Finished (knit) project

I've been wanting to knit this pattern for a while, probably since I first saw it in Ravelry 4 years ago? Has it been that long? Trying to find a pattern that I like and using yarn in my stash, makes it harder to find the "right" project.




The picovoli top is knitted on a much smaller needle than I'm use to, size 4. I made 1 slight modification which was to add about 8-9 rows to length the top. I opted to do the picot edging along the neckline only. I didn't like how it curled up. I also liked how the designer had added waist and hip shaping which gave it a really good fit. The cotton/linen blend yarn gives this top some ease that is needed! Overall, this was a very satisfying knit. Fast and easy to follow. I'm happy with this project. It's nice to finally finish a project and have it fit! :)

Here's a photo:

Since I'm feeling good about finishing this top, I've started on another project called the Olivia top. I'm a bit comprehensive because my last top from the same designer didn't turn out well. I really like her simple designs so I thought I give it try at another pattern. A big plus was the pattern was only $1! This time, the top is knitted in a fingering yarn on a size 7 needle! I have some fingering yarn in my stash so why not? Surprisingly, it's knitting up relatively fast - I have the first 7 rows of ribbing done and now I've done 5 sets of increases so it's going well. This project will be a good project to knit since it's mostly stockingnette stitch (again). I do love cables and lace but it's so time consuming, not to mention I really have to concentrate on what I'm doing.

There was another road race this weekend but I didn't run in it. I actually trying to set a goal for myself! I think I always had a goal but it was just to finish the race and maybe place in my age group. Now, I have a "plan" where I'm actually training. This includes doing speed workouts, lengthening my stride, long(er) runs, etc. I hope to really cut down my time, My next race will be on 4th of July.

I hope all the dad's out there have a Happy Father's Day!

Second Road Race (in A long time)

This has already been a busy week so far but things are settling down.




I ran my second road race this past Saturday.  (Not the second race ever but in a long time).  The race was held in another town in conjunction with a Festival. I was excited to participate in another race and I hoped to run with a large group of runners. This year, there was also another race on the same day so the numbers of runners were down from last year. There were less than 200 runners that participated in this run. The race started at 7:30am so I had to be up around 4:30am. At 11:00pm the night before, I was still trying to download songs to my ipod for my race! Talk about last minute! At 5am, I was out the door and I stopped at the local walmart to buy an armband to hold my ipod. Yes, I'm a procrastinator but I got everything done and I made it to the starting time in plenty of time! It was nice to run in much cooler temperature and the course was relatively flat, with a few slight inclines. Running with headphones help me maintain my pace and also help to motivate me. I was able to run a minute faster than the last race! To my surprise, I did place 2nd in my age group. This is one time that I'm happy to say that there's an advantage to aging... I came home proudly holding my trophy!





Here's a photo of my trophy:










Because it's been a busy week, I have not been doing a lot of knitting. My latest project is a top that I can actually wear in this 100 degree weather. This top is from the pattern called Picovoli (Knotions.com). It's knitted on a size 4 needle using a DK cotton. I happen to have 4 skeins of the CotLin yarn from Knit Picks that I've been saving so it worked out well. Hopefully, that will be enough yarn to finish this top. Here's what I've done so far:

















I'm sad to say that my last, the Kourtney top is in the scrap pile! My short rows for the arm straps came out all wrong and therefore ended up way too long! I attempted to correct this problem but then I realized that I wouldn't be happy with the fit anyways. The top was too big and it just didn't look good on me! Hopefully, I'll find another project to put the yarn to good use.

Road Race Report

Last night I ran in a road race, the first one in a very long time. It seems that around every April, I get interested in running again. It's probably because of the Freihofer's Run for Women. It's a big race that held annually in Albany, New York. The race is actually today. I've ran in this race several times, starting in my early 20's. Unfortunately this year, I wasn't able to make the race so instead I opted for a more locally run race, hence yesterday's race. I knew that I wouldn't be able to make a race today (lack of baby sitter) so a Friday race seemed like a good solution.

Surprising, I wasn't really that nervous....not until an hour before the race. I left at 6pm and arrived around 6:40, giving me enough time to pick up my packet and get to the starting line at 7pm. It was a good turnout, maybe 200 runners. (I'm still waiting for the race result to be posted to get an exact count).

It was a really hot evening. Even at 7pm, it was still in the 90s. High temps for Friday was around 100 degrees. As I was running, I was thinking to myself why did I do an evening race? It was so hot! I imagine, a lot of the other runners were thinking the same thing!

I had a few goals. The foremost, is to finish the race. Finish at a respectable time and I hope to place 1st in my age group. Okay, I had really high expectations for someone who just started running in late April and I've only been running 2 miles instead of the 3.1 miles. I figure my chances of placing (for my age group) was a lot higher in a smaller group of runners.

I finished the race! I ran the whole 5K. As tempting as it was to stop and walk for a few seconds, I opted not to. I knew that if I had stop at all to walk, I would NOT want to start running again. After a long hiatus from running in a race, I've ran in my first race in quite a few years. I think the last race I ran in was the Freihofer's Run for Women 3 years ago?

I'm happy to say that I placed 2nd in my age group! Here is my plaque:

No live shots with me getting my plaque :(

Today, I'm going back to enjoy the Festival with my daughter!

Road Race on Friday

Today, I sent in my entry form to run in a road race on Friday. It's a little scary since I've only started running (again) about a month ago. I've been running about 2 miles at least 4x a week. This will be a 5k. It's also going to be an evening race, at 7pm so I hope it won't be too hot! Temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees on Friday. Wish me luck and I'll blog my experience next time!


I've started a summer project using a sports weight yarn. It's called Kourtney. Pattern found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kourtney. I started this on May 28th and I've been lots of progress on it already! I already have about 21" knitted! Stockinette Stitch goes fast for me and I've been a bit obsessive about knitting this thing! I'm currently working on the bust shaping and will be working on the straps this evening. I hope to have this done in the next few days. I thought this would be a cute top to wear during my vacation to Florida later this month.

Photo of my progress:






I had this pink yarn in my stash. I knew that I had 4 balls of a darker pink and 2 balls of the lighter pink. I thought that I could do the bottom band and the ruffles in light pink. As it turned out, I had 3 shades of pink! Luckily for me, I used the middle shade of pink for the bottom so I think it may be okay. I'm anxious to get this finish because I'm curious of how it will fit. I have not seen a photo of the top actually be worn on a (real) person.

So far, I'm enjoying my summer vacation. Already it's been hot but that's to be expected in this region of the country! I'm looking forward to doing some road trips this summer.