Elisha & Molly | Newborn Photoshoot

My best friend Elisha recently gave birth to a baby girl, little Miss Molly. She is just the sweetest, most mild baby I've ever met.  It was such an honor for me to be able to capture some photos of her daughter, as Elisha is the one who usually photographs my children. Once the baby awoke from her nap, we moved into the front room which was flooded with natural light, and Elisha mentored me as we moved about the room capturing little moments here and there. 

Isn't Molly just the cutest?! In between shots I was just smothering that baby in kisses. This was my first photoshoot that didn't involve my own children,so I was a bit nervous,but I'm actually really happy with the results. What's more is that Elisha was happy with the results. 

 A couple of these photographs were taken on Molly's favorite blanket- the Striped Cashmere Baby Blanket  I had knit for her of course. It is just a simple garter stitch throughout- any beginning knitter can do it! The cashmere blend yarn and stripes is what makes it special.

beautiful baby and knit talk all in one post. Yahtzee.

xo

Amanda

Watershed Cardigan + Evelyn's 4 Year Photos

Pattern: Watershed by Amy Swenson

Yarn: 2 skeins of Berroco Flicker

I started this project last summer, put it away when I was half-way done, and rediscovered it a couple weeks ago.

Does anyone else do this?

It only took my about two days to finish knitting it and another day to block it. And just in time too! My daughter Evelyn turned four on January 12th, so her yearly portraits were here and I had nothing for her to wear. I like to knit my daughters something special to wear for their portraits but I had totally flaked this year. Luckily, the combination of Berroco Flicker yarn and knitting a size small in the Watershed pattern resulted in a 4T- not in mommy size which I had intended. 

This year I decided to photograph Evelyn myself and I am so happy with the results! The photos were taken up in our loft, her face only inches away from a window shedding the most beautiful light. 

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/250 sec.

F/1.8, ISO 400, 1/500 sec.

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/250

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/400 sec.

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/500 sec.

 I can't believe how much she has grown...

xo

Amanda 

Coffee Press Cozy

 Recently I have become the proud owner of a coffee press. I had my first french press experience at a local coffee shop, Sambalatte, and had instantly fallen in love with the rich flavor and clean finish of my coffee. I immediately purchased a press of my own and a fresh bag of whole beans to recreate the Sambalatte experience. Once home, I quietly unplugged the Keuriug and as stealthy as I could, carried the hunky thing to the top shelf of my pantry,  hoping my husband wouldn't notice. The Keurig was a birthday present and I din't want to get the eye from a gift giver.

He did notice. And I got the eye.

But! I offered him a cup of the most delicious coffee as a peace offering and I think that made it better.

After a few mornings I realized that though the french press made yummy coffee, it became cold way too fast. I am a notorious slow coffee drinker though, so perhaps it is my fault and not the press's fault at all, but alas, I took this little problem and ran with it. 

"I know what this press needs, a sweater!"

of course.

 After perusing Ravelry I came across a pattern that I not only loved, but used a knitting technique that I had never done before. And I am all for learning new things. The technique is called Mosaic knitting and it is a style of colorwork that uses two colors, but you only hold one strand at a time- like knitting stripes. Unlike Fair Isle for example, where you hold two or more strands across a row- a knitting trick I have yet to try. This introductory colorwork technique was perfect for this small project and helped give me a little confidence to try my hand at more complex colorwork.

Pattern: Mosaic Tea Press Cozy by Tonya Raworth

Yarn: scrap of Noro Kureyon

Buttons: salvaged from an old shirt

Speaking of scraps of Noro, I thought I'd share my progress on the Noro Hexagon Blanket I've been slowly working on in between projects.

isn't she lovely.

I'd love to see what you have recently finished knitting, so feel free to share a link in the comments below!

I've actually been a very busy knitting bee so I have a few more projects to share, but those projects deserve their own post I think.

xo

Amanda

Sampler Knit Cowl

 

Needle

US 8 - 5.0 mm

Yarn

2 skeins Cascade Yarns Sierra

Colorway

Dove

Purchased at

Jimmy Beans Wool in Reno, Nevada

I used the pattern 2009 Mystery Afghan Knit-Along by Bernat Design Studio to make this sampler cowl. After knitting 6 different square motifs, I realized I would not be finishing an afghan, so I jsut decided to sew all the squares together to make a large cowl.

The cowl is large enough to twist twice around the neck. The cotton lends a beautiful drape to the cowl and wonderful  stitch definition. This light knit is perfect for late Spring/early   Autumn.

You can view more of my knits by visiting my Ravelry page or clicking the 'knit' link on my right sidebar.

xo

Amanda

I'm a morning person now.

It turns out that a mommy of two,who also happens to be a part-time student, doesn't have a lot of time to knit. So unfortunately I didn't finish my Woodland Stole in time for our little family vacation tomorrow. Oh well, it will make for a nice activity during the four hour car ride to Big Bear Lake. Plus, i'm pretty sure i'm gonna need two more skeins of yarn to even get the stole to the length I want it.

This pattern has been a joy to knit,and working on it has just added to the awesomeness of these past couple of mornings. Friday I enjoyed a quiet morning reading Kinfolk magazine, doing a little knitting and drinking some of the best coffee from my new french press. 

This morning was just how every weekend should start off- a family full of smiles and tummies full of freshly baked Pumpkin Spice bread.

I'm usually not a morning person- as in, i'm groggy and grumpy. But I've decided I have nothing to be grumpy about ( just look at that sweet baby face I get to wake up to!) and that I will be more patient and more chipper from now on. TA-DA! I'm a morning person now.

I'll be back Tuesday with a post on our trip!

xo

Amanda

Woodland Stole

I am absolutely in love with this new pattern I've started! The pattern is the Woodland Shawl by The Thrifty Knitter- a free pattern that is well written, my favorite. I'm calling it a stole though, since it is rectangular in shape and I associate the term shawl with triangular knits. 

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but my family is going on a road trip early November: camping at Big Bear Lake in California, hitting up Oak Tree Village for the day (picture an authentic Cracker Barrel, but in town form) Then we are heading to Old Towne Orange, the largest historic district in California with tons of antique shops and specialty boutiques, yay! Old Towne is just 20 minutes from Newport Beach, so of course will be spending time there with the girls as well. fun,fun,fun! So...I wanted to knit a big stole to keep me cozy while I'm camping,apple picking, antiquing and beaching (Is there a verb for the act of going to the beach? Beach-going?) Anyways, this leaf motif seemed perfect for the Autumn Roadtrip occasion.

I purchased two skeins of Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold in Prussian Blue from Sin City Knit Shop, which has turned out to be a favorite yarn of mine. It has a rustic feel and look to it that I appreciate, and I've never used a silk blend before so hooray for expanding my fiber horizon. I know a green, or a more autumn shade would have been the ideal choice for this pattern, but I was inspired by this poem to go with a more 'darker mood' hue...

...I bade men tell me which in brief,
Which is fairer, flower or leaf.
They did not have the wit to say,
Leaves by night and flowers by day.

Leaves and bar, leaves and bark,
To lean against and hear in the dark.
Petals I may have once pursued.
Leaves are all my darker mood.

-excerpt from Leaves Compared With Flowers by Robert Frost

xo

Amanda

//find me here and here today//

Name Painting

Remember yesterday's post, when I was wondering what fun activity I should do with the girls? Well I figured it out. After an inspirational stop by the dandee blog I decided that a wicked combination of painting,name recognition and letter learning was the way to go. I printed out the girls' name on printer paper (for the font I used, stop by the hellobee blog for the download) and let them go to town with a brush and washable acrylics. 

 Flora opted for a more... abstract approach to painting in her name. I think she really captured the essence of her name ;)  Evelyn took a slower, more precise approach to her work, aiming to stay in the lines and saturate her name in GREEN. Which is, surprise!, her favorite color. 

 TA-DA!

Overall it was a very easy, therapeutic project for them. Notice how Evelyn's L is purple? When she first read the letters in her name, she thought the lower case L was an I, so to remind herself that "It baby L mommy, not letter I " she painted the letter a different color. smarty pants.

And here is my current knit project, the Noro Blanket. Now that I've picked it back up I've decided knitting with double pointed needles isn't that bad, and if I knit one hexagon a day i'll be done in 139 days, aka, mid February. Which means i'll be knitting more than one hexagon a day,haha. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the year. 

What are you knitting? I'd love to take a peek at your current project!

xo

Amanda

Dovetail Cowl

 I finished knitting this Dovetail Cowl last night and I am uber-excited about it! I've been knitting this beautiful curry colored cowl for my mommy's birthday coming up in October. I'm not good with secrets, so I already know that she loves it, haha. This was a simple pattern of knit and purl stitches to make a great mirrored chevron texture. The yarn I used was Aslan Trends Royal Alpaca, which was my first time using an alpaca yarn actually. I just loved it, I'm definitely going to be stashing up on more alpaca yumminess. It is super soft and lends a wonderful drape to the cowl.

now the hard part, getting it in the mail. I'm terrible at shipping gifts on time.

As for today, we're going to have a chill Sunday. I have a test I have to take but other than that, i'm just going to enjoy being with the hubby and playing with my babies...maybe do a little cross-stitching.

What are you're plans for today?

xo

Amanda

a day in the life of...

Morning coffee and knitting

I painted Cobalt's silhouette last night and hung it up this morning in the bathroom...nothing like a dog over a toilet.

Evelyn working on her loom. She's weaving a present for her great grandma :)

"All Done!" The girls got a lollipop for cleaning their playroom

naptime reading for my history course

Helping to hang up their laundry

cheap Pillsbury cookies are delicious.

It was a productive,yet chill Friday with the girls. The day ended on a high note as the whole family went out for a triple date with friends at our favorite restaurant, Leticia's. Yummy Mexican food, loud laughs and margaritas were had. It was a good day indeed.

xo

Amanda

Noro Hexagon Blanket

Currently on this mama's needles, the Bobby's Garden blanket knit up with Noro Kureyon. I haven't blocked it yet, but when I do i'm hoping it will lie flat and not pucker as much as the picture shows. Unless i'm doing something wrong- then knitters, feel free to share tips on how to knit a hexagon that lays flat! 

This is my first project using the famous Noro yarn, and though I love the unexpected color combinations and overall am satisfied, I have to say I thought the yarn would be a softer wool and a little 'stronger'.  The roving has broken on me a couple times, but perhaps i'm just pulling a little too hard as I adjust to using DPNs for the first time. 

Yes m'am, that's right! This is my first project using DPNs as well! I have avoided them for the past two years I've been knitting but have FINALLY decided to give them a go. And you know what- I caught on very quick and they aren't hard at all! I can't believe I've actually had nightmares about them...(slight exaggeration) The first needles I used were by Tulip and a terrrrrible purchase. I picked them up at a local craft store since the store didn't have the right sized Clover needles in stock. Within a few hours they were already splintering, and in a week I had to order new needles and throw those away. I purchased  Brittany needles to replace them and I am completely satisfied! I won't make that mistake again...

If you'd like to keep up with this project or any of my (many) other WIPs, check out my Ravelry page!

xo

Amanda

Evelyn's 3 year photos

photos by lisha.brooke // check out my ravelry page for knit top info

I have the most beautiful little girl in the whole world.

xo

Amanda