My Other Hobby

So knitting/crocheting are not my only hobbies. I also collect orchids. They are such beautiful flowers and some types of orchids will bloom for months at a time. I have been looking for a local grower in the Cleveland area for quite a while. Martha suggested Borlin's. I had never heard of them but through some investigation I found out that they had moved to a small floral shop. They are still located in Mentor but are now on Mentor Ave. I'm so glad that Martha told me about them. Even though the shop was small they had some really beautiful and well cared for orchids. Below are a couple of pictures of the orchids that I purchased. They were really affordable. The first orchid is a Phalaenopsis and the second is an Oncidium.

I may have gone a little overboard because I also ordered some Dendrobium orchids from Aloha orchids. I had chartruese green dendrobium orchids in my wedding bouquet and I feel in love with them. Below is a picture of all the orchids from Aloha. I was surprised that they made it in one piece all the way from Hawaii. They were packed in a big box with shredded newspaper keeping everything safe and sound.


Now I have to go out and find some new pots and orchid mix. The DH thinks our house is a yarn store/greenhouse. Could be worse!!!

My Favorite Spot

There is one room in my house that I am drawn to. I go there to knit, read or just relax. It's my favorite spot in the house. There's a nice big window that lets in a lot of light and a nice view of the neighborhood. No TV, no distractions and no radio it's just perfect. I did some spring cleaning this weekend and reorganized my yarn/craft room. I even organized the yarn by color. Yes I am a bit anal but it looks so much nicer that way.

Yes, even the closet is full of yarn. In my spring cleaning I found a few summer projects from last year that I never finished. I'd like to finish some of these projects before casting on anything new. We'll see how long that lasts. With all this yarn staring at me I may not be able to resist.

Bad Blogger

This is the reason for my blogging absence. Hopefully knitting content will return soon. The DF is now my DH. We got married in Vegas just the two of us. It was a perfect day. Sorry for the crappy pictures, I had to scan them. We were given the option to purchase the original jpeg images with the printing rights but, they cost more than the entire wedding. I'm still thinking about buying them.

We were married at the Luxor chapel. It's really beautiful inside, even prettier than the pictures on their website. After the wedding we changed into something more comfortable and went to Fusia for dinner. We also arranged to have a small wedding cake after dinner. I got Macadamia Nut Glazed Chicken and Vegetables. If you ever go to Vegas you have to go to Fusia for dinner. It was delicious but way to much food. Of course I made sure to leave room for a little cake. We got a white cake with whip cream frosting. My favorite!!!

Nella

I finally got the DF to take a picture of me in my Nella Cropped Cardigan. He was in the middle of watching a basketball game so I was lucky to get him to take more than one picture. I really enjoyed this pattern and am pleased with the way it fits. I love the length of the sleeves.

Pattern: Nella Cropped Cardigan
Source: Fiber Smarts
Available here on Ravelry
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (5 balls)
Color: 243 purchased at Studio Knit
Size: Small
Needles: US Size 6
Modifications: Because this pattern was only available
for the medium I modified it to make a small. First I used
size 6 needles instead of size 8. My gauge was 16 stitches
and 24 rows for 4 inches measured over the st st portion of
the sweater. I picked up two stitches under each arm because
I was worried that they would be too tight. Because my sweater
fits a little higher up on my shoulders it ended up being a
little shorter than I wanted, so I picked up stitches at
the bottom of the sweater and knit 4 rows before biding off.
I would have knit a couple more rows but I was affraid I
was going to run out of yarn.

(I swear my hair did not look that bad from the back)

This was my first time doing applied i-cord so I used this tutorial. It was really easy and definitely worth it, it gives the neckline a very finished look. Now I just have to figure out what to knit next.

Short Post

I finished my Nella Cropped Cardigan today. I don't think mine will be as far off the shoulders as the original pattern. Probably because I modified the pattern to make a smaller size.

My DF has been sick hacking and coughing for the last two days so it might be a little while before I can get him to take a picture of me wearing the sweater. Pattern details and modifications to follow. Off to bed, I have to get up early tomorrow. Good night and sweet dreams. Hopefully I spelled sweet right. When I was in grade school we use to get our pictures taken every year and I would exchange pictures with my friends. It was customary to sign and date the back of the picture before giving it to the intended recipient. On more than one occasion I wrote you’re a really sweaty instead of sweetie. My friend’s sister still calls me sweaty to this day.

Time Change

This time change is really kicking my butt. Every year when we change the clocks back and we gain an hour I am totally thrown out of wack. Then when we spring forward the same thing happens. I had to go into work early today which means I had to be up at 4 AM after working late last night. I was so out of sorts this morning when I woke up that I put A&D ointment on my tooth brush. Yes I did, I put diaper rash ointment on my tooth brush.

At least I was awake enough to realize that something was strange, my tooth paste is green. Then I realized what I had done. Thank God because I would have had some really greasy teeth but they would not have been chafed. I think for today I am going to stay away from the knitting and and call it an early night.

Tree Jacket Revisited

I finished knitting Tree Jacket in November but I hadn't gotten around to blocking it and sewing up the sleeves until yesterday. Being snowed in helps me to be much more productive. The picture is courtesy of the DF. He's not into the artsy shots. He barely gives me enough time to smile or stand still. Now that I have a tripod for my camera I will have to figure out how to take my own pictures.

Pattern: Tree Jacket
Source: Zephyr Style
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8 (10 balls)
Color: Warm Brown 06
Size: XS 28-31"
Needles: US Size 7
Modifications: None, sleeves knit flat.

When I finished knitting this sweater I was afraid it was going to be much too short. After blocking, it is now the perfect length and the sleeves are nice and long too. This is a really fun pattern and the Karabella Aurora 8 yarn knits up beautifully. I will get a lot of wear out of this sweater.