Que Sera

I have loved this sweater ever since it's debut in Knitty.com Spring/Summer 2010 issue.  It is so pretty! I used the recommended yarn which is Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton.  My LYS, Spinning Yarns, carries it so I was able to see so many of the colors in person and pick the best color for me.  I chose color #634, periwinkle blue, which looks great with dress slacks or jeans and a t-shirt.  Perfect!

(Sexy model shot on my dining room chair :-) The gratuitous bathroom mirror shot would scare small children!)

This was the first time that I have sewn in cap sleeves.  I was a little nervous about it, but they came out great!  Look at that beautiful smooth seam!

I had a little challenge with buttons too.  I wanted something with a vintage look to it.  I first picked out the bottom button, but once I sewed them on I discovered that there were a smidge too small and they would not stay fastened.  So I went to JoAnn's and found a couple more choices.  I decided on the middle button.  I love how the white pops and they just seem to have the perfect vintage look that I was hoping for. (Click on pictures to embiggen)

I learn something new with every big project that I do.  On this sweater, as well as seaming cap sleeves, I learned how to "maintain lace pattern" while shaping.  That learning curve required some ripping and re-knitting, but now I have a great understanding of matching yo's with decreases and can see it without having to count!  I also learned that I need to take a class in "fit to flatter".  This ended up too long.  It would fit better if it was 2 inches shorter and I am already taking that into consideration with my next sweater projects.  More on those soon!

In the works

I have been trying to finish up some projects over the summer, and as the summer is winding down I am running out of steam with my older WiP's and dreaming of new projects. But I am so close to being done on my Que Sera sweater!  I finished the knitting and wove in the tails last night!  This morning it had a good soak and blocking!

I stopped in at Spinning Yarns today and picked out some cute buttons that I think will work well.  Tonight I'm going to seam the shoulders and start on the neck.  At least I hope so.  It's pretty warm tonight so I might work on a sock instead of having a whole sweater in my lap.

I have just a couple inches to go before the toe on my Jubilee sock.

And about the same or less on my Haystack sock.

So the other thing I've been working on this week is a needle case for my circular needles.  Circular needles are my favorite and I have accumulated quite a few of them.  Actually, a lot of them.  I really need a way to organize them and I'd like to have a way to carry them with me when I knit away from home. The ziploc bags just aren't cutting it anymore!  Margot, who owns Spinning Yarns, showed me the one she made for herself out of the same desperation I feel. I decided I needed to copy her idea.

So basically it's a book with envelope style pockets inside.  I fashioned the pockets to be just a smidge larger than the Skacel ziploc bags that Addi needles are sold in.  This first one has 6 pockets and I'm thinking that I'll use it for my sock needles.  I can easily make one with as many pockets as I'd like.

The problem is that it's not quite right and I haven't yet figured out how to make it better.  The pockets are a great size for 1 or 2 needles each.  The problem is that I have about coughsixcough needles in each size for socks.  So..... do I have multiple pockets for each size?  Separate needles by cable length? (Which is a major consideration for larger size needles)  Make bigger pockets to more easily handle multiple needles in each size? Come up with a completely different plan?  I'm stumped.  What do you think?  What would be your dream way to organize circular needles?

Ten on Tuesday

Once again, Carole has hit on what seems to be the "Perfect" topic for Ten on Tuesday.  This past Sunday we had a somewhat chilly day, for the first time in what seemed like forever!  Don't get me wrong, I loved the gorgeous weather we enjoyed in NH this summer, but sometimes you just want to turn the oven on and enjoy an Old-fashioned Home-cooked meal with family.  So that's exactly what we did Sunday, complete with dessert!  Then Monday morning I received my weekly email with this week's prompt......

10 Favorite Sunday Dinners

I'll begin with what I made this past Sunday.

1. Lasagna - I have my own recipe that I have adapted from how I remember my mother making it.  

2. Roast Chicken - with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, peas & carrots, and cranberry sauce. Yum!

3. Meatloaf - this is my husband's favorite.

4. Pork Tenderloin - We're particular fond of this recipe 

5. Chicken Cordon Bleu - Here's a link for the recipe we like best 

6. Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo - I grill some boneless chicken breast and blanch some fresh broccoli, and add to this recipe   I do double the sauce so that there is plenty with the added chicken and broccoli.

7. Pot Roast - Ever since I took the Pioneer Woman's advice and didn't worry about cooking it too long, it seems to come out better.  Plus it smells so good simmering all afternoon.

8. Roast Beef with roasted potatoes

9. Baked Macaroni and Cheese.  This is more of a comfort food, but we'll often have it for Sunday dinner because it is so rich and filling.

10. Dessert.  Sunday dinner isn't complete without a dessert to finish it off.  This week I made The Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake.  Holy Goodness!  I think this is my family's favorite dessert now!

I'm looking forward to reading the posts of everybody who's participating this week.  I always love a new idea for dinner!  You can find them over here

Happy Birthday Grammy Pete!

Today is my Mother-in-law's 80th Birthday!  We had a wonderful celebration Sunday at Wentworth By the Sea.  She was completely surprised!

She says that this is her new favorite picture which is her with her 3 sons.

We were able to get a picture with almost the whole family.  We were only missing one step-daughter and family, who are currently living in London, and my middle son who is away at college.  It was a wonderful day and celebration.

I just had to include this picture too.  Four generations of Peterson's!  Grammy, my brother-in-law, his daughter, and her two sons.  Monster was hamming it up big time for the camera!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!