i'm still here...

i've been a terrible blogger lately. i'm sorry. i've gotten bitten by the knitting bug. when i have free time i seem to be always choosing knitting over pretty much anything else. that combined with the fact that it is much harder to beautifully photograph anything while holding a baby means that i have really neglected this blog. but mainly it's the knitting's fault. 

i finished my first project (the scarf for gigi's birthday) and then had the pleasure of picking out a new project and yard to go with it. with the scarf my mother-in-law chose the pattern because i didn't know enough about knitting to know where to begin, and i used some yarn that my husband had given to me months ago. 

i'm making a vest for gigi to wear in the fall, or, if i finish it earlier, when we are camping this summer and it gets cool at night. i have learned a lot of new skills with this vest. i made a buttonhole and am using circular needles for the first time. the baby and i are getting to know the ladies at our local yarn shop. it's not unusual for me to drop off gigi at preschool and then head to the yarn shop for a little assistance. they have been so helpful and supportive. i think bringing a sweet baby with me helps too...

pictured above is the collar with the big buttonhole on it. the yarn is merino wool. it is soft and so nice; a pleasure to work with and hopefully a pleasure to wear. i was just catching up on some blogs (i haven't even really been reading blogs! knitting has really taken over my tiny bits of free time) and saw this post by nicole (my knitting hero), which has me dreaming of sewing a skirt to go with the vest. i love to sew, but it is such a different process than knitting. with knitting i can pick it up, knit for 5 minutes and stuff it back in the bag. with sewing there's more clean up. it's much more of a process. once dino starts taking naps that are longer than 20 minutes maybe i'll get to sew again...