Pineapple Lace project for the W’s.  I am a little over halfway through the body of the work and thought I would have more finished by now, but I got a bit sidetracked last week with a couple of submission deadlines.  I’m back on track now and hope to be to the pineapple lace border by this coming weekend!

In other news, I ate another 1/4 pound of the salted caramels yesterday.  What the hell is wrong with me?  Since Saturday, that’s a half pound total of butter, sugar, & heavy whipping cream all widening my ass as I type.  Ugh.
But I also started a new workout program today, which I’m hoping will kick start some weight loss. I’ve been doing cardio 4-6 days a week since late December, but haven’t seen the scales move much.  I’m feeling much better and much stronger (which is always good), but I’d really like to shed some of the lbs that keep hanging around.  
So, I’ll continue to keep you all updated with the progress on both the pineapple lace knitting AND weight loss fronts!  Just have to stay away from those damn caramels.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

New Design - Pennington Mittens!

I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am that this pattern finally gets to be out in the open!  I have had this design pretty much finished since October, but for some reason I just could not seem to find it in me to finish it.
Perhaps my reluctance to get it out there had something to do with the long road I took to finally fall in love with the finished product.  I knit and reknit the sample 3 times before I came to love the final version on the 4th try.
And now I can't get enough of them!
I only wish I had knit the sample in my size, because the small/medium version will definitely not fit my giant hands. :)

Details:
PatternPennington Mittens (KP IDP) (Ravelry link)
Suggested Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll or Stroll Tonal; 1 hank (both sizes)  Shown in Stroll Tonal Golden Glow
Suggested Needles:  US Size 1 (2.25 mm) circular (32” or long enough for Magic Loop), or size necessary to obtain gauge.  Pattern was written for Magic Loop. However, dpns may be substituted if you prefer.
Sizes:  
Women’s Adult Small/Med: 4.25” in Width x 9” in Length from tip to cuff
Women’s Adult Large/XL:4.75” in Width by 10” in Length from tip to cuff
Gauge:  9.5 stitches and 15.5 rows = 1” in Stockinette in the round
Techniques Used:  Cables, Increasing, Toe-Up Construction, Judy’s Magic Cast-On, Bobbles, Magic Loop Method
Notions:  Tapestry needle, stitch markers (optional)


Special thanks as always to my beautiful friend, Trish, for being my model!  And also to Stephannie Tallent for being THE best tech editor ever. This pattern would never have seen the light of day without you.