Knit Michigan

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending Knit Michigan in Bloomfield Hills.  Joe came and we also brought Elise, who proudly sported her new mittens. She was quite the hit, and I think the whole day wore her out a bit:



I was spotted by Rachel (aka averysmom29) who recognized Elise and I by our mittens, and got to meet up with my knitterly friend Erica:


And saw a model sporting my Lansing Cowl design (knit in Kollage Glisten):


 I also met Andrea (actually, I met her at Rhinebeck, but we got another chance to chat) who was showing off her new collaboration with Jul

I guess the best way to describe them is this:  button-looking things that go on your knitted goods. They aren't actually buttons, they screw into your knits, making them completely awesome because (1) you don't have to take the time to sew them on garments and (2) you can take them out of one garment and use them on the other. She has a few simple patterns that are designed around these buttons- this one is my favorite (knit in The Fibre Company Organik):

Yarn stores are just starting to get these in stock, as they were just released at TNNA last month.  Knit Michigan was actually the first retail market they appeared at. 

And finally, I'm sure many are wondering what I walked away with.  Although my quantity is not great- the quality is amazing...


Ahhh...Dream in Color Baby in colorway Happy Forest.  This was the first time I've seen the colorway in person and it was too amazing to pass up.  I've been looking for it ever since I fell in love after seeing the colorway in these projects.  Hope your weekend had as much knitterly fun!

Projects

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Just Like Mom

Guess who got a new pair of mittens?


That's right- this baby*.  Not to mention a new hat (more on this later...perhaps when I get a better photo).  

After making my Girly Mitts  over year ago, the extra yarn has been just begging to be used up.  Enter baby Elise- the perfect subject for bestowing knitted gifts from leftover yarn scraps. 



Will there be a pattern?  I think so!





*This baby who was in desperate need of a nap... it was a rough photo shoot!



The End is Near...

... And I am almost out of yarn.  It's true.  The Girly Girl Cashmere Shrug I shared last week is almost complete but I have run out of yarn with just three rows left of the second sleeve.  There's not a whole lot that makes you want to abandon a project so quickly as a road block like this.

I knew going in to the project that I would have to make some adjustments due to the lack of yarn.  I had exactly one ounce of fingering (ish) weight yarn that was purchased over a year ago at a thrift store. Since yardage was lacking, I always figured a baby shrug would be the perfect project for such a small amount of yarn.  I decided on the Pearl Shrug pattern from Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren and set to work.  The smallest size is 3-6 months and figured my shrug would be a little smaller since my yarn was so thin.  Wrong.  What I thought would fit Elise now will definitely be something to grow in to.

This makes me wish I would've gone down a few needle sizes to make it a bit smaller and in turn use a little less yarn.  All I have left is the last part of the second sleeve:


 Basically I am going to have to take apart then edging around the body of the shrug and shorten it a bit to get the yarn I need to finish the sleeve.  *sigh*  See what I mean?  Makes you just want to throw in the towel.  In the meantime, I have started a few other small rojects.  This is not like me.  I am usually a one (or maybe  two) project-at-a-time kinda girl.  What worries me is that if I don't trudge forward I will abandon the shrug forever.  I guess it wouldn't be worth it to leave it behind now- I'm so close!  The problem is, the edging has so many live stitches, it might take a while to get things back on the needles alone.  Advice?  Tips?