Friday, March 26, 2010

FO: Beckett's Comfy Blanket

Finally! I couldn't show you this FO because the recipient's mom is a reader of the blog. I gave him this blanket today!!!!

Its the Bunny Hop Blanket (Rav link), named so because the original blanket was made with Bunny Hop yarn. I used Berrocco Comfort, which is my favorite yarn to make baby blankets out of... its so soft, and machine washable! All my new-mom friends love that ;)


I love that it looks great on either side.


I used three skeins of Comfort, almost exactly. This blanket was super easy to make. I took a little break from it during the Olympics when I was working on my Knitting Olympics project. And then Mr. Beckett came early! So I hustled to get it done. It was still a little late (he is 6 weeks old!), but better late than never! The pattern calls for 6 repeats of the diamond pattern... but I did 4. I remember my friend telling me once that she likes baby blankets a little on the smaller side, so they can be carried around and used as security blankets when the kids get a little bigger.

Brady also likes this blanket, which says to me that I may need to make him a blankie of his own...

So exciting that Beckett decided to take his blanky on the road with him today!


I'm working on another baby blanket right now! I know a LOT of new moms and moms-to-be. Its so fun and exciting!!!

Friday, March 19, 2010

No knitting today...

I do have an FO that I can't show just yet.

I have a running FO that I am proud to show off, though! This past Sunday was the final race in the Wild Rover Series that I worked hard to be able to complete. The weather was awful... 40s and rainy. But I reminded myself that I ran in the half-marathon in the same weather, and this was only 5 miles. Honestly... if I hadn't run the previous two races, I may have bailed. Doesn't it look like I'm having fun?



The prize was this 3 piece medal... one piece for each race.


This is what I was training and strengthening my leg for! That last race was only 5 miles... but felt like a huge accomplishment. I was happy just to finish, to be honest. I was even happier to see that I finished two seconds faster than I did last year, and that was in gorgeous weather! The verdict is in, I run better in the rain and the snow! A special THANK YOU to my good friend Shaine and her boyfriend Tommy for braving the rain and coming to meet me at the finish line. Support means so much!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat.

Well, one out of two ain't bad.

I was going for two medals this past Sunday. In my last post, I shared my goal for the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics, to finish the Darkwood Cardigan. I had 17 days to do so. Now, I'm sure that there were times in those 17 days that I could have been knitting and wasn't, but I knew I had no plans for Friday night and Saturday during the day and was planning on using that time as catch-up. Until...

We had a little repeat performance of New Hampshire weather damage on Thursday. A crazy wind storm blew through the Granite State and parts of Massachusetts, leaving almost 300,000 without power in NH and over 100,000 in Mass. We did not have power from Thursday night til Monday afternoon! Luckily, we borrowed a small generator from a friend, but it was literally only hooked up to the burner so we could heat the house and shower. We didn't even have any light! So try as I might... I did not finish the cardigan. So sad. I still have the hood, weaving in ends, and buttons to do. I actually debated staying up late to finish on Sunday night, and then realized that I never got any buttons! So aggrevating! So, I cut my losses and went to sleep. But as you can see... I REALLY tried... *sigh*


Knitting with a headlamp!


Onto better news... the OTHER medal I was shooting for was the finisher's medal for the first leg of the Wild Rover Series!! This series is so fun. You run three weeks in a row, 3, 4, and 5 miles, respectively. They all begin and end at Irish bars. The shirts are great, the food is great, and everyone's attitude is happy and fun! At the end of each race, you get a medal, and those three medals come together to form one BIG medal! So fun, right? Two years ago I ran the first and third races. Last year I ran the second and third. So this year I said self... you are getting all three of those medals! My biggest concern was not finishing, since I have been battling IT Band Syndrome. But thanks to my good friend and trainer, I have been working on rolling, stretching, and strengthening my legs to make them strong enough to run again! No pain! I was even able to cross the finish line in a dead out sprint against another girl who tried to pass me... and failed. :) Me with my hardware below, 4 miles this Sunday, I hope its just as successful!


And hopefully I can show off my new cardigan before the weather gets too warm to wear it...